If I don't need Quadro, should I just get the XPS 15?

My use:
I'm getting a new machine to be my Development workstation for software development, web development, etc. I intend to run the 4K internal screen and a 4K external screen simultaneously at work, and just take the laptop if working remote. No CAD, and no games as this will be a work Machine.

My Options:
XPS 15:
4K UHD Touch Screen
i7 6700HQ
16GB RAM
256GB SSD M.2
Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
GTX 960m 2GB

Precision 5510:
4K UHD Touch Screen
i7 6820HQ
16GB RAM
256GB M.2 SSD
Intel® Dual-Band Wireless-AC 8260 Wi-Fi + BT 4.1 Wireless Card (2x2)
Quadro M1000m 2GB

My concerns:
I won't be doing a lot of CAD of photoshop work to use the enterprise features of the Quadro, and the 960 is 1.5x faster. I don't know if the smarter bet is to take the 0.1 GHz clock speed loss on the 6700 but the improved GPU power for powering an external+internal 4K display simultaneously.

However, I'm a little iffy on this "Killer" wifi module, I would typically trust Intel a lot more to be reliable.

Anyone have any tips? From what I've been able to see these really are just the same laptop with the GPU/Wifi swapped for something more enterprise ready and a couple more options on the top end of the processor for the Precision version.

 

So the cpu difference is pretty much irrelevant, that clockspeed difference amounts to nothing in the real world.

This is what you should be considering:
The 960m is technically a more powerful card, the Quadro (based on a 950m) is only better for things like CAD, the 960m will be a lot better on most other applications.
However, the Precision is a business class machine. It'll come with better build quality and better support assuming you get it. It's far less likely to crap out, and if it does will get fixed more quickly.
The wifi cards aren't that big of a deal, both are fine, though I suppose I would give the edge to the intel one.

I would probably get the Precision if I could afford it since it's a work machine.

 

You also lose a little bit of CPU cache size going down from the 6820HQ, but it's still not a big difference in real-world performance. In practice, even the i5-6440HQ is very close in performance to the i7s unless you really need hyper-threading; what do you need the GPU for? I don't know for sure that the Intel GPU will be happy with 2x 4K screens, but my first thought for a development workstation would be to get the version with the i5-6440HQ and no Nvidia chip at all, runs much better under Linux and moderately better battery life.)

Pretty easy and cheap to swap the wifi modules on these if you have problems with the Dell branded one (e.g. Linux drivers.)

For the M3800 and XPS 9530, the build was exactly the same as the Precision; I'm not sure if that's still true for the present generation (and my work M5510 seems to be a bit sturdier than my M3800 was, but my M3800 went with me everywhere, and my M5510 basically gets used as a desktop.)

The biggest diference is that there's no BTO on the XPS, so if you want a non-standard configuration, the M5510 is your only option...

 

Is the build quality actually going to be that different? The Precision 5000 and XPS 15 series are both the same Aluminum shell, carbon fibre top, screens, touchpads, and the internal shots of each show identical layout and component placement leading to me not necessarily thinking the motherboard is even different. It looks like they just add the Quadro and some more standardized components like the Intel Wifi module, and offer a couple more processor options and call it a Precision.

And if I'm getting the 3 year Pro Support they should give it them same level of onsite repair as a Precision as well, shouldn't they?

 

Indeed. The build quality is identical as far as I can tell. If you buy the XPS from the business store and not the consumer store, you should get the same level of support.

 

After finding some better numbers, and seeing the 960M is only 20-30% better with a 65W TDP instead of 40W for the Quadro, rather than 50+% better, I decided to go with the Precision for the slight CPU bump and better heat/battery life. Thanks everyone who replied.

 

Build quality will still feel the same. It's just in theory the Precision should have bettwe quality control. So I think you made the right call.

 

The lower GPU TDP probably helps explain why the XPS has a lot more thermal problems than the Precision. The only problems I've had with my Precision have been caused by the BIOS.

John

 

If you don't need the fancy GPU, are you sure you don't want the Latitude E7470 instead, with the docking capability?

 

That is an option but depends on the user's eyes (I had to move from 14" to 15.6" as my eyes were starting to complain). The M5510 with the 6 cell battery will also out-last the E7470 under light usage by several hours. Another advantage of the M5510 is the good cooling system (or do they leave out a fan on the iGPU version). The E7470 has a small fan - I would recommend the E5470 for anyone who is sensitive to fan noise.

John