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I agree, for the hardware and most of the building materials Lenovo is an overall better value. However, I’m lucky enough to not have to hold value as high as I hold other laptop features. Dell has been known in the past to use cheap plastics and skimp on high end hardware in their models to keep their consumer lines in the lower more affordable price ranges.</p>
<p>I decided on the XPS 14 vs the 13 for the offered updated hardware (IB and screen resolution updates are expected on the 13, but most likely not until Win8 is released which will be longer than I want to wait for a machine). Including a dedicated GPU and IB CPU.</p>
<p>Dell XPS 14 - $1,200
Win 7 HP 64-bit
3rd Gen i5 @ 1.7GHz
1600x900 14" display
4GB RAM
500GB HDD @ 5400rpm + 32GB SSD
NVidia GeForce GT 630M w/1GB VRAM
8-cell battery (Dell benchmarks at 11 hours, but it’ll most likely be closer to 6-7 or a little more depending on usage of course)
Backlit keyboard, USB 3.0 x2, SD slot, ethernet, etc
Silver anodized aluminum top / silicone bottom and palm rest (vs carbon fiber bottom on the 13)
The lower priced model is $1,100 and had an Intel HD 4000 integrated instead of the NVIDIA card, and the higher models are $1,500-2,000 with i7s and 256GB SSDs.</p>
<p>I’m in love with the look and feel of the building materials of the XPS 14 than I am of the Lenovo U410, though you can see that the U410 is extremely comparable and at almost $400 less. I’ve messed with the U310, U410, and XPS 13 in store (so much so that the people in the store are starting to recognize me), so I’m fairly confident that I like the feel and look of the XPS 13 the most including the added backlit keyboard and such. The XPS 14 is the same thing as the 13 just without a tapered edge, just the same thickness all the way around. And, like the XPS 13 being in a 12 inch form factor, the XPS 14 is more fitting of a 13 inch form factor thanks to the minimal-istic bezel. So the XPS 14 is more along the size of the Lenovo U310 (LWH Dell XPS 14 13.2"x9.2x0.8 / Lenovo U310 13.1"x8.8x0.7), but is actually 1lb heavier (but I don’t mind). All of that along with the 1600x900 higher res display that I’m already used to on my 17" laptop makes it worth the extra bucks to me.</p>
<p>I’m still keeping the U410 in the corner of my eye though and am constantly comparing that and the XPS 14 since they both have their plus sides. Most likely I will get the 14 because of the above though.</p>