Dell Studio 17 vs XPS 15

Heya,

Been tossing up between the two now for over a few weeks and i thought i'd throw the question out there to gauge what other peoples opinions are.

Firstly, the biggest use i'd have for this would be audio related... aka, music production and using it to play live. Very slight gaming, only world of Warcraft really. Battery life isn't important as it will be plugged in, either is weight. Screen resolution doesn't matter that much as i wont be using it to watch movies. Being able to handle all the audio demands live and without stuttering is paramount...

The specs are a little different here in aus.. so heres a basic run down of the two systems:-

Studio 17 :- $1599 Aus (No Coupons)
Intel® Core™ i7-620M (2.66GHz, 4 Threads, turbo boost up to 3.33GHz, 4M cache)
8GB Dual-channel 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4GB)
1.28TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive (2x640GB)
17.3” High Definition+ WLED (1600x900) Display with TrueLife™
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650

Studio XPS 15:- $1499 AUS (no coupons)
Intel® Core™ i7-740QM (1.73GHz, 4Core/8Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 6M cache)
6GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 2GB + 1 x 4GB)
640GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
15.6 HD (1366x768) WLED display with TrueLife™
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M graphics

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, as i'm not to sure where to put it.

Thanks in advance for any assistance or advice.

 

I'd go with the XPS 15, but I would make two changes to the configuration-

Select XPS 15- 1499.98 AU then CONFIGURE>

Go to Essential Help (3rd icon) defaults to "Onsite setup at home by Gizmo" BUT you can select the option below below it "I don't need help while operating or getting started with my PC" and get a credit of ($97.90 AU)

So the price is down to $1401.08 at this point
Then go to Display- HD Display- I would highly recommend upgrading to the 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) B+RGLED display for $198.00 AU!

The price with the 1920x1080 display would be $1599.08!

A lot of buyers make the mistake of thinking the 'Full HD' 1920x1080 won't be useful if they don't have plan to watch movies or the laptop doesn't have a Blu-ray drive...but that's just one of the reasons you'd want the FHD display. Long before the words 'Full HD' were ever associated with laptops, the best business notebooks in the industry (ThinkPad T-series, Dell Latitude & Precision, for example) were available with optional 15.4" WUXGA (1920x1200) displays because they give you so much more viewable work space!

By choosing the 1920x1080, you will be increasing the viewable area of the display by more than 95% compared to the standard 1366x768! The default text and icons will be smaller by the same percentage compared to the standard display, but that can be adjusted if necessary. Windows allows you to 'Adjust font size (aka- DPI scaling) very easily with just a right mouse click anywhere on the desktop. The B+RGLED backlighting will also give you the best contrast ratio, color representation and overall superior image quality! It's the best $198 you could spend...

Otherwise, I think the XPS 15 looks like the winner, hands down! The Studio 17 is being discontinued any day now. It is already gone from the Dell U.S. website. The XPS looks much nicer and the build quality and materials will hold up better over time as well.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions! I'll do my best to answer them.

 

I reckon either would do, but if portability is relevant the XPS would be better.

Screen resolution is a very personal preference, but I have to agree with allfiredup that the 1080p upgrade is well worth it.

I don't know what audio software you'll be running, but if it puts a lot of information on the screen the 1080p screen could be a major benefit.