Ordered New Laptop

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bluegrassphile

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Will use this as my main music and recording computer for awhile. Although I might order a "hot rodded" desktop in the near future. I'm no computer guru so I'm asking your opinion on this computer. I tried to get one with some horsepower to it.

Estimated delivery if purchased today:
Jul. 28, 2021
$2,049.99 1 $2,049.99
Description Unit Price Quantity Subtotal
XPS 17 (9710) - 1 -
11th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11800H (24MB Cache, up to 4.6 GHz, 8 cores)
- 1 - Windows 10 Home English - 1 - NVIDIA(R) GeForce RTX(TM) 3050 4GB GDDR6 [60W] - 1 -
16GB DDR4 3200MHz - 1 -
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive - 1 - Platinum Silver exterior, Black interior - 1 -
17.0" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit
Display
- 1 -
Killer(TM) Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.1 - 1 -
6-Cell Battery, 97WHr (Integrated) - 1 - English keyboard, black, backlit, Fingerprint Reader - 1 - Black 130W Type-C Power Adapter - 1 -
Fixed Hardware Configuration - 1 - US Power Cord - 1 - SERI Guide (ENG/FR/Multi) - 1 - Energy Star Label - 1 - Windows System Driver - 1 - Dell.com Order - 1 - Shipping Material - 1 - US Order - 1 -
11th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 non-vPro Processor Label - 1 - Additional Software - 1 - Return Label - 1 - Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Initial Year - 1 - Premium Support with Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year - 1 - Premium Support, 1 Year - 1 - No Microsoft Office License Included – 30 day Trial Offer Only - 1 - McAfee Live Safe XPS 12 Month Subscription - 1 - McAfee(R) 30day Trial - 1 -
Page 2 Dell Marketing LP. U.S. only. Dell Marketing LP. is located at One Dell Way, Mail Stop 8129, Round Rock, TX 78682
Subtotal:
Shipping:
Estimated Tax:
Total:
$2,049.99
$0.00
$120.21
$2,170.20
Page 3 Dell Marketing LP. U.S. only. Dell Marketing LP. is located at One Dell Way, Mail Stop 8129, Round Rock, TX 78682
Important Notes
Terms of Sale
Your order is subject to Dell’s Terms of Sale, which include a binding consumer arbitration provision and incorporate Dell's 30-day
Return Policy and Warranties.
Unless otherwise stated herein, quote pricing

Like I stated above, this will be my temporary music and recording computer. I'm going to go for a more powerful computer, likely a desktop, after the first of the year.

I would switch everything over to Mac except all of my recording software is PC. I guess I'll have to settle for a hot rodded desktop PC.
 
That is a pretty powerful machine. The most important points are the i7 8 core CPU, DDR4 RAM (16 GB is fine), M.2 512GB drive is nice (probably enough storage since this is not going to be used to store and serve up music, your NAS and Nucleus will do that)! Killer network cards are good... uninstall McAfee as fast as you possibly can :)... Windows Defender (comes with Windows 10) is a better virus scanner, or a good step up virus scanner; Norton, Kaspersky, Bitdefender are very good, among others of course. Also get Malwarebytes (not a virus scanner but a maleware scanner that works exceptionally well).... you can get a free version that runs on demand or for a small subscription the version that runs and defends on the fly. I do not like the way many of these companies (Dell, HP, etc., etc.) load the machines with all of this demo software that is not always easy to get rid of.

This has stuff which is oriented towards gaming (Nvidia graphics card)... probably more than is needed, and I would say that the Microsoft Surfaces for normal use will probably out perform it (our Surfaces at work walk all over the Dell desktops we have, new machines with similar specs). Recently we had three of our engineers buy Surfaces for their personal use at home after using the Surface Pro 6's for the past year as their full time work machines. Something like a Falcon Northwest would be a big step up, but you are looking starting at about $3k, but definitely a higher performance level.

The Dell is a nice machine and for your use will probably give you as much as a desktop would. The Surfaces are a great choice if you want a more dedicated purpose machine coming from the horses mouth so to speak (Microsoft's machines definitely really really work well with Widows) and Falcon if you really want an upscale machine (they are not just for gaming). And honestly, I would not switch anything over to Mac. You get so much better value and performance in current generation PCs :)....

One example, a friend who just retired as a 747/777 pilot played for a little bit with my Surface when we recently went down to the LA show. I literally showed him how to turn it on and then let him play with it on his own. He concluded, in his words, why in the hell would he ever consider an iPad again? A full high performance PC that can also be used as a super power tablet, does an amazing job as a Roon controller... etc.

Of course, all of this is just for your information in assisting you on making the decision on what is best for you.

One other small point, I don't think I would worry too much about getting a machine that has extra power for HQPlayer because this machine is not going to be your music server. Those duties are handled by your Nucleus and therefore you will probably never use HQPlayer.
 
A couple of things you might consider installing right after you get the computer. Microsoft's built-in protection is pretty good but these can provide an extra layer of security.

• Malwarebytes
• Avira
 
Randy, I'm still going to be getting a much better computer for music and recording at the first of the year. It'll be a dedicated recording computer. I'll take a serious look at the Falcon Northwest. If that's too pricey I'll consider a muscular Microsoft.
 
bluegrassphile said:
Randy, I'm still going to be getting a much better computer for music and recording at the first of the year. It'll be a dedicated recording computer. I'll take a serious look at the Falcon Northwest. If that's too pricey I'll consider a muscular Microsoft.
Click to expand...

If this is the case then I would more highly recommend you consider a Microsoft Surface now then. It will cost you less than the Dell laptop (even though the Dell looks like a good solid machine), and work really well for you as your Music controller machine (it can work like an iPad, but also like a laptop) and even when you get a more powerful machine later on it will be a fantastic multipurpose secondary machine. I have had three different Surfaces. My first one I gave to our grand daughter, my second one I have here on my desk at work, to listen to Sirius radio and to test off network connections, off network WiFi, VPN, etc. It has been used daily for these purposes for years now. That machine is a Surface Pro 3. As I said I have a Surface Pro 6 at home for the same precise purposes that appear to be what your plans are.

I one time had an issue with a Surface I had bought from Best Buy. Best Buy service was a joke, useless to say the least, therefore I ended up calling Microsoft. They sent a replacement over night directly to me and they included a pre-paid box to send the defective one back. The absolutely best service I have ever encountered in my life. Very very impressed!
 
NekoAudio said:
A couple of things you might consider installing right after you get the computer. Microsoft's built-in protection is pretty good but these can provide an extra layer of security.

• Malwarebytes
• Avira
Click to expand...

Exactly... I have never tried Avira, but I have heard it is another one of the better virus programs along with Norton (my favorite), Kaspersky (always very highly rated), Bitdefender (always on the list of best virus scanners), among several others.
 
Randy Myers said:
Exactly... I have never tried Avira, but I have heard it is another one of the better virus programs along with Norton (my favorite), Kaspersky (always very highly rated), Bitdefender (always on the list of best virus scanners), among several others.
Click to expand...

Kaspersky, slowed my system down. Bit defender didn't. Norton 360 sure it works, but man it just drags on. I ended having to contact Norton to get the software off my computer since their removal program doesn't remove all of it. Never heard of Avira.
 
I never had Kaspersky on one of my machines but I have helped friends with it. Seemed to work well. Norton never seemed to cause me any issues. If I was going to change from Norton I would probably try Bitdefender. I do like how my subscription to Norton allows me to use it on all of our computers (5) and Android phones under the one sub.
 
Randy, I think the Dell will be fine for what I'll be using it for...mostly web and forum surfing, paying bills, etc. Maybe some minor music listening (streaming). I have my dedicated desktop for music and recording which will be replaced at the first of the year. Then I'll be looking for a much more powerful computer. As I mentioned above, perhaps a Falcon Northwest or a souped up Microsoft Surface Pro, depending on my budget.
 
It sounds like you have some good plans! You have to go with whichever works best for you! With that said the Dell definitely looks like a good machine. Definitely keep track of the Service Tag on the machine. If you ever have to contact Dell that is the key.
 
You are so right about the service tag. Over the years I've had to contact Dell with questions like "how do you do this or that?" They were always good at walking me through things. We've had good service from Dell...if you don't mind talking to someone in India or Indonesia, LOL!
 
True true. Not sure where the Microsoft people are but they are always great. Falcon is located in Medford Oregon, and all of their support staff is at their location there as well! They are off the charts in knowledgeable and helpful
 
Falcon are the absolute best when it comes to customer support and their machines are top notch. I really like CCleaner and Norton together, never a problem.
 
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