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This Dell XPS 13 deal

P

Pyali

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 22, 2016
53
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OSX > Windows 10

Everytime I attempt to use my Surface Book, I cant wait to go back to my Macbook


I also like that I have an Apple store 7 minutes from my house. If anything goes wrong with my MacBook, I can usually get it fixed that same day.

Not sure how you do that with the Dell.
 
Ive been extremely keen for an OSX experience since I ordered the MBP on launch day, but after seeing this deal, its so hard to keep my MBP order :( :( :( Trust me, I REALLY want to, but this deal is incredibly good.
[doublepost=1477876339][/doublepost]God damn, just realised I get student discount on this xps 15 http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd?oc=smz510895au&model_id=xps-15-9550-laptop which makes it the same price as the xps 13 and 2016MBP.

quad core skylake i7

16gb DDR4

512gb SSD

GTX 960m

goodbye mbp order? :/
 
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Pyali said:
Ive been extremely keen for an OSX experience since I ordered the MBP on launch day, but after seeing this deal, its so hard to keep my MBP order :( :( :( Trust me, I REALLY want to, but this deal is incredibly good.
[doublepost=1477876339][/doublepost]God damn, just realised I get student discount on this xps 15 http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd?oc=smz510895au&model_id=xps-15-9550-laptop which makes it the same price as the xps 13 and 2016MBP.

quad core skylake i7

16gb DDR4

512gb SSD

GTX 960m

goodbye mbp order? :/
Click to expand...


Make sure you get a wireless mouse with your Dell, because ALL TRACKPADS ON WINDOWS MACHINES ARE HORRIBLE.
 
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Do you buy the cheapest driveable and working car you can find?

Yes? But the Dell.
No? A laptop vanity purchase is far less expensive than a vehicular vanity purchase.

It's ok to splurge sometimes. Do you feel like splurging on a laptop?
 
Pyali said:
http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?oc=z510893au&model_id=xps-13-9360-laptop

TL;DR

16gb LPDDR3 1866MHz RAM

512GB PCIE SSD

Kabylake i7 7500u

Intel HD 620 graphics

3200x1800 display

This costs the same as the baseline 13" touch bar MBP but seems to have vastly superior specs. What arguments can be made for the mbp?
Click to expand...
The only real downsides to the XPS is the bad battery life and trackpad. The trackpad is much better then previous Windows laptops but still not on the same level as the Apple Glass trackpads. Its mighty tempting for me!
 
PhoneI said:
Make sure you get a wireless mouse with your Dell, because ALL TRACKPADS ON WINDOWS MACHINES ARE HORRIBLE.
Click to expand...


I think that's supposed to be sarcasm? I've been using Windows trackpads for years (I use both OSs) and although I love the MBPro trackpad I've never had a horrible windows one. Seems like a pretty steep generalization.
 
What I mean is, in this case is dell really that "cheap"? Dont get me wrong, theres absolutely no comparison in build quality between the two but in no way is the dell a scrub tier option. Lenovo/asus maybe
 
Pyali said:
What I mean is, in this case is dell really that "cheap"? Dont get me wrong, theres absolutely no comparison in build quality between the two but in no way is the dell a scrub tier option. Lenovo/asus maybe
Click to expand...

Asus make some really nice gear with decent warranties. Well worth a look IMO.
 
Just the fact that I can get a quad core skylake i7, double the ram and double the storage (and a dedicated gpu) makes this decision extremely hard for me. Honestly I want someone to convince me otherwise but so far its not looking good for the MBP
[doublepost=1477876846][/doublepost]
Howard2k said:
Asus make some really nice gear with decent warranties. Well worth a look IMO.
Click to expand...
Yeah sorry that wasnt really fair, but what I meant was I think dell has the best windows laptops on the market (build wise)
 
Howard2k said:
I think that's supposed to be sarcasm? I've been using Windows trackpads for years (I use both OSs) and although I love the MBPro trackpad I've never had a horrible windows one. Seems like a pretty steep generalization.
Click to expand...

Not sarcasm, and I am obviously only speaking for me, but using a Windows trackpad makes me want to reach for the Alcohol.

There is simply no comparison to the Apple Trackpad.
 
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PhoneI said:
Not sarcasm, and I am obviously only speaking for me, but using a Windows trackpad makes me want to reach for the Alcohol.

There is simply no comparison to the Apple Trackpad.
Click to expand...

Im definitely aware that MBP track pads are 100% unmatched. But considering both laptops as a whole package, Im finding it hard to justify the MBP. Extreme polish, superb build quality, macOS and the touch bar in exchange for a quad core i7 (vs dual core i5) 16gb of DDR4 ram (vs 8gb LPDDR3 1866), GTX 960m (vs iris 540) and 512 gb SSD storage (vs 256)
 
Pyali said:
Im definitely aware that MBP track pads are 100% unmatched. But considering both laptops as a whole package, Im finding it hard to justify the MBP. Extreme polish, superb build quality, macOS and the touch bar in exchange for a quad core i7 (vs dual core i5) 16gb of DDR4 ram (vs 8gb LPDDR3 1866), GTX 960m (vs iris 540) and 512 gb SSD storage (vs 256)
Click to expand...

To each their own.

I personally don't care about spec comparison between an Apple to Windows device. I know in real world usage, I would much rather use my lower spec'd MacBook than any windows machine.

But, thats just my opinion.
 
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Pyali said:
What arguments can be made for the mbp?
Click to expand...

The Dell XPS 13 is a solid laptop. The trackpad is meh. One really odd thing on it is the location of the webcam. It's in the bottom left corner of the screen, so you always get an up-chin view of yourself, and if you are typing while talking to someone your fingers block the camera.

Here are some ways the Dell is inferior to the MBP:
- The Dell doesn't have a 40Gbps i/o.
- The Dell doesn't have a 3 GBps SSD.
- The Dell doesn't run OS X.
- The Dell will have 25% resale value at best after two years. It will have close to zero resale value after four years.
- Dell doesn't have any retail stores to get in-person tech support.
- The Dell doesn't have a force touch trackpad.
- The Dell charger is less portable.
- You have to live with their slogan "Dude you're getting a Dell!" constantly playing in your head.
 
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My question is are you going to use all that extra processing power or is it that you feel you are getting ripped off on buying a "lower" spec machine? Like the poster above mentioned I don't care about the specs of the computer. In 6 months to a year they are both going to be out of date anyway. I care about the whole computing experience and for me Windows still cannot compare.
 
oneMadRssn said:
The Dell XPS 13 is a solid laptop. The trackpad is meh. One really odd thing on it is the location of the webcam. It's in the bottom left corner of the screen, so you always get an up-chin view of yourself, and if you are typing while talking to someone your fingers block the camera.

Here are some ways the Dell is inferior to the MBP:
- The Dell doesn't have a 40Gbps i/o.
- The Dell doesn't have a 3 GBps SSD.
- The Dell doesn't run OS X.
- The Dell will have 25% resale value at best after two years. It will have close to zero resale value after four years.
- Dell doesn't have any retail stores to get in-person tech support.
- The Dell doesn't have a force touch trackpad.
- The Dell charger is less portable.
- You have to live with their slogan "Dude you're getting a Dell!" constantly playing in your head.
Click to expand...

- it has 1 thunderbolt 3 port
- agreed
- agreed
- agreed although I will be keeping my next laptop for about 5+ years regardless
- definitely agreed
- agreed
- I think the whole point of chargers means youre bound to a specific place so the fact thats its less portable is a bit of a non issue for me
- kek'd

ryannel2003 said:
My question is are you going to use all that extra processing power or is it that you feel you are getting ripped off on buying a "lower" spec machine? Like the poster above mentioned I don't care about the specs of the computer. In 6 months to a year they are both going to be out of date anyway. I care about the whole computing experience and for me Windows still cannot compare.
Click to expand...

I never really do anything intensive on my desktop except for gaming, but extra power on a laptop means itll be relevant for more years to come which is a big plus for me as I dont plan to upgrade this for another 4-5 years.
 
PhoneI said:
Not sarcasm, and I am obviously only speaking for me, but using a Windows trackpad makes me want to reach for the Alcohol.

There is simply no comparison to the Apple Trackpad.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. it's the superiority of the Apple trackpads that makes me stick with Apple. I have used many Windows trackpads and so far have found none that are as smooth.
 
Pyali said:
-

I never really do anything intensive on my desktop except for gaming, but extra power on a laptop means itll be relevant for more years to come which is a big plus for me as I dont plan to upgrade this for another 4-5 years.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's going to make a huge difference that far ahead as computing update cycles are getting slower and slower. Many people here are still using Mid-2012 rMBP's with little to no problems. If you really want a Mac, get a Mac.
 
Pyali said:
I think the whole point of chargers means youre bound to a specific place so the fact thats its less portable is a bit of a non issue for me
Click to expand...

Having a nice portable charger that is easy to wrap up is very nice when traveling. At airports and hotels and stuff. One of my pet peeves with my work laptop is that the charger is unwieldy and there is no easy or quick way to wrap up the cords.
 
can you hackintosh it?

If you can and if you buy a magic mouse or magic trackpad then probably it will be better
 
ryannel2003 said:
I don't think it's going to make a huge difference that far ahead as computing update cycles are getting slower and slower. Many people here are still using Mid-2012 rMBP's with little to no problems. If you really want a Mac, get a Mac.
Click to expand...
I agree with this, im still on my 2011 MBA, im only upgrading for a higher res screen and better battery life. The MBA still flies along and does everything i need it to do. I can see my next Laptop lasting me close to 10 years TBH.
 
Pyali said:
http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?oc=z510893au&model_id=xps-13-9360-laptop

TL;DR

16gb LPDDR3 1866MHz RAM

512GB PCIE SSD

Kabylake i7 7500u

Intel HD 620 graphics

3200x1800 display

This costs the same as the baseline 13" touch bar MBP but seems to have vastly superior specs. What arguments can be made for the mbp?

EDIT:
This XPS 15 can be had for the same price as the xps 13/MBP.

http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd?oc=smz510895au&model_id=xps-15-9550-laptop
Click to expand...

A couple of minor things.

Speed of the RAM on the touch bar model is 2133 MHz.
Also, SSD speeds are not mentioned--those may be worth checking out.

On a related note, the XPS 13 non touch has insane battery life--something like 20 hours!

Most people buy a Mac because of macOS, not because of superior specs.
 
Pyali said:
This costs the same as the baseline 13" touch bar MBP but seems to have vastly superior specs. What arguments can be made for the mbp?
Click to expand...
Ain't you heard Phill Shill saying that Apple designs for the experience, not price?

:D
 
The 13" MBP's 28W Skylake i5 should be a very close match for, or perhaps beat out the XPS13's Kaby Lake 15W i7 CPU.

We'll need to wait a bit to get the MBP benchmarked properly, but I don't think even the top XPS 13 is an obvious winner. The Iris 540 graphics should beat the XPS 620 handily, for example.

Here's a better look at how the MBP's are expected to stack up: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3136...the-macbook-pro-stacks-up-against-the-pc.html

The article is pretty pessimistic on a point-by-point comparison, but it's interesting that he picks and chooses various laptops that have SOMETHING better than the new 13" MBP's, but I'm not clear that there's one particular Win laptop that's obviously much better.

I noted this in a different thread - I was PO'd enough about the new MBP pricing that I did a pretty serious survey of Win laptops, and just didn't see anything that was both cheaper and better across the board.

Apple ain't perfect by a long shot, but they've got a really solid mix of screen, keyboard, touchpad, CPU, SSD, RAM, battery life, weight, form factor and even price.

There are plenty of computers that do better on one or two of these items than the new MBP, but I sure couldn't find anything that felt like a big win on more than a handful of metrics, and those then fell WAY short on most of the others.

Not knocking the XPS 13, but it's not a low-price option that knocks the 13" MBP out of the water. It's just a somewhat cheaper option with similar up-front specs. But two years from now it'll sell for 25% of its original sale price, and four years from now it'll be worthless on the secondary market.

Take a look at what a 2012 13" MBP is selling for right now... it's remarkable.
 
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