New Inspiron 1520 vs Macbook Pro

I realize this is like throwing a cat into a lake full of piranhas. Obviously people in this area of the forum love Mac on a whole and would take a bullet for their laptop. I don't intend for a heated argument just a friendly discussion as to why one is better than the other.

My thoughts:
The new inspirons are attractive laptops, not as attractive as a MBP, but not far behind. They are both the same weight and the inspiron is only slightly thicker.

Hardware wise the 1520 can be more powerful than the MBP and a much lower cost.

That said why pay $500+ for a MBP?

 

They're not the same weight. The 1520 is a full pound heavier... and even more if you go up to the 9 cell. MBP is also thinner, has DVI, an LED-backlit screen, GDDR3, and plus most people in this forum will prefer OS X.

Honestly I think both laptops are good values at their respective prices.

 

I would say the Inspiron is by far "uglier" than the super sleek MacBook Pro. Its better than the old Inspiron E1505 but its still not near MBP in design, in my opinion.

And remember the little features of the MBP. Backlit keyboard, LED-backlit screen (big one right here), iSight camera (the Inspiron 1520 has a webcam as well, by the way), the trackpad that can recognize two fingers for scrolling, the power cord that is magnetic, the Apple Remote. These are all little things that Apple did right that help improve the experience of using the MBP, and subsequently increases the price as well.

And how about the lack of bloatware in OS X (other than Microsoft Office for Mac and iWork trial, which can barely be considered bloatware compared to what's found on a PC)? PC vendors can offer notebooks at a reduced price because of the addition of bloatware. Apple chose not to do this.

With this said, the MBP isn't for everyone, and the Inspiron 1520 isn't either. In my personal opinion, in all counts but power and price the MacBook Pro wins over the Inspiron 1520. If you want power and a low price, the Inspiron 1520 is the way to go.

 

CNET reviews have the Macbook Pro and Inspiron 1520 at 6,2 and 6.4 pounds respectively. DVI is losing out to HDMI. MBP is about .5 inches thinner. 1.08 to 1.60

 

Dell now lets you opt out of pretty much all the bloatware on the Inspiron except for the Google Toolbar and antivirus trial. I don't consider that a real issue. I'd even say there's less bloatware on the Inspiron than on the MBP, if you choose all the "no software options" they offer.

They both offer webcam and remote. I'd actually take the Dell remote since it fits in the expresscard slot. And I'd rather scroll with one finger, personally.

I forgot to mention the Magsafe power adapter, that's another cool thing on the MBP.

Backlit keyboard... I don't know, it's cute.

Apple claims the MBP is 5.4 pounds, so somebody's off a bit.

 

Bloatware is easliy resolved with a quick (took me 15 min) format and reinstall of windows vista. Could you explain an LED back lit screen?

With recent dell coupons its almost a $1000 difference, seems real steep.

I want to buy a MBP but I need to justify the cost so I need to play devils advocate and try to be honest with myself and the numbers.

 

What would be really nice is to see MBPs design in a 14 inch model. Much more college friendly, but I suppose its the video card that limits that. I have heard that all brands have the same problem with heat when trying to offer those cards in a portable design.

 

*LED screen
*0.5" Thinner
*1 lb Lighter
*GDDR3 graphics
*Backlit keyboard

Those items alone (well, maybe not the last one) would be worth a $500 premium in my opinion. Still, the keyboard and touchpad aren't exactly the best if you're planning to use Bootcamp a lot. Also, it's missing a media card reader, which the Dell has.

 

I've noticed Apple is clever with this stuff. Like they'll combine a feature you want with one that will help you "justify" it. If they just charged $125 extra for the black Macbook, people would balk. So they charge $200 and throw in a slightly bigger hard drive so people can justify that they're not paying "just" for color. The $2500 MBP is sort of similar but less extreme, with combining the extra video RAM with the faster processor.

But anyway, you may want to post on the "What Should I Buy?" forum. For example, the HP 8510p may be a better machine for comparison to the MBP, if you are ok with matte screens. Something else might be better depending on your preferences.

 

LED-backlighting is a new way to backlight an LCD screen. It is much brighter, consumes less power (meaning more battery life), won't go dimmer over time (say a year or two) and is environmentally friendly. It also costs more than conventional LCD-backlighting methods found in most notebooks such as the Inspiron 1520.

I can find a 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro for $1900. Are you finding an Inspiron 1520 with 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and an 8600GT, an integrated webcam and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR for $900 ($1000 off, as you stated)? Tell me where!

Here's the deal for the 2.2 GHz MacBook pro, at MacMall. In fact, its actually $1850.

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop...Memory, 120GB Hard Drive Notebook-MacBook Pro

 

I take issue with a lot of the comments you make.

The macbook pro is in fact lighter than the Dell machine.

The inspiron is some 50% thicker. the macbook pro certainly has a considerable margin on the dell for thickness. neither of them are 3" thick monstrosities, but the apple is still a lot thinner than the dell. i have seen them side by side.

Hardware wise, the 1520 CANNOT match a macbook pro. you can get it close at significant cost. you cannot actually beat out (or even tie) the macbook pro hardware with the dell machine, though.

Those are the primary things i take issue with, because they are presented factually and were not correct.

The other thing is: the dell IS UGLY. thats my opinion, though, so i'll let that one slide.

 

If you were to build a 1520 for the same price as the MBP 15 inch my word you could get all the top upgrades. More RAM, faster HD, better screen resolution, better warranty. I just don't get it.

Besides the Nvida 8600 gt may not be GDDR3 but its benchmarks have been very impressive and can be read about in this forum.

 

You can't be serious. Have you built a 1520? I have both specs up on my screen now. What hardware does the MBP have that the 1520 cannot have? I can tell you one thing the 1520 has over the MBP, a better resolution at 1680 x 1050

Also these were "my thoughts" and I did site my sources, however wrong they may be.

 

you shouldn't be paying dell or apple for 4 GB of ram if you need it. you get it from newegg.

the hard drive (size) is not really vital for system performance. its just a storage capacity thing. neither really define the system.

the macbook pro is 1440x900. Thats about as high as you want to go for 15" (especially if you are going to be gaming). Its possible some people would enjoy 1680x1050 in 15", but thats too high for most people. The Apple warranty might be short, but its good. Applecare is some of the best service and gives some of the highest customer satisfaction in the industry. You can also purchase with a credit card to double the warranty.

 

Well you're both right in a way. The 1520 will have better performance for the price. However the MBP has better performance if money is no object. You can put more RAM and faster HD in any system. But you can't put GDDR3 in the Dell, and I'm not sure if you can put a 2.4 GHz processor in it either.

 

i didn't make that clear, but thats exactly what i was saying. it seemed to me like the OP was saying the dell was a better performing system overall. the dell obviously wins in performance / price. but people who care about that don't buy apple laptops.

its pretty late and im trying to make a movie lol...

 

I do want to apologize for a few of my numbers. They came from the macbook instead of the MBP. Which offers less upgrades. The MBP 15 with the 160 7200RPM hard drive comes to 2,224.00 the same laptop with same "hardware" (loose on the 8600 gt being slightly different in each one) on a 1520 is $1764 - $325 coupon = $1439

I can't fathom paying $800 more for .5 inches and maybe a pound in weight, why? The look is objective, the new inspirons are liked by most popular reviews.

 

So let me try to understand. Are you saying that people who like Macs don't care about performance/ price, thats why they buy a Mac?

 

Well many of the MBP advantages, like size, weight, LED screen, magsafe power cord... those aren't affecting performance, but they do cost money. So you're paying for those niceties instead of paying for a faster machine.

 

yes. mac buyers are not interested in price / performance ratios.

i mean, they might be, but not enough to influence their buying decision.

a lot of people who buy macintosh computers are in video / photo editing, so the fast processor makes a big deal to them. its going to cost a premium, period.

the macbook pro also has a better graphics card. the dell one is good, but the apple one is considerably better.

this is what it comes down to: equally equipped (internally) laptops to the macbook pro have a similar price to the macbook pro.

"comparably" equipped machines (like the dell) can be had for much less.

 

you mean "externally" like design right? Honestly you are going to have to throw some great benchmark numbers at me to convience me that the 8600 gt in the MBP is better then the 8600 gt in the 1520 by "considerably better" just because it has GDDR3. Other than than externally they are at least the same.

 

I don't know why you would even compare the price of a Dell and Apple. Apple notebooks are always going to be high in price. If you're looking for the best bang for the buck, by all means the Dell is a much better buy. I just recently (two weeks ago) purchased a 15.4" MBP (2.2ghz, 2gb, 8600GT 128mb) having done a lot of contemplating between various PC notebooks and the MBP. In the end, I went with the MBP. A few reasons why:

-Size. It's very, very, very thin.
-Design. Speaks for itself. I personally think Dells look hideous.
-Mag-safe Charger. Proved itself valuable the first day I had the computer.
-Noise. It's silent, except when gaming and really pushing the CPU.
-Freedom. I can run OSX, Windows, or Linux.
-Keyboard. By far the best I've ever used on a notebook and it's backlit.
-Shock protection. Maybe Dell has this, I don't know.
-Auto dimming. Screen brightness adjust based on ambient lighting.

But anyways, if you are trying to compare performance to price, the Dell wins no doubt. But if any of the features on the MBP look worth while to you, then the MBP just might be the way to go.

 

Here are the MBP advantages that I consider significant:
- Lighter
- Thinner
- LED-backlit screen
- Better battery life
- GDDR3
- MagSafe power cord
- OS X support (an advantage for those who prefer that)
- DVI port

I think that's the main stuff you're paying extra for. And as you can see, most of those things won't affect performance, except for GDDR3. I've left out things that I don't personally consider to be that important (like backlit keyboard) and things that I consider a wash or highly debatable (like 2- vs. 1-finger scrolling, different remotes).

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=147708

 

Can you please explain to me the advantage of LED backlit screen? DVI port is nice, but honestly HDMI (for TV LCD's) is king, which I would imagine would be the more popular use.

 

LED-backlighting is a new way to backlight an LCD screen. It is much brighter, consumes less power (meaning more battery life), won't go dimmer over time (say a year or two) and is environmentally friendly. It also costs more than conventional LCD-backlighting methods found in most notebooks such as the Inspiron 1520.

 

I do have to take issue with a couple of these:

I don't think Dells look hideous, but MBP does win the beauty contest.

The review on this site describes the Inspiron 1520 as "remarkably quiet". Still, the MBP may well be quieter.

The MBP keyboard is pretty to look at, but in terms of feel, I'd rather type on a Dell keyboard, honestly.
The 1520 does have hard disk shock protection, if that's what you mean.

 

HDMI is nice to have for convenience, but its less of a deal than you are making it out to be. DVI and HDMI are equal in quality. Its a digital signal for both. You can literally get a DVI-HDMI adapter for $20. Its not the be all end all of computers.

LED backlit screen increases battery life considerably. It also increases screen brightness considerably. The monitor is one of the big power suckers of any modern laptop, in large part due to the backlight. Super efficient LEDs are a great step in the right direction. comparing an LED screen to a non LED screen is like night and day. one is much brighter than the other, while also reducing power consumption. Its a nice feature.

 

Better battery life (due to power savings), more evenly lit screen, generally brighter.

Sure, but the Dell Inspiron has neither. Anyway, DVI is fine for using an external computer monitor, and for playing back unprotected content, I would think you could get a DVI->HDMI adapter.

 

Thank you. Very informative. Mathematically yes there is a difference. Is it performance you will notice, well thats another story. Could you get a lesser card in the MBP? No. So you are forced to pay for the GDDR3 if you see a difference or not. Much like the cpu. Again thats for another thread on why apple limits your options.

On another note if you do notice the performance difference then the 1520 would fail you.

Sill not worth $800 dollars I do however wish money wasn't an object, because the mac is a more attractive book. But even if it wasn't an object, at that price I know a guy named Sony Vaio who might argue its also attractive.

 

LED-backlit screen. That's the big one.

 

Yeah but with Mr. Vaio you have to live with WXGA resolution, crappy battery life, and a worse video card than either the MBP or the 1520.

 

This, personally I don't think is an argueable "problem" of Apple's. Apple is not Dell or HP. They don't sell in the volume that Dell or HP does. They can't offer 10 models, 15 configurations and next-day worldwide in-home service and still be profitable. Its the same story for smaller computer manufacturers like Apple, which, as successful as it currently is, still is not the level of HP or Dell.

 

I disagree to a point, because I see your point, heh. Apple does offer upgrades, but doesn't offer any (that I have seen) downgrades to individual laptops. That doesn't seem like a volume manuf. problem to me, sounds like they want you to spend as much as possible.

 

Whether it's a problem of Apple's or not, I do consider it an advantage as someone buying a computer that with Dell I can configure it how I like so that I don't have to pay for things that I'm not much interested in.

 

No, its the same point that I made previously. Apple's starting to offer some upgrades, and that's because its growing larger. If you want to downgrade from the MacBook Pro, Apple will tell you to get the MacBook. The sales still aren't high enough to justify adding a model between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, or to allow more customization options (which is what you want; ability to downgrade and upgrade components).

 

Yes, it is an advantage. I wish Apple offered more customization as well. Eventually Apple will offer even more customization, but for now its more limited than say HP or Dell.

 

Doesn't seem right. You can upgrade almost all the components but you can't downgrade without getting a different laptop at a different style. I can't enjoy a 1.8 ghz core 2 duo with a 7200 rpm hd on a MBP? Nope I would have to get a macbook, but if I get a macbook I cant get the cool silver design and 7200 RPM is not an option.

You are trying to say that its because Apple can't afford to do that? Dell and Apple are not that different. They both have advantages and disadvantages over the other, but on paper they seem like similar companies, except Dell doesn't make software. So in that case shouldn't Apple make more money than Dell?

There is no reason why Apple couldn't offer options much like Dell.

 

I don't entirely buy this. A little bit, maybe. I mean they do offer more options than they used to. But some companies like Sony and Lenovo sell fewer computers than Apple but offer more models and customization options. I really don't think it would cost Apple much to offer lower-spec options on the MBP for those who want a 15" screen and high-quality materials but don't need killer specs. It's just that Apple decided they'd rather keep the MBP a premium product, and get people to spend a lot on it (but get a lot too), and if you want something cheaper you can either buy used or buy a Macbook.

It's just a different philosophy, really. And some people may like that, and others (like me) may not.

 

I agree, it's different philosophies. Apple may be trying to be the "high class" of laptops. If thats the case then I am not buying into it. Saying apple cannot sell downgrades on their MBP because they can't afford it isn't adding up in my mind.

 

Apple sold 1.7 million Macs last quarter. Dell and HP sold 5 million. That's nearly 3 times the number of Macs sold. Dell and HP sell much more computers than Apple does, meaning they can offer more variety and more options and still make money.

HP and Dell have the sales volume to justify signing contracts for a variety of processors and graphics cards, etc.


For example: Apple knows its sales volume for the MacBook Pro will be 500'000.

Apple decides to sign with Intel. Intel demands they buy at least 300'000 Intel processors, or they won't sign. Apple agrees.

Apple also wants to sell AMD MacBook Pros, but AMD also demands a contract of 300'000 processors, or they won't sign.

So Apple has two options: either offer AMD as well (a.k.a., offer more customization options), but have 100'000 MBPs sitting unsold (knowing there's not enough demand for them). Or Apple signs all 500'000 MBPs with Intel processors and sell them all.

Obviously they can't sign with AMD, because they don't have the sales volume to sell both Intel and AMD MBPs well.

 

I think its been pretty clear you're not going to get a Mac anyways . You love your Dell Inspiron and you're waiting for OS X on the PC.

 

Could the reason for sales difference be because of the customization? Apple as a brand name has been around for over 20 years, the word is out. In fact their marketing wins awards and is top notch. So then why are they not selling as many pcs? They tried to up sales by allowing windows on a mac (of course you can't get it on your mac preloaded) it that may have helped a little. Could just maybe lack of real options be killing sales?

 

lol. I do want OS X on pc damn it! lol. No really though I am trying to present a fair argument. You obviously are Pro mac, I am just trying to understand why. If I could understand that then maybe I could see the reason to spend $800 more on a mac over a dell.

If its just design then thats upsetting. I love their design also and their environment friendly options. But I think there is evil afoot in their pricing and lack of downgrading.

 

I think I've stated this before; I wish Apple had more customization options too, but its not happening yet and there are reasons why.

I have no idea why you're asking why they're not selling as many Macs as PCs. It has nothing to do with them being around for over 20 years (they've actually been around for 30 years). IBM's over 100 years old, why aren't we all using Thinkpads?

Many businesses use Windows, and the employees decide to stay with the OS they use at work. Many professional applications and games aren't offered on OS X, and those users decide to stay on Windows. Others don't like the design of OS X, so they stick to Windows. Others use Windows because everyone else does.

I'm not pro-Mac, I state what I feel. I'm not a Mac fanboy. I'm a Mac lover but I don't hate Windows.

 

The sales point was brought up as an excuse for their lack of customization. You stated something to the affect that they were too small and didn't make enough money to offer such things.

I was simply asking if they would sell more if they offered such things.

 

Didn't I state this before? - Sigh -

Well first of all, what's the lowest price you can get the Dell Inspiron 1520 with as close of the specs as the 2.2 Ghz MacBook Pro? I can find you a 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro for $1850.

And the MBP comes with a better design, a better build quality, an LED-backlit screen, a magnetic power cord, a double-finger trackpad. And of course, OS X.

 

Maybe this thread is dragging on. Point is that Dell 1520 offers roughly the same performance as a macbook pro for around $800 less.

If you like the little (yet important) things like led lcd, mag-safe power and backlit keyboard and if you like the lighter thinner design of the macbook pro then it may be worth the extra cash, a lot of extra cash.

I like both design and performance, but I can't get them both to at reasonable price (sub $1500) between these two notebooks.

 

Price differences on the performance I was looking for are early stated in this thread and are around $800 dollars in difference with Dell coupon of 325 off.

 

Well, looking through everything you've said, I think the Mac isn't for you, mikeuvsc. If you want the best performance at a low price, then the Inspiron 1520 is the better choice over the MacBook Pro.

I just think if you look at some other factors that might be in your decision, the MacBook Pro would be better.

I'm signing out now, so if you want to continue this I'll reply in the morning .