<p>Is the Macbook worth the extra money?>?>?</p>
<p>It depends on your situation. There are a lot of threads on PC vs Mac in the computer sub-forum.</p>
<p>I own a Mac, Dell, and HP laptop. I use the Mac and the HP more than I do the Dell. I just can’t stand to use the Dell, just too many continuing problems with that thing. So if my choice was between a Dell or a Mac only I would go with a Mac.</p>
<p>Dell’s are glorified paper weights</p>
<p>Nonsense. Dells aren’t paperweights.</p>
<p>The comparison isn’t Mac vs Dell btw; it’s Windows versus Mac OS. If you like those equally - which is rare - then you’d compare Apple & Dell on hardware.</p>
<p>We have a 3½ year old Dell inspiron that still works–never freezes, no blue screens.
Husband has a Dell at work and it works fine. </p>
<p>I have a white MacBook and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a windows laptop again but that’s a windows vs. Mac OS debate.</p>
<p>For people who want a Windows based computer, there’s nothing wrong with a Dell. Just make sure that you configure it up in specs a bit.</p>
<p>if you want to spend more for prettiness, buy a mac. if you just want something that would work and isnt ugly, buy a windows.</p>
<p>Dell has more letters than Mac.</p>
<p>We have 3 MacBook Pros, 4 Dell laptops and 1 HP laptop. I like Dell laptops for price, but everyone generally uses their MacBook Pros. My HP laptop is from 2004 and I use it regularly in the office as a stock display. HP quality was good back then but I perceive that it went down over the years due to cost cutting.</p>
<p>I have a Dell XPS 1330 and I absolutely love it. It weighs less than 5 pounds, has a great screen size (13.3"), looks amazing, and is relatively close in power to most 15" laptops without the extra bulk or weight. If you go on Dell’s site in Education/Public Sector (or something similar, I forget) > Higher Education > (find your school), you can get good discounts on a laptop. I got mine fully loaded with all the power I needed, plus an amazing warranty that covers everything (including accidental damage. THIS IS KEY IN A COLLEGE ENVIRONMENT. One of my drunk suitemates poured iced tea on my computer on accident, frying everything. This warranty got me a new one for free), for under $1500, but you could pull that below $1000 if you cut back on the power. Anyway, I highly recommend Dell and would definitely buy from them again.</p>
<p>Son received his new Dell Studio 15 (1555 version) a few days ago. Seems to be a great machine. It’s very fast and quiet and the keyboard feels very nice (it’s even backlit). If you can afford it, definitely purchase the complete care for your college kid. All is takes is a spilled coffee or knock off of the desk to ruin it. Complete care will cover any of these stupid accidents.</p>
<p>I agree with the above poster regarding complete care. My building had a power surge and it knocked out almost all electronics in the building. Dell had someone at my apartment the next day with all needed replacement parts.</p>
<p>For college, dell’s warranty is SO good…</p>
<p>Son has had the new Dell Studio 15 (1555) for about a week now and the thing is so fast! Not one blue screen or freeze up. He can’t believe how good the DVD movies look on it.
Sound is good (has a subwoofer) and the keyboard feels great (backlit keyboard is very cool). It’s very quiet and doesn’t seem to run hot at all. Hopefully, it’ll last as long as his old Dell Inspiron 6000 lasted (3½ yrs.-still working but really chug chug chugging-touchpad doesn’t work–I think might have accidentally deleted the driver when started using a usb external mouse).</p>
<p>We are looking at Dell Studio 15 for my D. Nysmile, would you mind listing your specs on the Studio 15 you purchased? Thanks</p>
<p>Dell has some extremely fine products. I still have a Dell Inspiron that is six years old and runs fine (obviously it is very slow so it never gets used, but that is besides the point). Dell’s XPS and Studio lines are very nice, in fact I recently ordered a Dell Studio XPS 16, which IMO looks nicer than any Macbook, was much cheaper than a Macbook with comparable hardware, and I got a $419 Dell instant savings + 7% educational discount that allowed me to get 3 years of warrenty w/ accidental damage protection and another battery. Basically…I couldn’t be happier. It will arrive at the end of the month.</p>
<p>Flutelady, sorry about waiting so long to answer. I haven’t been back to this thread in a few day. </p>
<p>Dell Studio 15 (1555)–Midnight Blue (doesn’t show a ton of fingerprints the way a glossy cover would have)
Intel P8600 processor, 4 gigs ram, 15.6 LED screen 720p with 2.0 webcam,
320 HD with 7200rpm and free fall sensor, Vista premium 64 bit, 36 month subscription of
McAfee, 256 mb radeon video card HD 4570, bluetooth, and chose not to get the<br>
optional blueray player. It came with the 9 cell battery and 2 years of onsite repair
warranty (for an additional $99, we added the 2 yr. complete care coverage). Included in the deal was a
$100 Dell gift card that they’ll send out within 4-6 weeks.</p>
<p>The only thing that he did do after he received it was to order a 6 cell battery. While the 9 cell battery has incredible battery life (6-7 hours), it was rather large and bulky and he found that it was a pain (literally because it had pokey sharp little “feet” that dig into your thighs if you use it on your lap). He’ll use the 6 cell battery most of the time–it seems to fit and lock into the machine better also.</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend a website that compares Dell and Mac laptops?</p>
<p>Dell’s customer service is bull $h**. My laptop died and they PROMISED to retrieve all of my data. guess what? they didnt. Instead, I had to pay about $250 because its a “software” problem, and had to wait for 2 days until I was called back. They still didnt get my data back.</p>
<p>STAY CLEAR OF DELL!</p>
<p>When we used Dell’s customer service (regarding motherboard problem due to issue with nvidea card), they sent someone out to my house the next day to fix the problem. Dell’s Complete care warranty upgrade is worth the investment. We had the “in home” repair warranty with them.</p>