Aluminum
The research I have done points to Apple using either 6061 or 2024 aluminum alloys. Both are used in airplanes, so both fit the Apple marketing statement of aircraft aluminum. 2024 cannot be welded except through friction welding, but is better for machining. 2024 is also very resistant to fatigue. 6061 is much cheaper and easier to anodize.
So which of the two does Apple use in the Unibody MBP? 6061. Quoting Jony Ive who is Apple’s Senior VP of design “The back of iPhone 5 is made of anodized 6000 series aluminum — the same material used in Apple notebooks — with inlays along the top and bottom made of ceramic glass (on the white and silver model) or pigmented glass (on the black and slate model).”
When Apple’s Senior VP of design says the Unibody is made from 6000 series aluminum, I tend to say that argument is settled.
You might want to take back some of the very negative things you said about using 6061 Aluminum. Not saying you have to, just a suggestion. There are many types of 6061 aluminum and many ways to machine or forge it. Apple does some amazing things with their machining and laser cutting process. Apple gets the most out of the material and their Unibody was revolutionary in many ways. Just awesome.
Source -
http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/09/12/how-the-iphone-5-is-made/
In the XPS15/M3800, it looks like the main internal structure is a magnesium alloy. There is an aluminum frame around the edge. Magnesium allows are lighter than aluminum, but usually not as strong. My guess is that the aluminum frame bracing is there to protect the system from side and corner impacts while making the system more rigid.
The display lid is one solid piece of aluminum. I have a small ding on the corner of the lid and the metal deformed slightly. No cracks at all. This leads me to think the aluminum in the XPS15/M3800 is one of the less brittle types. The small ding looks a lot like a small ding I have in my 2010 15” MBP.
The bottom panel is woven carbon fiber with some copper shielding. It is very rigid. It is attached around the edges by the same type of small torx screws that Apple uses. I know Apple switched to pentelobe, but the screw is still around the same size. There are also two larger phillips screws that attach under the door on the bottom.
I admire that Apple is able to do with aluminum. The systems are functional, strong, and look great. Dell uses a mix of aluminum, magnesium, and carbon fiber to get the same result and thinness. The carbon fiber will insulate heat better, but the Apple will have the benefit of being able to use the whole system to get rid of heat. I personally like the way the Dell looks, but I respect your opinion of the way the Dell looks as well.
Displays and Calibration
MacBook Pros come with display profiles built in. As long as the panel that shipped with the individual machine you are using is within the spec used to create the profile, you should be ok. I am not sure if Apple has individual curves for the LG and Samsung panels that ship in the Retina MBP. I have read plenty of forum posts about the Samsung and LG panels each having their own look. If they are both hitting their spec for native white balance, gamma curve, contrast, and color response, you should be fine with the built-in profile for non color critical work.
As the display response change over time, you can use the built-in Apple Display Calibration Utility to visually recalibrate the display. This is great free way to correct any color tints that you might see. You can also correct the response curve of the panel if it has shifted over time.
If you really want to do color critical work, you need to calibrate the panel on your system whether it is a Mac or a PC. There are plenty of tutorials out there. I like this one since it talks about visual calibration and hardware calibration -
http://mac.tutsplus.com/tutorials/customization/how-to-calibrate-your-macs-display/ .
I understand that you are fine with the built-in color profile on the Macs that you use. There is nothing wrong with being happy with what you have.
I do disagree with you saying that the IGZO screen in the XPS15/M3800 is “uncalibrated and that it will be unusable by creative professionals and look incredibly terrible”.
Uncalibrated, the IGZO screen looks good. The white point is close to 6500k. The gamma curve is close to 2.2. Contrast is 800:1. Brightness is just over 400cd/l2. Calibrated, it is one of the most accurate panels I have seen in a notebook or on a desk.
The Retina panel on the MBP has excellent color accuracy. I have seen measured Delta E’s of 1.04 on the Samsung panel. I have seen Delta’s of 1.4 and 1.95 published as well.
The Sharp IGZO panel also has excellent color accuracy. The Delta E on the system I have is 1.0. As more XPS 15 and M3800 systems are reviewed, we will see how well panels measure across a variety of panels.
When calibrated, the measurements show the Retina and IGZO panels are effectively equals when it comes to color quality, contrast, and color gamut. The Samsung Retina panel might be better than the LG Retina panel, but you will know much more about that.
The IGZO panel is brighter and uses less power. It is probably why Apple is looking at putting IGZO screens into their 2014 iPads and MBPs. (
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...-to-cut-power-consumption-boost-image-quality )
The IGZO screen also has a slight resolution advantage since it runs at 3200x1800. Having a touch panel is more of a personal preference than an advantage in my opinion.
Creative professionals may complain about the Retina and IGZO displays only covering sRGB, but none of them will complain about a calibrated Delta of 1. That is a big deal.
Windows users need to thank Apple for the new generation of high ppi displays. Had Apple not pushed panel manufacturers last year on the MBP and in years past in phones and tablets, who knows how many years we would still be waiting for these displays.
Disks
The PCIe disk in the MBP is awesome. Measured performance over 750Mb/s and possible performance up to 800Mb/s is awesome. The XPS 15/M3800 will top out in the mid 500Mb/s range with either the mSata or 2.5” SSD drive. Until mSata breaks the 512Gb size barrier, there will be no way to match the 1Tb of storage in the MBP and still have the 9 cell battery.
I will have to try running the mSata and 2.5” SSD in RAID0. I have broken 1Tb/s with a pair of 2.5” SSDs, but have not tried raiding mSata and a regular SSD. Even if RAID pushes performance of the XPS 15/M3800 past the MBP, you will have to trade off battery life to do it.
The Other Stuff
I want to say again that I respect your opinions and experience with MBPs. I apologize for the name calling. I will make sure to stick to facts and things that can be backed up with references. If there is something I am unsure about, I will make sure to say so.
I don’t want to cause issues for you or the board. I apologize if I caused any. I know that I can be biased towards Dell’s Precision systems, but they are what I use most often. I know a lot of Dell’s lower lines have more problems, but I never see most of those machines. Most of the Precisions that I have had are still running. My 2010 MBP15 is also still running strong and still has great battery life as well.