Im in the market for a new laptop and have easily narrowed it down to these two options. 
At first i was pretty much settled for the Macbook Pro until i was reading the LegitReviews News section and came across this very very sexy laptop, the Dell XPS 15z. Now I am at a fork in the road. I was really excited about trying out OS X but when this laptop looks real slick and its $430 cheaper.  
Uses:
Can't say anything specific, I just have always wanted a laptop. Gaming isn't really in my list of uses sine I have a desktop for that. Even after taking that into consideration I am still having a hard time choosing. 
15" Macbook Pro 
    * 2.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
    * 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
    * 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
    *Intel HD Graphics 3000
    *AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5
    *Built-in battery (7 hours)2 
    * SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
    * MacBook Pro 15-inch Hi-Res Antiglare Widescreen Display
    * Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
    * Accessory Kit
Will be upgrading the HDD and ram on my own (could be cheaper this way, im sure) 
DELL XPS 15z
Integrated Network Adapter   Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card	
Adobe Reader	                      Adobe® Reader X	
PROCESSOR	                      2nd generation Intel Core™ i7-2620M processor 2.70 GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0 - 3.40 GHz
OPERATING SYSTEM	               Genuine Windows® Home Premium, 64-Bit, English	
VIDEO CARD	                       NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 2GB graphics with Optimus	
MEMORY                               8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz Memory	
HARD DRIVE	                       750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive	
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE      8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)	
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH	      Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6230 & Bluetooth 3.0	
BATTERY OPTIONS	              64 WHr 8-Cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery	
SOUND OPTIONS	              Waves Maxx Audio 3	
HD DISPLAY	                      Elemental Silver Aluminum 15.6" 300-nit FHD (1080P) WLED Display with Webcam	
KEYBOARD                              Backlit Keyboard - English	
ONLINE DATA BACKUP	       No DataSafe
			
			
									
									
						Macbook Pro vs DELL XPS 15Z
- DaddyRabbit
- Legit Extremist 
- Posts: 478
- Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:46 am
Re: Macbook Pro vs DELL XPS 15Z
Just me but the Dell is the winner hands down IMHO. You are already $430 down with the Macbook, after avoiding the cost of bumping the RAM and HDD you could get the Dell and a decent sized SSD and it would handily spank the Macbook in performance (once again IMHO). Seems like a high price to pay for "trying" OS X.
As a second option you could buy a Mac Mini for cheap, if you consider $700 for the below configuration "cheap" that is, and play with OS X to see if you like it,
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
320GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
Mac OS X Snow Leopard
All of the above said, I would go with the Dell and a decent, good sized SSD.
			
			
									
									As a second option you could buy a Mac Mini for cheap, if you consider $700 for the below configuration "cheap" that is, and play with OS X to see if you like it,
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
320GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
Mac OS X Snow Leopard
All of the above said, I would go with the Dell and a decent, good sized SSD.
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
Core i7 2600k
Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler
8gig (2x4) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600
Powercolor HD5870 PCS+
OCZ Agility 2 240G SSD (boot, programs, games)
WD Caviar Black 1TB (Data)
CM UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W 80+ Silver PSU
CM Storm Sniper
Gateway FHD2400
Win 7 Pro 64bit
						Core i7 2600k
Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler
8gig (2x4) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600
Powercolor HD5870 PCS+
OCZ Agility 2 240G SSD (boot, programs, games)
WD Caviar Black 1TB (Data)
CM UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W 80+ Silver PSU
CM Storm Sniper
Gateway FHD2400
Win 7 Pro 64bit
Re: Macbook Pro vs DELL XPS 15Z
Unless OS X is what you want the Dell is the much better computer.  If you do get the Dell you can use the saved money and buy a 256GB SSD and really run circles around the Mac.
If you just want to try OS X look on ebay for a used Macbook. That way in the future you'll know what you want.
*EDIT*
Found this, don't know if you've seen it.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/23/dell-xps-15z-review/
			
			
													If you just want to try OS X look on ebay for a used Macbook. That way in the future you'll know what you want.
*EDIT*
Found this, don't know if you've seen it.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/23/dell-xps-15z-review/
					Last edited by Major_A on Thu May 26, 2011 7:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
									
			
									
						Re: Macbook Pro vs DELL XPS 15Z
I'm not sure if your looking for the mac look but I almost bought this the other day http://forums.legitreviews.com/about34495.html. Had to talk to the wife to remind me that I don't need another laptop.
A friend of mine just bought a Mac and says he regrets getting it because he never uses OS X and is always booting into windows 7. He is also regretting the 2k he spent on it.
			
			
									
									
						A friend of mine just bought a Mac and says he regrets getting it because he never uses OS X and is always booting into windows 7. He is also regretting the 2k he spent on it.



