Why would anyone buy a Retina Macbook Pro vs Dell XPS 15?

[fratey]

Two reasons.
* Dell doesn't even sell the damn computer here in Sweden. I'm unable to find it anywhere on their website.
* I'm greedy and I love high resale values. Therefore, lifetime cost is lower for my uses.

Because of this, I'm going with the 15" Retina MBP once I've sold my 13" Retina.
I could care less about the other pros of the rMBP á "lol mac os ;((". OS X is equal or worse than Windows for what I do (photography, managing lots of files etc), but it's the only option I have if I want a decent high-DPI panel.

 

[Gadger Snr]

Spel

 

[that1guyy]

This thread is full of Apple fanboys obviously. If you ask the same question on any non-mac oriented site everyone will say go for the Dell in heartbeat. Just saying don't get it just because "its a dell" has no basis for anything. Windows 8 is a fine operating system and if one uses software like Adobe's suite the Dell will fly.

I however am buying a Haswell rMBP because I am a bit of a fanboy and for me its just preference so I'd rather pay the extra money.

 

[donkeyjot]

For me it´s the firewire since I need it to run my audio device. Hard to find a Win machine with that! However that Dell lookes nice for sure...

 

[sarakn]

I chased the specs and bought a high-end Dell XPS laptop a three years ago. Got one year of decent use out of it. Never again.

I have no bias against laptops running Windows but there are so many machines out there that throw in a ton of spectacular specs but fail to deliver on overall performance and ergonomics. The MBP isn't perfect but for me it's as close as any other laptop has ever got.

So true. I go high end with dells all the time, and even while they do okay, sometimes okay is it just good enough. For optimal response, how many people are told they have to reinstall windows every years. Dells have served me well, but I'm done and wanted to try something different.

I just bought a fully spec'ed 15" Mac and while it cost a lot of money, it does the best of both worlds. It lets me run windows for my professional apps and will give a beautiful and different experience.

I wanted something different, usable and stable, and I hope to get that from a Mac.

To be fair, I've owned dells for many years and the last 2 major issues I've had were physical - minimal though. The prior machine I had had keys falling off. That was repaired, happened again and was replaced. This current dell has the wire frame damaged and I made it worse by pulling on it - see my profile.

As far as performance, I think dell's bigger issue is windows - out of their control. You run the same apps on the same machine, yet 9 months later things slow down. You install all this software to troubleshoot, clean up, etc, and they also cause some slowdown. Even when they don't, it does not last.

I hope I'm done hearing "reinstall the operating system."

 

[Atomic Walrus]

I honestly think the XPS 15 looks like a very strong contender against this year's 15" rMBP, as long as you aren't tied to OS X.

I do kind of have a problem with 16:9. It's a bad ratio for laptop displays unless you plan to work side by side with two (small) windows, which isn't something I do (nor do I ever see anyone doing this, even on 16:9 machines). If you don't do side-by-side you're gaining very little physical work space compared to a 16:10 13.3" panel:

http://www.displaywars.com/13,3-inch-16x10-vs-15,6-inch-16x9

I'm aware that there are more pixels in that space, but that doesn't mean much past a certain point if the display isn't also physically larger. Obviously many disagree with me, but I'm annoyed that Apple is the only company left offering 16:10 options at all. If you're happy with 16:9 I can't see much else to complain about on the XPS 15.

I've repeated this a lot, but I really don't think Apple was particularly focused on the 15" rMBP this year (hard to blame them considering that there are no reasonable options for CPU or GPU performance upgrades right now). At 13" Apple now has a very solid contender, and I think they know that the current climate for tech purchases makes the "Air Pro" very appealing to a lot of potential laptop buyers. The new entry level model is clearly designed to appeal to college students and other "non-pro" users.

To me what's going to be extremely interesting is seeing what the 15" options look like next year. It should be a big year for CPU and GPU upgrades, Apple will certainly be using IGZO by that point, and I would expect those aren't the only changes we'll see in 2014 (I'll get booed out of here, but I expect to see a touch screen somewhere next year, even if it's only in the 12" Retina Air). The competition will also be getting more intense; if Dell can figure out how to match or even beat Apple at its own game it's only a matter of time before others do as well.

This is, of course, great news for consumers. No innovation without competition.

 

[leman]

Well, currently the Dell is around $300 less expensive than a similarly specced MBP (the later with a better CPU). So they do have a price advantage. Also, swappable HDD is a plus. Of course, rMBP's storage is faster then anything you can put into the Dell (if you don't go RAID0), but thats besides the point.

As to the rest: I seriously doubt that Dell will reach the claimed battery duration, unless the display is really that good at power saving. I'd wait until some benchmarks get out before making final statements.

 

[fratey]

I've had a Dell laptop once, what a load of &*%$%. In 2011 I had my first Air MacBook (apple) laptop, it's been the best laptop I've ever owned not once has it caused me any problems, and that's why I've just ordered the new Mac Book Pro 13inch.

How often does the Mac operating system have to been updated not a lot, certainly not monthly like my new windows 8 work pc with loads bug updates and fixes. Microsoft operating system is a patched up piece of crap.

My Windows PC is very discrete with its updates, and handles itself with only a small notification in the lock screen. Meanwhile, my Mac bugs me with annoying sound popups that reminds me of nagware while I'm working. Windows had way worse update handling before, but now the situation is the polar opposite.

 

[li3to]

just a few facts:
1. Adobe products never "critical failure" closed in the last 10 years of using mac os x.
2. I never re-installed or otherwise maintained or had any problems with max os x in the last ten(!) years.
3. I had a macbook pro from ±2005 to 2011. Problems? — had to replace a cooler. Sold it for around $700 and the new owner is still happy and still using it as far as i am aware.
4. I still have my white macbook from around 2003. Plastic is kinda fked up in the corners but it works without any glitches, using it as a net storage.

Dell? My company bought a bunch. Very few survived their second year.

 

[Sym0]

At least in my case 'old' rMBP clocks a faster Ivy Bridge CPU than both the new rMBP and the XPS15, 3.6GHz at full song. This matters for what I do.

 

[dusk007]

I am also one in the market for one such 15" allround notebook. I was intending to switch to Windows again because I dislike die Office situation in OSX and I dislike rebooting for games. Other options then the XPS 15 would be a new Samsung Ativ Book 8 or new Zenbook UX51VZ but they do take their time with updating those. I suspect the Samsung will be the best value.

XPS 15 as sold here only comes with the big battery if you buy the 512GB SSD version so it costs just as much as the entry level 2Ghz Iris Pro, or €600 less than the similarly specced 750M version.

Dell and its XPS line had cooling issues in the last version and over the years noisy cooling and all sorts of issues. This one is a new form factor and slimmer so I really need to see a test. For the same reason I don't like the Zenbook with its less than silent idle cooling. Samsung is great at cooling but they need to up their game on the SSD side (not that they couldn't given that they are the #1 SSD company).
Battery life claims don't mean much. We really have to see but I wouldn't be surprised if they beat Apple. They use a more efficient quad core and Samsung beat Apple with the Ativ Book 8 too (admittedly with a different display).

Aside from what we don't know for me there are some more differences.
Pros XPS or any Windows:
Cheaper
750M or better and no graphic switching issues, silent Intel GPU works in multi monitor mode.
Office is just better
Games work in Windows, no rebooting, no OSX gaming

Pros for MBP:
Resale value (even my current 2010 MBP seems to still sell for enough money to make up the price difference)
BetterTouchTool (I just like my custom gestures so much and don't know of anything similar in Windows, I don't know how I live without them)
It is still 16:10 doesn't have a touch screen. (I think touch screens are great on convertibles like the Sony Multi Flip, they are useless on a standard notebook in normal keyboard mode and require a glass layer to protect the screen from all the touching. I don't like glass. I want matte but MBP glossy is still better than the glass layer of the old MBP or the XPS 15. I think Intel's notion of requiring a touch screen is stupid and should be ignored. My hope is Samsung will stick with matte.)
Cons MBP:
I do play games and would want a 750M but I despise how just for the lightest of loads I get a noisier than necessary notebook in multi monitor mode. And no optimus in Windows. Iris Pro is I think great but not for my kind of use as I ever only need more than a HD4600 for games and literally nothing else (coding has very little GPU requirements ).
Warranty if included makes the price difference even bigger.

Personally I suspect that a new Samsung will be more of a contender for me than the Dell. A test of the XPS 15 might surprise though, it seems a fairly different notebook from the past ones. I really don't like the touch screen though. I think Windows 8.1 is great it doesn't need a touch screen. Works fine with mouse and touchpad. If it was a flippable hybrid, things would be different.
The high DPI of these screens are great. You can set any resolution in games and it will look sharp enough. I also think the DPI problems in Windows desktop are exaggerated, for most stuff it works just fine.
I am weighing BetterTouchTool vs GPU switching, quick gaming experience mostly.

 

[cmmaia]

OSX for me. I've been a hardcore PC user and grew tired of Windows. Hopefully the Mac experience will live up to my expectations.

 

[Kariya]

OS X

PCIe Flash storage

Free OS/iLife/iWork upgrades in the future

Apple Customer Service

 

[oomega1]

First off lol on all the threads.

People don't know why they love them because they are just blindly following Apple. And then there are the Android fans who do the same. I don't even want to get into it. =/

I find Dell does things right though. Old school and reliability, if it not broken don't fix it reducing costs. However it doesn't matter because at the end, they don't have the resources Apple does. And thats just because its a PC and it can't afford to pay for the updates.

The way I see it, Apple pays for compatibility, reliability, testing, software, (updates!) and R&D is why I get an Apple. Motherboard, ram, hard drives are usually better as well. Just because its faster doesn't mean its smoother or more stable. Then theres the multitasking....

So if you can afford to buy a new computer every 6 months and don't need software or video card updates, sure go ahead, its a PC. Otherwise want something that you know you can trust down the line, get a MAC. Bill Gates even thinks Apple will be the future.

 

[reery]

The Dell XPS 15 is indeed very interesting, but if you want some contra arguments, here they are:

- It took Dell 15 months to build something that at least can mess with the rMBP (if there was no rMBP, there wouldn't be anything like this new XPS)
- The bigger battery (almost equivalent to rMBP) comes only with the most expensive package starting at $2250
-It seems that there is no integrated GPU, so expect 5-7 hours even with the biggest battery
- Windows itself: it is not optimized very well with HiDPI scaling. I'm using Windows on my rMBP and have set the resolution to fixed 1200p instead of using the full and sharp resolution and scale it to 200%. There are many bugs with software and most games are unplayable because the taks-bar is always on top and cannot be removed (bug since over 10 years). So why buy a HiDPI screen with windows when you cripple the nice resolution because of a bad OS implementation.
- Fan concerns: In my company we use mostly Dell laptops (over 100 of them are here around), and the fans are not well controlled by the system. Don't ever expect it to be as silent and cool on idle and load like it is on the rMBP.
- Also I think they've saved on the small details what makes out an Apple device: the speakers, microphones, camera, power supply, sound card ... won't be as good as they are on every Mac I suppose.

But otherwise the XPS is still a neat device and for a Windows only laptop a good choice. But I'd rather wait for a good review on notebookcheck.net or so, to be really sure everything fits your expectations.

 

[agaskew]

Shock News: Apple hardware costs more than Dell hardware.

More at 11...

 

[Fontane]

I love the XPS but there are a few dealbreakers.

It runs hot like the Macbook Air and the fans tend to spin up which is very distracting. Worse of all, it has windows on it which is a complete dealbreaker for me.

I'm not an Apple Fanboy but the OS X experience is far better than Windows 8/8.1, in my opinion.

I've been using a rMBP the last week and it's beautiful. Just exchanged it yesterday for the newest model. Can't say enough good things about this laptop.

 

[dusk007]

-It seems that there is no integrated GPU, so expect 5-7 hours even with the biggest battery

Of course it still has an integrated GPU (HD 4600). Because of how well Optimus works as opposed to the crap gpu switching Apple uses it will also end up saving more battery in many situations. Chances are the 37W Quad Core with the a 20EU GPU will beat a 47W 40EU Iris Pro chip in battery life.
Iris Pro is way better than having to deal with Apples botched graphic switching implementation but it only if that is the only chip and it is probably not the most efficient chip under the sun.
HD 4600 has a minimum clock rate of 200Mhz just like Iris Pro but it has only half the GPU.

 

[ElderBrE]

This thread is full of Apple fanboys obviously. If you ask the same question on any non-mac oriented site everyone will say go for the Dell in heartbeat. Just saying don't get it just because "its a dell" has no basis for anything. Windows 8 is a fine operating system and if one uses software like Adobe's suite the Dell will fly.

I however am buying a Haswell rMBP because I am a bit of a fanboy and for me its just preference so I'd rather pay the extra money.

Understandably, if you ask the same question on a non-mac site, you will be asking people who don't use Mac OS X as their OS. Follow the trail now...

 

[ScottishDuck]

Osx

 

[smoking monkey]

First off lol on all the threads.

People don't know why they love them because they are just blindly following Apple.

Have we been reading the same thread? I think it's pretty clear as to the reason why. It's called OSX.

It's the clear reason for myself as well.

Edit: And of course Apple products are more than just the sum of their specs. It's so many little things that tie it together.

 

[raybies]

btw I'm a Windows software developer.

So am I, and none of my apps have images.
I've seen images on cracks.

My icons scale nicely.

 

[PFKMan23]

This is a dilemma of mine as well, but let me just say that one obvious advantage that I see for Apple over Dell is that you have a physical storefront and actual live people that yuo can go to for tech support.

I currently use a Dell and while their support in my experience isn't "bad". dealing with an overseas representative reading from a script, is just painful. And I know this because I spent over 2.5 hours with one on the phone trying to troubleshoot. They did eventually resolve my issue by telling a tech to come out, but still. To me there's a certain value in having a live person to deal with. Now I've heard that tech support from Dell's non home side is better, but I can't speak to that.

One thing that I wish Apple would have with their products is an additional offering for accidental protection, which is a component that Dell, Lenovo, and a handful of others offer. Yes it's an additional cost, but it can be useful.

 

[Quu]

So am I, and none of my apps have images.
I've seen images on cracks.

My icons scale nicely.

Good for you then? Most software uses images and icons that are 16x16 or 32x32. No one is including 128x128 icons within their software to represent UI elements and these things look blurry when scaled without providing either vector versions in the application or high resolution rasters.

You know this, I know this. I don't know why you would have the opinion that for Windows high resolution scaling is no problem as only if you're using .net is it easy to do. Good luck with Java or C, C++, Python. Pretty much any other language on Windows you're on ya own making it fully resolution independent.

OS X has a leg up here because most developers are already on Cocoa and already using XCode, Apples equivalent to .net and Visual Studio.

 

[raybies]

Similar price without Mac OS. Plus every Dell I've owned has had issues; they're unreliable...

I've had more than a dozen computers in the past decade... very rarely has any of them had any issue.

I've had 3 Precisions... they never had anything go wrong.
Windows 7 never crashes.
The only issues I can remember are:
1 Toshiba Satellite Pro (IBM) HDD started making clicking noises.
My personally built i7 930 w/ ASUS P6X58D PREMIUM overclocked to 4Ghz... would intermittently not wake if it went to sleep 2x... not sure if it was the mobo or PSU.

Acer, HP, Asus, Dell, Apple... never skipped a beat.
My current work HP 8570w, has been on for ~4 weeks running 3 VM servers... no issues.

Never had a virus either... that's why I don't run an antivirus'.

Maybe it's PEBKAC... did you use your Dells in a steam room?

I think Win 8 is an abomination though... and I have no purpose for finger prints on my screen.