Dell Inspiron 16 Plus with UHD Graphics (or MSI Flip 16)

[Andrewjm]

Hello

Where I live overseas, the only available option for the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus is with UHD Graphics. All the reviews I've read/seen are with the Nvidia GPU.
It has the 11800 Processor and I think Gen 3 SSD.
Do you think this would be ok for my needs? My general usage is web browsing, movie watching, moderate Lightroom and to a lesser extent Photoshop. I do not play games nor do I need a laptop for any business work or portability.
I'd like to have a lot of storage for photos, music and movies and a very accurate display.

The other option available where I live that I am looking at is the new MSI Flip 16. The internals and the display quality are better than the 16 Plus. But, it is a lot more expensive ($1699 for 1 TB). I can get the 16 Plus with 2 TB and 32 RAM for around $1400.
However, the MSI has some cool features that I may/may not ever use - pen, flip/tablet mode, touchscreen.

I am replacing a 2017 HP Envy 15.6"

Thank you
Andrew

 

[Secret-Squirrel]

.......................................the new MSI Flip 16. The internals ........................ are better than the 16 Plus.......................................

I'm not so sure about that. The MSI has an ultra-low voltage CPU which will be a lot less powerful than the Dell's H-series CPU.

Only a few Lightroom and Photoshop operations can be accelerated by a dedicated GPU, so given the two options, I think the Dell would be the best choice for what you need.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Neither laptop is good. Why can you only choose between those two? Are you in North Korea?

 

[Andrewjm]

Neither laptop is good. Why can you only choose between those two? Are you in North Korea?

Not far from North Korea. Haha
I'm in Cambodia. Very limited options.

The Dell has generally good reviews from various print/web review sources.
The MSI is still new and has very limited reviews. The 13-inch version has a bit more review exposure, so far.
I am totally overthinking and overanalyzing. Either one would probably suit my actual real-life needs and be a step up in terms of display quality (gamut range, nits, Delta) from my HP Envy.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Not far from N K. Haha
I'm in Cambodia. Very limited options.

I still don't get it, with your budget even in Cambodia you can find amazing laptops. in Phnom Penh there are more than 20 stores, a lot of which carry a wide range.

What about this place? They have about 6 different laptops.

 

[Andrewjm]

I'm not so sure about that. The MSI has an ultra-low voltage CPU which will be a lot less powerful than the Dell's H-series CPU.

Only a few Lightroom and Photoshop operations can be accelerated by a dedicated GPU, so given the two options, I think the Dell would be the best choice for what you need.

Thank you
I don't know what the CPU voltage is.
The CPU for the MSI Flip 16 is Intel® Core™ i7-1195G7

As I mentioned in the other reply, I am thinking too "techy" and overanalyzing things that are probably not that important for my real-world needs.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Thank you
I don't know what the CPU voltage is.
The CPU for the MSI Flip 16 is Intel® Core™ i7-1195G7

As I mentioned in the other reply, I am thinking too "techy" and overanalyzing things that are probably not that important for my real-world needs.

Nah you're on the right lines. You definitely want an Nvidia GPU to go with the Dell. Photoshop and Lightroom will work so much better with a GPU than on Intel graphics, so will web browsing etc. You should easily be able to find a good Asus, HP or Dell laptop with a 1060 or 2060 GPU inside your budget.

Don't buy the MSI flip, it's horrible.

 

[Andrewjm]

I still don't get it, with your budget even in Cambodia you can find amazing laptops. in Phnom Penh there are more than 20 stores, a lot of which carry a wide range.

What about this place? They have about 6 different laptops.

I live about 9 hours from Phnom Penh and I've been in-country almost 10 years.
For one thing there is a "trust" issue with most stores. The word warranty is mostly meaningless since they don't stock parts or quality parts.
Most stores carry low-end, cheap (the customers are generally poor, right) or gaming laptops for that crowd.
I have about 8 laptops on my watch list, but stores do not order specific products or if they have a model it may not be the right specs.
There are 3, maybe, 4 stores that are worth even looking at.

 

[Andrewjm]

Nah you're on the right lines. You definitely want an Nvidia GPU to go with the Dell. Photoshop and Lightroom will work so much better with a GPU than on Intel graphics, so will web browsing etc. You should easily be able to find a good Asus, HP or Dell laptop with a 1060 or 2060 GPU inside your budget.

Don't buy the MSI flip, it's horrible.

There are no professional reviews for the Flip 16 yet. It's a new release. I watched one very positive review of the Flip 13 and another so-so review of the 13 (mostly complaining about price).
It's supposed to have a very color-accurate display and it has all those bells and whistles that I will probably never use - pen, flip/tablet modes, touchscreen.

Summit E16Flip A11UCT Ink Black
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-1195G7
RAM: 16GB LPDDR4X
SSD: NVMe 1TB SSD PCIe
VGA: NVIDIA RTX 3050 GDDR6
Display: 16" QHD 2K
Keyboard: Backlight
Other: Touch Screen
OS: Windows 10 License
Warranty: 1 Year on parts
Free: Bag MSI , Mouse
Free: Mouse Pad, Flash 64GB
$1,699.00

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

You've made up your mind already it seems. Go buy the laptop you want to buy.

 

[Andrewjm]

A

You've made up your mind already it seems. Go buy the laptop you want to buy.

Actually, I haven't

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

A

Actually, I haven't

You clearly have, you are convincing yourself to buy the MSI Flip. It's a horrible laptop from an even worse manufacturer.

If I was spending $1500 on a laptop which was going to be used for Photoshop, Lightroom and gaming (lets be honest here, it clearly is going to be used for gaming) then I would get a Dell i5 with a 2070 GPU.

 

[Secret-Squirrel]

Andrew, considering your limited options, the Dell will be more than powerful enough with its i7 H-series CPU and masses of RAM (running in dual-channel mode). You'll be happy with the Lightroom and Photoshop performance.

If in the future you decide you need a graphics card for something more challenging (such as gaming) then you could always buy an eGPU and connect it via Thunderbolt 4.

By the way, the MSI has a much weaker CPU and may suffer badly from thermal throttling due to the thin chassis.