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Current base 13 inch Mbp vs dell xps 17

That Dell laptop has better CPU (quad core vs dual core on rMBP) but that's all it has going for it.

All other specs aren't good (apart from bigger storage capacity but that's with hard drive, which is much slower)
 
Idarzoid said:
That Dell laptop has better CPU (quad core vs dual core on rMBP) but that's all it has going for it.

All other specs aren't good (apart from bigger storage capacity but that's with hard drive, which is much slower)
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But the MacBook has a higher clock speed so wouldn't that make it better?
 
Samtb said:
But the MacBook has a higher clock speed so wouldn't that make it better?
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Depends on your usage. If none of the Apps you use take advantage of the extra 2 cores, then in the Apps you use the much more modern dual core in the rMBP will crush the 2nd gen quad in the XPS.

The SSD alone will make the rMBP seem much faster in general usage out of the gate.

You will get decent performance from the 13" iGPU as well. Not even best GPU performance from the XPS 17 can make up for all the draw backs that would come with it.
 
TechZeke said:
Depends on your usage. If none of the Apps you use take advantage of the extra 2 cores, then in the Apps you use the much more modern dual core in the rMBP will crush the 2nd gen quad in the XPS.

The SSD alone will make the rMBP seem much faster in general usage out of the gate.

You will get decent performance from the 13" iGPU as well. Not even best GPU performance from the XPS 17 can make up for all the draw backs that would come with it.
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Is there a way to check if the apps you use take advantage of 4 cores?
 
Samtb said:
Is there a way to check if the apps you use take advantage of 4 cores?
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You can use activity monitor to check, if the app shows that it's using up to 400% (dual core, 4 threads) / 800% (quad core, 8 threads), then the app is multithreaded.
 
Idarzoid said:
You can use activity monitor to check, if the app shows that it's using up to 400% (dual core, 4 threads) / 800% (quad core, 8 threads), then the app is multithreaded.
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I see you have the machine I'm thinking of getting. How is it and what do you use it for?
 
Samtb said:
I see you have the machine I'm thinking of getting. How is it and what do you use it for?
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It's decent.

It's the only computer I have so I use it for everything, web coding mainly, the retina screen really helps a lot, I was using MacBook Air before and it felt cramped at times.
 
Samtb said:
Also what are the advantages of the rmbp over this dell http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd?
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rMBPs use 28W Broadwell chips, whereas the XPS 13 uses the 15W variants. The higher TDP will yield better performance when the CPU is pushed to its limits (as in, the 28W parts will sustain a faster clock speed for longer). Also, the rMBPs have better GPUs (Iris 6100 vs. HD 5500). The rMBPs also have the fastest factory SSDs in the industry...

The biggest advantages the XPS 13 will have over the rMBP are the available higher resolution display and touch screen capabilities, although touch screens aren't really of much use in OS X. Windows 8.1 is designed for touch screen operation, whereas OS X really isn't.
 
Idarzoid said:
It's decent.

It's the only computer I have so I use it for everything, web coding mainly, the retina screen really helps a lot, I was using MacBook Air before and it felt cramped at times.
Click to expand...
Do you think it's powerful enough to run professional apps like simulation software and large spreadsheets?
 
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