Thinking about purchasing the dell xps12... what's my outlook_

[immranderson]

As the topic describes, I'm looking at purchasing a dell xps12 convertible laptop for school/development purposes, but I'm also extremely curious as to how dolphin may perform on it?

The configuration option I'm looking at is as follows:

3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3517U processor (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
Windows 8, 64-bit, English
12.5" FHD 1080p Touch
8GB2 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
128GB Solid State Drive
Intel HD 4000

I know that Intel HD 4000 hurts quite a bit, but it does have a 3rd gen i7, which I'd imagine helps out my prospects significantly! That SSD would probably make things a bit more snippy as well, right? Probably definitely wouldn't be able to run SMG on full settings, but would I at least be able to tweak the settings enough to run it at full speed (perhaps at a 480p resolution?)

Any advice would be extremely appreciated! Other pointers or recommendations on a future laptop would be appreciated!

[NaturalViolence]

That SSD would probably make things a bit more snippy as well, right?

It won't help dolphin perform any better if that's what you're implying. It will only speed up program/OS loading speed.

Probably definitely wouldn't be able to run SMG on full settings, but would I at least be able to tweak the settings enough to run it at full speed (perhaps at a 480p resolution?)

Maybe. Users have reported the HD 4000 struggling with some games even at 1x IR.

[Axxer]

You won't get full speed with that set up in most games. The CPU is ok-Ish (most but not all games would be fine with a very powerful GPU paired up), but the graphics will really kill you. The 4000 can run a handful of games at 1x IR (480p) but most just don't. Get a laptop with a dedicated GPU.

[admin89]

but it does have a 3rd gen i7

It's a low power consumption - dual core CPU + Hyper Threading . It will perform the same as i3 3220t @ 2.8GHz (desktop)
Desktop i5 / i7 is Quad Core , some old i5 models are dual core

[rpglord]

Outlook is very bad. If you want to play games on dolphin,you need to buy a laptop with dedicated gpu,not the one with intel hd graphics

[daaceking]

Assuming it has atleast 2 cores, I would say borderline. This does mean only a few games will work.

[Axxer]

Assuming it has atleast 2 cores, I would say borderline. This does mean only a few games will work.

Doesn't really matter since it doesn't have a dedicated GPU.

[daaceking]

Your probably right.

[AnyOldName3]

What's probably your best option is to tell us how much you are willing to pay, and we'll tell you the best things to look for that you should get for that price.

After some googling, it is apparent that if you are in the USA you are spending $1400. We could definitely suggest something more suitable for dolphin at that price, although they'll probably be no touchscreen. However, if you were after a tablet you'd probably be buying a tablet, so for now I'll assume that you'll be ok.

[poweredbykimchi]

If the tablet isn't of immediate need, you should probably wait for Haswell which should feature a significantly better GPU (given that it's the good one) and about the same CPU power as what you're looking at right now. It should also make your tablet last a lot longer. Personally, I think buying an Ivy Bridge Tablet right now is a terrible idea, and even a more terrible idea to pay $1400 mainly because of its capacitive touchscreen capabilities. If you're a student and want a productivity tablet, look for something that has a pressure-sensitive pen (wacom-like digitizer).

If you DON'T need a $1400 tablet and just want a strong laptop, you can buy something similar to the laptop I have in my sig, except it'll probably be more powerful since my laptop is a year old now. Do note that buying a high-caliber laptop will be heavy to carry around and will only give you 3-4 hours on battery.

I recommend waiting for a Haswell tablet that features a pressure-sensitive pen or make a $1000 desktop and buy a $400 cheap laptop.