m15x vs SXPS 16

Which one is better I'm not really into gaming but I will need to run engineering student things also It needs to last 4 years so upgradeability (sp?) would be optimal. I'm looking to spend no more then around 1500 dollars.

 

Hmmm.. I use my M17 run some engineering software as well. Solidwork CAD . Matlab... no problem at all. well i may say m15x. ( I never try XPS cannot tell the different)

 

for 1500$
m15x:
+better graphics (either 3870 or 9800)
-smaller hd
-the crappy hinges.. read on the forum about it

xps 16:
+bigger hd
-weaker gpu (3670)
-weird and in my oppinion too stretched screen and resolution (1920x1080).. even my m17 already seams a bit too wide stretched with 1920x1200 to me

 

hmm how exactly are you configuring the two for comparison and also ill be the gpu is not really a issue for me as i dont game much. And on both i would be getting the lower resolution screens

 

The GPU affects how well you can run your engineering programs as well.

I use ProE, tried to run it when I was on the integrated graphics rather than the Nvidia chip and took me a sec to figure out why I couldn't click or move anything lol. Worked fine when I switched back to the main GPU though.

 

I looked at the best configured xps and i configured the x15m with:
-the high res screen - you can get the lower res which is not such a bad choice for the m15x since its only 15 inch and not so wide screen so the 1440x900 should also look good for 100$ less which will get you the bigger hds..
even if you are getting the lower res on xps (1366x768??) which is a mistake in my oppinion especially if youre doing stuff like cad the resolution on the xps is still horrible as i see it (still VERY wide)..
-a 3870 (~8000 3dmark06) since its almost as good as the 9800 (~9200 3dmark06) but alot cheaper - 250$, and alot better than the xps 3670 (~4200 3dmarks06) GPU Benchmarks
-a t9300 which is a bit better than the p8700 xps still with this budget (2,5 6mb l2 vs 2,4ghz 3mb l2)
-2gb of ram since you can buy it dirt cheap yourself and upgrade to 4gb (~60$)
-the smallest hd since youre running out of your budget by than (160gb).. unless you add 50$ which will get you a 250gb drive or 75$ for 320gb.. or get that extra from the smaller res..
total 1549$

Id get this over the xps any day.

 

If you want processor upgradeability (which I assume is what youre talking about), you are better off buying a laptop with newer tech. Since you are doing some engineering stuff, why not go for latitude or precision m4400? They are much much better built than XPS or the m15x and they have a graphics card (quadro) optimized for rendering and so forth. This would probably be a much better choice for you: http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop_latitude_e6500?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

There's a high chance that the m15x will not last for 4 years! Search through the forums and you'll know what i'm taking about.

 

There's a high chance dell won't either...my dell had a big crap out after a year, had to replace the LCD. 4 years is probably the upper limit on how long most laptops last, especially if you carry them around every day. Wear and tear + technology isn't the best mix lol.

 

I recommend the m15x without the pretty lights.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=160092

It's the 15inch Sager. It has the latest chipset which means that you should be good for the next 4 years. And since it uses XMX you can upgrade just about any piece that its in there as the years go by. For $1500 you can get a nice computer. Theres no tax too.

 

Just go post in the what notebook should i get thread and follow the FAQ

 

best advice out of any one