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I am a big fan of Asus. No way I'd take an Acer over it.
SSD: This is where you WANT to install ALL your programs. Windows, MS Office, Photoshop or whatever you use. This is why I like the bigger SSD. Store all your data on the spinner dive. Documents, photos, music.
Here's a good example of the difference between IDE and SSD.
IDE: Reboot from desktop back to windows desktop: almost 2 minutes.
SSD: 26 seconds.
Seriously.
I agree, and wish I could. The downside to a 128GB SSD is lack of space. If there is one upgrade I would make to my laptop a larger SSD is it.
I would appreciate it if I could get any comments or recommendation about which of these two computers to purchase from a performance standpoint or other. I know that the ASUS is 14 inch and Dell is 15.6 inch, but that really doesn't matter that much as it would be hooked up to an external monitor most of the time. I've never purchased an ASUS and I've never purchased a Dell, so no experience with the brand. It seems like the only thing to analyze is SSD of one versus the hybrid configuration of the other.
Also, I use an external hard drive.
Any comments?
The major difference isn't the SSD/HD. That's pretty much as it appears. The Dell has a smaller SSD and more total storage capacity. Put your OS and frequently used programs on the SSD and store your data on the internal HD. There's some minor differences. Asus is NVMe, the Dell is not primarily
They're completely different laptops. The Asus is basically an ultrabook, although not the lightest nowadays. It uses a U processor which is a low TDP variant. They're slower but use less power and produce less heat. It uses a MX150 which is the mobile variant of the GT1030 video card. The advantage is it's significantly smaller (14", narrow bezel) and way lighter than the Dell, and a better display. It doesn't have the greatest coverage or color accuracy but way better than the display on the Dell.
The main disadvantage of the Dell aside from the size and weight is the display is a very mediocre TN display (poor viewing angles, not bright, not great color accuracy or spectrum. The 7000 series offered an IPS upgrade which is now the only way you can get it from Dell that was much better. It's an older design although the 5000 line hasn't been upgraded. The new 7000 uses a GTX 1060 instead of 1050 and has a smaller battery to accommodate it. Also more expensive.
What do you want to use it for? Unless you're going to be gaming, rendering video, or more intensive things I'd get the Asus. It's maybe halfway between integrated graphics and a GTX1050 in the Dell. You can always pull the 1 TB HD out of the Dell and drop an SSD in. For the $100 price difference, you're only going to get a 256 GB SSD. $300 you can get a 1 TB SSD. The MX150 in the Asus is just what you're stuck with.
For use with an external display, the Asus has another advantage. It's only USB 3.1 Gen 1 but that's still one thing to plug in whereas with the Dell you've got to plug in the HDMI and then probably use a USB hub for your mouse and keyboard, so two things. Monitors over USB 3.0 docks are finicky. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I've never used a 3.1 dock but generally they seem to work better.
The new 7000 is also worth a look. It's more expensive, $1,250 for the 7700HQ 256 GB/1TB storage but you get Thunderbolt 3 and the GTX 1060. That's probably the configuration I'd go with. The other option is the $1,000 for the Core i5 7300HQ. In terms of CPU the i5-7300HQ and i7-8550U offer roughly equal performance with a very slight edge to the 7300HQ. It's probably using the M.2 slot so there's an open 2.5 bay and Dell does a good job of not being stupid so you can add another 8 GB stick of RAM. They're very, very easy laptops to upgrade.
Thanks for all the responses. Still hoping to get a response or comment on this one?
Should I really expect that much from the 128 GB SSD? In normal everyday activity, is the 128 GB SSD going to be doing 90% of the work, or more like 50/50? (Remembering that I use the external hard drive mainly. Also, this is mainly just internet. This will not be used for work. This is on the Dell Hybrid)
One of the reasons I asked this is because from what I read, a hybrid drive works on it's own without my input or configuration.
Just depends. On my laptop I have a 128 GB SSD and that's it. I have no issues with storage but then I really use it mostly for work although I have some games on it (lighter ones). Other than that Spotify eats up space so I don't need to be online.
The Dell isn't a hybrid drive. It's two HDs, a 128 GB SSD for your OS and regularly used programs and a 1 TB HD for storage. 128 GB can go a long way or none at all. Lots of games are in the 20-70 GB range nowadays but other things are much smaller. My largest programs that aren't games are office (1 GB), Adobe Acrobat (380 MB), Chrome (353 MB), Malwarebytes (210 MB), Java 189 MB, Skype 167... 128 GB goes a long way. My work stuff is mirrored on OneDrive. Not everything is stored locally but that is eating up 22 GB. Having that stored on SSD is nice for faster search/access but not essential. If I had a storage drive I could put it on there if needed. Your MP3/photo/video collections can sit on a HDD. They live on a 3 TB external drive for me. I still have 20 GB of space left and have never run into any real storage issues aside from using some discretion on which lighter games I have installed. Pillars of Eternity, for example, is 14 GB. I did have it installed for a while but once I ran through and stopped playing it it got uninstalled.
For use with an external display, the Asus has another advantage. It's only USB 3.1 Gen 1 but that's still one thing to plug in whereas with the Dell you've got to plug in the HDMI and then probably use a USB hub for your mouse and keyboard, so two things. Monitors over USB 3.0 docks are finicky. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I've never used a 3.1 dock but generally they seem to work better.
Can you explain this a little further? I'm just now hearing about USB 3.1 Gen 1 and I won't to make sure I'm hearing this clearly. How is it that a USB 3.1 Gen 1 can take both the HDMI and the keyboard and mouse? Are you saying that you buy some type of adapter whereby the HDMI and keyboard both go into the adapter and the adapter plugs into USB 3.1? It can actually handle that much?
Can you explain this a little further? I'm just now hearing about USB 3.1 Gen 1 and I won't to make sure I'm hearing this clearly. How is it that a USB 3.1 Gen 1 can take both the HDMI and the keyboard and mouse? Are you saying that you buy some type of adapter whereby the HDMI and keyboard both go into the adapter and the adapter plugs into USB 3.1? It can actually handle that much?
You buy a dock which is a box with typically 4 USB connections, two display outputs, Ethernet, and headphone jack, sometimes HD bays. Then you plug the box into a USB port so with one connector your have your monitor, keyboard, mouse, Ethernet, all running off the one USB connection.
It's really above my paygrade why USB docks are finicky but USB 3.1 docks do seem to work better. It shouldn't be the bandwidth as USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.0 both have the same 5GB of bandwidth which should be enough. It won't run a 4K monitor at 60 hz, for that you need Thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt 3 over USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C only and offers 40GB of bandwidth and a host of other improvements like direct access to PCIe lanes for things like external GPUs, external SSD arrays, and so on. The Asus only has a Gen 1, so no Thunderbolt 3. The new model of the Dell 7000 series has Gen 2 for Thunderbolt 3. That and the GTX 1060 (which it sounds like won't be much use to you) are both big advantages over the Asus. But then it's more expensive and weighs more than twice as much. You'll never pack a GTX 1060 in something the size of the Asus but it not having USB 3.1 Gen 2 is a disappointment. It really should.
You may have no problems at all with a USB 3.0 dock. They do work for some people unlike USB 2.0 docks which just weren't fast enough. They can just be problematic where 3.1 docks seem to be less problematic. Unless you want multiple monitors, you really don't need one either. You can buy a powered USB hub and plug the keyboard, mouse, and external hard drives into that. Then you just plug the monitor into the laptop directly (Micro HDMI on the Asus, so you'll need a Micro HDMI to HDMI adapter or cable), and then if you want Ethernet you get a USB to Ethernet adapter and plug that into the hub. Just make sure it's a powered USB 3.0 hub. One USB port can't supply enough power to run all that stuff.
You buy a dock which is a box with typically 4 USB connections, two display outputs, Ethernet, and headphone jack, sometimes HD bays. Then you plug the box into a USB port so with one connector your have your monitor, keyboard, mouse, Ethernet, all running off the one USB connection.
It's really above my paygrade why USB docks are finicky but USB 3.1 docks do seem to work better. It shouldn't be the bandwidth as USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.0 both have the same 5GB of bandwidth which should be enough. It won't run a 4K monitor at 60 hz, for that you need Thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt 3 over USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C only and offers 40GB of bandwidth and a host of other improvements like direct access to PCIe lanes for things like external GPUs, external SSD arrays, and so on. The Asus only has a Gen 1, so no Thunderbolt 3. The new model of the Dell 7000 series has Gen 2 for Thunderbolt 3. That and the GTX 1060 (which it sounds like won't be much use to you) are both big advantages over the Asus. But then it's more expensive and weighs more than twice as much. You'll never pack a GTX 1060 in something the size of the Asus but it not having USB 3.1 Gen 2 is a disappointment. It really should.
You may have no problems at all with a USB 3.0 dock. They do work for some people unlike USB 2.0 docks which just weren't fast enough. They can just be problematic where 3.1 docks seem to be less problematic. Unless you want multiple monitors, you really don't need one either. You can buy a powered USB hub and plug the keyboard, mouse, and external hard drives into that. Then you just plug the monitor into the laptop directly (Micro HDMI on the Asus, so you'll need a Micro HDMI to HDMI adapter or cable), and then if you want Ethernet you get a USB to Ethernet adapter and plug that into the hub. Just make sure it's a powered USB 3.0 hub. One USB port can't supply enough power to run all that stuff.
Between the two laptops that you mentioned, I would pick the Dell. Mostly because of my experience of owning Dell laptops - never had a problem with them.
However, if you're buying at Costco, check out their Lenovo Legion Y520 series ($999). We bought one last May (over the ASUS ROG, Dells and even Alienware that were available.). Why? Just more bang for the buck. Most of the specs were the same: RAM, CPU, Video card, screen, etc.
But the Lenovo Legion we bought had a 256 GB SSD and a 2TB HDD. Performance-wise, it has been excellent so far. No problems at all. It's mostly just hooked up to a monitor at home. But it's actually light enough to bring on our travels, which we hadn't planned to initially because most gaming laptops are heavy.
I can't link to it in this post as Costco is blocked where I am now. But you can check it out at Costco.
I saw this computer in Costco today. It really does look sleek. For the money, and looking at the specs, it really does seem like the "best buy" of others I've looked at.
Advantage of Costco is the extra year warranty and a 90 day return policy (darn those people who ruined it as it used to be essentially unlimited). Their prices are competitive.
Don't forget the two year extension if you buy using a Costco Citi card.
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