Can't decide which configuration to get

I've narrowed my laptop decision down to the xps. But now I can't decide what configuration to get. I attend college, but I take all of my courses online. There may be a possibility of eventually having to go to campus, but for now, all online. Most of my useage will be typical college stuff, Web browsing with multiple tabs open, word documents, PowerPoint presentations, spotify, and youtube/Netflix. I'm not a gamer, so that isn't an issue.

I'm having a hard time deciding on cpu, ram, and screen resolution. I know that for my needs, an i7 would probably be overkill. Would i3 be too weak? Same with the ram, would 4gb be sufficient? Or go with 8gb to be safe? And lastly, I can't decide between HD non touch or qhd touch. The idea of having touch sounds nice, but I'm not sure how often I would even use it. Also, most people agree that qhd is not worth it on a 13" screen. I'm not worried about the loss of battery life with qhd because it will mostly stay plugged in. I plan on getting the d3100 dock with external monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I would like for this laptop to last me as long as possible. So somewhat future proof, although my needs likely won't change very much. Money isn't necessarily an issue, but of course, I would like to spend as little as possible and not waste money on specs I don't need.

 

Get the Dell XPS 13 Non-Touch (1080p) in 8GB configuration.

CPU: This one is easy, because they only come with Core i5's (ignore the one Core i3 model. It's underpowered).
RAM: 8GB. 4GB is insufficient these days. And since the RAM is soldered on this laptop, future upgrades are out of the question. So get 8GB to start.
Screen: 1080p Non-touch. The non-touch has significantly longer battery life (approximately 9 hours vs 6 hours for touch-screen). It also has a lower resolution, so font scaling will be less of an issue. It is also matte, making it better for well-lit environments, though this is more of a personal preference than a straight advantage.
Storage: 256GB or 512GB. If 256GB is sufficient, get that configuration from Dell. If you need 512GB, then buy the 128GB version, buy an aftermarket 512GB M.2 SSD (about $200), and do the upgrade yourself. Avoid 128GB, since it is really too small these days.

Once you get the laptop, I suggest you do a clean wipe / reinstall of Windows, to reclaim all of your storage space. Dell pre-loads their machines with Recovery partitions, which eats up about 20GB of space. If you're comfortable doing Windows re-installs and rebuilding a laptop yourself, then you don't need a Recovery partition. Just wipe those partitions, re-install Windows, and reclaim that space.

 

For college you need one that has :
Longest battery .. "1080P" FHD resolution , with brightness 50% you can get by about 7hrs
Minimum 8GB Mem , incase you take CS ..
i5 is more than enough .

"
Module Description Show Details
XPS 13 XPS 13
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64-bit English
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3L-RS 1600Mhz (On Board)
Keyboard Backlit Keyboard, US English
Video Card Intel (R) HD Graphics 5500
Wireless Driver DW 1560 Driver
Hard Drive 256GB Solid State Drive
Wireless 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 2x2"

 

Battery life isn't a big concern for me. As I said, I take all of my classes online and the xps will mostly be plugged in and used with an external monitor. When I do have to use it as a laptop, it shouldn't be for long periods at a time. 5-6 hours of battery should be enough. I'm just not sure if I would use the touch screen. And how bad is the scaling?

 

I ended up ordering the 8gb, i5, 128gb setup. I held off on the touch screen. I figured with the increase in price for the touch model, I can just get a dedicated tablet.

 

Good choice ..
You can upgrade SSD to 526GB any time .

 

That's true. And I've never been one to use a lot of storage anyway

 

Even if you never use it up , but I would not run any system with only half left .. 256GB is the good bet ..