Dell Studio 15 Questions (Keyboard/Battery/vs macbook)

TheTubes

I'm thinking of getting one of the Dell Studio 15 laptops.
I won't be gaming, I will probably be doing some development in Visual Studio on it but thats about it.

Some spec:
787e
Intel® Core™ i5-430M (2.26Ghz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.53 GHz, 3MB cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
15.6" High Definition (1366x768) WLED
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
320GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570 Graphics Card
Primary 9-cell 85 WHr Lithium Ion battery

I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the keyboard is backlit?
On the US site it says that the backlit keyboard is an optional extra and on the ie store under the design tab it shows a pic of the light/dark keyboard but it doesn't mention it anywhere in the spec and isnt available as an extra.

Also, I'm planning to get the 9 cell battery, I understand that it will probably be heavier, but I can't see any pics of how it would look, should I expect the 9 cell to protrude from the body more than the 6 cell?

Finally, and this is probably a silly question
I had been hoping to get an apple notebook for a while, I like OS X and would like to try some iPhone development.
I wouldn't get a macbook pro at the moment as I know there is a pending upgrade (and price increase?)
My question is about comparing the spec on the dell above to the basic macbook:

929e
2.26GHz : 250GB
* 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB DDR3 memory
* 250GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
* Built-in 7-hour battery2

I know that the macbook only has 2gb ram and my dell has 4gb,
I could add extra ram but the macbook is 1066MHz and the dell is 1333MHz, is that a big difference?

Are the cpus any bit close or is the core i5 faster?

Is it fair to say that the dell is a lot better value?

I'd like the mac but I couldnt justify it if it isn't good value for money (even for an apple product ).

Any feedback welcome

FishTaco

I have a Studio 15, the keyboard was an optional extra when I got mine just before Christmas, cost about €40 I think. My battery is only a 6 cell and is flush with the back of the laptop, I believe the 9 cell protrudes from the back by about 2 inches or so.

TheTubes

Thanks for the reply.
How long do you normally get from the 6cell?
Are you happy with the laptop?

2 inches is loads :eek:

FishTaco

Maybe not 2 inches, but it does protrude from the back.

With the keyboard turned off and the brightness turned down I can get 4-5 hours from the 6 cell which is fairly decent.

Laptop is great, very happy with it. If possible get the backlit keyboard, it really does make a huge difference.

Voodu Child

TheTubes wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the keyboard is backlit?
On the US site it says that the backlit keyboard is an optional extra and on the ie store under the design tab it shows a pic of the light/dark keyboard but it doesn't mention it anywhere in the spec and isnt available as an extra.

The backlit keyboard is there under the 'keyboard' option when you customise it.

Core i5-430M will be faster than the Core2Duo in the Mac you've listed. But there's a deal going on the Studio 15 with i5-520M at the moment, so you're better off trying to configure one of those if you can.

TheTubes

Voodu Child wrote:

The backlit keyboard is there under the 'keyboard' option when you customise it.

Core i5-430M will be faster than the Core2Duo in the Mac you've listed. But there's a deal going on the Studio 15 with i5-520M at the moment, so you're better off trying to configure one of those if you can.

i have no idea how i missed the keyboard option!

is there a big difference between the mac and the dell?
Like would i be silly to buy the mac?

Voodu Child

TheTubes wrote: »

is there a big difference between the mac and the dell?
Like would i be silly to buy the mac?

Buy the Mac if you want/need OSX. Thats what it comes down to really.

If you're not pushed between OSX and Windows, then yeah, you'd be mad to buy that €929 Macbook. You can buy any number of way better Windows laptops for the money.

dellWlan

FishTaco wrote: »

I have a Studio 15, the keyboard was an optional extra when I got mine just before Christmas, cost about €40 I think. My battery is only a 6 cell and is flush with the back of the laptop, I believe the 9 cell protrudes from the back by about 2 inches or so.

who makes the dvd drive on the studio 15. just want to make sure it's not a mat****a

Rdaly1

I can do the above spec for 574 euro. (that includes my dell staff discount of 10%)

Just bought a brand new Studio 15 - but it is an unwanted gift that was never used or switched on.

private massage me if you are interested.

Based in - dublin 15