A top spec laptop?

Carlo

Carlo

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Carl
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I've always been led to believe the Macbook pro's are the top of the pile when it comes to laptops, and whenevr i've searched for an equivalent windows machine, they always seem to be similar priced, or even more expensive!
However, I came across the Dell inspiron 7000 series, which offer identicle spec to a £1500+ macbook pro, but at just under £1000.
Both are 16GB RAM, 256 SSD, 2kg, i7 processors, 15" screen, 8-9 hrs battery life.
Wondering if anyone has one of these and can offer an opinion.
Obviously saving £500 is a big plus, but they are still windows!, i'vce also heard that the newest Apple OS isn't as good as previous versions too!
I'd have the money for a new laptop in the new year, so I've still got a fair amount of time to choose and weigh up any further options.
What are your thoughts????
 
lets get a couple things down straight off the bat.

generally you get what you pay for. spending £1000 on either platform is going to get you a very good machine.

the latest OS from both platforms are very good.

oh and a note on the 8-9 hour battery thing, that would be theoretical with the screen brightness at lowest and not doing anything on the machine.
 
I have a 7440 and love it
 
£1000 -1500 buys a fairly good spec

You haven't really stated what your uses are. If you are photo editing then these machines should be okay except the storage space is pants. If your gaming then you need a machine with dedicated graphics as intel graphics is s***e. Windows 10 is great, so I wouldn't let that put you off. Most of the Mac owners I know end up having dual boot machines. Also ask yourself if a desktop will be better as a low spec desktop will stomp over a good spec laptop and at half the price.

Also, i personally hate glossy screens, find matte screens better for on the move.

Take the battery life with a massive pinch of salt.
 
If its photo editing the 15inch screen is just pointless so you will end up with an extra screen for starters so budget accordingly.
Also an extra mouse as built in track pads are miserable.

Do you really need a laptop, £1000 buys an outrageous spec on a pc nowadays that will seriously move along and all with standard size bits.
 
Mr Bump said:
If its photo editing the 15inch screen is just pointless so you will end up with an extra screen for starters so budget accordingly.
Also an extra mouse as built in track pads are miserable.

Do you really need a laptop, £1000 buys an outrageous spec on a pc nowadays that will seriously move along and all with standard size bits.
Click to expand...
Admittedly my laptop spends most of the time on the corner of the desk with an external monitor / keyboard / mouse plugged in.
But when I do need to take it with me it's brilliant!
No data to worry about transferring, all the applications and tools are set up just how I like; it's ready to go....
And the 6+ hour battery life means I rarely take a charger with me.

Mine is a Dell XPS 15 which is above the OP's budget in the spec and warranty I have, but it's a flying machine (by laptop standards) and should last me many more years before it needs replacing.
The 15 inch screen is very usable when out and about; it's a fairly usable screen size. Smaller would be more portable, but since I'm only carrying the laptop in a neoprene pouch with no accessories it's fine.
 
It may be worth the OP looking at the more professional orientated laptops if they require to plug a screen in and out of the laptop with any frequency or take on multiple trips. The XPS/Inspiron/Vostro range whilst being good laptops do not offer the docking stations nor build quality of the more professional orientated laptops. It really depends on the core use requirements.

If you're going to be using the laptop screen primarily then there are many options around which may offer screens with 100+% RGB colours or other useful benefits. You may be staring at it all the time after all!

By the new year Intel should be finally releasing their new range of processors, which if nothing else, should reduce the price of the previous processors where the differences will be marginal at best!

I play the occasional game so I have a bespoke built Gigabyte laptop, but it's really only suitable if you want to be blowing up some baddies or running over hookers. Otherwise the graphics cards are overspecc'd.

PS. The new Apple OS is still good and the MBP 15" is very very well made. Windows 10 is also pretty good. If i wasn't a professional geek and i wanted to ensure full long term support of my product then i'd probably buy an Apple laptop. A Windows laptop after a few years will have no support (Unless you bought a decent bushiness class support package) as they would of replaced the model x times since.
 
@rich_ FYI - Dell's professional range is Precision, and the XPS 15 forms part of that range with the only difference being the graphics card (or at least it was when I bought mine). Build quality is like a high-end mac - solid and substantial.

In terms of the OP - these high end laptops may be out of his budget - but echoing what has been said earlier, you usually get what you pay...
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
@rich_ FYI - Dell's professional range is Precision, and the XPS 15 forms part of that range with the only difference being the graphics card (or at least it was when I bought mine). Build quality is like a high-end mac - solid and substantial.

In terms of the OP - these high end laptops may be out of his budget - but echoing what has been said earlier, you usually get what you pay...
Click to expand...

I don't believe XPS is a pro range. It may be a very good laptop, but It is aimed at a prosumer market with Geforce graphics rather than Quadro for example (as you mentioned). Precision and Lattitude are the Pro range. The last time i checked earlier this year you cannot receive Dell corporate discount on the XPS, Vostro or Inspiron through channel partners, which I believe is their defining factor.

Indeed, you get what you pay for!
 
@rich_ yes, XPS is not a pro range, but this model is common to both ranges with the exception of the graphics card. The build is identical; there isn't even a label to indicate which range it belongs to.
Hope that clears things up :)
 
great response!
Already a lot to think about, especially getting a desktop instead.
I'll be using the new machine primarily for photo editing (90%) and general browsing/watching films, no gaming!
My current laptop is a Dell inspiron 15R SE 7520, just over 2 yrs old. upgraded to windows 10 about a month ago. It 'should' be fine, but theres loads of 'bugs' since the upgrade that are really annoying me! (just like when i went from 8 to 8.1)
Other than the OS problems, it's really heavy and the battery won't even last a full 90 minute film! (did a full system check and apparently the battery is fine!!!)
I also have a work laptop, Dell latitude 14", which is great even though it's about 5 yrs old!
What I was looking at was a laptop thats light, no more than 2kg, excellent build quality, SSD, 16GB RAM, great screen, fast, and reliable. If i was spending the £1000, I'd expect it to last me four years.
Thats why i narrowed it down to the two models in my original post.
I'll certainly be checking out what desktops can offer for that budget.
 
Cool, lots of options out there, but you probably won't find a 15" under that weight at that pricepoint and may also struggle with a 14"

As far as i'm aware the lightest 14" quad cores are just under 2KG. You really have to pay $$ to hit that weigh limit! The heat generated by the processor dictates the size of the heat sinks and ultimately the weight! The new processor releases should require less heat, which will make the faster laptops lighter.
 
Have a look at Dell Outlet for the XPS 15. Fully loaded ones usually appear daily. Worth a try to see if any take your fancy. I've seen them under £1k.
 
got mine from dell outlet too and cant praise it enough. paid £430 for it from there ( all it had was a replacement mains adapter ) and it came with i7 processor, 8gb ram, 1tb storage 17.3" screen ( which had been upgraded to the much better RGBLED screen ) which is outstanding in relation the adobe colour gamut . came with 1 year warranty that included call out repairs.
Dell tend to update the site once a day around 2pm ( may have changed now ) and the laptops get snapped up very quickly (you'll often find them listed on ebay that same day with a 50% markup ) . the main thing is if you want to buy from there be patient and hold out for the specs you want at the budget you want
 
regarding the precision range, they are excellent machines. i've just gone from a M6600 (absolute beast of a 17" workstation) to a M3800 (15" aluminium and carbon, yum). the M3800 is fantastic spec (other than my pet hate glossy display) and easily runs a U2713H as well as its own 15" display (1080 or 4k options).

but they are expensive.
 
Another consideration is to spec your own with someone like PC Specialist.

You choose the chassis/screen and then spec all the parts.

Works out good value and you can choose your warranty which are also reasonably priced.
 
Lenovo y50(4K), y70 or if you want to go the xtra mile Alienware best build quality I have even experienced, maybe behind only the high end Lenovo's. Or the Lenovo T4xx series with the 1080p panel, it is super portable too.
 
No not Lenovo.
Superfish. Insecure crapware installed by the boot loader. And one other baked in security nasty I've forgotten details of.

I'd recommend either Dell (as already discussed), except the Vostro/Inspiron ranges or Asus.
 
I've got an inspiron about a year or so old, it was towards the top spec, i7 and 840M graphics the only thing I did was swap the drive for an SSD. Have been extremely impressed with it, runs everything so smoothly and the screen being full HD IPS panel is fantastic. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.
 
plamen_gb said:
The lenovo preinstalled crap can be disabled
Click to expand...

Only you have to remember to re-disable it every time you re-install the OS.
The bootloader re-installs it for you.

http://www.extremetech.com/computin...are-even-if-you-load-a-retail-copy-of-windows
TBH the article is quite different in tone and inference from an earlier one that I read. They are abusing the UEFI boot loaders abilities and I strongly suspect the installed crapware is collecting marketing data and telemetry for them.
I wouldn't encourage anyone to give Lenovo any more money in exchange for bundled rootkits and fake certificates.
 
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