Dell xps or inspiron 15r?

Hey guys! im new to this forum & so i was wondering if you guys could help me out =)

im looking to buy a new laptop & im really confused.

i have decided that i would like to buy from dell, but i just dont know which laptop. The laptop will be used for everyday use, watching movies but not HD movies, no gaming at present but i might in a year. I will do a bit of programming using vb, but not alot. I want the laptop to last atleast 5-6 years hence why i considered the xps. Battery life that is around 3-4hrs is good. I heard that the build quality of the inspiron isnt that great & it has some heating issues.

im in australia so the prices are bit different to U.S etc. I will get half the amount of the laptop back because of government tax refund for students.

i can get the inspiron 15r for $839 (essentially $420 cause of refund)
with specs: i5 480m 2.66ghZ
4Gb ram
640gb drive @ 5400rpm
ati radeon 5650 1GB
720p res

OR the xps 15 501x for $1124 (essentially $562 cause of refund)
i5 480m 2.66ghZ
4Gb ram
640gb drive @ 7200rpm
nvidea 1GB 420m with optimus
720p res

OR the new xps 15 502x for $1079 (essentially $539 cause of refund)
Sandy bridge i5 2410m 2.3ghz
4Gb ram
640gb drive @ 7200rpm
nvidea 1GB 525m (not sure if it has optimus, but optimus should be there for prolonged battery life)
720p res

OR xps 15 502x for $1178 (essentially $589) with sandy bridge i7 2630qm 2.0ghz & same spec as above 502x.
The only reason i put i7 in there is beacuse i want the laptop to last 5-6 years, and with the technology rapidly changing, the SB i7 might still be fast after 5-6 years. If i decide to go with i5, which 1 is better? 480m or 2410m? according to Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist - Notebookcheck.net Tech, the 480m is ranked higher & base clock is higher, but the 2410m is SB & newer technology, so that also confuses me. I know the battery life will i5 will be good, but will the new SB i7 be just as good battery life or slightly less? also for the resoultion, i know xps has 1080p but its an extra $200! i dun think i will need it so might as well save some money

Sorry that u have to read alot, its just i want to buy the right laptop that will last a long time.

Thank you =)

 

I say get the XPS (Preferably L502x)

and DEFINITELY get the 1080p. Not only does the resolution make content less oversized so you can fit more on the screen at once, it's B+RG LED backlit so colors will stand out a lot more. 1080p is probably the most important upgrade option on the XPS 15 because the display affects everything you do. Higher resolution means less scrolling, and easier multitasking with two side-by-side near-full-size windows.

do not settle for the 720p on the XPS 15. The XPS 15 is a nice multimedia laptop and needs a good screen to go with it.

These images demonstrate the difference between the 720p (1366x768) and 1080p (1920x1080) resolutions:
720p: (on 15.6", content is oversized, it's difficult to fit more than one window, and you will have to scroll a lot)

1080p: (on 15.6", content is a lot smaller, which makes for a more comfortable, less-cramped viewing experience. If you've never seen higher than 720p in 15.6", you will be amazed at how nice the extra room is. If the fonts feel too small, windows lets you enlarge them while staying with the 1080p resolution)

(I made these images for my university's website's computer-order page but they never ended up using them, so I'm using them)

Also yes, the 525M on the L502X does have optimus (as well as the 540M)

Get the i7-2630QM if you can. It's more "future-proof" due to being quad-core, but the i5 is still a good CPU.

 

hmm..ok ill ask my parents to see if they can put in extra $200, but it alot of money to upgrade to that..depends on my parents =/

 

wat bout out of the i5's? Cause if i get 1080p screen, might hav to get i5 processor. 2410m or 480m?

 

well it's only extra $100 with your half-off discount, but yeah the screen is definitely a more important upgrade than the processor because the difference is far more noticable.

Get the one with 2410m rather than 480m if you can, because it's SandyBridge (latest generation) and it's more efficient.

 

yea i noe its $100 more but we dont get the discount straight away. we have to pay full price & in july we get it half of it back. With the i7 2630qm, will i even need that much power? i mean i dun think im gonna use any application which needs that much power, even 5-6 years later. Chews up the battery life quicker doesn't it?

I know the i5 2410m is more efficient cause its SB, but wouldn't the 480m still perform faster?

 

The 2410m is actually faster according to benchmarks, despite the lower-rated clock speed.

Both are good processors and offer plenty of performance for the general user.

 

alrite. thanks for all the info u gave =) helped alot..just going to wait for a good deal & then gonna order laptop =)