Dell XPS 1530- Dell Calls out Apple

[kaiwai]

Long ago, in a galaxy not far away Apple kept on 'proving' that the PowerPC CPU was so much faster than Intel's. The benchmarks, oh, those benchmarks. And now......

What has that got to do with the price of fish?

Benchmarketting is a waste of time, if you purchased machines based on benchmarks and what companies promised, then god help you.

 

[GoodWatch]

What has that got to do with the price of fish?

Benchmarketting is a waste of time, if you purchased machines based on benchmarks and what companies promised, then god help you.

Did you tell good ol' Steve back then? No, not a peep of course..... Quite a touchy bunch of people here, don't you think? Relax, life has many things to offer besides computers

 

[kaiwai]

Did you tell good ol' Steve back then? No, not a peep of course..... Quite a touchy bunch of people here, don't you think? Relax, life has many things to offer besides computers

Well, I never looked at the benchmarks. When I purchased my eMac, I asked, "what can I do on this", when I bought the iMac G5, in terms of performance "is this faster than my eMac".

Where it sat with the PC world, I didn't care on iota. I want Mac OS X, thus, it wasn't a matter of "I can swap and maintain the operating system I like".

I'm not touchy, just find it funny that people purchase things based on benchmarketing - its like deciding which car is best on how good their advertisement jingle is.

 

[GoodWatch]

Well, I never looked at the benchmarks. When I purchased my eMac, I asked, "what can I do on this", when I bought the iMac G5, in terms of performance "is this faster than my eMac".

Where it sat with the PC world, I didn't care on iota. I want Mac OS X, thus, it wasn't a matter of "I can swap and maintain the operating system I like".

I'm not touchy, just find it funny that people purchase things based on benchmarketing - its like deciding which car is best on how good their advertisement jingle is.

We all have our own reasons to buy a Mac. I'm only stumped by the number of posts about PC's and Windows here. This is a Mac forum after all. As if we are all talking about Ferrari on a Mercedes McLaren forum. Very strange

 

[Digital Skunk]

I have a couple dents on my MacBook Pro that says silver aluminum cases are not practical.

Back to you.

Personally, I'd rather have the dents in the aluminum case than the thick creaky plastic. The polycarbonate isn't bad at all, but it is a bit thicker. Honestly there's not a dent in my MBP or my friend's 3 year old powerbook because we simply take care of out stuff, not that the persons with dents don't I am sure they treat their $2000 laptops with the utmost care

Well, I never looked at the benchmarks. When I purchased my eMac, I asked, "what can I do on this", when I bought the iMac G5, in terms of performance "is this faster than my eMac".

Where it sat with the PC world, I didn't care on iota. I want Mac OS X, thus, it wasn't a matter of "I can swap and maintain the operating system I like".

I'm not touchy, just find it funny that people purchase things based on benchmarketing - its like deciding which car is best on how good their advertisement jingle is.

Most people don't look at bench(marketing) at all. Most people just want to know if a machine can use MS Office and check emails and facebook. The specs don't get the average user that far at all, only to the point where they feel confident in their purchase.

Since we are nerds, that waste our time talking about specs on machines that have no benchmarks, aren't out on the market at all, and in many cases are just rumors, specs and benchmarks matter to us. We want this much RAM and this much HDD space, and this much GFX memory at this temperature and so forth. When, all in all, benchmarks, and the announcement of new hardware that won't ship until mid January is all about advertisements.

A few months ago Dell gave some tech news site an image of a concept display and the specs of said concept, and everyone was on the horn about how Dell's monitors are this and that and Apple is this and that and I am so at Apple for this and blah... and nothing was said since.

This machine is very nice, and I would get one if it weren't for Windows, but it won't even ship with new hardware until January, when the new MBPs are supposed to come out. So this machine isn't competition for the current MBP, the next one will be it's competition. Then, when Apple doesn't meet our expectations, we can commence the bit** session about how Apple didn't grant us our wishes.

Just checked out the Dell site and spec'd me a 1530... sweet... now I will see Apple's answer to it and see if I get disappointed. The 250GB drives standard may be in the next MBP, but i'd rather have 200GB @ 7200 rpm standard. The price came to about $1700. I can see a 1730 out with that design pretty soon too.

 

[GoodWatch]

But there is no competition. These are two completely different universes, parallel even. Debates on this forum almost take on religious proportions and speaking for myself, I don’t want to be baptised. I say, let it go. When people are perfectly content with their choice, let them be. All becomes a battle of words; he or she that dares to say anything in favour of Windows or in disfavour of Apple gets axed. A very unhealthy situation. The land of the free, remember? The fact that I have over 24 years experience with DOS and Windows, knows what a batch file is and have some knowledge of Linux actually helped me with my Mac experience. I have managed to ‘su do’ my Mac in a very short time and suffice to say, I will stay on the straight and narrow.

Words don’t carry much weight around here but I happen to be the IT Coordinator at a branch of a large Dutch Multinational. I have seen it all, so to speak. IBM iSeries are what we depend on. So all that big talk about stability and dependable Apple and/or PC hardware and OSs is something I just shrug my shoulders about.

Please don’t project Macs onto any given (business) environment. All those remarks about ill performing Dell PC’s running Windows and having at least 2 BSODs every single day are just hogwash. But words don’t carry much weight around here and I don’t feel duty bound to defend any platform whatsoever, bar the iSeries.

 

[panameno]

I'm not saying macbook are not worth it, but I don't like the feeling that they alone are superior and there is no other comparable pc.I see you like car's metaphors, I see the xps as a Corvette and the macbook as a porshe 911. THere is a huge difference in price, but the performance is quite comparable in many aspects. If you want trhe best performance for dollar go Corvette, but recognition and a better feeling while driving go Porshe.

They have different plus and cons and people chooser whatever is better for themselves. I came defending the XPS because I really feel it's a great laptop. I would havce bought it of the screen rez gets better maybe next year.

 

[kaiwai]

Most people don't look at bench(marketing) at all. Most people just want to know if a machine can use MS Office and check emails and facebook. The specs don't get the average user that far at all, only to the point where they feel confident in their purchase.

Since we are nerds, that waste our time talking about specs on machines that have no benchmarks, aren't out on the market at all, and in many cases are just rumors, specs and benchmarks matter to us. We want this much RAM and this much HDD space, and this much GFX memory at this temperature and so forth. When, all in all, benchmarks, and the announcement of new hardware that won't ship until mid January is all about advertisements.

A few months ago Dell gave some tech news site an image of a concept display and the specs of said concept, and everyone was on the horn about how Dell's monitors are this and that and Apple is this and that and I am so at Apple for this and blah... and nothing was said since.

This machine is very nice, and I would get one if it weren't for Windows, but it won't even ship with new hardware until January, when the new MBPs are supposed to come out. So this machine isn't competition for the current MBP, the next one will be it's competition. Then, when Apple doesn't meet our expectations, we can commence the bit** session about how Apple didn't grant us our wishes.

Just checked out the Dell site and spec'd me a 1530... sweet... now I will see Apple's answer to it and see if I get disappointed. The 250GB drives standard may be in the next MBP, but i'd rather have 200GB @ 7200 rpm standard. The price came to about $1700. I can see a 1730 out with that design pretty soon too.

For me, I love my MacBook, and I find it funny people going on about the new MacBooks that were around the corner. When they came - was it really worth waiting (and holding of the purchase) for a 40Mhz (in my case) improvement over my current one and an upgraded video card, in my case, I would never notice the difference as I don't play any games.

With all the gnashing of teeth and waiting for the 'new MBP' - is it really worth the wait for a modest speed increase, a speed increase which is only noticeable to an individual running benchmarking tools.

Sure, there was a big step from a 1.83Ghz (my old HP dv6209tx laptop) machine to a 2.16Ghz (plus double the cache) but going from 2.16Ghz to 2.2Ghz? wouldn't even register on the noticeable chart.

 

[blurb23]

For me, I love my MacBook, and I find it funny people going on about the new MacBooks that were around the corner. When they came - was it really worth waiting (and holding of the purchase) for a 40Mhz (in my case) improvement over my current one and an upgraded video card, in my case, I would never notice the difference as I don't play any games.

With all the gnashing of teeth and waiting for the 'new MBP' - is it really worth the wait for a modest speed increase, a speed increase which is only noticeable to an individual running benchmarking tools.

Sure, there was a big step from a 1.83Ghz (my old HP dv6209tx laptop) machine to a 2.16Ghz (plus double the cache) but going from 2.16Ghz to 2.2Ghz? wouldn't even register on the noticeable chart.

True, but the processor wasn't the only thing that was updated in this past MBP update. The 8600M is leaps and bounds better than the old X1600s.

 

[davidjearly]

...Sure, there was a big step from a 1.83Ghz (my old HP dv6209tx laptop) machine to a 2.16Ghz (plus double the cache) but going from 2.16Ghz to 2.2Ghz? wouldn't even register on the noticeable chart.

I would even go so far to say that there is not a huge difference in the 2.16Ghz over the 1.83Ghz. Unless of course, you are playing games or using demanding applications and every last second of your computing time is critical.

David

 

[paul.b.davis]

I almost wish Apple would pack bloat in. Omni Graffle just doesn't count.

why did they have to take the omni group apps out

i LOVED omnioutliner for note taking in class

 

[paul.b.davis]

Remember when Mini-Discs were supposed to be the dogs bollocks? Had many advantages over CDs - but never took off. Imagine the level of suck, should you have bought a new PC with a MDR drive - only to not have any media available for it.

Hey, I loved my portable MiniDisc player, it was great (and still is) for taping live shows (taper friendly bands of course) and they were still making MD players (not in computers tho) for a long time after they had passed their prime

 

[makku]

The Optoin is good enough reason buying the Dell.
All I want is a solid state drive in my portable.

 

[kaiwai]

True, but the processor wasn't the only thing that was updated in this past MBP update. The 8600M is leaps and bounds better than the old X1600s.

But the question is; do you need the extra grunt of the GPU? for example, will the music boffin find anything useful about having a faster GPU? its all about priorities. There is no use wanting something simply because its better without establishing firstly whether the improvement benefits you directly.

 

[Digital Skunk]

For me, I love my MacBook, and I find it funny people going on about the new MacBooks that were around the corner. When they came - was it really worth waiting (and holding of the purchase) for a 40Mhz (in my case) improvement over my current one and an upgraded video card, in my case, I would never notice the difference as I don't play any games.

With all the gnashing of teeth and waiting for the 'new MBP' - is it really worth the wait for a modest speed increase, a speed increase which is only noticeable to an individual running benchmarking tools.

Sure, there was a big step from a 1.83Ghz (my old HP dv6209tx laptop) machine to a 2.16Ghz (plus double the cache) but going from 2.16Ghz to 2.2Ghz? wouldn't even register on the noticeable chart.

You are right, but we are going from 2.4 GHz w/667 MHz FSB to a 2.6 or hopefully 2.8 GHz w/ 800 MHz FSB. Not to mention a slightly refined MBP case design (hopefully just a magnetic latch and an extra FW port or eSATA). When we went from Core 2 Duo to Santa Rosa, it was a modest update at best. This is a new chipset that increases the performance of the machine as well as battery life.

Plus there is always the hope for a few more features and BTO options.

 

[EvryDayImShufln]

This thread is too ridiculously long for me to read, but there is alot of hate going around. Anyhow to whoever said apple was at the top of reliability, I also subscribe to consumer reports, and as I remember it apple was at the bottom of reliability per se, but at the top of customer service and satisfaction.

EITHER WAY, reliability between all the brands they tested ranged from 20% to 25% repairs in the first 3 years or so for ALL THE COMPANIES. Meaning reliability is nothing to boast for any company, since they are all around the same. So if apple was 25% and dell was 23%, big whoop, who gives a ****, it's the same thing.

If I were to go to a PC, I would probably get a dell out of all the brands out there right now. IBM thinkpads are amazing but way overpriced and have crappy videocards, so they're mainly good for business/home users.

But I'll stick to Apple for now as I like my Macbook Pro

 

[compuguy1088]

Long ago, in a galaxy not far away Apple kept on 'proving' that the PowerPC CPU was so much faster than Intel's. The benchmarks, oh, those benchmarks. And now......

Things change. Just because the chip was bad, Apple still had to advertise about it to make a profit off of it. This thought is similar to what is happening to AMD with its new processors and video cards (minus the different platform Apple had)

 

[Digital Skunk]

Things change. Just because the chip was bad, Apple still had to advertise about it to make a profit off of it. This thought is similar to what is happening to AMD with its new processors and video cards (minus the different platform Apple had)

Also, from what I recall in the many discussions here on the forums, the PPC G5 Chip was just as fast as the Intels at the time, and in some cases faster. The big problem with the PPC chips was the heat, and size of them and the hardware needed to cool the thing off. That's why we never saw the rumored PowerBook G5 at all.

THe G4 laptops were terrible, and the Intel and AMD based PC worked circles around them. Apple made the switch to Intel just in time in my opinion (one of the many reasons that I trust Apple in a lot of their business decisions) and stayed very close to the bleeding edge when it came to producing capable consumer and professional machines.

Apple touted the G5 chip as being faster than the Intel and AMD equivalents, but they never put that ancient G4 toe-to-toe with the competition because it would have gotten eaten alive.

 

[Creibold]

Wow, this thread turned into an emotional, almost religous debate.


I say we just go American Gladiator style, and have apple be the Red in one corner and dell the Blue in the other, and give them those HUGE q-tips, then have em' go at it.

That's the way.

 

[Sesshi]

Wow, this thread turned into an emotional, almost religous debate.


I say we just go American Gladiator style, and have apple be the Red in one corner and dell the Blue in the other, and give them those HUGE q-tips, then have em' go at it.

That's the way.

The Mac would run away crying after one round, nursing a huge dent.

 

[zirkle2007]

I ordered one yesterday. Its not set to ship until around Dec. 18. But when it comes in, I'll let you guys know what I think!

I already know I won't be comparing it to my Mac though, they each have their own niche.

 

[SiliconAddict]

I just did some repair work on this model today....Guy was having issues with the camera. Apparently there was some dead pixels in there. I've been doing Dell reapirs for 3 years now. I can nonestly say Dell has been doing some serious revamping of its laptop line in and outside of it. While I didn't have to take the entire thing apart to get at the camera I did remove the palmrest. I've also disassembled my MBP as well. I can honestly say the Dell's design is as good as Apple when it comes to hardware design this time around, and so far the M1330 that came out a few months ago have had much fewer service calls then previous models. So yah. I think Dell is starting to get their crap together.

 

[Digital Skunk]

The Mac would run away crying after one round, nursing a huge dent.

You mean the Dell would spin around in circles flailing its Q-Tip around like an idiot because it's not compatible with the new Gladiator software it downloaded. And it would be corrupting the other members on it's team that run Vista as well. Then the Dell running Linux would come in and bonk the Apple on its case causing the dent.

Unfortunately for Dell, the Linux machine would have to forfeit it's round because no one knows who it is.

I just did some repair work on this model today....Guy was having issues with the camera. Apparently there was some dead pixels in there. I've been doing Dell reapirs for 3 years now. I can nonestly say Dell has been doing some serious revamping of its laptop line in and outside of it. While I didn't have to take the entire thing apart to get at the camera I did remove the palmrest. I've also disassembled my MBP as well. I can honestly say the Dell's design is as good as Apple when it comes to hardware design this time around, and so far the M1330 that came out a few months ago have had much fewer service calls then previous models. So yah. I think Dell is starting to get their crap together.

I would hope so. A lot of buyers are starting to see that they can have relatively good looking machine that works with Windows and in many cases better than Windows for only a slight price increase. Dell knows that it's ugly Inspiron and Latitude boxes of the past may not cut it as much. These new machine do look good, and I hope to see the type of care and finesse taken in designing the laptops put into designing the towers.

If Dell brings in a 17" Alienware that looks as good as the 1530 and still has the specs that have captivated my heart then I would really be looking to apple to create me a more fashionable yet practical 17" MBP.

 

[zakatov]

OK, I honestly didn't do this on purpose, but I just configured it to match the base MBP, and look what happened:

Imagine that

 

[Digital Skunk]

OK, I honestly didn't do this on purpose, but I just configured it to match the base MBP, and look what happened:

Imagine that

What happened.... I don't see anything? The only thing I see is the HDD is set to 250GB when the MacBook Pro comes with 160 GB standard.