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Macbook Pro vs Dell Laptop
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ATi and nVidia do not provide drivers for mobile video chipsets and let the OEM do so.
Tomshardware always warns about GDDR2 cards in their VGA charts. (Updated today as well.)
The benchmark will take some digging for me.
You can game pretty well on the macbook pro, though of course not as well as the dell xps. The macbook pro has its merits though. It's much lighter with better battery life and it can run osx.
I have the stock 2.2 version and I get stable fps in oblivion with med-high settings and ~20 fps on tiberium wars with max settings no AA. Both at native resolution. Works great.
I found out that the GDDR2 variant of the 8600M GT clocks in at 800 MHz versus 1400 MHz for the memory clock in the GDDR3 version.
At the same clock speeds though the performance would be identical. The advantage that GDDR3 has is that it can be clocked higher.
It runs at 1,300 MHz (650 MHz x 2) in the 17" MacBook Pro and 1,270 MHz in the 15.4" models.
At the same clock speeds though the performance would be identical. The advantage that GDDR3 has is that it can be clocked higher.
It runs at 1,300 MHz (650 MHz x 2) in the 17" MacBook Pro and 1,270 MHz in the 15.4" models.
I really think I can give a lot of information about this topic, I have a MacBook Pro 15" and a Dell XPS laptop with 512MB video and 4GB RAM. I use my xps a lot for gaming on the go and its the best gaming laptop i have ever used.
It basically comes down to what your brother will use it for, if he wants to play games then he should go with the XPS if he wants to do other stuff then i will recommend MBP. OS X is much better then windows for everyday stuff but once you start talking about games then there is no option but for a windows box.
Both laptops are great, it depends on what your brother will use it for.
It basically comes down to what your brother will use it for, if he wants to play games then he should go with the XPS if he wants to do other stuff then i will recommend MBP. OS X is much better then windows for everyday stuff but once you start talking about games then there is no option but for a windows box.
Both laptops are great, it depends on what your brother will use it for.
So, Apple, apparently, is the only company on the face of the earth that can build a decent computer?
I really don't get this mentality.
yeah u didn't know man!! all the same hardware just different casing and badge....can really add horsepower too. I get tired of hearing this. Now someone will come back and say how superior the quality really is and how apple uses better parts. IT'S the same hardware guys...come on!
Ah yes... the usual level of disinformation is evident here.
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend the Dell XPS at this stage. They will have a Santa Rosa machine shortly, but the XPS M1710 is now quite old. I'd suggest the likes of the Sager (sagernotebook.com) if you want to buy now. They have a Santa Rosa model which offers the 8700M or the 7950GTX (the same card as the XPS) with the rest of the spec similar to the Dell XPS.
If he wants the Windows equivalent of the 17" Macbook Pro which is a fairly decent spec for light gaming, then the Inspiron 1720 is now very aggressively priced. A Macbook Pro matching spec with 2Gb of RAM, the same GPU, the same screen, a better camera, and a 250Gb drive - but also including a spare battery, 2-year antivirus updates and 3-year at-home service would be around a THOUSAND dollars less than an Applecared MBP of roughly the same fitout.
That'll buy you an awful lot of games and decent software that'll take the Vista machine (which is already on a par with OS X nowadays) to far beyond an equivalently-priced OSX machine's capabilities. The Inspiron is a more conservatively built machine than the Macbook Pro and will take more of an everyday beating. It's also not bad looking these days and you get a choice of lid colours. It is however heavier.
Dells are cheaply made. Apple's are amazing. Current ibook will
be 4 years old this Nov-on for 6-9 hours a day minimum and been
though one bad bike wreck in my backpack. It did better than I.
be 4 years old this Nov-on for 6-9 hours a day minimum and been
though one bad bike wreck in my backpack. It did better than I.
I'm typing this on a Dell that's built like a tank, that replaced my Macbook that kept falling apart.
Do I think Dell can do no wrong? No.
Do I think Apple can do no right? No.
Apple is not the be-all-end-all of computer companies. Neither is Dell, but I have a lot more faith in Dell's current laptop lineup than Apple's.
Both Macbook lines are seriously flawed and the iBooks had their share of problems, as well.
I've got a SR 2.2 MBP running Vista in Bootcamp. It runs CS:S like a dream. My old computer had fps ~10, with all settings on low. I'm getting at least 30fps with all settings on high now. It's beautiful! Now to download HL and play it again... oh and I want to put C&C3 on it too.
Haven't had time to read all the replies, but, I am a Mac user, and I use Dells at work, and have worked with numerous Dell machines out at peoples homes. In addition, I actually have a friend who had a hand in the design of some of the current line of Dells.
Heres some bit of info, if you buy Dell, in order to ensure you get the best quality possible, never order anything fromt he Dimension or Inspirion line. They are cheaper, but they skimp on a lot of things. Dell knows that the corner cutting is the cause for many of their problems in reliability, but according to the people I know, they are also have some of the highest profit margins. If you buy, try to get in the small business or XPS machines. The XPS systems are essentially the Optiplex and Latitude line just rebadged and branded for consumers. These machines are usually the better ones of Dell line, and you get english speaking support out of the deal too.
Personally, I'd say get a Mac, because once you get everything all set up on the Dell, the Dell can sometimes be more expensive. But, at the end of the day it's all about personal preference. I don't care for Vista personally. I use Windows at work because I have to, but I go home to my Macbook Pro, and use Parallels on it, to do all my asp.net programming.
I'll check back to see if you have any questions. Feel free to PM me if you need anything more direct.
Heres some bit of info, if you buy Dell, in order to ensure you get the best quality possible, never order anything fromt he Dimension or Inspirion line. They are cheaper, but they skimp on a lot of things. Dell knows that the corner cutting is the cause for many of their problems in reliability, but according to the people I know, they are also have some of the highest profit margins. If you buy, try to get in the small business or XPS machines. The XPS systems are essentially the Optiplex and Latitude line just rebadged and branded for consumers. These machines are usually the better ones of Dell line, and you get english speaking support out of the deal too.
Personally, I'd say get a Mac, because once you get everything all set up on the Dell, the Dell can sometimes be more expensive. But, at the end of the day it's all about personal preference. I don't care for Vista personally. I use Windows at work because I have to, but I go home to my Macbook Pro, and use Parallels on it, to do all my asp.net programming.
I'll check back to see if you have any questions. Feel free to PM me if you need anything more direct.
Guess I'm a little confused as to why he is looking at a laptop in the first place IF in fact he is that much into the latest and greatest games. Usually people who look for laptops to game with are willing to sacrifice a little of that high end stuff for some flexibility. In that case the you can't go wrong with a MBP and run boot camp (or parallels, but boot camp is a bit more stable) for games. Which means when not gaming you would have the best laptop for every day use.
Else wise save a lot of money and buy yourself a great desktop power house for gaming and really enjoy yourself. This is just my two cents worth with a dash of experience. I bought a $3400 Alienware gaming laptop a few years ago when they were the stuff! I am 1000 times more pleased with my $1295 MacBook. Which means that would leave me plenty of money left over for a nice desktop to game with.
Else wise save a lot of money and buy yourself a great desktop power house for gaming and really enjoy yourself. This is just my two cents worth with a dash of experience. I bought a $3400 Alienware gaming laptop a few years ago when they were the stuff! I am 1000 times more pleased with my $1295 MacBook. Which means that would leave me plenty of money left over for a nice desktop to game with.
You sound like you have a bit more of a practical stance when it comes to your laptop buying.
Fortunately, there are options out there for all of us. For the crazy gamers of the world, who want to game on the go without compromise, Dell and Asus (among others) have you covered.
I own a 2 yr old dell inspiron laptop. And during these two years, i never ever needed to call dell for any sort of customer service. As oppose to the mbp i recently purchased, i already spent ay least two hours on the phone and couple hours of travelling to get my yellow mbp vibrator exchanged. Its been one month since purchase and i only used it for three days. But this is just my experience, others could be better.
Hardware comparison, my old dell have 4 USB ports, 1680*1050, resolution, a much much better speaker, and idles comfortably around 37-40c. 60c tops during gaming. These features is not something u can get with mbp w/o spending more money. If wasn't for a necessary speed upgrade, i would so totally keep my old dell.
Back to the topic, if ur bro is into gaming and want to buy mbp. He best get a lappy cooler and endure hours of hot metal.
Ps..
I would totally buy dell 1520 if their 8600gt is DDR3.
Hardware comparison, my old dell have 4 USB ports, 1680*1050, resolution, a much much better speaker, and idles comfortably around 37-40c. 60c tops during gaming. These features is not something u can get with mbp w/o spending more money. If wasn't for a necessary speed upgrade, i would so totally keep my old dell.
Back to the topic, if ur bro is into gaming and want to buy mbp. He best get a lappy cooler and endure hours of hot metal.
Ps..
I would totally buy dell 1520 if their 8600gt is DDR3.
IBM also make fantastic laptops, and I also quite like some of the Sony Vaios (although they have both also churned out some junk).
I don't like the OSes they run at all though. Windows is, well, Windows. Linux is good for Servers/Coders, but it's not great when it comes to day-to-day use for multimedia, web browsing, emails and other cool stuff. Let alone some of the pro-ish stuff I do.
I don't like the OSes they run at all though. Windows is, well, Windows. Linux is good for Servers/Coders, but it's not great when it comes to day-to-day use for multimedia, web browsing, emails and other cool stuff. Let alone some of the pro-ish stuff I do.
Don't buy a Dell! They're freaking awful. In the past year I have had a thinkpad, hp 6400, macbook, and two dells. Both of the Dells are consistently awful.
If you're not sure about getting a Mac, at least consider a Lenovo or even an HP. Dell is the worst laptop that you could possibly buy.
If you're not sure about getting a Mac, at least consider a Lenovo or even an HP. Dell is the worst laptop that you could possibly buy.
Agreed, although I wouldn't say they're the worst laptops. They're down there though...
Whatever.
The two most problematic machines I've ever owned were my Macbook and a G3 iBook.
All of these companies have their share of winners and losers. The current Apple notebook lineup has more of the latter.
While that has the slight ring of truth around it, I can tell you as a large-scale owner & user of XPS / Optiplex / Precision / Poweredge / Latitude and more recently, the quietly decent new Inspiron and Vostro series, and consequently a corporate customer as an individual in addition to managing purchases for other organisations - that it's not quite true. So I would suggest that whoever your friend is, he's not very highly placed in Dell.
As I said, the current Inspirons are not bad at all on all fronts, while the Vostros are re-skinned Inspirons with better warranties and a more business-centric fitout. If Vista Business would be sufficient, the Vostros might be a better deal.
Either way though as I also said before, if you want near bleeding edge gaming laptops Dell is not where you should be looking just now. However if it's a balanced package for getting things done that you're looking at, give me a 1720 (in my case, specced with the WWAN card) with the 3-year onsite warranty and a thousand dollars worth of carefully chosen software over a Macbook Pro with Applecare any day of the week - even Tuesdays.
I'm not saying that Dell's don't work...I'm just saying that they don't work well. I overstated it above when I said it's the, "worst laptop you can buy." I've never used an Acer, for example, or a Toshiba or Sony.
A more accurate statement would be, "As a professional in an IT field who carries several laptops and uses many different types of machines throughout the course of the day, the Dell laptop is without doubt my least favorite." And this is my 2nd Dell, so it's not a lemon issue. These are just cheap notebooks that are poorly designed.
They're heavy, klunky, ugly, have poor battery life, and run *very* slow when not plugged into AC. I'm talking about the Latitude line here, so maybe the high end consumer model has better characteristics, but in my mind a "business laptop" should be sleek and clean, easy to carry, and perform efficiently. My Thinkpad was great, and my HP C6400 is also pretty decent.
I don't know why everybody made this a mac versus PC argument...the point I was trying to make is that Macs and PCs are still 2 different machines, and if you're thinking about a PC then steer clear of Dell. There's a reason they are losing market share, and it's not due to Apple fanboy postings on MR.
I have no experience with the Latitude line. I'm currently using an XPS machine.
While, for some reason, my Macbook couldn't handle sitting on a desk and typing on it without cracking. This m1220 feels like I could drag it behind my truck and still flip it on.
We all have different experiences with different products. For this round, Apple lost me as a Mac laptop consumer. I'm sure they'll do something in the future to bring me back into the fold. Until then, this Dell is working just fine, for me.