Laptop Advice - MBP or Dell XPS??

menamestom

fandango said:

prowla said:

Here's a comparison review; they seem to be saying that the MBP is thinner and lighter, but the Dell's price is significantly lower (you could buy a USA Strat for the difference!).

It’s always worth checking the specs. I’ve read a couple of articles that suggest it’s an urban myth when you factor in what your money really buys.

I don’t quite understand, the 15” MBP with 16GB RAM, 8th gen I7 and 512SSD is £2,529.
The equivalant XPS15 is £1,639.  That’s for higher res 4k screen and it’s still £890 less.
(video card in the Dell may be better as well)

You could argue the MBP is better made but they have also had issues with the keyboard that can cost a lot to repair.  If you take away the OS decision, hardware wise it’s hard to argue for the MBP considering the cost (although at least they have given the processors a bump recently).

I initially wanted to go with a MBP, but payed £1600 less for a similar spec Lenovo.

olafgarten

It might be worth looking at the new Asus Zenbook Pro as well. They are roughly the same power as the Macbook (slightly worse GPU wise). But are a lot cheaper. 

prowla

fandango said:

prowla said:

Here's a comparison review; they seem to be saying that the MBP is thinner and lighter, but the Dell's price is significantly lower (you could buy a USA Strat for the difference!).

It’s always worth checking the specs. I’ve read a couple of articles that suggest it’s an urban myth when you factor in what your money really buys.

Aye - the "similar spec" thing doesn't tell the full story.

Many things have similar components but huge differences in price between mainstream and premium models, including watches, guitars, cars, furniture, and so-on.

Though a lot of the Mac's components are off-the-shelf parts, the differentiators are the motherboard, the design of the case, the OS, the materials, the styling, finish & longevity.

On the longevity point, the finish of some laptops (inc. Lenovos) can degrade over time, whereas machined aluminium will last forever.

I think that if someone put a MacBook and a Dell on a table and said you could freely take either, most people would pic the Mac, so there must be something it has about it. When it comes to having to part with your own money, the question then becomes how much are you prepared to pay for that extra something.

meltedbuzzbox

I have a Dell XPS 15 with the 4k screen. 
Whilst spec wise everything is very wonderful mine has already gone through 3 hard drives in under a year. 
Literally at random on boot up it loses the drive and it can no longer be detected. 

I am not sure if I have been unlucky but its been a major ballache each time it has happened. 

I would google the issue to see if it is common. 

However saying that I have never really had an issue with dell before, even on a large scale (company desktops and server estates etc). 

Heartfeltdawn

meltedbuzzbox said:

I have a Dell XPS 15 with the 4k screen. 
Whilst spec wise everything is very wonderful mine has already gone through 3 hard drives in under a year. 
Literally at random on boot up it loses the drive and it can no longer be detected. 

I am not sure if I have been unlucky but its been a major ballache each time it has happened. 

I would google the issue to see if it is common. 

However saying that I have never really had an issue with dell before, even on a large scale (company desktops and server estates etc). 

Wow. What brand of HD were they? 

welshboyo

meltedbuzzbox said:

I have a Dell XPS 15 with the 4k screen. 
Whilst spec wise everything is very wonderful mine has already gone through 3 hard drives in under a year. 
Literally at random on boot up it loses the drive and it can no longer be detected. 

I am not sure if I have been unlucky but its been a major ballache each time it has happened. 

I would google the issue to see if it is common. 

However saying that I have never really had an issue with dell before, even on a large scale (company desktops and server estates etc). 

hmm, thanks for this, it looks like there are a few reports of it happening, which ain't great and I can't afford for that to happen..

Torn between MBP and XPS really don't know what to do.....I suppose the failures are going to be "out there" as people post on forums with problems rather than post that its working great!!! - same with anything I suppose...

FX_Munkee

Just adding that my XPS 15 (4k) has been pretty much flawless for the last 6 months.

So now you have an anecdotal failure rate of 50%

hywelg

prowla said:

OTOH, the price may not be such a factor if it's for business use; if you are VAT registered then that's not relevant and if you depreciate it over 3 years against company profits, the real cost of ownership is way lower.

Tech gets a full 100% FYA IIRC.

BUT its still the OP's money, all he saves is the Income tax ( and a bit of NIC's) on the value of the purchase which if he's starting out as self employed will likely be 20% . So not 'way lower', just a bit.

oaf

FX_Munkee said:

Just adding that my XPS 15 (4k) has been pretty much flawless for the last 6 months.

So now you have an anecdotal failure rate of 50%

  Have had a 4K XPS 15 over a year, no issues at all. I'm quite picky and would recommend the XPS. I have 1TB SSD in mine.

FX_Munkee

oaf said:

FX_Munkee said:

Just adding that my XPS 15 (4k) has been pretty much flawless for the last 6 months.

So now you have an anecdotal failure rate of 50%

  Have had a 4K XPS 15 over a year, no issues at all. I'm quite picky and would recommend the XPS. I have 1TB SSD in mine.

"33% and falling" </heart of gold's computer voice>

meltedbuzzbox

Heartfeltdawn said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

I have a Dell XPS 15 with the 4k screen. 
Whilst spec wise everything is very wonderful mine has already gone through 3 hard drives in under a year. 
Literally at random on boot up it loses the drive and it can no longer be detected. 

I am not sure if I have been unlucky but its been a major ballache each time it has happened. 

I would google the issue to see if it is common. 

However saying that I have never really had an issue with dell before, even on a large scale (company desktops and server estates etc). 

Wow. What brand of HD were they? 

I want to say Toshiba. If I can be arsed I will pop the panel off. 
Dont hold your breath though

menamestom

prowla said:

fandango said:

prowla said:

Here's a comparison review; they seem to be saying that the MBP is thinner and lighter, but the Dell's price is significantly lower (you could buy a USA Strat for the difference!).

It’s always worth checking the specs. I’ve read a couple of articles that suggest it’s an urban myth when you factor in what your money really buys.

Aye - the "similar spec" thing doesn't tell the full story.

Many things have similar components but huge differences in price between mainstream and premium models, including watches, guitars, cars, furniture, and so-on.

Though a lot of the Mac's components are off-the-shelf parts, the differentiators are the motherboard, the design of the case, the OS, the materials, the styling, finish & longevity.

On the longevity point, the finish of some laptops (inc. Lenovos) can degrade over time, whereas machined aluminium will last forever.

I think that if someone put a MacBook and a Dell on a table and said you could freely take either, most people would pic the Mac, so there must be something it has about it. When it comes to having to part with your own money, the question then becomes how much are you prepared to pay for that extra something.

Yes, but others have caught up or at least close.
One thing that put me off is the failure rate of Apple’s butterfly keyboard, and the fact it needs a whole new chassis to be repaired.   Apparently a spec of dust can kill a key and Apple recommend blowing the keys with compressed air weekly to try and stop this happening.  Out of warranty repairs can cost £600 plus

Dell at least you can change the keyboard for £50.

Apple do make the best quality devices but suffer from design issues and lack of upgradability (everything is soldered to the motherboard now).

Spec might not tell the full story (and I agree with that) but the perception that Apple are as good as they were and sell faultless machines is no longer the alternative story.

welshboyo

Just bought an XPS 15!!!! 

Thanks to everyone on here for their help!!