Which Dell Laptop to Keep

Hi Guys,

I recently ordered a Dell Studio 1558, thinking I got a good deal after taking about 3 days and talking to several reps, got the order done and all, it is now In-Production.

A day later after the Dell order, I contacted Lenovo and got a quote for their Thinkpad T510 laptop, pretty good price, and thought I'd just call Dell to see if the Vostro is customizable, so the rep said no, he mentioned about the Latitude, I just told him that I spoke to Lenovo and got a quote for their Thinkpads, and he actually mentioned that the Thinkpad is a direct competitor of the Latitudes, so after the initial quote was done, price was too high, told him so that the Thinkpad was cheaper, he ended up matching the price and getting a very descent deal for the Latitude.

I went ahead and ordered the Latitude E6510, but since the Studio 15 is in production, I can't cancel, so I'll be getting both laptops, and I can return before 30 days off course.

Can't make up my mind on which one to keep, here's the specs of both:

Studio 1558
i7 720q | 4GB RAM | 500gb 7200rpm HDD | ATI 5470 1GB
15.6 True Life 1080p Screen | 8x DVD-RW | Back-Lit Keyboard | Soundblaster
3yr Advanced Complete Care Warranty | 9 Cell | Win 7 Home Premium X64
$1376.04

Latitude E6510
i5 540m | 4GB RAM | 500gb 7200rpm HDD | Nvidia 3100m 512mb
15.6 Anti-Glare RGB LED 900p Screen | 8x DVD-RW | Back-Lite Keyboard
3yr Basic Warranty (included) + 3yr Complete Care | 9 Cell Battery
Win 7 Pro x64 w/ XP Mode
$1355

Off course the Latitude has a lot better build quality, I don't need a quad really, on the other hand the Studio has a 1080p screen, the Latitude is 900p.

What would be a better option guys. Thanks

 

If I had the choice, I would go with the Lat. It has the i5 which is very decent and doesn't seem to have the same heat issues as the i7. Also, the Lat has the anti-glare screen which is nice.

I currently have a XPS 16 with the 1080p screen and it is great for watching the blu rays and other videos but I do dislike how small everything is. True, you can scale but the fact is, scaling does not work well with all programs, in fact it makes some programs down right fuzzy and hard to read, sure they are bigger but it creates a whole other type of eye strain. I have perfect eye sight and I want it to stay that way as long as possible so I try to minimize eye strain if I can since I am looking at my sceens for so long.

I have a studio 1558 on order and I am going with the lower res screen. If I truly want to use the vid cards full HD capabilities or need more real estate, I will hook it up to my TV because a noticable quality difference on a 15.6 inch screen is minimal.

Good Luck with making your decision!

 

I should go for the Latitude.
It's indeed a much better build quality than the Studio and the i5 540m has a decent performance. Although the HD5470 is a DirectX 11 card, I would not be fixated on this matter.
The resolution of the screen depends on what you want to do with it. I prefer the fact that the Latitude has a Anti-Glare RGB LED screen. I don't like those fancy shiny screens, cause everything reflects in it. Maybe it makes the colors more crisp and clear, but the LED's make the screen more bright.

In the end there's also something to say about the design of both notebooks, but what I think it's personal.

 

I'll have to be the dissenting voice here and say that the 1920x1080 screen really makes the laptop for me. I have the laptop in my sig, so I don't know if it is exactly the same screen in the Studio 15, but I really love the high resolution screen. I use my laptop as my only computer, so having the extra space on the desktop for working on stuff, browsing the web, and just general usage is wonderful. Beyond the screen, I can't offer much opinion though. One more small thing though, is that according to Notebook check ( Notebookcheck: Comparison of Graphic Cards) the ATi video card is better than the nVidia one.

 

Try to get a FHD latitude. Did you use a 30% coupon? Also, use Bing Cashback which is at 5% now, but it's still around $70 saving with your configuration.

 

Firstly, I am in Canada, I could get the 1080p FHD but I'd have to wait much longer, apparently they are stock issues, 900p is available and would ship a lot quicker, hence I went for it.

I can't use the 30% coupon because it is only valid in the States, as for the Bing Cashback, I dunno if it works in Canada either.

I am note sure, but I believe reading that the XPS has a better screen than the Studio models. And yeah I much prefer a Matte screen than a glossy screen with reflections, it's like having allergy with reflections lol.

I think I'll keep the Latitude. I know the Studio has the DX 11 card, but I won't be playing much games on it, actually hardly any games, and so far all my games are old, so DX9 mostly.