XPS 17 3d vs macbook pro

viper006

Hi, im in the market for high end laptop had my mind set that i would get the new 15"macbook pro.

Looking on ebay however i noticed i can get a great spec new dell laptop for 300e less in total and would appreciate any feedback if this is better choice? specs below:
17" 3D Dell XPS L702X laptop(new dell refurb)

Intel i7-2720QM Quad Core Processor with a speed of 2.2Ghz upto 3.3Ghz on Turbo Boost

12GB DDR3 Memory
640GB 7200rpm Sata Hard Drive

2.0MP Integrated High Definition Webcam

17.3" HD 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) LED Truelife Screen

NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB - 3D Capable graphics card

Intel WiFi Link 1000 WiFi Connectivity

3D Blu-Ray Player with 1 set NVIDIA 3D Glasses

Backlit Keyboard

2.0mp HD Webcam

JBL speakers with Waves MaxxAudio®

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit Operating System

15-inch macbook pro: 2.0 GHz

• 2.0GHz quad-core
  Intel Core i7
• 4GB 1333MHz
• 500GB 5400-rpm1
• Intel HD Graphics 3000
• AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5
• Built-in battery (7 hours)2

All in all i think im getting way more with the dell and also comes with 1 year next day home repair and 10 months accidental damage but just looking for peoples opinions before making the decision

Creamy Goodness

can't make a good comparison what's the CPU of the dell? 3D on a laptop seriously? I hate having to use glasses in the cinema let alone if i'm watching something in the confines of my own home.

you'll need to weigh up exactly what you want from the laptop.

Yakult

The XPS personally. Way better spec but then again I dont like the Mac OS that much but you might.

viper006

ya im not too interested about the 3d side of things really but more the full hd screen the xps offers..nice to have 3d anyways sud i ever want to watch anything on a 3d ready tv or even on laptop the odd time. Might help with the resale value down the line and more and more 3d blue rays coming in the future.

i was just overall taken by the spec of xps really, amazing RAM and its the intel sandybridge 2nd gen i7 processors, great screen and blue ray etc makes me tink this a better choice for watch movies, internet gaming. having great screen quality is very important for me.

The fact its 300e cheaper too is a bonus. i just wanted to check with people here in case i was missing something or not giving the macbook pro enough credit as some of friends speak so highly of them

melekalikimaka

youd be hard pressed to beat the macs screens, i assure you the mac will be the better choice with 6months when the dell starts dragging its feet. tbh for what you want it for the dell is over specced, the mac will last you years, the dell wont

SaturnV

melekalikimaka wrote: »

youd be hard pressed to beat the macs screens, i assure you the mac will be the better choice with 6months when the dell starts dragging its feet.

Meh. I've seen better screens than the macs, but the XPS 17 3D one isn't one of them. That said, it's pretty good, especially the non-glossy full HD. And the built in speakers on the XPS are the best I've ever seen (eh, heard) on a laptop, if that's the sort of thing that matters to you.

Incidentally, I've been using an XPS 17 for more than 6 months, and it's still as blisteringly fast as it was when I got it, probably helped by the SSD added in the seconds drive bay. Which is nice...

tbh for what you want it for the dell is over specced,

This may be true. The 3D screen is frankly ridiculous, and it'll prevent you from using some of the more useful features of the i7 SB, like optimus and WiDi.

the mac will last you years, the dell wont

Really?

If you want something that lasts, the actual data suggests an Asus or Toshiba. Dell and Apple are pretty much the same. I've had enough problems with Apple hardware to make me wary of such claims. I also dislike the apple practice of making you pay for relatively incremental OS upgrades. So if the mac does last you years, you'll probably have to pay again to keep the OS up to date. Although, to be fair, the updates are cheaper than full windows revision upgrades.

Fluffy88

The graphics card in the Dell is pretty much the top card you will get in a laptop atm. There won't be much of a difference in the screens as the Dell screen is a very good one too. I would go with the Dell especially at €300 cheaper.

SaturnV

Fluffy88 wrote: »

The graphics card in the Dell is pretty much the top card you will get in a laptop atm.

Well, you can get better cards, but you're talking about paying alienware prices for the privilege! The GT555 is a great card though; overclocks nicely (and easily) and still runs cool. It's been able to handle anything I've thrown at it so far.

viper006

thanks everyonbe your feedback... ended up going the dell route in the end.

Was only throwing the 3d in there to highlight how much i could cram into dell for plenty less than the macbook pro. Nearly went macbook but dell spec is great... its lighting.

thanks for the advice

Voodu Child

youd be hard pressed to beat the macs screens,

Macbooks use off-the-shelf TN panels, they are better than a low-end laptop but there is nothing magical about them and they are certainly not the best laptop displays available.

I don't think they even offer RGB-LED TN displays yet, and the likes of Dell have offered them for several years. The colour gamut is much improved over the MBP display.

Several manufacturers also offer IPS panel laptops and Apple isn't one of them.

In any case, the display on this particular Dell is objectively better than the one on the Macbook Pro 15":
Dell Macbook

ShadowHearth

Sorry, but that dell is just way better machIne all around. Only a pure mac fanboy would go for 300eu more expensive and twice slower laptop.

I knew you pay alot for apple badge, but this just brings it to a new level.

Alanstrainor

viper006 wrote: »

thanks everyonbe your feedback... ended up going the dell route in the end.

Was only throwing the 3d in there to highlight how much i could cram into dell for plenty less than the macbook pro. Nearly went macbook but dell spec is great... its lighting.

thanks for the advice

Best of luck with it. Let us know how you get on.

Nodferatu

i was in same boat 2 weeks ago, i was going for a dell xps laptop or a macbook pro, i went with mac in the end, prefer the ease of use and OS. wont be using it for games anyways. best of luck with you new computer. hope yours arrives perfectly unlike mine was damaged when arrived.