Buying new Dell XPS 15 for editing - 4K or FHD?

[Dave Mercer]

Hey all.

I'm thinking to buy the new Dell XPS 15 to replace my old MBP. Mainly will be editing HD, but also some 4K.

The FHD screen is 100% RGB, while the 4K is 100% abobe RGB.

FHD is matte (I believe) while 4K is glossy touchscreen with anti-gloss coating.

Wondering if the 4K screen is worth the extra $400.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I just bought a XPS (month ago) 2017 model. I’m using as backup/travel/presentation laptop. I got fhd because the better battery life, $400 cheaper, and I don’t do 4k editing. I wanted a macbook pro but couldn’t justify the higher price for my intended purpose. I had some software issues and adapter problems but I finally got everything running smoothly now.

[Dave Mercer]

Thanks. I was curious if 4K on a 15" screen was overkill. I appreciate your input.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Don’t get me wrong the 4k screen looks great. I saw it at the Microsoft store in the mall. I assume you’re going to use an external monitor regardless of what version you get.

[Dave Mercer]

For editing at home yes I'd use an external monitor, which will be the majority of the time. But would be great to have a color accurate monitor for field work, etc

Perhaps 4K is unnecessary. Not sure what the benefits would be .... for multimedia work.

[Phil Murray]

I bought an XPS back in February to take to South America. I anguished over whether to get an HD or 4K monitor before choosing on the lower resolution. I made my decision based on the fact that I used an HD monitor on my desktop for a couple of years before with a 4K TV as a secondary monitor with no problems.. (No serious professional editing was done -- strictly for fun and learning.)

The biggest concern for me was getting a machine with a good video card that was powerful enough to handle 4K editing. I've used it on a few trips and it works great. Using only the small screen is a tough one for me as I'm used to two large monitors at home, but I get used to it. Even connecting to an HD TV in a hotel room as a secondary monitor is good enough for editing.

I am very happy with my decision as I move to Peru in the next few days with the intention of doing writing, video, and photography full-time.

[Dave Mercer]

Thanks Phil. I'm leaning the same way, only with the new XPS 15. And good to hear you're happy with the 9650. Best of luck in Peru. Latam is great for storytelling!

[Alan Craven]

I bought an XPS15 with the i9 8950HK CPu and the fhd screen about a year ago. I can edit Sony 4K video on it pretty well as fluidly as my high powered desktop. I use a Gtech Thunderbolt drive for the media files.

I use a Startech Thunderbolt hub to connect it to my desktop system when required. I did have a Caltech hub, which I preferred, but my wife collared it for her iMAC.

[Paul R Johnson]

Google NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 which I think is the graphics source. There's some posts around questioning if this is OK for 4K - some claiming long render times and others suggesting just a sluggish machine. Worth double checking? It's listed as OK for Premiere, which sounds hopeful.