Dell XPS M1530 vs. Apple MacBook Pro - March 8, 2008
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, xpsSearch
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131 comments.
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Viper says
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
Rene says
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
melody says
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!!!
cl3m0ns says
Sorry man but I think the MBP is the better deal of the two. Leapord is worth the extra $500.
tim says
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?
Glen says
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.
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