What are the main differences between a Dell XPS15 and a Octane series 15.6"

[TeamDixon2016]

Hello all,

I am a new guy here, having found this company website via techradar. I have to say I never would have considered custom building my own machine before, and have always store bought off the shelf in the past.
Having now discovered PCS it has opened my eyes slightly to the world.

I have a question though, what are the main differences between;

Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Free Item
FREE Magix Media Bundle with select Desktop INTEL® CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM, DirectX® 12, G-SYNC
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB SAMSUNG 750 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM951 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2150MB/R, 1550MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier(£75)
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1535 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.1
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED) + 1 e-SATA/USB 3.0 PORT COMBINED

Price: £1,574.00 including VAT and delivery.

Or a web bought Dell XPS15
Chassis & Display
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge
Processor (CPU)
6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core (6M Cache, up to 3.5 GHz)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Dual Channel DDR4 2133Mhz (8GBx2)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M with 2GB GDDR5
Memory - HDD
512GB PCIe Solid State Drive
Memory Card Reader
SD Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)
Sound Card
Can't find that info too be honest!
Bluetooth and Wireless
DW1830 3x3 802.11ac 2.4/5GHz + Bluetooth 4.1
USB and Ports
1 HDMI
2 USB 3.0 with PowerShare
1 Thunderbolt™ 3

Price £1,399.00


I have cut that down the specs a bit I know, apologies.
Am I comparing basically like for like ?
I realise the custom build has a better graphics card, and a second SSD.
But in other ways the Dell has a better quality? display, stronger build quality?
If you buy a Dell, are you paying for the brand?

If you were me, which machine would you go for ? Sorry for the many questions, but as I say I am a newbie to custom spec machines.

 

[Scott]

The 6700 is a desktop CPU which can be changed easily. The 6700HQ is a soldered CPU which can't. The mobile version will never be as quick or as powerful as the desktop variant.

There's quite a large difference in the GPU as well, not least of all is the amount of memory on the card. Additionally, I think this will also be modular and replaceable.

I went from a top end Dell unit (Alienware) to sending it back and ordering an Octane II Pro. The difference is night and day, that's me as a fettler though... rather than a shelf buyer. The fact that if an individual component fails the whole board needs changed with the Dell units REALLY puts me off.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The difference between the gtx 960m and gtx 970m is quite significant. Those are not like for like, the octane is far superior and much more powerful.

 

[Oussebon]

CPU benchmarks: http://tinyurl.com/jedfsr9
GPU benchmarks: http://tinyurl.com/jt5y2fm

 

[TeamDixon2016]

Thank you for the replies. Food for thought.

 

[TeamDixon2016]

If I have any further questions about this build, should I post here or start a new thread? Not sure what the etiquette is here. Thank you.

 

[keynes]

If I have any further questions about this build, should I post here or start a new thread? Not sure what the etiquette is here. Thank you.

If it is to do with sales advice you can continue posting here