Dell XPS M1530 vs. Apple MacBook Pro 149
I was in the market to buy a new laptop earlier this year and I came down to comparing to machines: the Dell XPS M1530 and the Apple MacBook Pro. I compared both of them to every aspect I could possibly come up with. Anyways both machines recently have received some upgrades so I thought I should update both comparison lists for those of you who might be looking for a new 15-inch notebook.
Update 4/20/08: Dell is now offering a 1440×900 LED and 1920×1080 Full HD displays.
I gave Apple a point for the Screen since they offer a non-glossy option which I truly prefer due to glare. Dell was expected to push out a LED screen over a month ago, however it hasn’t happened yet. The body of the MacBook Pro is cleaner, simpler, and lighter compared to the XPS 1530. In terms of Operating Systems, if you want OS X Leopard, chances are you won’t be able to get it working on a XPS; however it should a breeze to install Vista/XP on a MacBook Pro with Boot Camp. Leopard can use 4GB of RAM; however you’ll need 64-bit editions of Vista or XP to utilize all of it. Dell offers many more options for HDDs including a 64GB SSD which would be unusual for a 15-inch laptop. Dell also lets you turn your XPS into a Blu-ray player with an optional Blu-ray read/write drive which is great for watching high definition movies. I was irritated to find out that the XPS didn’t have gigabit Ethernet, which is great for transferring large files on a local network, especially when most new laptops have it. Apple won the keyboard war with its beautiful backlit keyboard with an ambient light sensor. However the XPS makes up with a Finger Print Sensor, which is great for bypassing typing passwords when people are around, and a better Web Camera. The XPS comes with a media remote control which tucks away into the express card slot while Apple now charges an additional $20 for their Front Row remote. The XPS M1530 can also be configured with a Sprint or Verizon mobile broadband card which will utilize the laptop’s antennas for better signal gain. I choose the 6-cell battery for the XPS since it was the best one which didn’t stick out. It offered only 2.5 hours of work time while the MacBook Pro gets about 3 hours.
If you didn’t already notice, there’s one major factor I left out on the chart: price. This part is what made me make my final decision which was to go with the Dell M1530. Dell offered a pretty good student discount in addition to their constant promotions. Apple also offers such discounts, but are incomparable to what Dell offers. With both configured to the highest similar specifications, the MacBook Pro was getting very close to $3000 while the Dell XPS was about $500 cheaper costing about $2500. In addition for those of you on a strict budget like I was, there’s more flexibility to remove unneeded components with the Dell to bring the price down. Anyways, that’s my two cents so please feel free to make comments.
Links: Apple MacBook Pro | Dell XPS M1530
tags: apple, blu-ray, dell, dvd, ethernet, firewire, hdmi, intel, led, macbook pro, usb, wifi, xps
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You didn’t even put the os as one of the comparable’s mac osx the much better than windows and you can even run windows on a mac if you are on a budget than get a macbook non pro it very hard to compare windows and mac though
The dell 3USB/FireWire 400, Mac 2USB/FireWire 400 AND 800! winner dell? WTF!
How much does the SSD COST?
Blueray drive COST?
Video Chat on the Mac is far superior to the dell.
It’s the software stupid. In the end you get the combination of OS X with the Apple hardware. With the dell you get a dell and Vista. lol
have u guys even tried vista? i am using it now and it has worked with no biggie problems for a few months now. and plus it will all be fixed this month when the SP1 comes out.
to Rene,
i dont know what ur smokin but it i dont think either one won the point the ports. neither side is highlighted. and just to let u kno just abt all the devices ive ever used have been firewire 400, NO 800. also 2 USB ports for a 15inch stupid. even the 7-inch ASUS eee pc has got 3 usb ports. lol
also how is video chat different on either machines? is the hardware webcam we are talking about. you can use skype on both and get the same results. you cant get better video chat on a mac if it has a worse webcam. its not like it is using another camera for vieo. hahaha
and if i did get the blu-ray drive ($500), it would still be cheaper than getting a mac!!!
Sorry man but I think the MBP is the better deal of the two. Leapord is worth the extra $500.
Great comparison. My friend has a macbook but I think I’m going with the xps.
Does anyone know how much a standard packaged xps 1530 would cost?
You Mac guys are funny. Im not going to give away the vertues of the PC over the Mac. I will say; If you know what you are doing, in the right hands the PC “is” more powerful. The two machines in the review above are both so under-utilized by most people it’s a joke. Yea, I got my 200mph Corvette that I drive to work at 60.
I just puchase the Dell M1530 LOADED!!! BLue ray rewrite the only thing it doesent have is the 64gb ssd that costs like a 1000 more its to small for the price. But I have a mac book pro and this dell laptop blows it out the water, Im sorry but Vista doesent have many problems and also this laptop is way better than my macbook pro which does less and costs more WTF??? OSX is not worth it, Id rather have a much more powerful system, I am a die hare macbook fan but they really need to consider lowering there prices. Go price the systems yourself and youll be giving up a lot with the macbook pro
I am also thinking about these 2 machines. I think if XPS 1530 can run MAC OS 10.5, I buy XPS immedately. It is because the MAC OS upgrade is not free of charge for MAC user but it is free for PC user. Moreover, the price for XPS is just 2/3 of the MAC book Pro while I will use 4G ram. Futhermore, using Mac Book Pro running Windows that the nvidia driver is not running good. But I have to do C/C++/Objective C programming on MAC. So, if XPS can run MAC, I cannot find reason to buy MBP.
Jakesaturn, sorry bud I do not believe you own a mac at all or if you do, you really do not even attempt to use fully. Sorry but die hard fans wouldn’t even think of owning a PC and would be disgusted to be forced to use a PC at work. (I should know, my bro is a mild mac fanatic. I was a network admin with a fortune 500 company that is 100% windows. Even with corporate tools, Vista is still very “buggy” compared to XP. That said, I switched fields to go into medicine and bought a macbook to not have to worry about viruses and problems. Guess what, its been 2 years and I am not only happy about the switch but haven’t had the urge to upgrade like I did when I owned a PC. I still switch to PC to do low level network stuff but now I can learn linux commands with the mac. (BSD)
Hi Tabu, sorry about that I forget tell you my programming background. I work for UNIX system for many years, say IBM S390, SGI Onyx, SGI O2 and MAC for me is just another unix. You are corrected that I have not fully used the MAC while I just use it for develop CG program. Execpt the SDK, I almost just use the terminal. In fact, for PC, I also just know how to use IE and CMD. So, I may cannot feel how bug of the OS while I don’t use the UI so much.
Apple will never support users who install hacked version of their Mac OS X on their PC, hackintosh is not the answer, if something goes wrong, you can only rely on your forum friends to help you out. And you wont get the stability of Mac OS X on hackintosh PC.
FYI, SP1 doesnt improve much like what you guys hope so. and take note that by early next year, MSoft will stop producing XP, but the support will be there. Why? Cause Vista is such a crap that MSoft need to push people to Vista.
Bugs? Vista love bugs, if you like bugs too, go Vista!.
Edit: Oh yeah almost forgot to write, its true that you pay more for Mac which has less hardware compared to PC but because Vista sucks so bad, I will never consider it as my XP replacement until Windows Codenamed 10 appears. Its worth it to pay for a UNIX based OS, you spend less time fixing stuffs and increase your productivity.
I just picked up my XPS1530 from DHL yesterday:
Nvidia 256MB 8600GT
802.11a/b/g
T9300
3GB
200GB shock sensor hdd
DVD RW
1680×1050 LCD
bluetooth
Vista Premium
extra power supply
4yr onsite/complete care/lojack.
How much? $1660 plus tax…(healthcare worker discount)
Can I play games with a MBP? Why I even purchased a new laptop to replace my Precision M60…Neverwinter Nights 2 for example…
The XPS is a gaming system…and why I purchased it…
Why do you post the spec of your XPS1530? Everyone knows roughly its spec. By the way, you do can play game on the MBP, just install XP and you can run game 10fps faster then your Vista Ultimate/Home Premium. MBP is 802.11n so it has a better wireless card.
But since you are into gaming, then its okay, but if you dont do much gaming, definately go for the MBP. Dell marketed the XPS as a gaming system, see the XPS1330 and tell me if you can still play high end games on it.
let me correct the specs of teh XPS 1530. It doesn’t have a component video out, but it got a Gigabit NIC. I dint understand what’s this WWAN. I dont consider the fingerprint reader as a secuirty device. It is just an alternative for the Windows passwords.
And of course the Quality of the Mac Book Pro is far superior than the Dell XPS.
Edit: Let me add the wireless NC is 802.11A/G/N
I definitely agree with you, besides who will be so busy body to see you typing your password, unless you type soo slow that everybody can remember what’s your password is.
@ Manu
The XPS can easily do component. You can buy an adapter on Dell.com which plugs into the port that looks like the S-Video slot. This isn’t just any standard S-Video port, it is capable of outputting high def video content to a HDTV. Next, the WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) is a mobile broadband card that is embedded into your laptop. You can pay Verizon or Sprint for service and then you’ll hvae high speed wireless internet anywhere you go! Lots of business people who travel use this feature. The security device actually does have quite a few neat features. It encrypts and stores the fingerprints onto it’s own storage, so it wont be on the hard drive. In addition it allows encrypting files so that even if someone gets into your machine, they’ll need another fingerprint swipe to get access to certain files. Finally both the Macbook Pro and XPS M1530 support the same WiFi protocols! There’s no difference. Both can do 802.11 A B G N
Because when you order one, there can be great variance on components from one to the next, since you piecemeal it together when you order it.
Screen resolution, CPU (T9xxx, T8xxx, T7xxx, T5xxx), anywhere from 1GB to 4GB system memory, 128MB 8400GS/256MB 8600GT, ect…
Even 2 different 160GB hdd, one with free fall sensor, which is $75 more than the one without…
Also, prices are different whether you choose “XPS Laptops” or “Gaming Laptops”, even though they’re pretty much the same in the end.
It’s like buying a new car and everything is an option and not “prepackaged”
Maybe people here would know the difference, but many I know just see is price and screen size. They have no idea what’s inside, what it does, and how one thing is better than something else. Same with desktops.
Yeah, I agree with you, many people are not computer literate.
It used to be hard to compare Macs and PCs when Macs used Motorola, but now its essentially comparing hardware to hardware now that new Macs are intel-based. Its difficult to compare OS’s between the 2 but dollar for dollar you made the better choice as Apple is an evil monopoly and can get away with price fixing their machines.
Id say both options listed here are overpriced crap. Why? Because both use the NVIDA 8600 GT. Games? Are you kidding? That thing will be obsolete in less than a year. A good graphics card is more important than a super-fast cpu that moat people will never utilize, while the graphics card will usually be utilized to its max capacity. And graphics cards are used for more than just games… I bought a gateway P-6831FX for $1350 (compared to a $2000-$3000 macbook) that uses the newest 8800GTS card. It is BLAZING fast and more than triple as powerful as the 8600. You can even play Crysis at high settings (tough to do btw) and remember.. this is a sub $1500 laptop. The cpu may be 1.8 dual core, but it still beats the SHIT out of macbooks with obsolete graphics cards. Have fun wasting away your money on laptops that are already obsolete.
-Danny
Well since you said that Danny, then your message is more towards the Dell cause Mac never promote the MBP for games, it is meant for pro software apps which means 8600 is good enough. Besides, majority of the world dont play hard core or demanding games. Gateway is a cheap option for gamers who want a good laptop for gaming. MacBooks uses integrated GPU so as you see Apple never mean to let you play games on a Mac, they just give you that as an option and if games is your primary stuff, go for the buggy incompatible Vista.
Im not saying you are wrong or anything, but the MBP was never about games to begin with, about the Dell? Im not sure cuz the XPS line is meant for gaming (desktop line), not sure what it means for XPS Mobile (laptops)
[Combined Comments] Oh yeah, since I cant edit my post, let me add something up, if you say 8600 gets obselete, by the time the 9 series is released, your 8800 is obselete. Loser
So macbooks are not for games. They are not for business. They are for “pro software apps…” well i think that is a good point. as a film enthusiast i know that Final Cut simply can’t be beat. But don’t forget, that is an extra $1000. My point is the gateway laptop is much cheaper, and more well-rounded. Heck, it takes 4 screws to open up my ram, cpu, and hard drive in my gateway laptop, so replacing/upgrading these are a breeze. an upgraded cpu with an 8800 GTS should last at least 4 years and is still less than $2000. I guess it comes down to what you want your computer to do. Games and versatility with hardware with lower prices= gateway. If you want to get a mac simply to use mac-branded software, then by all means, buy one.
Yeah, sorry for the rudeness, but thats what Im trying to point out that if you are gamer, then to the all means get a Windows laptop (Gateway, Alienware). If games is not your priority and you are not willing to spend time fixing Vista bugs by all means get a Mac. Yeah, you can say Apple is evil for selling overpriced laptop but they have been doing that ever since they use IBM processor so what the heck.
Anyway, I was wondering, why would a hardcore gamer use a laptop? Ain’t hardcore gamer will use a PC instead. And most company (Dell, Apple, Acer, HP and etc) usually sell laptops for people who games are not their priority, if games are your priority look for DRM(desktop replacement models) laptop.
Anyway enjoy your gateway and sorry for the rudeness. (Got carried away sometimes)
Hmm, I wonder if the thing I wrote just now got posted
Just reading your comments, I feel that both Dan and John have valid points. Going with a laptop for TRUE gaming is probably not the best idea. I would say any average-sized laptop around the $1500 price point purchased today would be out dated within 2-3 years. It also depends what you are planning to do with your laptop. For example I had been using a Sony Vaio with a 16MB ATI Video Card for my primary computer for the past 5 years. It has done the job for just about everything I needed except gaming. The XPS M1530 is my new primary machine and I plan to use it for 3 years.
I felt that the Macbook Pro is too expensive for my needs. As one of you mentioned, it is great for video editing since it has Final Cut Pro. However anyone who plans to do any real hard core editing will probably use a Mac Pro Desktop. In addition you have the option to run Vista on a Mac, but not OS X on other machines. So you are paying for some exclusive features.
P.S. John, as stated in the notice below the “Submit Comment” button, sometimes comments are automatically held for moderation if something triggered the spam filters. So don’t worry, Skatter Tech doesn’t censor anything unless we have a real good reason to do so!
Oh okay, I wondered why my message is not appearing, anyway since the MBP will cost me a fortune thats why Im waiting for the next generation of Intel processors to appear and get the previous generation MBP which is as cheap as a black MacBook. Now thats money well spent :D.
Vista is so bad that I cant imagine how many stuffs in my home wont work with it, stupid MSoft, release a product that is incompatible with everything unless you bought it after Vista is released. DAMN YOU!!!.
hah yeah I won’t be “true gaming” on my laptop, but as an incoming freshman in college I thought a laptop would be perfect for games/portability in my dorm. Plus, i get all the benefits of macs and software like final cut in the tech labs. So I guess in my situation it really made sense to get the gateway. I’m not completely anti-apple :)
I’m currently looking at both machines. I like that I basically get more disk space & ram for less money w/ XPS than MBP. However, I work on a PC for my day job which runs Windows XP and have had to load it up w/ all more than one anti-virus tool. And it seems each week I have several security fixes to download & install from Microsoft. I’m thinking by the time you factor in all the time & money spent simply trying to keep your machine operating safely you might as well have coughed up the cash for MBP. I have several Mac-loving friends who tell me they’ve never once installed any anti-virus software and have never had any security issues. I suppose my question is which one really gives you more bang for your buck when you factor in security? And if it matters… whichever I buy, XPS or MBP, will be used for more creative work, managing home & small biz finance stuff, and watching movies & tv… i’m not a gamer so I don’t need a gaming-specific system.
since you make it that way, the MBP is a better choice for you, you can still install Win XP using boot camp (natively) or by virtualization software (VMWare Fusion, Parallels) or through WINE (the free version requires computer skills or you can just pay for CrossOver Mac).
So thats why Apple says is gaining, you can own the best of both worlds. :D
Personally I see both sides of the argument. It really just depends on what you’re going to use your computer for. I’ve been pretty impressed with what i’ve been hearing about MBP’s with their performance and graphics capabilities. I’m gonna be a college freshmen in the fall and I was seriously considering a MAC…until i saw the starting price of the MBP’s, and the macbooks have a 13 inch screen thats too small (for me personally). So I chose a XPS 1530 (ordered it monday). Upgraded to 200gigs @ 7200rpm hard drive, 4gigs ram, 8600 vid card, 1440×900 hd screen, and 4 year warranty w/ accident and theft coverage. So hardware is more than I could have imagined and I can always upgrade it to include Blue ray when the price drops a little. It has enough power for anything I probably will ever use at school and its got a good enough video card to allow me to run occaisional games with some pretty good performance. AND it looks awesome. Plus it would have cost $2400 but with dell’s sale and student discount i got it shipped @ $1597 after taxes. So all-in-all i’d say i’m gonna be pretty happy with my dell :)
~as for vista?…well…i’ll see about it after my computer comes. and if it sucks I’LL JUST INSTALL XP!(not that hard)
Well, just a tip for you, if you decide to downgrade to XP, do tell where you will find the drivers for your DVD drive, Media keys, CardReader, and all other additional stuffs bundled with the M1530 cause as far as I know, downgrading a PC is okay cause they aint much additional stuffs, downgrading a laptop? Thats a whole different category.
Anyway you can get the previous generation MBP if you want, its as cheap as a black MB. Thats what I am going to do when Montevina comes out.
@ John
One of the best forums I have found for help regarding the XPS M1530 is NotebookReview. ( http://www.notebookreview.com ) There’s a whole thread over there dedicated to installing XP on the M1530 which includes all the info about what drivers to use. (go to discussion – > dell section)
@ All M1530 Owners with Vista
I ran into a blue screen on my M1530 almost every other day, but it all changed when I upgraded to Service Pack 1. Since then my computer has not experienced a crash or a blue screen even once! The required drivers for the XPS M1530’s hardware was fully compatible with Vista SP1, so upgrade!
Ah I see, well good for you that the 1530 is Vista SP1 compatible cause my cousin HP wireless laptop card stop working when he upgrade to SP1. Congrats MSoft! You are seriously causing people getting pissed of at you guys.
Well, I was able to get a 2.4 Ghz MBP: for only $1611: New too!!! With my student discount! Apple rocks! When apple teams up with Harvard!
Wow, Harvard, interesting.
Well my PC (I got no personal as in my own notebook yet) is dying, dont know if my parents will ever consider into getting a MBP earlier.
Wow John! serious mac boy. You’re exactly the reason why people hate mac fans. I’ve got an intel core2 duo macbook (I share it with my bro) and a vista 64 ultimate (SP1) pc with just an athlon 64×2 processor.
I love using the macbook for web surfing and stuff because it boots up quick and is nice and clean looking but after using both leopard and vista regularly for about 6 months i have to say i just prefer using vista. (Plus leopard comes with no games. not even solitaire!)
Leopard is great but Vista really is much more “Powerful” You can do literally anything you want with vista if you know what you’re doing. You can get much deeper into the vista operating system than with leopard where it feels like you’re always kept on the service. I know a lot of people complain about vista being buggy but i haven’t had a single bug with sp1 and have never had a virus using vista period and I definately prefer the far wider range of software and hardware.
I think both opperating systems are good at what they’re designed to do but they are designed to do different things. Leopard is an unobtrusive surface for all your apps. Applications sit on the surface and play a greater role than the operating system. Thats why its so quick and slick because its not built to be changed. It is what it is and apple want to keep it that way.
Its nice and quick and doesn’t get in your way.
Vista is designed to let you taylor and customise <-(english spelling) it to your needs and plays a much bigger role in your PC experience than leopard and it has a kick-arse media centre, especialy if you have an xbox360 or any other media centre extender. Yes leopard has a good one too but not as good and you cant customise it with 3rd party apps.
Sorry if i’ve repeated myself a few times in here.
Well, you got your points, I admit that but here is some stuffs to take note, if your Printers or whatever came after Vista or you buy them after Vista is released, good for you cause its compatible, but Im not planning to replace my 3 years old All In One printer just to use Vista, besides, Vista runs game 10fps slower.
Oh yeah, I belive Vista will be great, once technology (hardwares) catches up with this demanding OS. Maybe next year Vista will finally see the light.
I got bored of kept maintaining my XP and are willing to try something for a change.
Am I a Mac fanboy? Yes. Am I an Apple devotee? No. Do I prefer good products? Yes.
Honestly, after considering, I will take a MBP (on discount) over a Dell 1530 anyday because I recently went to Dell Outlet and tested out the 1530 and 1330 and realize its media button sensitivity is different, 1530 is totally unresponsive, I had to tap a few times to get it to mute and tap a few times to unmute it, tap a few times to change the volume.
Oh yeah and Im a PS3 fan not a XBox 360 fan so I dont care about Vista Media Centre. Its just me, no offence
I took had the same debate in my head about whether to get a MBP or XPS 1530. For me too the difference came down largely to price. I eventually ordered a the Dell because I got something like $880 in discounts as a Stanford student – MBP would have had around $200 off. The Dell’s hardware is actually superior to the MBP – it has a bigger HD than Apple offers and has better support (3 year warranty included, theft protection, accidental damage protection). The only thing that I really don’t like is Vista – I plan to install XP Pro on it and possibly a variation of Linux – I’m a semi-techie guy. I’ll mostly be using it for college work and limited gaming. As far as security/antivirus goes, I’ll have access to free software for the Windows side as a student, and I’m planning to possibly set up a parallel/virtual machine to run Windows in Linux.
I don’t have anything against Macs, I just feel that they’re a bit overpriced. And I don’t feel that Mac OS X is worth the cost differential, especially considering the fact that it can be purchased separately (for Mac users at least) for much less than the cost differential both with and without discounts.
Mac vs PC is kind of a crappy debate these days. You’re paying for the operating system. If you don’t like OSX, don’t buy a Mac. It’s that simple. Yeah there are some things OSX does better and there some things Windows does better, but they are pretty equal across the board.
tomtom, you got that right. It really depends on if u like Mac OS simplicity or not cause some people found its simplicity restrictive. Im loving my MBP, it has XP on it just in case some of my old apps doesnt have a Mac version.
Well here is why you pay premium for a Mac:
1. It makes the price of the next OS X the same as Leopard currently offered.
2. The profit is used for R&D of the next OSX.
3. The profit is used for R&D of their product design (MBP, MB, iMac, MacPro, Mini)
4. To provide one of the best customer service in the industry
5. To be able to hire quality programmers and designers
Well that’s all I can think of, maybe I forgot some but I guesss 4 points is enough to justify the reason to pay for a Mac.
Macs suck. all of them suck. period. that will never change. always go with the dell.
Macs suck, you are ignorant. And Dell used to be great but now they suck in quality.
Well, I got the MBP for the less weight and smaller footprint. This is important as I am a 13 years old(no bragging but ppl mistake me for a 18 year old online)that needs to bring his laptop to school everyday. I also got the MBP because of the larger VRAM option. 512 beats 256 no question :)
I have no use for an expresscard, fingerprint reader(I only need security from theft. Not that paranoid), blue ray(lolwut?) or solid state(limited writes). Although I would like an SD card reader in MBP for readyboost(I dont like a USB sticking out, I want a low profile =D)
Another big factor in me choosing the MBP is the cool software I can get. Examples are the apps that use motion sensors(LiquidMac, Neverball, Tunnel) in this catagory, there is also a cool app called iAlertU. iAlertU plays a big part is keeping your MB or MBP from being stolen. I have yet to see a windoze PC have these apps despite them having motion sensors on they’re HDs.
The following bit you might say I’m contradicting myself as a apple fan but I see little to no flaws in vista. All XP graphic drivers are available in vista and vista IS the same price as when XP came out. I remember when I was a kid(smaller kid…), that nobody would really touch XP and it was really buggy, people stayed with 2000 until SP1 was out. Vista is the old XP and will be the current XP at around SP2 or fiji. Vista has no major compatability issues that I know of, apple fanboys(no flamey pl0x) are judging vista on its status when it was in RC1, beta and initial release. But I still feel that MS didn’t do the best they could in vista, but you can’t blame them, You can’t have an extremely major and radical change in a windows OS without nuking backwards compatibility in the kernel.
I personally think Apple made a bad choice in the 13″ and desktop(talking about the mac pro, imac is a different story)area. You can get a cheaper deal for a 13″ with dedicated Go graphix compared to the macbooks crappy integrated. With mac pro, it might be cheaper(I know, wierd?) than similiar max performance desktops(alienware etc) but simple doesnt support many choices. With the alienware desktop you have a choice of up to 2 9800s in SLI when the best option in a mac pro is to get a 8800(the quadro is more expensive but doesn’t go with the gaming department).
@ John, I really appreciate your love for apple just like me, but I feel that half your statements are given without solid proof. 10 FPS difference in games? Now? Games run with a max of 5 FPS lowered in DX10, you can get normal performance like XP if you run a game in DX9 mode by right clicking and selecting “run as DX9″
@macs suck, GTFO my internet.
Woo…that was long…please take the time to read it =D I believe it should clear some stuff up. And excuse my grammar and vocab mistakes, I’m only 13.
OK nvm, I got some facts mixed up about the DX10 bit. DX10 is known to drop up to 15 FPS in some games.
Still, DX10 is not vista. Vista is able to run DX9. You are able to regain valuable FPS from DX10 by using DX9 no doubt. But you still lose 1-2 FPS(not a difference in most games) via extra resource consumption in vista(bitlocker, UAC, defender. All things you can disable.)
Here is proof of this:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/lost_planet_demo_directx_10_performance/page2.asp
!!NOTE!! In some cases you even gain more FPS than XP in vista. Read the entire page.
Sorry when I mis-spoke, I wasn’t thinking too much and didn’t do my research.
Also for you ignorant people that do not believe in macs gaming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dcXCdrnbbI — Crysis on macbook pro. DX9
Good writeup lolwut, but everyone says that you get an average of 10FPS faster on XP compared to Vista in gaming performance and this words came from gamers, not me!. Unless you tweak Vista but most users wont bother to tweak it.
Well I agree with you that the lower end macs are ridiculous, they give u integrated GPU where competitors are offering 8400M which is called crappy by gamers?. I wont comment on the MacPro cause its not meant for gamers, its meant for people who use it for professional stuffs (not games).
What I do believe is the MBP is priced and feature with the right stuffs cause most of its competitors who has 8600M GPU and has about the same quality as MBP is just slightly cheaper then the MBP (Dell not included).
I understand that some of my point that I made about where your money goes to is unsupported but honestly, how can Apple offer all the features in Leopard at the price of Vista HomeBasic?. So its kinda obvious that some of the money from those overpriced macs ended up in the R&D.
Exactly. I totally agree with you except for the gaming bits. Vista has little to no performance impact compared to XP. Sure, there was 6 months ago, but everything was fixed with SP1 and Nvidia’s release of vista’s drivers.
an 8400M can handle crysis on low-med with 1280×780(i think so) res.
Look at the links with the benchmarks. Vista using DX9 is no different than DX9 on XP. Sometimes vista is even better. If you can find solid proof that vista has over 10FPS decrease when it still comes down to DX9, be my guest. Give me a benchmark, or SOMETHING to justify your facts. When i scroll through the page, I see only myself giving solid proof to back myself up.
I myself run vista ultimate on my MBP. It runs flawlessly. I ran a test myself with my cousin’s MBP with XP. His has the same specs as mine, 2.5Ghz C2D, 8600GT 512mb, 4GB DDR2 RAM. Here are the results with crysis. Take note we are both using 174.74 Nvidia forceware. We used the crysis demo under DX9 mode.
CRYSIS DEMO-Shaders med, volumetrics low, shadows low, rest high. 1280×780 res.
XP: Max FPS 37, Min FPS 17. Avg FPS is 25/26.
Vista: Max FPS 35/36(counter moved to fast to tell), Min FPS 18. Avg FPS 24/25.
Vista has but 1 FPS in the average drop and a higher minimum FPS. Vista had a more stable FPS range overall. 1-2 FPS is nothing and extremely un-noticable. If I played them both without FRAPS on, I couldn’t tell a difference.
A mac pro not for gaming? It’s the highest end gaming machine offered by apple. Offering a 8800GT. The mac pro is extremely versatile, with choices from professional business(quadro) and gaming(8800). However, this is hardly the “best of both worlds” when alienware offers 2 9800GX’s OC’d AND in SLI.
Vista isn’t bad. It’s just not as good as it could’ve been. A year from now, I see the world using vista =D
So, to conclude, you are wrong about vista’s performance in games unless you can find solid proof to back it up(which I doubt). Please note, even if you DO attempt to find proof, please make sure the 2 comparisons have the same drivers, same specs and are running a game or benchmark at the same settings.
Also, gaming on OSX is PATHETIC. I’m a mac fan but OpenGL just doesn’t work the way Direct3D does. When I’m gaming, I reboot and use boot camp for vista.
Please don’t make me prove the above…there are too many examples of crappy mac gaming. It would only make people cry if I was to present proof. Plus, the message only allows 3 links per post.
On a side note, I will be camping this board until the ignorant ones realize macs are better in almost every way, and until John and other mac fanboys figure out vista isn’t bad either.
Vista>XP. Find proof to kill that and I’m nuked.
Well I believe that Vista will be great once everyone upgrades their PC or there are proper drivers for it. Maybe SP1 fix it or maybe Nvidia drivers finally up to standard for Vista but really, go to forums and people will tell you gamin on XP is faster then on Vista. But hey, maybe that has changed with better Nvidia drivers or SP1.
I personally will play games using XP then finding a Mac version cause I just dont know why, each time the game manufacturers make a game for Mac, the AI tend to be less intelligent then the PC Version (oh yeah, I read this from some game website long ago, forgot which).
Vista is better then XP once there are proper hardwares for it, the people whom are complaining bout Vista sucks (like me) is cause I must replace my all in one printer which I rarely use and found it a waste of money just to get one because of Vista. Thats just me, some people dont like Vista cause they must spend quite a sum of their money to upgrade their softwares to be Vista capable.
I never recall Apple offering the MacPro as a gaming machine? I know Alienware made their PC for gaming but I never recall Apple putting a statement in their website about its a gaming rig (except for the benchmark).
I just meant the MP is the best for gaming out of all of the apple machines with the iMac coming in really close, however, apple DOES advertise MP as the ultimate gaming machine. I agree that it is the best for gaming out of all the apple products. But DEFINETELY not the best on the market.
Mac AI over PC AI? There should be absolutely no difference unless it was a buggy release. The only differences should be in AA, AF, basically graphical things due to the differences in OpenGL and Direct3D.
I think you should go to http://www.apple.com/games/hardware for info.
I agree with the upgrading of hardware for vista but there should be no need with any rig made within these 2 years.
Also, why won’t your printer work on vista? Does the company not offer appropriate drivers?
Ah, if you made it that way, the MacPro is wayyy better at gaming compared to iMac, haha.
Anyway, yeah. HP do not offer appropriate drivers for my model, I guess it has to do with it being the cheapest among the HP all-in-one printer during that time. Go figures.
Im going to try WINE for gaming :D. Hmm, if someone managed to create a DirectX version for Mac, it would be much better and easier to bring games into OSX
You said it =D
Is WINE even available for OS X? I thought it ran solely on linux distros.
Even so, WINE is unreliable and only a handful of games are able to function properly with it. And out of the few games, they don’t necessarily function natively and you will find FPS drops.
Just get boot camp lulz!
Also, try a software called Cider.
http://www.transgaming.com/products/cider/
It isn’t really free, but its known to bring windows games to the OS X platform more reliably.
Hope it helps.
Yeah, only a handful of games are able to function but hey, its the only way to run Windows games natively. I know there are a few popular games out there that run gold on WINE. Surprisingly, some people report that it runs as fast as PC, no FPS drop what so ever. There is a company called CrossOver which is developing WINE, you must pay for their program though and its nowhere as good at Windows emulator (Parallels and Fusion). They have a normal version and a version for games which focuses on porting games into Mac. I also heard that Google is funding the WINE project.
Ah, thanks, you have quite a number of good apps, I like iAlertU, what happen if the software failed to recognize the same user?
what do you mean by “if the software to recognize the same user”?
I’m sorry but I don’t understand. Are you talking about iAlertU?
yeah, If Im not mistaken it takes a picture of the user before he/she leave the laptop and only activates once the same picture is taken again right?
So what’s the verdict, MBP or XPS M1530. I’m leaning towards the MBP. Help bash the M1530 and confirm the decision for me.
@Jean Well I personally went for the MBP for its light weight and extra VRAM. However, this comes at a cost of a SD card reader, a USB port(both kinda handy) and a large price difference. You decide what you want, the MBP can run both win and OS X so thats another up side. Not to mention its sleek and cool design. I would say the MBP is worth it if your not on a tight budget. The dell is a good deal as well but I just needed the extra VRAM for crysis ^_^
@John I don’t think so =s It’s just activated by the apple remote(menu button) and then when someone moves it, it makes a really loud alarm and takes a picture of whatever is in front of it. The only way to stop the alarm is to click the Menu button again.
Go for the MBP, if you like clean design, the MBP is definitely your call, besides you can run both XP and OSX, how good is that. I love my MBP speaker, soo clear!
yeah if it were up to me, get the MBP.
Hey, Just wondering if any of you have any opinions about which one would be better for photography. Thanks!
Hmm, okay lets take this from the hardware perspective and software perspective.
Because Dell allows you to configure your notebook screen, it is possible to have a higher resolution then MBP. My only concern about Dell displays is the quality, I heard A LOT of complaints about the M1530 screen quality that I decided that I wont be a cheap person by buying a Dell because its cheaper and have my notebook not to last for a period of 5 years, I want my stuffs to work for a long period and and not end up sending back for a display replacement. I know Apple SOMETIMES has display issues but usually its a software stuff and I heard that Apple customer service is the best, very helpful and friendly. Thats definitely a plus in my book.
Okay, now its the software side, I assume you are going to use Photoshop, somehow in terms of speed there is not much different between Windows and OS X into loading Photoshop, the difference is how do the application work in two different environment. I have used both Photoshop CS3 on Windows environment and Mac OS environment and personally I prefer the Mac environment. It makes stuffs much faster with all the features in Leopard. You can switch back between your web browser or MP3 player to your Photoshop by pressing two buttons (control + arrow keys). You have a bigger screen space compared to the Windows version (assuming both displays have the same resolution).
So I say go for Mac :D
The M1350 has the best Cost to performance ratio when it comes to performance and screen res.
The Macbook pro offers both the screens with the matte finish as well as the glossy screen. For photography, I suggest you get the matte screen. Although glossy would be much more vibrant and colourful, the matte shows true colour while glossy will only show that way on screen and it would be different on paper. For the matte, get the macbook pro as it offers a screen where truecolour would be shown. But a few downsides, have less options than the m1530 and costs a bunch more.
There are no issues about the m1530 screen john, whoever told you that doesn’t know how to treat their screen or has gotten a defected product.
All software you need, I believe that you will find it(or an equivalent of it) on OS X.
I’m contradicting myself but then again, they are both good laptops. If you are a pro photographer and it is your job, get the MBP for the matte antiglare option. If you are casual, both are good.
John Said “have my notebook not to last for a period of 5 years”
There is no laptop that would stay up-to-date with the software and hardware for that long. By 5 years, its highly possible intel will have released a 4GHz Core 2 Duo, while Nvidia will have released a card with clockspeeds doubling the 9800GX2. These advances will have left the MBP in the dust. Please also note that apple updates their laptops quite regularly, a good example would be the recent beef-up of the iMac. Even though you can keep up to date on RAM and some software, you cannot keep up to date on graphic cards(just laptops, desktops can be updated), processors, chipsets and mobos.
So please, don’t tell me you expect any piece of hardware to last 5 years. I would laugh and laugh at you. Yeah, you’d still get by if you used it for 5 years with surfing the net and playing fairly old games(Crysis is new now, but will be like pacman in 5 years) but people would smirk and laugh if you were to be seen in public.
I used to have just a 3 year old laptop, and my friend’s laptop made last year doubled my boot-up speed and basic operating speed.
Sorry if I was a bit rude but I’m just doing it for your own good. Even if I didn’t say all this, you would find your machine in the dust within 2 years and you would most likely change yourself. I’m just trying to make you know what’s ahead.
You misunderstood my point, I never say that my MBP will stay up to date till 5 years, but believe me, by that time only the softwares will be a pressure to run on my MBP like what happen to my 5 years old Dell, only now it has difficulties running Photoshop CS3. This is of course different if you buy a notebook to play games cause games will need the best hardware available but in software side, its different. Heck, they are people running CS3 on PowerBook. How old since Apple switch to Intel. I never mentioned anything about GPU, I just said that most notebook when they offer a GeForce 8600 GPU, the price will be almost or slightly (my term of slightly is different then yours cause I add in the quality and research factor into the design) cheaper then the MBP.
Thanks for the apologize but the way you reply my message is as in Im a little kid but actually I know the life expectancy of a notebook and I realize your opinion (and thinking) will be different then mine because you use your MBP for games, I use my MBP for Photoshop, Illustrator, SolidWorks. Not for games.
If I am going to upgrade my notebook a couple of years because I want to play the latest games, I would just get a Dell or GateWay cause quality would then be a little concern for me.
Sorry If I misunderstood your point. But I had a hard time understanding the way you said things(no offense) D=.
Also, it is almost near impossible to upgrade a laptop like a desktop. The only REAL thing you can change is the RAM. You cannot upgrade a graphics card on a notebook. However, whereas on a desktop you can upgrade almost everything.
Again, I’m sorry ^.^
@Lucy, get the MBP. I watched a video on youtube confirming that glossy screens do not show the real colour.
I accept your apology. Anyway why do you find a hard time understanding what I am saying? Is it cause of my sentence structure?
Chances are, if you’re looking to buy one of these laptops, price is not that big of a factor since you have a big budget. Both laptops are on the expensive side, but both of them come with nice goodies and extras. The biggest difference between the two is the availability of the operating system: The Dell can’t run OSX. I was a longtime Windows user, but when I started school and was deciding on a new laptop, I chose a MBP because it ran OSX (and the option to run Windows when I’m into casual gaming).
WUXGA+ vs LED WXGA+
any thoughts? Whats best for HD movies?
I dont care that LED is thinner and uses less battery because i mostly use in differnt rooms of house so itll always be plugged in.
[Comment ID #44828 Will Be Quoted Here]
For the purpose of HD movies, the 1920×1080 is probably the best way to go since 1080p HD content will play in that exact resolution. However there are also some downsides to getting such a high resolution display. For example all the text will be quite small making it pretty difficult to read. I currently have a 1680×1050 display and even with decent vision, I can not read text from more than a couple feet away. The WUXGA will be even more difficult to read. Also if you plan on playing games for example, your graphics card won’t be able to handle that high of a resolution so not much use.
LED is mainly good because it saves quite a large amount of battery life, but if you don’t run your machine on batteries, then it probably won’t do much use to you. But other advantages of LED is that the colors are much richer and look a whole lot better. The screen is also much brighter and is expected to have a much longer lifespan without becoming dull or dying.
It all comes down for what you plan on using your machine for. If the main purpose is for blu-ray movies, then you might want the HD screen. If you only plan to watch movies occasionally, then stick with either the LED. If you plan on playing games definitely don’t get the HD display since your computer won’t be able to handle. Sticking with either 1440×900 or 1680×1050 is ideal.
Ok. With practically all specs being the same, the XPS with WSXGA+ costs 800 dollars less with the major differences being LED and the OS X. Im hoping that the 1680×1050 will compensate for not having LED. Crossing fingers for an LG screen.
btw jonathan, i hear OS X can be installed onto an XPS since both systems use Intel. You can google to see how.
yes, you can install OS X on the XPS, but believe me, you wont want to do your work in it cause the chances of something goes wrong after an updater or after inserting an external device is very high. I have done a hackintosh on my PC and somehow, when I go to Apple.com to download the latest version or safari, Apple detected my hackintosh as a PC.
Besides, this is a very subjective manner, a lot of people who tried hackintosh ended up buying a Mac if they really like it cause its not worth it troubling around an OS that you are planning to use everyday. I am on the even if your PC has OS X, the feeling is not the same as owning a Mac hardware + software. I tried hckintosh and Im going to be honest with you, I take a real Mac anyday or dont own a Mac or even tried (make my PC into hackintosh) if I cannot own one.
I bought an XPS M1530 last week, and I can confirm that it’s an awesome computer. Of course the first thing I made when I received the PC was to remove Winodws Vista and use a better OS on it. I’m not talking about Mac OSX but ubuntu hardy heron (8.04). Installation was snappy (25 minutes and I had a modern OS with all the software I needed installed and configured) in my 320 GB hard drive space i leaved 50 Gigs for Windows XP (for windows games). Ubuntu runs smoothly in my xps and everything works like a charm.
If you want a good OS for your XPS ubuntu is the right choice. MacMooks are surely good but they are expensive and you still need time to find cracks and serials or pay to have an usable computer. With ubuntu you have all the software you want free of charge and it’s so cool and stable!
I agree with Neff, why is Ubuntu very famous? What happen to RedHat Linux?
I run ubuntu myself, I have triple booted Ubuntu, Leopard and Vista on my MBP.
I use ubuntu as my regular workstation and web surfer cause I like the fully customizable GNOME UI and Compiz-Fusion beats expose and flip3d in every aspect.
I use vista for games and I sorta randomly switch from Leopard to Ubuntu everytime I boot up. I can’t take out leopard because my school requires me to have a computer with OS X installed.
I sorta regret not getting Kubuntu now that I’m more impressed with KDE than GNOME but I can’t possibly bother re-installing.
What kind of school that requires to have OS X installed? I never heard of such thing, cuz not many people can afford a Mac.
Well maybe its just our school then. We don’t “have” to have a mac but its highly recommended by our school.
Ah I see, that must be some fancy school then :)
lol…yeah….
there’s this PC fanboy here that knows nothing about hardware here. All the points he can possible make are:
PCs work better with stuff
macs suck
vista has aero
dell>apple
The only possible good point he says is that PCs are cheaper…I gotta agree with him on that one.
MACS SUCK DELL ROCKS APPLE RIPS OFF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND MAKES THEM PAY
yeah…that was my friend ^.^
hmmmmm…………….
What did I say about drinking jack……
yeah taht was my “friend”
I have to agree with Lolwut… Dell has better pricse but I prefer Mac OS X over Windows… For many reasons.
And Vista Aero “looks” really good and not to mention Vista Transformation Pack with XP can imitate it’s useful features, but not the “useful” User Account Control…
Also, Lolwut’s comment sucessfully made it… PCFanboy attempted to mess up multiple times…
-Fyre Vortex
People seem to be going for Macs just to run OS X. And most people want to use OS X because it:
1. Looks better.
2. Is user-friendlier.
I don’t get it. All OSes still use GUI principles set down decades ago. OS X, like Windows or X11 variants, still use textboxes, radio buttons, scroll bars, etc. There’s not much you can add to the point-and-click interface.
I admit, OS X looks nice, drop shadows and all that, ships with a few applications which make the UI a bit more friendly. But, is that friendliness worth paying hundreds of dollars for? I don’t think so. Maybe for the not-so-computer-literate like pre/primary school children. Windows has been friendly enough all this years, why the sudden change? And oh, spyware/viruses result, for the most part, from irresponsibe computer use; OSes are big and complicated, they all crash and they all have security holes, even OS X (In fact, it was the easiest OS to hack at a recent Hackfest).
Here’s a stronger reason for using OS X: It’s built on Unix but does not trade-off power for usability like other *nix OSes. Honestly, the ‘creative professionals’ Macs are targeted towards don’t care if it’s Unix. I don’t care much for it either since there a lot of free Unix-like OSes (Ubuntu, a Linux distro, being a hugely popular one) which ship with excellent graphical intefaces (admittedly, not as good-looking as OS X, but no less powerful).
If you’ve got a lot of money: buy a high-end MBP. Why the hell not? If you’re on a tight-budget, don’t even bother with lower-end MacBooks when you can get much more powerful Dells for the same price.
People seem to be going for Macs just to run OS X. And most people want to use OS X because it looks better or is user-friendlier.
I don’t get it. All OSes still use GUI principles set down decades ago. OS X, like Windows or X11 variants, still use textboxes, radio buttons, scroll bars, etc. There’s not much you can add to the point-and-click interface.
I admit, OS X looks nice, drop shadows and all that, ships with a few applications which make the UI a bit more friendly. But, is that friendliness worth paying hundreds of dollars for? I don’t think so. Maybe for the not-so-computer-literate like pre/primary school children. Windows has been friendly enough all this years, why the sudden change? And oh, spyware/viruses result, for the most part, from irresponsibe computer use; OSes are big and complicated, they all crash and they all have security holes, even OS X (In fact, it was the easiest OS to hack at a recent Hackfest).
Here’s a stronger reason for using OS X: It’s built on Unix but does not trade-off power for usability like other *nix OSes. Honestly, the ‘creative professionals’ Macs are targeted towards don’t care if it’s Unix. I don’t care much for it either since there a lot of free Unix-like OSes (Ubuntu, a Linux distro, being a hugely popular one) which ship with excellent graphical intefaces (admittedly, not as good-looking as OS X, but no less powerful).
If you’ve got a lot of money: buy a high-end MBP. Why the hell not? If you’re on a tight-budget, don’t even bother with lower-end MacBooks when you can get much more powerful Dells for the same price.
I admit that your review is totally unbiased. Well honestly, I have been using Windows for like 12 years and I never found the Windows UI friendly, I got my Mac for 2 weeks and I say that its UI and simplicity is light years ahead of Windows.
If it works for you – good. I just can’t see the logic in it; but hey, user interfaces are personal things (sorta like music, you’re never asked to logically justify why your musical tastes – some stuff simply pleases your senses more). I agree that they’re more user-friendly, and maybe I would recommend the inexpensive MacBooks to those who aren’t that concerned about hardware specs. (e.g., the occassional gamer). However, I need the specs. but I’m in no dire need for more user-friendliness.
For those reading these comments who haven’t yet bought a Mac: FYI, you can get Apple-certified refurbished computers which ship with a 1-year warranty and, according to the Apple store, online forums and some YouTube videos: they’re good as new. Google it.
lolwut?, you can install the KDE ’suite’ just like any other package on Ubuntu. Look it up on Google. BTW, KDE 4 has been released.
@cl3m0ns Not when you can buy a copy of Leopard for $110…
WOW I DIDNT KNOW THAT :)
ty, now I have KDE. But I have to get all my stuff again…..
I’ve had a change of heart. I said that low-end MacBooks aren’t worth buying. I was wrong. I need a portable 13″ laptop, and after getting an education discount, the MacBooks do, in fact, give better value-for-money. Although the XPS M1330s have 1 GB more ram, twice the hdd and a few ports, they have serious shortcomings (according to buyer reviews) in terms of design and reliabiltiy.
Yeah, you got that correct dudeman, I hear horror stuffs about Dell M1330 or 1530 according to the buyer reviews.
If anyone really wants to know the difference between the High End Dell XPS laptops, and the High End Apple Mac Book Pro laptops check the links attached. I also will highlight some points you will find in the links. You have to go into custom options on the links I have sent for each of these laptops if you want to see them the way I have described.
The Dell XPS M1730 specs
Price for Dell XPS M1730 with specs listed below without education discount $2,394
17 inch monitor
4 GB of ram at 667 Mhz running speed
6 MB of L2 cache
512MB Nvidia GeForce 8700M GT video card
200 GB hard drive at 7200 RPM
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz processor
Built In Blue Tooth
Vista Home Premium Operating System
Dell XPS M1730 link below, Just copy and paste the following line into your web browser and press enter to view.
Dell Configuration
The Apple Mac Book Pro 17 inch
Price for apple Mac Book Pro with specs listed below without education discount $3,049
17 inch monitor
4 GB of ram at 667 Mhz running speed
6 MB of L2 cache
512MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT video card
200 GB hard drive at 7200 RPM
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz processor
Built In Blue Tooth
Mac X 10.5 Leopard Operating System
The Apple Mac Book Pro 17 inch link below, Just copy and paste the following line into your web browser and press enter to view.
Apple Configuration
Mac offers a 10% education discount, Just type in Apple Education Discounts in the search browser of the Apple Store. I am not familiar with Dells education discount, and there is no easily found site for one. Maybe one of you knows of the site for the Dell education discount if there is one.
In conclusion it really depends on what you want to do with your laptop, on which laptop you should get. For Instance If you want to be a engineer you probably should get a Dell Because PCs run AutoCAD, Inventor, and other Engineering programs much more efficiently then Apple does unless you install windows to your apple, and even then Apples are not quite as efficient at running windows. Gamers should also go for Dells because there is a much larger gaming library on PCs then Apples. But if you want to be a Graphic Designer, or go into some type of Digital Imaging field, or photography, you probably want to buy a Apple because Adobe programs like Dream Weaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and most other Graphic Design and photo type programs run much more efficiently on Apple computers.
Apples are not quite efficient at running windows? what you mean by that? I found that reason not acceptable. Do explain. I agree with your other points though.
I meant to say Apples are not quite as efficient at running windows as PCs. I have a friend who has a Mac Book Pro that is about 2 years old and has 4GB of ram, and I have a Dell Presario PC that is also around 2 years old that has only 2 GB of ram but my computer runs windows XP much more efficiently then his Mac Book Pro.
Both computers have similar processors with close to the same running speeds, and similar video cards. You would think that a system with 4GB of ram would do better but it does not. My only thought as to his problem is that the version of windows he is using may not be the best version for his Mac Book.
Hey, I’m going off to college this September and I’m in need of a laptop. I just need something that I can use for photography, graphics, and writing. I would prefer a MBP since I know some people who have my same preferences and love their MBPs and swear by them, (plus they come in 15 inch versions which is ideal) but my dad’s company runs on Dells and he prefers them and insists that they are the best computers ever. Personally, I don’t really like his Dell, it feels like a corporate laptop. I need something that is light, will last, no noise, and is designed with art in mind. A good battery always helps too.
So, should I listen to my dad like a good girl and get a M1530, or should I get a MBP?
The distinction between MBPs and M1530s, in terms of functionality, is artificial. Both have roughly the same hardware and, both run Adobe applications (assuming you’d be using photoshop, etc.) just fine.
Apples used to be good for graphics in the 80s, that’s not true any more but the myth remains. Here’s what is true: MBPs look better, they come pre-loaded with OS X instead of Windows (which will make you more productive if you’re not that computer savvy), they have brighter screens, are lighter, and have a longer battery life. And finally, they cost significantly more. If money is not an issue, I would’ve picked the MBP. BTW, M1530s are 15″ as well.
MBP definitely, what you want only the MBP can offer. Quiet? Dell is far from quiet, I saw a website which they give a detail review and they even state the noise generated by notebooks. The highest noise MBP produce is 40db which is only audible, the highest Dell is 50db (noisy). I have been using the MBP in class and I love it cause it doesnt emit those noisy noise and its so quiet that the whole class doesnt care Im using MBP. Would you like it if your classmate starts getting angry at you cause your laptop is noisy and its hard for them to concentrate?
Just install WinXP in your MBP and your dad will be happy cause all of his stuffs will be compatible with your mac, and if the softwares he use is non graphic related, get Parallels or Fusion and run his apps on your Mac.
MBP will last longer then Dell cause Dell kept changing their design and once you design is out dated, the support for it will reduce. I have been using my MBP for about 2 weeks and I must say that I’m impressed with the battery performance, I can easily get around 4 hours+ if I turn off the wifi, bluetooth and sound(when not using), reduce the brightness and turn off brightness when not using. This makes it convenient to be used in classes. Also take note that Im using garage band to record lectures and word at the same time so getting 4 hours+ of battery life while running this 2 application is great.
I can also make my MBP last about 5-6 hours, Im still not sure how I did that though so I will keep you posted on how I get a total o 5-6 hours twice on my MBP.
Oh yeah and get a keyboard saver if you do a lot of typing, it will reduce your typing sound while in class :D