I’m trying to decide between these laptops. Cost is not much of a problem because I am using outside scholarship money to pay for it. However I want the best bang for my buck. I’m not much of an Apple person so I’m leaning against it. I’m buying through my university and these are the specs advertised. There are significant savings built into the price with the X1 Carbon saving me the most ($900+) and Mac being the least ($100+). I’m interested in finance, information systems, and computer science.
i was debating the x1 carbon and xps 13 as well lol.
i went with the xps 13 because the best buys and electronic stores in my city didn’t have the x1 carbon to look at. i really wish i could have looked at it and what not, but the xps 13 truly is small. i was also comparing the hp spectre x360,and it weighs 0.1 pounds more than the macbook you’re considering. i’d go with the lightest laptop if i were you, because the weight does add up. you’re gonna be carrying this thing around on your back for 4+ years. it might be a bit more pricier but your back will thank you when you’re older. also, you can get student discounts at lenovo and dell (probably at apple too but i don’t know a thing about macs).
they have similar specs so at this point i think it’s up to individual taste. is the customer service at lenovo better than dell? which laptop looks better?
Check out slickdeals.net those price seems to be awfully high.
I tried both laptops at my local Microsoft Store I like the look of xps 13 over x1.
Lenovo X1 Carbon. Macs are overpriced and don’t come with alot of open software. The dell is good but not as durable as a Lenovo X1.
I would say the Macbook Pro Retina 13. That Dell and Lenovo sure give it a run for the money though. After using PCs for years I am a big mac fan now for a couple of reasons. The first; battery life. I couldn’t get anywhere CLOSE to the battery life on the Macbook Air I am using right now on any PC I have ever used. The Macbook Pro Retina has at least 10 and probably up to 12 hours of good solid battery life. The battery probably also last for more charges then the PC batteries do.
Second; UI. There are so many really nice things that Macs have built in to the OS. My favorite is the ability to view files in multiple different ways. This comes in really handy when I am searching through a trove of hundreds of photos. Mac OS X allows me to preview the photo in a large size without even opening them. The trackpad is also really spectacular and very intuitive to use. Mac OS X also allows you to Bootcamp or Parallel Windows which is super nice. As for @CHS2017 complaint that Macs don’t come with a lot of open software I say why on earth would you need it? The only programs I would think you would need to be running are IntelliJ for coding, Google Drive for papers and spreadsheets and Spotify for cranking out tunes all of which run on Macs.
Third: Design. Although the Dell and the Lenovo may be lighter, it is my subjective opinion that they don’t look as good. It also seems to me to be sturdier than the other two.
Fourth: Resale value, longevity and ubiquity. The Macbook will not be in any way unique to whatever college you plan on attending and that’s a good thing for compatibility and sharing. This means you can borrow your roommates power cord or use his thunderbolt to hdmi connector. It will also last for a couple of years without feeling of date or sluggish. And if you decide to sell it further down the road it will keep its resale value better than any of the other systems.
You can’t go wrong with any of these computers but that is why I would buy the mac.
Check out the reviews at www.notebookcheck.net or similar site. They tend to give a decent review of build quality, screen quality, performance and real life battery life. From what I know, all three are great laptops. You might want to check if your school is an authorized service center for these laptops in case you need it.
Carbon, I’d say. Mainly because the XPS isn’t worth the increased price. You can spend the extra money on an office chair, 50 burritos, or something else.
The XPS is only more expensive with the 4K touch screen which may or may not be worth it for the OP. Honestly I would probably skip it. Without it the battery life improves dramatically. Or you could just buy the Macbook.
I concur with @as9934
With the smaller displays, the technology driving it is far more important than the resolution, once you get to 1080p.
1080p IPS/PLS >>>>>> 1440p TN panel