Is the Precision 3541 Mobile Workstation worth it for the price of USD$1625.55?

[flow321]

I'm doing some research on a new laptop that I would like to buy. I need a laptop that will allow me to edit full hd videos, edit photos, work on spreadsheets, connect to bluetooth devices quickly, record my laptop screen, record my voice either with an internal or external microphone and project my laptop screen onto a wall(if possible simultaneously). For the video editing I'm not looking to create full films, but I want the option to be able to create at least 15 minute videos with fast rendering time and add my voice into the videos. I also want to be able to edit photos quickly and add them into my videos. For the screen recording I don't want my machine to lag while I screen record, even if I choose to screen record a video editing process. I'm not an expert in laptop audio, so I don't know how much of a difference an internal microphone or external microphone makes depending on my laptop specs?

I went through the online customization process and came out with these specs below for the price of $1625.55.
Processor:   9th Generation Intel® Core i7-9750H Processor (6 Core, 12M Cache, 2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo, 35W)
Operating System:   Windows 10 Pro 64bit English, French, Spanish
Windows AutoPilot:   No AutoPilot
Optical Software:   PowerDVD Software not included
Chassis Options:   Intel® Core™ Processor i7-9750H with Nvidia Quadro P620 Graphics, Thunderbolt
Graphics Card:   Nvidia Quadro P620 w/ 4GB GDDR5
Display:   15.6" HD, 1366x768, Anti-Glare Non-Touch, 45% color gamut, Camera & Mic, No WWAN Support
Memory:   16GB, 1x16GB, 2666MHz DDR4 Non-ECC
Hard Drive:   M.2 512GB PCIe NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive
Additional Hard Drive:   No Additional Hard Drive
Keyboard:   Single Pointing Non-backlit US English Keyboard 10 Key Numeric Keypad
PalmRest:   Single Pointing, No Fingerprint Reader, No SmartCard Reader, Thunderbolt™ 3
Wireless:   Qualcomm QCA61x4A 802.11ac Dual Band, 2x2, Wireless Adapter + Bluetooth 4.2
Primary Battery:   4 Cell 68Whr ExpressCharge Capable Battery
Power Supply:   130 Watt E4 AC Adapter
Systems Management:   No Out-of-Band Systems Management
Optimizer:   Dell Precision Optimizer
E-Star:   No Energy Star
Back Cover:   Bottom door
Mobile Broadband:   No Mobile Broadband Card
Power Cord:   E4 US Power Cord

Aside from doing the customization process, I also spoke to a Dell representative and he suggested a higher price of $2358 with the specs below. (Its actually $2,166 but there's $192 of taxes). Is what he's suggesting too much? Meaning can I get done what I need with the price tag of $1625.55 or should I go with what the Dell representative suggested? I would really appreciate the help. Thank you.

Description
Mobile Precision 3541 XCTO BASE
Intel Core Processor i7-9750H, 6 Core, 12M Cache, 2.60GHz up to
4.5GHz Turbo, 35W
Win 10 Pro 64 English, French, Spanish
No AutoPilot
CMS Software not included
Intel Core Processor i7-9750H with Nvidia Quadro P620 Graphics, Thunderbolt
Nvidia Quadro P620 w/ 4GB GDDR5
WWAN capable
Touch/ Non-touch Bezel, Camera & Mic
15.6" FHD WVA, 1920x1080, Anti-Glare Non-Touch, 45% color gamut
16GB,2X8G, 2666MHz DDR4 Non-ECC
M.2 512GB PCIe NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive
Bracket for M.2 PCIE 2230 SSD
No Additional Hard Drive
Dual Pointing Backlit US English Keyboard
DP Palmrest w/ FIPS Contacted Smart Card Only, TBT
Qualcomm QCA61x4A 802.11ac Dual Band, 2x2, Wireless Adapter + Bluetooth 4.2
6 Cell 97Whr ExpressCharge Capable Battery
Cable for 6 cell battery
Not selected in this configuration
130W E5 Type C Power Adapter
No Out-of-Band Systems Management
Dell Precision Optimizer Premium 30-day Trial
Dell Precision Optimizer
Resource Media not Included
Quick Setup Guide for Mobile Precision 3541

[RWD]

It's been some time since I did video editing but I think the specs you came up with are more than sufficient, with the exception of the display. You really want a 1920x1080 resolution display if you're going to be editing full HD videos.

[undercover]

Nooooo....that screen is terrible. You can get much better bang for your buck if you're willing to get a "gamer" laptop.

Lenovo Legion Y540 15.6" Full HD 60Hz Gaming Notebook Computer, Intel Core i7-9750H 2.6GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, Windows 10 Home, Raven Black

...is much better bang for the buck at $1119 from Lenovo's site or sometimes you can find sales on SlickDeals. Differences are the better screen (IPS panel) and graphics card, everything else is basically the same. Acer Helios 300 is another option but the Lenovo is a little more subtle in design and I think it's a better deal. Either one will more than handle what you want to do and should last five years minimum.

Probably the largest downside to a cheaper laptop is battery life. Looking at maybe 3-4 hours.

[flow321]

It's been some time since I did video editing but I think the specs you came up with are more than sufficient, with the exception of the display. You really want a 1920x1080 resolution display if you're going to be editing full HD videos.

Thank you for your response.

[flow321]

Nooooo....that screen is terrible. You can get much better bang for your buck if you're willing to get a "gamer" laptop.

Lenovo Legion Y540 15.6" Full HD 60Hz Gaming Notebook Computer, Intel Core i7-9750H 2.6GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, Windows 10 Home, Raven Black

...is much better bang for the buck at $1119 from Lenovo's site or sometimes you can find sales on SlickDeals. Differences are the better screen (IPS panel) and graphics card, everything else is basically the same. Acer Helios 300 is another option but the Lenovo is a little more subtle in design and I think it's a better deal. Either one will more than handle what you want to do and should last five years minimum.

Probably the largest downside to a cheaper laptop is battery life. Looking at maybe 3-4 hours.

I have no experience with Lenovo so to be honest I'm hesitant but I'll look deeper into it. I have had two Acer laptops so I'm leaning towards the Helios that you've mentioned. Though it only has 6 hours of battery life. The Dell I mentioned has 21 hours of battery life, don't know how true that is, but even if that's cut in half that would mean at least 10.5 hours which is pretty nice. And it only weighs 4.5lbs. The Helios weighs 5.07lbs. In your experience is half a pound that noticeable? I'll be biking to work this year, so I wanted to have a lighter laptop in my bag. My current Acer laptop is 5.30lbs.

[undercover]

Lenovo bought IBM's PC division in 2005 so they're definitely legit but I hear you on the battery life concern. A half pound can be noticeable but it's more noticeable at lighter weights than 4-5lbs in my opinion.

XPS 15 has no numpad (not sure if you need it) and a centered touchpad (not sure if that would have bothered you on the other machine) and it's almost identically spec'd at $1495.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-xps-15-laptop/spd/xps-15-7590-laptop/xnber5cr653ps?view=configurations&configurationid=aa9c9eb7-92c3-455d-aa54-ad5341f26c8d

No point in going with the 4K OLED touch display IMO as 4K on a 15" screen is pretty pointless and it will only drain battery life faster...also not sure if it's $300 better. although OLED is the best looking panel you can buy. Same specs otherwise and it has a 1080p IPS display and is cheaper. Has the same battery.

I'd go that route. The GTX 1650 in the XPS 15 is actually a better performer, the Quadro is just built for stability and CAD/3D/professional rendering work as far as I can tell. So with the 3541 you're paying a premium for the platform in which case you should go with Xenon and ECC memory (which you don't need) if you were buying that machine. The premium is for naught and the best reason I can come up with that it costs so much more with basically identical specs is just because they produce far fewer of them.