Dell xps 15 or macbook pro 14/16"

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Stefana Maria

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STEFANA BURSUC
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Hi guys,
So it's time for me to buy a new laptop that would serve me for photo editing, but also school stuff.
Since both are almost at the same price, which do you recommend? I've always been a windows/android person, but I wouldn't mind the switch.
 
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I have similar Dell on Windows 10 has been good but unexpectedly frequently used keys are losing surface.
It is pretty capable for anything photo related and can hammer through 4K video renders nearly as fast as desktop.
 
I regret switching from a 15" Macbook Pro to a 14" Windows laptop in terms of screen real estate.
However, I needed a powerful laptop and Windows for other things I do with it, that Apple hardware wouldn't allow me to do.
 
I'm writing this on a Dell XPS15, bought June 2014. I also bought and used a Macbook in Dec 2008/Jan 2009 until I got the XPS.

Reliability wise the XPS has had minor faults (keyboard replaced at end of 3 year warranty, batteries swell after 3 1/2 years). The Macbook had a known-unreliable component fail requiring a replacement mainboard. There were issues with USB port reliability, the Macbook ports becoming unreliable after just a couple of years. The Dell has had windows updates regularly without trouble, but the Macbook had significant trouble when upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard, resulting in data loss and a 2 week period when it was unable to print (a commonly noted problem at the time). Battery life was similar then, but the new macbooks based on M series chips have amazing battery life. Other issues: Windows and OSX managed workflow differently, so when I needed to have around 20 word and excel files open at the same time to collate information, working under OSX was difficult because it was hard to select the right document, while under windows it was very easy. Finally I found performance after 5 years on the Macbook to have become frustratingly poor, while the Dell is still acceptable for doing photo-editing when travelling at nearly 9 years old.

Only you will know which is right for you. If battery life is a major factor then the macbook is the obvious winner. However if you are familiar with Windows there is a strong chance you'll find OSX frustrating to use *in some areas*. I was quite tempted last year to pick up an M1 mini, but it's just more trouble than it's worth.
 
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I have 2022 samsung 13" windows laptop and I would say there is no way I would live with it as my sole machine today. It is obviously very survivable but not by choice.

Screen real estate is small. Very small. You will do better with 16" but not a whole lot better. So either one would be ideally plugged into an external screen. But for working on location I would prefer anything just a little bigger.

Then there is fan noise. My desktop is so much quieter, unless I stick into quiet but slow profile. If macbooks are now as quiet as they say it will be a major plus.

Mine only comes with intel graphics, so topaz apps are slow, and anything else now also want more and more GPU. So that NVIDIA 3060 option would be truly desirable in a windows laptop. It makes me wonder where abouts a certain macbook land in that respect?

Build quality emulates macbook but is nowhere near as good. But on the plus side you can upgrade NVME and I've done that on day 1. MBP would require choosing a pretty expensive option.

No of Ports: not great but not bad either. The worst decision was to include microSD instead of full size sd reader. Mac wins here

Battery: a major major disappointment. Despite what the spec sheet has you have 1hr + doing actual editing, and it is essentially new. So you want your usb cable with you everywhere. If mac does much better then its a clear win here.

OS: Windows - just ugly. I live with it, but can't like it and can't stop swearing at it. that nice OLED screen needs to be at 100% magnification, I need to hack font sizes from miniscule 9 to say 11, there is no proper way of doing that, system search is rudimentary, graphics awful, and so on. They really could do better. Mac wins but they are also going very backwards.

Would macbook replace both my laptop and desktop? I would be interested to know actually. £3k is a lot though for acceptable configuration. Cost is what drives you to alternative option. £3k vs £1.xk is a very significant number.
 
At the moment, the Apple M1/M2 families of processors are way ahead of anything available for Windows. The 14" MBP is also a great machine - I am writing this on one, which I have had since they were launched.
 
As mentioned above apple silicon is way ahead of any Intel based windows laptops.
I'd get apple silicon Macs, there is no contest.

p.s. I own all three varieties i.e. dell XPS, M1 MBP and an Intel MBP.

If there's some windows specific tasks you need to do (for example I use Windows for gaming) then M1/M2 macs won't be great for that.
 
Craikeybaby said:
At the moment, the Apple M1/M2 families of processors are way ahead of anything available for Windows. The 14" MBP is also a great machine - I am writing this on one, which I have had since they were launched.
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Yes agree with this , also the photo processing software that I use at least (DXO ) works better on the new apple machines M1 ,M2 than intel chips and I’m sure others are going the same way
 
Probably depends how impatient you are ... I have a 4 year old XPS (i7) with a Nvidia card and it takes a while to run the latest DXO/Topaz but I'm in no hurry, I don't need to process a gazzillion pictures in 15 minutes but it does the job, may take a few extra seconds per picture. Spreadsheet etc wise it's fine.

I need to change it soon as the hinges are totally knackered, the battery has had it (lasts about 5 mins off mains) and the back keeps falling off but I certainly won't be buying a 2k machine when something around £600 will be much faster than what I am using now.
 
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