nkedel

There's nothing inherently slow about Windows, and for some people (not so many on Flyertalk, but they're plentiful in the population in general) the merits of being able to get a new laptop under $400 (heck, under $250 now in some cases) strongly outweigh the value of better performance that a higher cost would bring, or the hassle of dealing with a 3rd-party refurbished/used sale.

Meanwhile, Apple doesn't even play in that market; the cheapest new Mac is $899. Good luck even finding a decent used Mac under $400 (a 2012 Macbook Air 13 or 2011 Macbook Pro 13 might just break under that price if you're patient for a better-than-average deal.)

joshwex90

It's not just about the discount market. I have a Surface Pro 3 and absolutely love it. (4th gen core i5, 8 GB Ram, 256 GB SSD) No issues with speed

nkedel

Sure. There are plenty of non-slow Windows machines; the guts are inherently the same as the Mac, and for most programs on either OS, the OS just gets out of the way.

The same i5 processor won't perform substantially differently on either Windows or Mac OS for the majority of use cases. There are exceptions, but those exceptions rarely favor the Mac OS performance-wise (for some disk heavy operations, Linux will outperform either by a large margin; for gaming, Windows is the clear favorite because it's the only one where the 3D graphics APIs are really mature.)

JerMah

Some people buy Macs just to Bootcamp them and run Windows exclusively. That's an option as well, if one prefers Apple hardware. Windows ran great on my old rMBP, MBA, and rMB.

I have had the 1st gen Lenovo X1 Carbon, which was good (less the screen). Steer clear of the 2nd gen. Latest gen is good though.

I bought an XPS13 UHD model last year and loved it. However, I wanted a larger screen so I sold that and bought a XPS15 1080p model. Loving it so far.

If I get something new, I'll probably buy a new MBP when they come out this fall (rumored).

TWA884

If anyone is looking to buy the Dell XPS 13 with 5th Generation Core i5-5200U 2.2GHz, 8GB DDR3L-RS, 256GB SSD and QHD, I just saw a deal alert on Ben's Bargains ($800 with free shipping).

nkedel

While I normally hesitate to call options "dumb," buying a Mac to run Windows is a very bad idea. You get a mismatched keyboard, poorer battery life than the same machine on the MacOS (or than a comparably equipped native Windows machine -- although there's no directly identical one) and poor driver support.

Plus you pay quite a bit extra for the privilege in the case of the rMBP 15 and in higher-tier configurations of other models; in the past that was true across the model line but it looks like the base configurations of the other models (barring the obsolete non-retina MBP13) are priced a lot more competitively compared to other premium ultrabooks.

WilcoRoger

Totally agree - pay for a Mac and dumb it down to Windows. Lose-lose situation.

But it's not my money they burn, so what the heck!

JerMah

I just said that some people do it, I didn't suggest it. However, it is an option. Just like drinking Windex is an option... doesn't mean you should do it.

nkedel

Not nearly as harmful as drinking Windex.

OTOH, if you bought a high quality PC/Windows laptop and blow the price difference on cheap beer or lottery scratchers, you'll come out ahead. Doubly so if you don't already have a Windows license to put it on the Mac.

TRRed

I am trying to decide between the Dell XPS15 and an Asus Zenbook UX510UW, both with a mechanical HDD. Do both have the ability to add an SSD, or would you have to replace the HDD? The price difference between the HDD and the SSD is much more than the cost of a standalone SSD.

Any other thoughts on how these machines compare would be appreciated. In part for the numeric keypad on the right as well as other reasons, the 15" size seems to be the right one for my needs.

And do you guys still recommend wiping the new computer and reinstalling OS, etc.?

Many thanks.
TRRed

nkedel

No idea on the SSD in the Zenbook, but the XPS 15 (presumably the current generation 9550?) has relatively easy upgrade to an SSD. Just a whole bunch of screws on the bottom, and a few around the edge of the HDD tray.

eta: oops, you meant add an SSD, and keep the original HDD as well. Yes, it can take one (it actually comes with a little 32GB caching drive in HDD configurations.) You will HAVE to do the Windows reinstall in that case, as I don't think install from the HDD will work with the caching drive removed.

It is, however, a non-standard torx bit required -- tx5 (although I think a t5 will work too) -- so you'll need one of these or something similar. The internal ones are standard phillips.

Dell has pretty good directions:
http://www.dell.com/support/manuals/...DE8&lang=en-us

Other points of comparison:
- the Dell does not have a numeric keypad; that's a plus in my book, as the keyboard is on-center, but if it's a feature you want, it's a no go. The Latitude M5570, the Precision M3510, the Precision M7510 all have numeric keypads, but the former are all high power machines are all a good bit heavier. I don't know if there's a lighter 15" ultrabook in the Inspiron line, but that would be your best option from Dell if you want something light with a numeric keypad.

(If you can put up with the weight, the Latitude E5570 - aka the "Latitude 5000 series 15-inch" - has some incredible deals on the Outlet, and is available in a vast range of configurations depending on what you want. But it's really about a pound heavier than the XPS or half a pound heavier than the Asus, it's quite a bit thicker, and it looks like a very boring traditional business laptop if such things concern you.)

- the Dell is about an inch smaller in each dimension as to footprint, so quite a great deal more compact. It's slightly lighter (depending on configuration) and slightly thinner.

- the Asus is only available with dual-core ultrabook processors; the Dell is available with a dual-core full-power processor in its cheapest configuration*, and a variety of quad core CPUs; it's a MUCH more powerful machine. OTOH, it may have worse battery life as a result.

- Both have the same fairly good midrange dGPU (except the bottom of the line i3 Dell which is iGPU only) -- if you are a heavy photoshop user, or play games, avoid that base configuration. Otherwise, discrete GPU is just a good way to have a shorter battery life these days.

- the Dell has two memory slots for 32gb max. The Asus has only one for 16gb max. It is very unlikely even 2-3 years out that 16gb won't be enough for most people. Doubly so given the CPU difference; I can't imagine any workload where you'd want > 16GB of memory where you wouldn't also prefer the quad core CPU.

- Both have a larger-than average power brick (120W for the Asus, 130W for the Dell) which is going to be heavy and too high power to use on an airplane AC port. Reports on Notebookreview forum say the Dell runs OK with the 90W supply (which is smaller and airliner friendly) although you would need to get it separately.

- Dell's hardware warranty support is excellent, although I recommend paying for Premium (on the consumer side)or Prosupport Plus (on the business side) as the better US based agents, shorter call queues, and the accidental damage insurance (making any problems they might otherwise blame on you "no questions asked") are well worth the ~$180 premium over 3 years. I have no sense of Asus' warranty service one way or the other.

You might also look at the Dell Precision M5510 (aka "5000-series 15 inch") which is the same chassis as the XPS 15 but comes with a better business warranty, a few business oriented management features, and is more configurable. I really like the base configuration (although it's pricy when not on sale) with the quad-core i5 and integrated GPU only.

They also come up slightly more frequently on Dell Outlet than the XPS 15 although both go quickly especially when on sale.

(* it's literally the only machine of this generation I've seen with one thus far. As an i3, I can't really recommend it. The quad-core i5s are

Yes; with Windows 10, it's easier than ever to do, and I highly recommend it.

Or if you're getting your own SSD, just keep the factory hard drive around in case you need to argue that the problem is persisting

TRRed

Thanks nkedel.

Especially for clearing me up on the Dell not having a numeric keypad on the right. I am not sure what I was seeing that was making me think otherwise. Will try to look at the Asus at Costco soon.

TRRed