Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why would anyone buy a Retina Macbook Pro vs Dell XPS 15?
- Thread starter Starfyre
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I wonder what the real statistics are on reliability. I've come across a large amount of both Macbooks and Windows PCs and don't find Macbooks to be significantly more reliable when they are in similar price ranges (not going to account for some $500 Windows crap laptops) and used by competent users (competent as "I will not click all of those random ads"). The real difference I see is in the customer service and warranty department. If something goes wrong with Macbook going to get it fixed is so much simpler than whatever brand Windows vendor it was purchased from.
But this is all anecdotal and not even relevant if you're able to fix your own hardware (aside from manufacturing defects)
But this is all anecdotal and not even relevant if you're able to fix your own hardware (aside from manufacturing defects)
I wish we could get an up-to-date version of this nice 2009 graph:
Of course, I'd expect Apple to go down in reliability now, considering that both the Airs and the Retinabooks are more fragile than the classic MBPs (sans the hard drive).
Why would anyone buy a Retina Macbook Pro vs Dell XPS 15?
If specs is what you are looking for, go see some Clevo laptops! They have hyper specs all crammed in for less than 1200
But don't expect a good support or functioning of the hardware with each other
If specs is what you are looking for, go see some Clevo laptops! They have hyper specs all crammed in for less than 1200
But don't expect a good support or functioning of the hardware with each other
Certainly a benefit when true. The things is it only is true if you live in one of the major cities in the US. There are very few actual apple stores elsewhere in the world and the number in general isn't all that high.
The authorized resellers are usually no more help then best buy or saturn/mediamarkt(germany).
I like about Dell that if things have to go fast they abolish some of their policies and allow for user upgrades. It is often faster and way cheaper to ship a new part and replace it yourself than having to send it in.
The problem with that graph is that it covers the whole range of models.
HP make some real crappy cheap laptops, they also make the Elitebooks.
Dell also seem to be pretty variable. I used to swear by Dell - they were by far the best priced laptops 5 years ago. But over a sample set of 6 laptops at work, they just don't last and getting anything power or battery related fixed is a real pain.
HP make some real crappy cheap laptops, they also make the Elitebooks.
Dell also seem to be pretty variable. I used to swear by Dell - they were by far the best priced laptops 5 years ago. But over a sample set of 6 laptops at work, they just don't last and getting anything power or battery related fixed is a real pain.
Yikes - this Dell isn't cheap once you get it with the SSD, its only available with the lower-end 4702HQ, has slower SSD, and you'll be stuck with an upgrade bill for Windows 9 in the future, etc.
Yuck.
I can't see why anyone in their right mind would bother. The only reason I'd buy a PC laptop is if it provides real value for money and I'm on a tight budget... but I'm certainly not buying a Dell at Mac prices. Do others have the word "gullible" printed all over their forehead?
Yuck.
I can't see why anyone in their right mind would bother. The only reason I'd buy a PC laptop is if it provides real value for money and I'm on a tight budget... but I'm certainly not buying a Dell at Mac prices. Do others have the word "gullible" printed all over their forehead?
From a corporate perspective, having had many customers that looked at these issues, one of the things most people miss is the difference in quality that results from the razor thin margins on PC's these days. In one shipment of 10 Dell servers, all the same model and configuration, to a customer I was working with there were disk drives from 4 different manufacturers. Dell, to make their profit margin, tends to buy components off the 'spot' market, meaning the various parts of your machine will be the cheapest ones available the week of build. In general, I have not found that level of issues with Mac's. Not sure that is adequate differentiation, but it is one other consideration. I moved to my Macbook Pro from a company owned Lenovo (Thinkpad, still made in the former IBM plant at the time) about 6 years ago, Have never looked back.
As many have pointed out, the single biggest reason to buy Apple hardware is their software. It has been the case for a long time, and it was made even more blatantly obvious during the Tuesday's event. Did anyone notice that the new OS X, iLife and iWork are now free? All you need to do, is pay for the hardware
It's been the case with Apple for decades, they know that if they licensed their software and OS to run on generic hardware, their own hardware sales would take the kind of hit that could sink the whole ship. You know how they mentioned all the billions $$ they paid to iOS developers? Well, every single one of those has to run OS X to keep working. I'm in a position where my old laptop will need replacement soon, and I don't see myself getting a non-retina screen, but aside from cost there are things money can't buy - like a Kensington lock slot. It's an odd thing they have going, some choices they make are real head scratchers.
It's been the case with Apple for decades, they know that if they licensed their software and OS to run on generic hardware, their own hardware sales would take the kind of hit that could sink the whole ship. You know how they mentioned all the billions $$ they paid to iOS developers? Well, every single one of those has to run OS X to keep working. I'm in a position where my old laptop will need replacement soon, and I don't see myself getting a non-retina screen, but aside from cost there are things money can't buy - like a Kensington lock slot. It's an odd thing they have going, some choices they make are real head scratchers.
Newly registered member, long time forum stalker.
I just needed to reply to this thread so badly. Have you ever dealt with Dell customer service on the phone before? They are the rudest, most incompetent and ill-suited employees for the job. I literally spent over 4 hours one day trying to resolve one simple issue. Between being intentionally hung up on, transferred back and forth (literally) between departments multiple times, getting some fabricated lies about certain specs on a computer and just their overall rude behavior - I will never buy from Dell again.
That alone, is why I'd pay the few hundred dollar premium and get a rMBP 15 inch with better specs (I don't give a flying horse if it's not upgradable), infinite times better customer service (both in-store and over the phone), WAY higher quality and refinement in Apple's products. There truly is an obsession to detail that no other PC manufacturer (especially Dell) could ever match.
Cheers.
I just needed to reply to this thread so badly. Have you ever dealt with Dell customer service on the phone before? They are the rudest, most incompetent and ill-suited employees for the job. I literally spent over 4 hours one day trying to resolve one simple issue. Between being intentionally hung up on, transferred back and forth (literally) between departments multiple times, getting some fabricated lies about certain specs on a computer and just their overall rude behavior - I will never buy from Dell again.
That alone, is why I'd pay the few hundred dollar premium and get a rMBP 15 inch with better specs (I don't give a flying horse if it's not upgradable), infinite times better customer service (both in-store and over the phone), WAY higher quality and refinement in Apple's products. There truly is an obsession to detail that no other PC manufacturer (especially Dell) could ever match.
Cheers.
The same goes for Dell too. Even finding a reseller (one that sells to private customers, not only for businesses) might be problematic outside the USA, let alone getting anything repaired.
I've had both Lenovo and Fujitsu overnight me FRU parts to replace broken ones, and you can be absolutely sure that HPs Next Business Day On-Site Service is exactly what the name implies. But with Dell here.. well, good luck, you'd better speak fluent English, and even then you're mostly on your own.
It really depends what corner of the world you live in.
The quality of the actual hardware though, I really have not noticed any major differences in quality between different manufacturers business laptops. With all of them you pretty much get what you pay for. And if you are willing to pay the price of quality hardware designed for a five year life span in rough use, you can get it from any of them with.
we have a couple of XPS laptops here at work. only a few months old and one has already been rebuilt.
There is no way i'd pay my hard earned money on a dell machine over a Apple machine regardless of spec.
There is no way i'd pay my hard earned money on a dell machine over a Apple machine regardless of spec.
If the trackpad is as garbage as any other Dell laptop I've used, it's a no question decision for the mbp.
What I mean by garbage is the coefficient of drag, the friction feel based on the materials, the responsiveness to multitouch gestures, size of the trackpad, and palm recognition when typing,
What I mean by garbage is the coefficient of drag, the friction feel based on the materials, the responsiveness to multitouch gestures, size of the trackpad, and palm recognition when typing,
My biggest concern is the build quality of the xps, as good at is looks on advertising right now, it's hard to trust based on the history of dell. Osx I couldn't care less about, I would bootcamp the Rmbp anyway. As bad as windows is, most engineering and finance related software simply has no osx release, not to mention games.
The top spec Dell XPS is $2,249.99 (http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15-9530/pd) vs the top spec MBPR which is $2599. So the Dell is £350 cheaper. But there's the following differences:
- The MacBook Pro has a faster processor at 2.3GHz vs the XPS's 2.0GHz.
- The MacBook Pro has faster PCI-express based SSD
- Weight and thickness differences are negligible, they're more-or-less the same
- Meh! on touch screen. You'll use it for 5 mins as a cool gimmick, then go back to mouse/keyboard. I've seen a few people use Surface Pro's with a mouse/keyboard setup, and never use the touch screen.
- No Thunderbolt 2.0 ports on XPS
- The XPS does have a slightly higher res screen though.
- I can't find any info on the XPS's battery performance
Other than that, the XPS looks like a fine Windows PC. If I didn't want OSX, I'd probably go that for XPS machine.
- The MacBook Pro has a faster processor at 2.3GHz vs the XPS's 2.0GHz.
- The MacBook Pro has faster PCI-express based SSD
- Weight and thickness differences are negligible, they're more-or-less the same
- Meh! on touch screen. You'll use it for 5 mins as a cool gimmick, then go back to mouse/keyboard. I've seen a few people use Surface Pro's with a mouse/keyboard setup, and never use the touch screen.
- No Thunderbolt 2.0 ports on XPS
- The XPS does have a slightly higher res screen though.
- I can't find any info on the XPS's battery performance
Other than that, the XPS looks like a fine Windows PC. If I didn't want OSX, I'd probably go that for XPS machine.
When I pay top dollar, I expect the absolute best out there. Right now Apple is able to offer me that and in exchange I have no problem paying their premium. Dell definitely has a chance here to prove a lot of us wrong, but until shown otherwise, I will continue to go with the proven winner.
My situation and conclusion are almost identical. The first computer I owned was a Leading Edge Model D with two floppy drives. I later replaced one of floppies for a 30MB HDD.
I went to laptops in 1997 with a Toshiba, then a couple of HP's, then a Lenovo ThinkPad T500, and three weeks ago a refurbished mid-2012 rMBP.Nothing I've owned touches the MBP in build quality, not to mention the screen. The Samsung screen on my ThinkPad was really poor, and both palm rests developing hairline cracks didn't endear itself to me.
Having had an iPhone 4S for two years and an iPad 3 for one year, I decided to make the switch to Mac. I could not be more pleased, especially with the OS.
I was also tempted by the Dell XPS 15, but the price difference wasn't enough for me to go with Dell and stay in the Windows environment. Besides, as has been mentioned, MS has yet to get screen scaling down as has Apple, and the lack of 3rd-party, high resolution ready apps is a real downer.
I won't say I'll never go back to Windows, but it's hard to see it happening.
My situation and conclusion are almost identical. The first computer I owned was a Leading Edge Model D with two floppy drives. I later replaced one of floppies for a 30MB HDD.
Nothing I've owned touches the MBP in build quality, not to mention the screen. The Samsung screen on my ThinkPad was really poor, and both palm rests developing hairline cracks didn't endear itself to me.
Having had an iPhone 4S for two years and an iPad 3 for one year, I decided to make the switch to Mac. I could not be more pleased, especially with the OS.
I was also tempted by the Dell XPS 15, but the price difference wasn't enough for me to go with Dell and stay in the Windows environment. Besides, as has been mentioned, MS has yet to get screen scaling down as has Apple, and the lack of 3rd-party, high resolution ready apps is a real downer.
I won't say I'll never go back to Windows, but it's hard to see it happening.
thing with dell is, never pay retail. it's almost guaranteed you can bargin the price down to 2050-2100 or so. which makes it a $500+ difference
It should be around $1,500 to even merit consideration. $500+ on a $2k machine isn't huge enough, Dell doesn't deserve any premium pricing.
that's a bit harsh considering the parts inside it cost just as much as a rmbp, I'd rather them charge a small premium(less then apple) and produce a well built machine then cheap price and produce total trash like acer. I wouldn't buy it for 500 bucks if it overheats and crashes, my time is more valuable than that.
I have an Acer that's 4-5 years old now - its been stepped on even, and its still running just fine. Total trash? Its so cheap I really can trash it and not worry - but its not total trash.
I had rather buy a refurbished Mac than a new Dell, which is what I did. My 3-week-old mid-2012 rMBP was $1599 with a 2.3GHz processor, 256GB SSD, and 16GB memory. It really does everything I want splendidly, and I prefer the Apple ecosystem.