Macbook or Dell XPS

Trip Hazard

OK in the next few months I'll be getting a Laptop, as I do with Everything I buy I've done a bit of research, I've come down to two Options:

The MacBook:

http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/irlstore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B72365E&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook( the middle one in that link

Or the DELL XPS:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1530?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs

OK heres what I'll mainly be using the Laptop for:

Video Editing
Photo editing
General Internet Use (Downloading and Streaming included)
Audio Editing (possibly)
General Office use (Word Processing etc)

Maybe a few other applications too

So can anyone shed some light on which would actually benefit me more, I know about the whole Mac for Video Editing and stuff thats why I'm leaning more towards that at the minute.

I reckon I'll be looking for about 2GB Ram, Decent HDD(although I have a 500GB External), A Good DVD burner(if Mac I'd get the Double Layer SuperDrive).

Any Pros and Cons about each laptop.

I've been a Windows man for years but willing to change, also I'll be doing alot of Travel in the next year or two so Weight could be an Issue.

Any Help would be appreciated

Cheers

AlmightyCushion

You would get a lot more for your money by going with Dell, it would have more ram, faster processor and bigger hard drive than a similarly priced apple. More ram and a faster processor will greatly affect things like video and photo-editing because of this I'd say go with the dell.

Voodu Child

I'd go for the Dell. You're always going to get a better spec machine for the money, and unlike Dell, you'll never find money off deals for Apple. There's always some kind of a deal going for Dells if you hunt around, often great savings to be made.

The Dell M1530, being a 15", is more of a comparison with the Macbook Pro tbh - or, conversely, you should be looking at the 13" M1330 instead.

nicelives

For video and audio editing you'll get a lot better spec software included as in iLife 08 with the macbook than you will with the Dell. Fair enough if you already own the software you want to use, but the software included with the Dell really isn't up to par for your intended to use.

Trip Hazard

Yeah I was thinking about the Dell originally because of the higher specs, but now I'm thinking about going for the Mac Because of Final Cut Express and Pro, I'm working my way into the Industry and everything seems to be Final Cut, Final Cut, Final Cut, it seems that in the Film Industry most Post Production is Mac Driven and I feel I should jump on that Boat early and the specs on the Macbook are pretty good too

Still Deciding though...

And it doesn't help that Both Laptops look Cool:D;):D

majiktripp

I'd stick with the Dell IMO, your used to Windows alreayd , so am I , I'm well versed in its intricacies (sp?) but when I got a mac mini it took a fair bit of adjusting to get used to its workings and commands. I would recommend you go into the 3G stores or the likes and spend half an hour working on an apple machine, see how you deal with the OS and what your first impressions are. I think you'd be much more happy sticking with XP (I know I was.)

BanzaiBk

Well FCP is FTW, you know as well as I do that this industry is obsessed with FCP and for good reason. As I've said to countless other people, if YOU want a mac and it can do the things you need it to do, get the mac, but if you want a machine that can play games, is windows based etc then just get whatever standard Windows laptop.

With the mac you will be paying a premium, it's up to you if you want to pay for that.. Some advice if you go with the mac, upgrade the RAM by yourself because Apple vastly overcharge for it.

Trip Hazard

Yeah I feel I want to start using Final Cut Express ASAP so I might go for the Mac, price in this case isn't an issue the difference in the XPS and the Mac I was looking at is €100. Also the extent of my Gaming is a Playstation I was never really a PC gamer.

I just think the biggest thing will be getting used to the Mac OS.

BanzaiBk

Trip Hazard wrote: »

I just think the biggest thing will be getting used to the Mac OS.

That's always a hurdle, but honestly it's not as bad as the media make it out to be. Yes it will take you like a few months to let go of your Windows "perceptions" if you know what I mean, soon you'll be using the OS as smoothly as you did with Windows. It is important though to keep in mind when you're doing stuff with it that it is not a Windows machine, that was my own biggest bug bear. I use macs and Windows machines on a daily basis now with no problems. It's very intuitive in its own ways.

maxy jazz

I have a MacBook - the interface does taking getting used to but otherwise nice to work with, i felt it was a better alternative to Vista at the time. However they don't work very well with 3G HSDPA - regularly crash and loose connection. This is more stable on windows.

far2gud

If money was no issue I would buy the mac, I have a M1530, quality machine but the mac is just classier.

mike dee

I recently switched to a macbook 2.4 gHz black. I had a dell, they are crap, terrible service, i have lots of bad experiences with different computers from dell, lots of problems, crap design, stay away. The switch to mac is not too bad, can install windows using bootcamp or virtualise with vmware fusion or parallels, easy, works perfect.

cornbb

I was gonna say go for the Dell but if you want to get into pro video editing then the Mac would seem to be a wiser choice. As someone pointed out it also gives you the option of running Windows, which could be a huge bonus.

If your budget can stretch to it try to get a Macbook Pro, the specs are far superior, you'll get a larger screen, better video card, more RAM capacity etc. The basic Macbook's screen might get a bit annoying for audio/video work and they look and feel a lot cheaper.

Disagree with the last poster re. Dell's service though, I've been a Dell customer for years and find their service and build quality to be top notch. Depends on what you've experienced I spose.

art

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

You would get a lot more for your money by going with Dell, it would have more ram, faster processor and bigger hard drive than a similarly priced apple. More ram and a faster processor will greatly affect things like video and photo-editing because of this I'd say go with the dell.

Seems to be a very common misconception that but if you actually do a like by like comparison of specs between Apple notebooks and Dells you'll find it's not always true at all.

For example a current comparison of the base MacBook with the Base M1330 online shows the latter to be 929 compared with the Apple's 999 - both have 1Gb ram, 120GB hdd but the Apple pisses all over the Dell's cpu with a 2.1ghz 3MB cached core duo compared to the Dell's paltry 1.6ghz 2Mb cached one. If you customise the Dell to a 2.0ghz chip then the price becomes 1049 euros, still not as good as the Apple but 50 euros dearer. So people really need to check prices thoroughly before assuming Dell gives better value.

Tom Dunne

art wrote: »

Seems to be a very common misconception that but if you actually do a like by like comparison of specs between Apple notebooks and Dells you'll find it's not always true at all.

For example a current comparison of the base MacBook with the Base M1330 online shows the latter to be 929 compared with the Apple's 999 - both have 1Gb ram, 120GB hdd but the Apple pisses all over the Dell's cpu with a 2.1ghz 3MB cached core duo compared to the Dell's paltry 1.6ghz 2Mb cached one. If you customise the Dell to a 2.0ghz chip then the price becomes 1049 euros, still not as good as the Apple but 50 euros dearer. So people really need to check prices thoroughly before assuming Dell gives better value.

I'm intrigued. I'm not doubting you, but throw up a few links.







(ok, I'm thinking of buying a Macbook, Shhhh, don't tell AC)

cornbb

art wrote: »

Seems to be a very common misconception that but if you actually do a like by like comparison of specs between Apple notebooks and Dells you'll find it's not always true at all.

For example a current comparison of the base MacBook with the Base M1330 online shows the latter to be 929 compared with the Apple's 999 - both have 1Gb ram, 120GB hdd but the Apple pisses all over the Dell's cpu with a 2.1ghz 3MB cached core duo compared to the Dell's paltry 1.6ghz 2Mb cached one. If you customise the Dell to a 2.0ghz chip then the price becomes 1049 euros, still not as good as the Apple but 50 euros dearer. So people really need to check prices thoroughly before assuming Dell gives better value.

Doing price comparisons on a spec-by-spec basis doesn't really work, especially when comparing PCs and Macs (e.g. you can't put a price on the ability to use Mac OS). Its also not really fair to compare a baseline Macbook to a customised Dell. If you were to take a Dell machine as the baseline and customise a Mac to meet the same specs then the price of the Mac would be vastly inflated too (especially given Apple's own horrendous prices for extra RAM and HDD space).

I'm of the opinion that Macs are pretty highly priced for what you physically get. I hesitate to say overpriced, because in certain circumstances they can be excellent value. Eg in the OP's case a Macbook or Macbook Pro running Final Cut for video work and/or Logic for audio work would be a really good choice, from both an economical and professional point of view.

Voodu Child

art wrote: »

Seems to be a very common misconception that but if you actually do a like by like comparison of specs between Apple notebooks and Dells you'll find it's not always true at all.

Dell have frequent discounts and vouchers on their stuff....barely a week goes by when there isn't a 10% discount AND various other savings off of the 'rrp'.

Not knocking Apple, but spec-for-spec, the Dell would usually be cheaper now in fairness.

TerrorFirmer

art wrote: »

Seems to be a very common misconception that but if you actually do a like by like comparison of specs between Apple notebooks and Dells you'll find it's not always true at all.

For example a current comparison of the base MacBook with the Base M1330 online shows the latter to be 929 compared with the Apple's 999 - both have 1Gb ram, 120GB hdd but the Apple pisses all over the Dell's cpu with a 2.1ghz 3MB cached core duo compared to the Dell's paltry 1.6ghz 2Mb cached one. If you customise the Dell to a 2.0ghz chip then the price becomes 1049 euros, still not as good as the Apple but 50 euros dearer. So people really need to check prices thoroughly before assuming Dell gives better value.

Depends what you're comparing; the M1330 can indeed be very expensive. I know however, that when I spec'd a 17" Vostro 1700 v. Macbook Pro some months ago, and there was an entire 1K in the difference for identical specs (actually, that isn't technically true, as the Pro has a slightly better video card - DDR3 8600GT vs DDR2 8600GT - but same specs otherwise and hardly worth the 1K difference!).

You might get the odd good deal on a Mac, or more often, a bad deal on a Dell that renders the Mac a better option, but in general, Dell offer better hardware spec's for the money, and often vastly superior ones.

Macs come with a lot of nice extras though that are not standard in most regular laptops.

and ultimately of course the mac vs pc debate is not exactly based upon physical hardware specifications. I think cornbb summed it up pretty well.

art

Jaysus, i seem to have everyone going there

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I'm intrigued. I'm not doubting you, but throw up a few links.

Just Apple ie store versus ie dell store - didn't do anything special, just looked at their sites to compare the base mac book versus base M1330.

cornbb wrote: »

Doing price comparisons on a spec-by-spec basis doesn't really work, especially when comparing PCs and Macs (e.g. you can't put a price on the ability to use Mac OS).

Likewise, one has to factor in the cost of firewalls/anti-viral software etc etc to using a dell with Widows... a Dell with Linux would have the same issues as the Apple, so swings and roundabouts there

cornbb wrote: »

Its also not really fair to compare a baseline Macbook to a customised Dell.

But I didn't. I compared the baseline of each. The dell has a lower spec so had to be customised to meet the Apple's better baseline spec otherwise the point would be the MacBook is a better spec than the Dell, it has a much better cpu.

cornbb wrote: »

If you were to take a Dell machine as the baseline and customise a Mac to meet the same specs then the price of the Mac would be vastly inflated too (especially given Apple's own horrendous prices for extra RAM and HDD space).

You can't have read what I posted if you are saying this?

voodoo_child wrote: »

Not knocking Apple, but spec-for-spec, the Dell would usually be cheaper now in fairness.

My point was not to make the assumption they are cheaper (which has gotten ingrained in some people's minds), not for a moment suggesting that a Dell won't sometimes be cheaper - as you say, Dell regularly have very good offers available.

punchdrunk

i love my mac book pro,it's never crashed or made me want to trow it out a window like every P.C i've ever owned has
mine is the 2.16 duo,came with 1gb of ram so i got another put in by marx's computers for about 60 quid,it's no slouch!

cornbb

art wrote: »

Likewise, one has to factor in the cost of firewalls/anti-viral software etc etc to using a dell with Widows... a Dell with Linux would have the same issues as the Apple, so swings and roundabouts there

Excellent quality antivirus software can be gotten for free. But thats not the point - I'm trying to say that, besides concrete specs, like-for-like comparisons don't really work.

But I didn't. I compared the baseline of each. The dell has a lower spec so had to be customised to meet the Apple's better baseline spec otherwise the point would be the MacBook is a better spec than the Dell, it has a much better cpu.
You can't have read what I posted if you are saying this?

What I'm saying is, choosing the Macbook as the baseline and raising the specs of the Dell to meet it automatically puts the AMcbook at an unfair advantage. E.g. if I was to choose this Dell and this Macbook (both have an identical processor), then to spec both machines with 4GB of RAM would put the Macbook at 1,759 and the Dell at 1,479. The Dell still has 70GB more hard disk space, and this isn't even taking into account the constant money-off deals that Dell do (when is the last time you saw Apple offer money off?)

My point is that comparing machines on a spec-by-spec basis is:

- Going to be fundamentally unfair one way or another, depending on how you set your "benchmark" specs.
- Ultimately pointless, as each machine offers a fundamentally different experience. Its like comparing apples and bananas.

I'm not arguing that Dell are better by the way, I'm saying that - for most consumers - they tend to offer better value for money per gigahertz/gigabyte.

conzy

As soon as someone mentions VIDEO or AUDIO or EDITING why does everyone say mac mac mac mac mac? Believe it or not you can edit on a PC!!!

Unless you absolutely have / want to use Final Cut Pro, get a PC, they are cheaper and faster and you have a much larger library of software to choose from..

art wrote: »

Likewise, one has to factor in the cost of firewalls/anti-viral software etc etc to using a dell with Widows...

ahahahaha, I haven't used anti-virus on my machine for years... If you know how to use a computer, there is no need for it, But I do have free Anti-Virus on my family's PC, Very expensive indeed....

AVG
Avast

punchdrunk wrote: »

i love my mac book pro,it's never crashed or made me want to trow it out a window like every P.C i've ever owned has

Again, learn how to use a computer, Believe it or not PCs actually work! And after editing on / using a Mac for months over the summer it crashed several times and refused to play nicely with After Effects CS3.....

15" Dell XPS M1530
2.4ghz T7700
4gig of ram
320gig Hard Drive
8600gt 256mb DDR3
2mp Camera
9 Cell Battery
Wireless N
Bluetooth
Glossy Screen

1300 euro Including Vat and Shipping with this coupon 3BKVNMH10SH3TX

Link

Macbook Pro (base model no overpriced upgrades)

2.4ghz T7700
2gigs ram
200gig HDD
A SUPER DRIVE!!!!

1800 euro including vat and shipping

Link

Bish Bash Bosh, Trounced

papu

seriously get a mac , my firend got a macbook 1gig of ram 80gig hdd and osx for about a grand , i got a dell Xps 1530 2.0ghz , 3 gigs ram 200gig hdd ,8600M,Vista Premium , wireless N , Bluetooth , 1440x900 screen all for 868 Ex vat.

there is no reason at all to get a mac unless your the kind of person who cant use a 2 button mouse or you like making silly gestures on the trackpad.

the dell will be better specced , Cheaper , and come with great support , Xps has a 1 year 24/7 service which is awesome , phone anytime you want and you'll get heaps of support.



macs are just silly and overpriced.

Tom Dunne

Lads and Ladies,

I'll say it only once - this thread is sliding into the usual Mac vs. PC debate. There can be no winners from such a debate, each device has it's own merits, horses for courses and all that.

So keep it civil and on topic, or I am locking the thread.

ant043

my opinion is that you should get the macbook. os x is in my opinion is a far more superior operating system to vista or even xp. I switched from pc to a mac about three months ago and have never looked back since.

papu

ant043 wrote: »

my opinion is that you should get the macbook. os x is in my opinion is a far more superior operating system to vista or even xp. I switched from pc to a mac about three months ago and have never looked back since.

even if you believe that which i dont , you can install osx on the dell machine, pay half as much as you would with the apple laptop and get a better spec ontop of that , it really is a no-brainer.

cornbb

papu wrote: »

even if you believe that which i dont , you can install osx on the dell machine, pay half as much as you would with the apple laptop and get a better spec ontop of that , it really is a no-brainer.

A Dell "Hackintosh" has limited potential to work very well, as well as being legally dubious.

Each system has its own advantages and drawbacks, different strokes for different folks, blind fanboyism from either side does no one any good.

astrofool

This was really answered on the first page as soon as the OP saw that he needed to use Final Cut for the industry he was getting involved in.

However, any Mac heads are completely deluding themselves if they think that they are getting higher spec hardware than a Dell equivalent.

Soundman

A strong alternative for Windows to Mac's Final Cut Pro would be Adobe Premiere 6 as far as I have seen.

BostonB

I use both and don't have a problem with either. I don't find Apple any better in terms of reliability. All computers break. The hardware is effectively the same. However you really need to go with that they use in the job market your aiming for. Especially if there's a couple of software packages or a particular OS that dominate in that sector. Different if you are self employed, you can run what you like then.

List prices aren't that useful. In real terms, you can get much better deals on Dells, so you can get as much as 60% of list price, on the outlet store in conjunction with the right offer. if you make any attempt at shopping around you can get the same spec or better for 50% Apple price. The Apple store, the refurb section has some deals but nothing as good as you'll find on Dell.

Lets face it. Vista is usable but doesn't really offer you anything useful over XP IMO and its slow. Whereas OS X is more mature and is a better OS. At the end of the day its Unix.

Unless budget is critical, then I'd go with a Mac, in your situation.

If you want a bargain, and better bang for buck (in hardware) then go with a deal, but don't pay list price.

conzy

Premiere Pro CS3 is every bit as good as FCP imo, and the fact that it can use after effects plugins is great, it may be missing a few uber high end features that FCP has but for 99% of things, its perfect

Trip Hazard

Ok I thought this tread was dead at this stage so haven't checked it in awhile, but thanks a lot for the opinions guys even if it did turn the tread into a Mac Vs PC debate.

Anyway I've made up my mind and I'm gonna go with the MacBook, the 2.4GHz Model, the Price isn't too much and its seems perfect for what I want to do. I was in a shop the other day playing with one, checking out OS X and I'm impressed and at this stage my mind is made up.

Cheers for all the Advice!!!!

BanzaiBk

@ OP what did you end up deciding on? (if any)

edit: lol posted at same time. Congratz on your purchase, hope you enjoy it.

cornbb

Trip Hazard wrote: »

Ok I thought this tread was dead at this stage so haven't checked it in awhile, but thanks a lot for the opinions guys even if it did turn the tread into a Mac Vs PC debate.

Anyway I've made up my mind and I'm gonna go with the MacBook, the 2.4GHz Model, the Price isn't too much and its seems perfect for what I want to do. I was in a shop the other day playing with one, checking out OS X and I'm impressed and at this stage my mind is made up.

Cheers for all the Advice!!!!

Snap, I just ordered a Macbook Pro Cool, best of luck with it.

Trip Hazard

Haven't ordered it just yet but my mind is 100% made up, next few weeks I'll be ordering I'd say. I will be converted to a Mac head, although I don't think I'll leave windows behind for ever, well I say that now:D!!!!

BostonB

Keep an eye on the Apple refurb store, the stock and the savings change every week or so. Sometime they have MacBook Pros with a decent saving over list.

art

astrofool wrote: »

However, any Mac heads are completely deluding themselves if they think that they are getting higher spec hardware than a Dell equivalent.

A person does not have to be a "Mac Head" to go look at the dell site, check the spec offered on one laptop, then go look at the Apple site and check the spec there. As I mentioned earlier, there are cases where the Mac will indeed be a higher spec and similar value. Not always, and if Dell are making an offer at the time you are looking then it is unlikely, but certainly sometimes.

If people would just take the time to inform themselves instead of blurting out silly generalisations like the above, a) the world would be a better place and b) the thread might be of use to the OP.

papu

art wrote: »

A person does not have to be a "Mac Head" to go look at the dell site, check the spec offered on one laptop, then go look at the Apple site and check the spec there. As I mentioned earlier, there are cases where the Mac will indeed be a higher spec and similar value. Not always, and if Dell are making an offer at the time you are looking then it is unlikely, but certainly sometimes.

If people would just take the time to inform themselves instead of blurting out silly generalisations like the above, a) the world would be a better place and b) the thread might be of use to the OP.

ha i'm sorry but this is just funny , sure a mac might be the same spec/price point as one sold by someone like Pcworld , or joe soap Pc shop , But seriously you WILL pay a very high premium for the mac compared with selfbuild/dell.

no osx and aluminium is not worth 500 euros.

art

papu wrote: »

ha i'm sorry but this is just funny , sure a mac might be the same spec/price point as one sold by someone like Pcworld , or joe soap Pc shop , But seriously you WILL pay a very high premium for the mac compared with selfbuild/dell.

no osx and aluminium is not worth 500 euros.

How many people on here are going to "self build" a laptop? Where did that now come from?

It's really not a complex argument I'm putting forward, all it requires is the checking of prices instead of blurting out cliches and silly prejudice. But, unfortunately, as we have seen before, that's what most of these threads fall back on and Mr Dunne ends up having to close the thread to no-ones gain at all. What's the point in that? Really?

papu

art wrote: »

How many people on here are going to "self build" a laptop? Where did that now come from?

It's really not a complex argument I'm putting forward, all it requires is the checking of prices instead of blurting out cliches and silly prejudice. But, unfortunately, as we have seen before, that's what most of these threads fall back on and Mr Dunne ends up having to close the thread to no-ones gain at all. What's the point in that? Really?

yes you can self build a laptop, it really isnt that hard , but sourcing the parts from the Us might be , however i was speaking of desktop computers because the high prices does not only apply to their laptops , but also to the MacPro Lineup also.

it may not be a compex arguements but pigs dont fly and macs Aren't Cheaper than dells. that is a fact.

astrofool

Right, the absolute best you can get when comparing the Apple to Dell is with the base Macbook vs. the XPS M1330

BASE Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.10 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English edit
LCD 13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™ edit
BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION Biometric Fingerprint Reader edit
MEMORY 1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512] edit
HARD DRIVE 120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive edit
€ 819.50 ex. VAT
+€33 for 2.4ghz
+€30 for 2GB
+€120 for 4GB
+€30 for 160GB HD

Macbook (no dvd writer, no fingerprint reader)
€ 852 ex. VAT
+€90 for 2GB
+€450 for 4GB
+€45 for 160GB
+€200 for 2.4ghz, dvd-rw and 160GB, 2GB
No option to upgrade graphics or HD beyond 250GB, or battery, or use an LED screen, Macbook is also 300g heavier
Thats the absolute best case comparison.

Look at a Vostro 1400, and you're paying €534 for the equivelant to MAC with a 14" screen. As the options go on, the MAC loses out in both price and maximum performance, when you go high end, it doesn't end that pretty.

That is without looking at the Dell offers, which usually get you another 10% off if you ring and talk to a salesperson.

Mac's have their uses, but for price/performance, you'd be better off investing in bear stearns or northern rock.

BanzaiBk

Why are people so concerned about what other people like/buy? It's a personal choice for the OP at the end of the day, not what some keyboard warriors tell him/her in a forum to do based on prices, misconceptions and fanboyism.

papu

BanzaiBk wrote: »

Why are people so concerned about what other people like/buy? It's a personal choice for the OP at the end of the day, not what some keyboard warriors tell him/her in a forum to do based on prices, misconceptions and fanboyism.

lol this is a forum and he did ask, people are always biast , if you dont already know that already, well...

BanzaiBk

About what though? The OP didn't ask for a PC V Mac pissing contest, or have I totally misread everything?:rolleyes:

papu

BanzaiBk wrote: »

About what though? The OP didn't ask for a PC V Mac pissing contest, or have I totally misread everything?:rolleyes:

Any Pros and Cons about each laptop.

you see a con of the mac would be its Price.
A fairly large con as you see money does not grow on trees.
and i believe in any other walk of life it would be considered a Rip-off to have nearly identical machines , on being largly more expensive and less well equiped than the other.

AlmightyCushion

The OP has made his choice.