XPS 15 vs Inspiron 15r

Hello,
I´m on the last step, almost decided, but I want to have expert decision on this subjet, so which laptop would be better for playing GTA IV, or CoD 4 black ops ( not hard playing)

Inspiron 15r

XPS 15

 

Here are the pros/cons of those systems *in my opinion*:

RAM: same, irrelevant

Processors pretty much the same. Not sure if XPS mobo or other components are in ANY way better (like BUS). Doubt it.

Screens are going to be similar. I think the XPS screen will be slightly better quality wise with my experience between the 15R and XPS 14. Having said that, many XPS owners are switching out their screens because they expect more, given that the 15R is more in the "budget-mid" range. My XPS 14 screen is better than the 15R's.

Video cards: The 5650 is a very nice card. It is DX11. It is similar in performance to the 420--but somewhat better. The 420 has optimus though, so it will be able to save on battery. If you google "5650 vs. 420m" you will find lots of comparisons.

Read about both here:
NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Notebookcheck.net Tech

I think they will perform similarly, in short, for gaming, with an edge to the 5650.

The question is--do you want the other aspects an XPS has?

For example:

Sound: the XPS will be better.

Keyboard: if you care, you can get backlit keyboard on the XPS but not the 15R.

Build quality: the XPS is better than the Inspiron. I can say from experience owning the two.

Price: the 15R *should* be cheaper. I got both of mine on the outlet.

If the price is similar, I'd go for the XPS. If the XPS is 20% more, I'd get the 15R.

Also, where are you able to get a 15R with the ATI 5650? All I see on Dell (new or refurb) is the HD550v I got (which is an ATI 4650+)

 

I would go for the XPS 15 as in some benchmarks the 420M is lower performing but overall XPS 15 build quality beats the 15R. Plus the 15R I believe only comes with a 1368x768 resolution screen and the XPS 15 came get the 1080p B+RG LED screen which is very impressive.

 

I agree, plus the XPS 15 speakers are amazing, way better than the inspiron's!!

 

the difference between both, is of 5€ ... not much (the xps is 5€ more expensive)

So in terms of the graphic card: The 420 and 5650 is almost the same right? .. not gonna find much difference

 

Do the XPS in that case. Again, be sure you are getting a 5650 card because I don't think Dell ever shipped that (with Core i5)--but my knowledge may be lacking or maybe this is outside the US?

 

It is in Spain (EU)
Bump. So the XPS or the Inspiron?

 

Take the XPS, you will be much happier with it down the line.

 

I would also agree that the XPS is a better all-around laptop, and that the Inspiron build quality leaves a bit to be desired. However, if gaming is your #1 concern, the 5650 in the Inspiron is more than just a little faster than the 420m. The 420m is a fairly low-end card. The 5650 is anywhere from 5%-45% faster (20% average would be a good guess), depending on the game/benchmark you look at. And since you didn't specify it, and the prices are so similar, I'd assume you're looking at the XPS15 with the regular 768p screen anyways, which makes the XPS15's greatest strength (the B+RG screen) irrelevant.

For example, according to notebookcheck.net (admittedly not the most accurate, but there are no other real alternatives):

CoD Black Ops (high settings) 5650 is 18% faster (that's a whole 6 FPS increase)
Mafia 2 (medium) 22% faster (and the 5650 can manage high where the 420 can't)
Starcraft 2 (medium) 16% faster
Metro 2033 (low) 45% faster
BF:BC2 (med) 39% faster (and the 5650 might manage high)

For more balanced and non-Dell XPS biased opinions (you did ask on the XPS board after all), you should try asking over at the Gaming or What Notebook Should I Buy? boards instead.

 

Would then the 420 handle GTAIV in medium??

It´s so annoying, not to find, a whole good laptop for that price( 800€)... In what Dell or Asus, concerns, would you recommend any other better or similar to the XPS?

 

From what I understand, GTA4 is more CPU dependent than GPU dependent, but I've never played it (on PC) so I don't know for sure. The Gaming board would be of more help to you.

As far as a better alternative goes, there are a few good ASUS laptops with the 5650 or 5730 that can be had for a good price (in the US), but I don't know where to go to shop for laptops or compare prices in Europe, though I do know laptops tend to be a bit more expensive over there. There's plenty of Europeans over at the What Notebook Should I Buy? board that could help you out with that better than I could.