I notice around here that people usually compare the 13" MBP to the Sony Vaio or the HP Envy. Before I had an epiphany to switch to apple (and the 13" MBP that I haven't bought yet) I was seriously thinking of getting a 13" Dell XPS. Is the Dell so much rubbish that it is not even considered to be worthy competition?
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What about Dell?
- Thread starter Tarzan911
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no dell make good machines, regardless of what some of the fan boys on here may try to tell you. much better value for money, but they dont look as shiny and dont run OSX (legally). thats about it.
I've no experience with the XPS, but have used Latitudes extensively and Inspirons to a limited extent, and have found them to be fine - others will probably disagree, but I can only report my personal experience.
But the Envy is rather Mac-like in styling, and the Vaio Z offers killer specs in a small package (though at a price), so I can understand why these are quoted more often as competitors.
But the Envy is rather Mac-like in styling, and the Vaio Z offers killer specs in a small package (though at a price), so I can understand why these are quoted more often as competitors.
Perhaps the Inspiron line yes but the XPS has a pretty cool design and has some nice features as well.
I have owned the Dell XPS M1710 for the past four years until upgrading to a 15" i5 MBP last month. The only issues I came across with it in its four years of heavy use was that the 512mb graphics card would overheat when gaming (raiding heavily in WoW) and both my husband and I had to make a run for the freezer and pop ice packs underneath it during a long gaming session or it would overheat and shut off. I took apart my XPS and blew it out pretty heavily with canned air and that seemed to help it a bit, but it still occasionally overheated.
The battery life was terrible, and my battery pretty much went out on me 2 years into the unit's life. Probably because i left it plugged in 95% of the time (the thing was a big, heavy beast).
Anyway, it was a good system, ran super fast, and gamed pretty well. These days I keep my gaming to a desktop PC and traded up to get the 15" MBP that I absolutely adore.
That M1710 back in 2006 ran me $2400, and that was with a big Dell business account discount. I paid less for my 15" MBP last month, haha
Your mileage may vary. I liked mine, despite the overheating and crap battery, but it's no MBP, that's for sure.
The battery life was terrible, and my battery pretty much went out on me 2 years into the unit's life. Probably because i left it plugged in 95% of the time (the thing was a big, heavy beast).
Anyway, it was a good system, ran super fast, and gamed pretty well. These days I keep my gaming to a desktop PC and traded up to get the 15" MBP that I absolutely adore.
That M1710 back in 2006 ran me $2400, and that was with a big Dell business account discount. I paid less for my 15" MBP last month, haha
Your mileage may vary. I liked mine, despite the overheating and crap battery, but it's no MBP, that's for sure.My cousin has a Dell XPS 17". It looks ok not as nice as the MBP though. However, the keyboard is not of good quality, the plastic feels cheap(and this is compared to other plastic laptops not aluminum), the trackpad has some issues, and it runs hot way hot even when just browsing the web.
I'm posting this on a Studio 540, with the keyboard sitting next to my macbook pro. Dell make decent desktops, but there isn't a snowballs chance in hell of getting me to use one of their portables again.
I've owned 3 Studio series laptops over the past two years. Each of them were sent in for repairs. Failed backlight, trackpad stopped working, short on the motherboard caused by cheap, ****** power adapters that Dell won't consider as part of the warranty so they can nickel 'n dime you to death. Random shocks when brushing against the USB and firewire ports. Complete garbage all around. Not to mention the overall cheap feel and build quality. Sad thing is, the 14z that I configured with an extended warranty ended up costing more than a base model Macbook Pro with Applecare.
Lesson learned.
I've owned 3 Studio series laptops over the past two years. Each of them were sent in for repairs. Failed backlight, trackpad stopped working, short on the motherboard caused by cheap, ****** power adapters that Dell won't consider as part of the warranty so they can nickel 'n dime you to death. Random shocks when brushing against the USB and firewire ports. Complete garbage all around. Not to mention the overall cheap feel and build quality. Sad thing is, the 14z that I configured with an extended warranty ended up costing more than a base model Macbook Pro with Applecare.
Lesson learned.
I used the Dell Latitude line back in 2001ish, and I'm pretty sure I had a lemon as my computer went through 11 motherboard, give or take, but one thing was for sure: Dell took care of me in a way that Apple never did. The computer was always fixed within a day or two, and it was fixed at my workplace. None of this mailing it in or driving an hour to an Apple store BS.
then I had a samsung laptop, followed by a MBP, and I'm back to a Dell.
It's a Dell Vostro V13. It's aluminum exterior, and quite classy looking. Honestly, if it didn't have Intel integrated graphics, I would like it more than my MBP... I got it refurbished off of Dell.com for under $500, and it's great. I get about 3-4 hours of battery life, it's about the size and weight of a MBA, but with more ports, so no complaints there!
comparison: I gave up OS X, a backlit keyboard, and a usable graphics card, for true Windows 7 support, an SD port, eSata/usb port, an express card slot, and about $1000. It was definitely worth it in my opinion.
then I had a samsung laptop, followed by a MBP, and I'm back to a Dell.
It's a Dell Vostro V13. It's aluminum exterior, and quite classy looking. Honestly, if it didn't have Intel integrated graphics, I would like it more than my MBP... I got it refurbished off of Dell.com for under $500, and it's great. I get about 3-4 hours of battery life, it's about the size and weight of a MBA, but with more ports, so no complaints there!
comparison: I gave up OS X, a backlit keyboard, and a usable graphics card, for true Windows 7 support, an SD port, eSata/usb port, an express card slot, and about $1000. It was definitely worth it in my opinion.
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I've had the XPS M1330 for the last 2 years and just got a MBP 13 2 weeks ago. My Dell is ending on ebay tonight.
I went with the Mac for the OS.
If you like Windows, the Dell is a nice machine.
However, the Mac screen is nicer, the Mac keyboard is definitely less mushy, and once you use the HUGE track pad on the Mac it's tough going back to those small ones.
I think the Mac is definitely a nicer piece of equipment, but had no complaints on my Dell.
One other thing, from just glancing around, the resale on the Macs does seem higher.
- Dave
My mate's got a studio and I think the newer models are really nice. Seem pretty solid to me and the screen looks good. Always liked the looks of the small XPS laptops as well (some of the bigger older ones are absolutely huge. Power supply to rival my XBOX 360).
Just my opinion though.
Just my opinion though.