Dell Inspiron 6400 vs Macbook Pro...

[izness]

Hi,
I'm going to buy a laptop soon and I will eventually run Live 6 on it for sure. It's the age-old dilemma: I'm just torn between mac or pc and I know most people prefer macs for music but is this really still the case? I would prefer to save $1000 or so if the dell can perform just as well as the macbook. I know this is sort of a loaded question but any input would be much appreciated.

Especially anyone out there with experience with both platforms it would help very much to make this decision. I've used both platforms but not for music software. (And i know the importance of the sound card so I'm prepared to get a good one right away.)

Thanks!!


Dell Inspiron 6400 15" price: $1,320 US. dollars

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Professional edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy) edit
MEMORY 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

OR

macbook pro 15" price $2400

2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB SATA hard drive 5400rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
256MB GDDR3 video memory

[jesso]

Once you go mac, youll never go back.
If you can afford it, go mac. mac mac mac mac mac.
No driver issues, stable out of the box, everything makes sense, way better build quality, ilife software is great, look sexy, decent resale value. Every time I touch a plasticy p.c. i feel sick. Ok thats an over reaction but after years of struggling with p.c's and windows, OSX was a total revelation.
just my opinion though, lots of people obviously get on just fine with pc's.

[tenderboy]

ibm thinkpad r60

good price, good value, stable, robust

had never problems with ableton and rme fireface 400

(i had to work on macs a lot, never liked em)

[anti-banausic]

It is a very hard choice. My old PC laptop, which I pretty much loved, died about two months ago. I bit the bullet and bought a Macbook (not pro) because it was all the computer that money could buy.

The only thing that made getting a Mac possible was boot camp. Windows is running on the same box flawlessly. But, I find myself working in OSX whenever I can, largely because it is more enjoyable experience (especially with a little program called quicksilver).

One thing, I wouldn't really worry about the difference in Hard Drives. I have a 5400 RPM drive, and unless you are going to be multi-tracking a lot, or using a very large number of audio tracks with disk streaming, I haven't had a problem yet. But then again, I have a Hitachi.

Sometimes I find myself wishing I had gotten the pro, but it would have pushed the budget to the brink, and with the money I saved, I can get a really good soundcard.

I personally think the Macbook pro is the superior computer, especially since you can run windows on it. But you have to decide whether it is right for the price. That is it's sole drawback.

Best,
AB

[izness]

^^ thanks.. It basically comes down to price for me. I can stretch it and get a macbook pro but I'll have to wait a few more weeks.

[stinky]

The only thing that made getting a Mac possible was boot camp.

one up this with Parallels for Bootcamp, and you'll never go back to a pc... guaranteed.

[Machinate]

I would prefer to save $1000 or so if the dell can perform just as well as the macbook.

well, quite frankly - it really really can't. I love pc's as much as anybody, but the specs on macbook pros are really stunning. I've taken the liberty of digging into the specs you provided - green=comparatively good, red=comparatively bad. Let's go:

...
Dell Inspiron 6400 15" price: $1,320 US. dollars

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Professional edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy) edit
MEMORY 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

OR

macbook pro 15" price $2400

2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB SATA hard drive 5400rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
256MB GDDR3 video memory

One thing I don't see is the graphics capabilities of the Dell, but I doubt they'll match the macBook Pro. Also very important to me: Screen resolutions!

[raw]

Hello,

I worked on Mac (ppc and intel) and PC, I returned on PC because for me, it's also stable (on xp pro), less expensive and there is more free plugins. (yes the "package" of Mac is better).
I took an Asus, good laptop but Dell have the best guarantee.
It's my opinion..

[sparklepuff]

I think buying a computer based on the number of free plugins is a pretty weak argument. The fact that you can RUN WINDOWS on your MAC hardware negates that fact. Get better hardware that you can run any software on, including all your free plugins. That's a pretty good arguement. Check it: XP on my Mac. Why buy a Dell?

[raw]

It's not the principal argument, the principal is the price, for the same thing (inside).. But I don't have anything against Apple. Just my experiment. I used bootcamp but for working, it's a waste of time if it's necessary to pass from Windows to OSX.. (and "virtual" os are too slow). But Mac are beautiful laptop..

[aqua_tek]

i'd say mac, but i'm obviously biased

[Amberience]

I would prefer to save $1000 or so if the dell can perform just as well as the macbook.

well, quite frankly - it really really can't. I love pc's as much as anybody, but the specs on macbook pros are really stunning. I've taken the liberty of digging into the specs you provided - green=comparatively good, red=comparatively bad. Let's go:

...
Dell Inspiron 6400 15" price: $1,320 US. dollars

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Professional edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy) edit
MEMORY 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

OR

macbook pro 15" price $2400

2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB SATA hard drive 5400rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
256MB GDDR3 video memory

One thing I don't see is the graphics capabilities of the Dell, but I doubt they'll match the macBook Pro. Also very important to me: Screen resolutions!

Do you really think that an extra 60GB and not much of an increase CPU-wise is worth an extra $1000??

I concur that you can run Windows on a Mac now, so there is really no difference except for hardware. I think you could easily do as much on that specification of PC laptop as the Macbook. Sure, you get a little bit more juice on the Mac, but really, it isn't THAT much of an increase. And I don't personally think that the money justifies the increase.

The money you save by getting the Dell you can invest in something else that might not even be hardware related - a synth, a sample library, whatever.

PS: I just spotted that the Mac is 5400rpm whilst the Dell is 7200rpm - that is definitely something that would push me more towards the Dell.

[raw]

I add that Dell maybe not the best choice (except for the guarantee).. I already had a problem of configuration with my sound card on a xps.. Asus is a good choice currently. or Sony, it's the same manufacturing that Mac, HP and others... (Quanta)

[Machinate]

I would prefer to save $1000 or so if the dell can perform just as well as the macbook.

well, quite frankly - it really really can't. I love pc's as much as anybody, but the specs on macbook pros are really stunning. I've taken the liberty of digging into the specs you provided - green=comparatively good, red=comparatively bad. Let's go:

...
Dell Inspiron 6400 15" price: $1,320 US. dollars

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Professional edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy) edit
MEMORY 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

OR

macbook pro 15" price $2400

2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB SATA hard drive 5400rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
256MB GDDR3 video memory

One thing I don't see is the graphics capabilities of the Dell, but I doubt they'll match the macBook Pro. Also very important to me: Screen resolutions!

Do you really think that an extra 60GB and not much of an increase CPU-wise is worth an extra $1000??

Not at all! In fact, if Izness hadn't specifically said: "I would prefer to save $1000 or so if the dell can perform just as well as the macbook. " then I wouldn't have said anything. but it *CAN'T!*

Due to the fact that Izness IS seeing performance as a deciding factor, then I am going to call it: cpu+hd+graphics card tips the scale quite a lot. (and for me to, personally, because I need to run OpenGL in Jitter - a process that really taxes the gpu.)

[OvertoneZero]

I add that Dell maybe not the best choice (except for the guarantee)...

QFE

Dell is the suck