Trade in Surface Book for Dell XPS 15 or keep it?

[Peter Monk]

So I am on my 26th day with the Surface Book and although I do enjoy it's versatility, it still suffers from occasional issues that even though some were reported fixed, still occur on my machine like the DGPU still occasionally turning off during programs or after I turned off the Surface Book, screen flickers on occasion, YouTube video freezes when I pause the video, BSOD with internal power, ect.

As for a small annoyance that I know isn't totally Microsoft's fault, is its poor optimization with Adobe products running with the DGPU on the Surface Book.

So now I need some advise here since from what I am understanding on the 30 day return policy is that I can't return the Surface Book within 30 days and if I am still unsatisfied after that time period, my only option is to sell it and lose some money in which I would hate to do; (if there's by any chance a way to exchange the Surface Book past it's return policy for a different laptop, I would like to know.)

So before the 30 days are up, is it better off that I just trade in my Surface Book for an equivalent Dell XPS 15 or wait and see if the issues within the Surface Book that is in my possession be resolved in a 2 month so I wouldn't need to worry on having to deal with these issues in my workspace later down the road

 

[Peeping Tom]

It's better off to trade in your Surface Book for the Dell XPS 15 anyways since you're gonna more specs for the buck but, it seems as if you do like your tablet versatility and use it quite often, but with the money for the Surface Book can be directed towards getting a Surface 3 for around $300 or even a Surface Pro 3 on Ebay with a core i5 for around $500-$600 and get a good Dell XPS 15 for $1300.

So unless there is an exchange system after that 30 day trial, then I highly advise you to sacrifice the dual camera, pen, and tablet versatility for a real work horse.

 

[No_ax_to_grind]

So I am on my 26th day with the Surface Book and although I do enjoy it's versatility, it still suffers from occasional issues that even though some were reported fixed, still occur on my machine like the DGPU still occasionally turning off during programs or after I turned off the Surface Book, screen flickers on occasion, YouTube video freezes when I pause the video, BSOD with internal power, ect.

As for a small annoyance that I know isn't totally Microsoft's fault, is its poor optimization with Adobe products running with the DGPU on the Surface Book.

So now I need some advise here since from what I am understanding on the 30 day return policy is that I can't return the Surface Book within 30 days and if I am still unsatisfied after that time period, my only option is to sell it and lose some money in which I would hate to do; (if there's by any chance a way to exchange the Surface Book past it's return policy for a different laptop, I would like to know.)

So before the 30 days are up, is it better off that I just trade in my Surface Book for an equivalent Dell XPS 15 or wait and see if the issues within the Surface Book that is in my possession be resolved in a 2 month so I wouldn't need to worry on having to deal with these issues in my workspace later down the road

Depends on your individual use cases. Given you bought an SB out of the gate over an SP3 or 4 the assumption is you're mostly in the desktop world and after the horsepower both. If those are true statements I'd recommend the XPS 15 in a heartbeat over the SB for the reasons cited in the first response.

 

[Peter Monk]

Thanks for the response, and although I knew that the XPS 15 would be a greater horsepower than the Surface Book, what is keeping me from trading it for the Dell XPS 15 other than the fact that I use the clipboard function quite often and does find a lot of use for it, is how well managed the DGPU is in the Surface Book in which in my experiences with GPU intensive tasks never throttled at all during these tasks, so I kind of find a shame that it turns off during and isn't well optimized with Adobe products in which conjured up the thought of trading it in for the Dell XPS 15 since Adobe products is what I use on a daily basis.

 

[BearFlag]

Have you tried typing on the XPS 15 at the MS Store? I think the key travel and typing on the SB is significantly better and that's important to me.

 

[Seneleron]

Honestly, if you aren't finding the performance you want with the SB on photoshop, it may be time to look at some of the larger, higher powered alternatives out there.

I know it's a little bit ...Flashy for some people, but have you considered something like the 2015/16 Razer Blade? $1,800-$2100 depending on storage size for the 2015 [easily upgradable] UHD screen w/ GTX970m, and either the 4720HQ or 6700HQ depending on model year.

I'm not a fan of mass market OEMs myself, they look good on paper but tend to use the cheapest hardware they can source, hence the substitution.

 

[Cimmerian]

I think it obviously comes down to if you can live without the clipboard and pen. If you don't actually need it then the Surface Book really shouldn't appeal at all as it's specs are wayyy lower than what you could get for the same price. I however use the pen and clipboard for school extensively, but if you just find it a convenient feature and not a necessary one I'd get the XPS 15, which really isn't much bigger, still has a touch screen, has great color reproduction, a high resolution, and a much better processor and GPU. I'm thinking the next Surface Book will be the one, while I absolutely love mine I am thoroughly disappointed with the dGPU and I believe they will us a more standard card (960m or whatever is out then) next time. I am still very happy with my Surface Book even though it's a gen 1 product.

 

[Peter Monk]

Thanks for the responses and it seems as if it's my unlucky day, I discouvered that when I posted this thread I was already past the time of the return rate, (I thought it had to be activated first, not the purchase time.)

@Seneleron, When I looked more into the Razer Blades, I actually was ready to return my Surface Book for it since it's about the same weight and thinness as the Surface Book's but I was going over some of the details on the return rates on the Microsoft website, I found out about it and now I guess my only choice is to sell it for a loss now unless I can exchange the Surface Book with some exchange fee so I wouldn't need to go through the whole process of selling it.