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Why the fuck did it even take them that long? Alienware acquisition was in 2006.
I still remember when XPS was the premiere gaming brand Dell released to compete with the likes of Alienware, only for them to buy Alienware and relegate XPS to a higher budget multimedia catalog.
The names outstayed their welcome, but I cannot applaud them copying Apple’s homework.
“Dell shoots itself in the foot and will only realise in 3 years”
If it matters to you, Michael Dell is pro-genocide:
Dear random strangers,
I have bought Thinkpad T for many years following your advice. Then I moved to Dell Latitude 3 years ago as this was your recommendation. So far, very happy with them!
Where should I go for my next laptop? Is it time for framework?
(I’m looking for 14" business laptops, excellent screen, good audio, light and solid, performance is a nice-to-have, Linux-only)
I have owned a Framework 13 AMD for about half a year and I have to say that it’s a bit overpriced for what it is. It’s probably a better idea to just get a similarily priced Windows laptop (like Asus Zenbook or Lenovo X1 Carbon / T-series) and install Linux on it.
For good graphics performance in a smallish package, I like Lenovo Legion.
If graphics aren’t a concern, then I have no more specific recommendation, too much choice. I like flip style laptops, but I don’t know if those have proper Linux support. I’d also look for a screen larger than 14", but with thin bezels.
I will not do any gaming on my laptop, I really only need a quality screen to read documents and display the occasional Netflix video
Don’t get a framework. It’s a gimmicky waste of money.
Why exactly do you need a new laptop, anyways? Have your hardware requirements really increased that much in 3 years to warrant looking for a new device?
Why do you say that about the framework?
Because it’s overpriced. You can get better hardware for lower prices.
The framework laptop only exists to take money from people who don’t know any better and want to feel 1337.
Yes get a framework.
Thanks!
MSI seems rock solid.
The worst build laptop that I’ve ever held in my hands was from MSI. Cooling problems that made the fans work almost permanently (even after repasting by the shop), underperforming for the specs, a chassis with too much flex and a broken screen hinge after slightly more than 2 years (just out of warranty). When I looked up the screen hinge problem, it turned out to be an old recurring problem that MSI never bothered to fix when releasing new models, like they couldn’t be arsed to give a fuck.
This laptop was bought in about 2017 or 2018 after which I put MSI on the do not buy list. It’s possible that they’ve improved their quality since then, but I doubt it, given that I can find the same complaints in forum posts from 2024:
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/are-hinge-issues-still-a-thing.343279/page-5My views were based on post-pandemic after Asus started becoming unreliable for my original recommendation of Asus ROG G14 where Lenovo to Razer are pretty much hated as well by users. If this is the case, then I can only think of MacBooks with VMWare or Virtual Box if not Asahi Linux.
I would never again recommend MSI… I bought a 3000€ MSI Creator 3 years ago for work :
- the hinges are breaking apart
- some metal part on the size broke
- the keyboard letter are scraping off
- the microphone on Linux is unusable because of the fans
Reaplcing the keyboard requires a full body replacement, which costs like 300€ 🙃
I’ve also had some very bad experiences with a entry price gaming msi for someone in my family.
I was under the impression they were more gaming oriented than “business”, am I mistaken then?
XPS used to be the premiere gaming brand Dell released to compete with the likes of Alienware, only for them to buy Alienware and relegate XPS to high end enterprise category. Gaming only means a Nvidia GPU or proper performance but don’t fall for AI PC to Ultrabook kind of categorisations with Windows side of things - Whether you’re into LLM, Content Generation, Data Processing, Blender, Editing, Gaming or even Mining… all will be achieved as long as the CPU-GPU is capable. Razer is one example that copies MacBook Pro aesthetics while having RGBs to cater to both professionals and gamers with one product line but aren’t necessarily with good or respectable after sales service.
I would’ve suggested Asus ROG as well like the G14 for price-to-performance ratio but they’ve been recently falling from grace as well mostly realised by users after the purchase is complete. Not many options are there really globally.
But which of these new models will have AI?!
Well that sucks. I haven’t bought an XPS since the Dell XPS 15z like over a decade ago, but still, the idea that I could buy an XPS Developer Edition laptop and have it be Linux compatible without having to think about it was nice. Now I’m limited to ThinkPads and System76 plus whatever other compatible Clevos there are or maybe a Framework, which I guess is fine since I do own multiple ThinkPads.
Still, really weird decision.
They’re not actually getting rid of the XPS line, they’re just changing the naming convention.
Any of the new Dell models with ‘Premium’ in the name are going to be the same as the Dell XPS line.
Asus ROG series to MSI seems interesting this CES, personally don’t see much problem with compatibility through Pop!_OS
I guess it streamlines the naming a little bit, but it sounds like the mapping of the hardware to the names is still a mess. I’ve used XPS laptops for years, but had already decided my next would be a Framework. This just reinforces that decision.
I remember the XPS Was “Ubuntu Certified”
Prepared to be heartbroken ~
The latest XPS laptops really seem like they wanted to copy MacBook Pros from a few years ago with the touch function keys and the barren I/O.
I never really understood the purpose of the XPS line anyway. If you want performance, buy a Precision; if you want a light robust laptop with decent I/O, get a Latitude; if you want a MacBook, get a MacBook.
With that being said the new naming scheme feels like a joke. What’s wrong with recognisable model names?
I never really understood the purpose of the XPS line anyway.
The issue here is that you are comparing it to their business lineup, while it was a consumer product.
Dell XPS (“Extreme Performance System”) is a line of consumer-oriented laptop and desktop computers manufactured by Dell since 1993.
My understanding is that it was their premium consumer line sitting above the more entry level Inspiron line.
I never really understood the purpose of the XPS line anyway. I
IMHO
Software development and Media work that can benefit from normal consumer video acceleration. They are a lot cheaper than the Precision line and for non-cad/AI tasks and generally outpreform them. The XPS cases are more durable than the latitude and they come with better options for processors and video cards.
From a business standpoint, they were the best option if you needed a normal video accelerator.
The XPS cases are more durable than the latitude
Eh… Maybe? I worked plenty with Latitudes but never even used a XPS, but Latitudes aren’t bad build-wise. There are entry-level Precisions without dedicated graphics, and at least here in Germany they seem to be cheaper than comparable XPS-Laptops.
I’ve issued about 300 XPS, 50-60 macbooks, ~12 latitudes, and 10 lenovo t-series over the past decade. We’ve now deployed a handful of Legions, but they’ve only been out several months. I had a fan failure, but it had a 10" hair wrapped around the stator.
In all that time, no XPS/Mac hinge wear failures. Not even a little wiggle. You literally have to mechanically crush them before the hinges show any sign of failure. (a few of them did get crushed)
3 latitude screens cracked. Most started to have hinge play after a couple of years. They’re not bad laptops, but the all-metal chassis of the XPS/Macs hold up a lot better from normal every day carry mispaps.
If you don’t need dedicated graphics cards or metal chassis, you can get away with a lot of brands. Precision has never really impressed me.
The newest generation of xps i shit anyways, good riddance.
i was really happy with my 2019ish xps. But the 2024 one is hot garbage. not just that it arrived with the keyboard not working and Dell taking 3 months to replace it. There’s a total of 2 usb-c ports on it. That’s all the connectors, yes. No, no headphone jack either. And one of those two is taken up with charging, so i’m left with one port if i dont use a dockingstation.
the whole function bar is touch now. you need to hit it 3 times for it to react, who needs Esc anyways. Unless you want to type in the number row, then the function row will pick up random key presses sometimes.
Copilot key no one asked for. Power button is just an unlabelled piece of plastic that looks like filler, not a button. Keyboard sucks in general, too little space between keys, you’re bound to mistype.
linux support is ok, though webcam doesn’t work in firefox, hibernate doesn’t work, every few weeks it’ll just freeze. But otherwise acceptable.
definitely my last dell, i really hate it.
I bought a Precision 5480. Looks like an xps but better. Was so good I bought the 5490 for work a few months later. Would recommend.
Is the precision decent for gaming?
I have a precision 3571 and it’s pretty solid, I’ve been using it as my main gaming computer because it’s better than my old PC, it does have a few drawbacks tho.
Pros:- dedicated Ethernet, HDMI, headphone, and 2 USB ports as well as a second USB-c port besides the charging one that can be converted to other things with a dongle - I usually run it with external keyboard, mouse and monitor
- decent battery, can do a few hours of light gaming on just the battery or a full day of just browser
Cons:
- fan intake doesn’t have enough space when sitting on a flat surface and will overheat easily, so I have to elevate it with something to increase the gap of hang it over the side of my desk. This does solve most overheating problems though.
- for some reason helldivers runs way worse than it has any right to, my theory is that their game engine just really doesn’t work with the weird laptop GPU, an RTX A1000
RTX A1000 is a workstation Card, there’s desktop cards with that branding as well. Nvidia has laptop versions of the gaming card, but the Dell business focused ranges are more marketed for ‘mobile workstation’ type stuff, so they get the workstation cards.
Would recommend to not recommend Dell to future buyers, it’s not Apple vs Samsung like in the smartphone options of US.
That’s a very weird take. I didn’t blanket recommend Dell, but a specific model.
I mean… Dell Pro Max ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Something I think is a lot more interesting than them changing names of product lines is that almost all Dells ship with an OEM version of windows which reaches EoL faster, like 5 years sooner, and is more expensive to get a replacement disk image.
I had a tower about 10 years ago that I converted into a dinky little Linux Server, it worked really well all things considered.
replacing them with three main product lines: Dell (yes, just Dell), Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max.
PC/Android companies not trying to blatantly rip off Apple challenge: Impossible
Calling a product the same as your brand is like calling a movie “The”. Good luck finding it online.
Intensely dumb.
Not sure which is the dumbest, Jaguar letting go of its signature mark or HBO renaming themselves to just Max but would be funny if Apple abandoned the Max naming for Ultra.
I’d like people to actually read the article before commenting. They are renaming their laptops. They’ll continue producing what would’ve been XPS.
“Dude, you’re getting a Dell Max Pro Premium” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it…
But will name them Max Pro, killing the XPS brand. You know, like the title says
