Dell's refunding my Studio XPS 16

I've had a Dell laptop since about two years ago.

I had an XPS M1530 originally. It was been plagued with manufacturer defects. Numerous motherboard replacements, screen replacements due to incredible amounts dead pixels or extreme light leakage, incorrect parts shipped, frayed wires that caused my wireless to stop working, etc. Total nightmare of a computer. I cannot even tell you how many times the tech has had to come over to replace the motherboard for various reasons.

They sent me a Studio XPS 16 to replace the XPS M1530 because they said that I've had too many replacements and a new computer will effectively solve the issue. Though when they sent me it, they gave me a downgraded processor and a broken charger (it was buzzing loudly and sounded like it would literally explode). They had to send a tech to get me the proper processor that was equivalent to my old one and get me a working charger.

Works great, except....I am having serious touchpad issues. I re-installed the drivers and did all that I could to fix my issue I'm having (when it wakes from sleep, the entire touchpad fails completely and I must restart the computer to fix it). I have to completely shut down the computer causing me to lose data sometimes because I am unable to log in. Dell was telling me to wipe my computer and if that didn't work they were going to send a tech to replace a buncha parts on my brand-new computer.

I told them that this is ridiculous that I've had to deal with these issues for nearly two years now. I'm tired of the data loss and I'm tired of the time wasted.

So, they're going to give me a full refund.

I'm looking into new laptops now. Here's what I am looking for:

15.4" screen that is 1400x900 or above
Preferably a Core i7 processor, but I'll also do Core i5
A great GPU (ex. nVIDIA 330M GT)
Not overly heavy
Decent battery life
Well-built and will not break on me for dumb reasons
Preferably within the $1100-1400 range

What laptops out there cover those criteria and isn't a Dell? I'm really really liking the Macbook Pro because it is so cleverly made hardware-wise and can run Windows 7, but it is a bit on the expensive side for the specs I'm getting.

I've looked into some Asus notebooks that I liked and maybe a Toshiba Satellite, but the Satellite has a poor resolution.

 

I have been a dell user for years and like you I have many problems with them. So many build quality issues and customer service issues it simply was not worth it...

I did get a macbook pro 15" i7, with 256GB SSD and I'm never turning back.

The build quality alone is worth the cost. Windows 7 can run either through bootcamp (where it gets full access to the hardware with no limit) or through VM (you can run the bootcamp partititon in VM).

I say if you have enough money go for it. You won't regret it.

 

Yeah that's what has really been catching my eye.

It may be more expensive, but the build quality and the clever little things that they put into it (touchpad, MagSafe, 10 hr battery life, unibody case not full of tons of little easily breakable parts like Dell, etc.) are also what you're getting with it. Everyone I've talked to has really liked it so far. I'm just trying to see if I really do wanna spend an extra $300-500. Dunno what all my other options are in terms of laptops.

Would you recommend the high-res screen or is the 1440x900 good?

 

Extra $300-500? Try extra $1000. I have lots of friends that use Mac laptops, and everything being said about them is true. They are made wonderfully well, look great, and have lots of nice little features.

About a week ago, I went to the apple website and configured a 15" MacBook pro to be as close as possible as I could to my new Studio XPS 16, with the only major difference being that the screen resolution on my XPS 16 is much higher than even the "high resolution" 15" Macbook pro. Well, my laptop cost $1500 (including taxes and shipping) and the Macbook pro cost $2500 (including taxes and shipping). I was seriously tempted to get a Macbook Pro when I was buying a new laptop, but I still couldn't convince myself to pay the premium. Still, it just all depends what your priorities... could also get a less powerful Macbook and only pay a few hundred dollars more...

 

To put into perspective what I paid for mine.


My studio xps in my signature was $2,453.00 total, my macbook was $2,901.00.

It was a few hundred extra but I think it was worth it. Although I did save a few hundred using my student discount on the mac..


If you know anyone who can get a student discount you can get a pretty good deal.

Do you know exactly what you are looking for?
Do you want the i7 for sure, SSD? is 4GB ram enough?

 

No...it's definitely only $200 extra than my current system and it's more powerful than it to boot. Not to mention, it's way more durable than this thing.

Price of my laptop: $1500

Price of Macbook Pro: $1700 (off of Amazon) + free shipping

I'm looking for something that has a solid build quality, can run Windows, is equivalent to or better than my current, and is either cheaper or max. $300 more than what I have.

The Macbook Pro is starting to look a lot better, actually.

4GB is definitely enough and I don't want to shell out the money for an SSD. They're way too expensive for the amount of storage you get. A 320GB HDD will be more than sufficient.

If there's another more powerful laptop out there that I can get that's cheaper and is extremely durable and not too thick then I'll consider it. I just won't get a Dell ever again; the shoddy build quality isn't worth dealing with.

 

all I'll say is if you're considering the 15" or 17" MBP...get the matte screen version or nothing at all.

your eyes will thank me for it later.

pics I took at an Apple store: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=476181

 

I really don't have a problem with the glossy screens. But that's personal preference.

I say go for it Zell. You wont regret it.