W500 or Dell Studio XPS 16?

Price is about the same after all sales and discounts. The Dell's specs are slightly better but the Thinkpad has a better business name/reputation. I know this is the IBM forum but which would you guys recommend?

 

If you need the higher specs, go for the dell. If you prefer the better build et al, go for the Thinkpad.

I'd make a list of needs, wants, and wishes. Then I'd make sure techno-love didn't got the best of me by focusing mostly on needs, secondarily on wants and only then have wishes enter into it. Oh, and certainly be on the lookout for deal-breakers (in my case that could be glossy screens or no way to plug in a firewire cable (like a lack of expresscard port).

 

The W500 will get much better battery life, is more durable, and runs much much cooler. Why, though, are you not considering a T500? It's cheaper than the W500, and the only difference is the lack of a workstation graphics card - it has a consumer version of it - that, and there is no WUXGA screen option. But the WUXGA screen on the W500 has been rather poorly rated, in any case.

 

Does the Studio xps 16 have an RGB LED screen option? I am curious to know how the quality of the display is, b/c it would seem that that screen would be great to watch videos on, which is shooting up the priority list for me since I'm watching more and more stuff online all the time.

 

+2 don't buy the expensive one if you don't really need it, you can get by as well with the cheaper yet still very able thinkpad.

 

I'd say if you are going to work with it buy the lenovo, there's no better tool. If you just want do some gaming, browsing, connect it to your LCD TV, go for the DELL. Of course you could use one or the other for both things (like I did) but there's no denying that the intended use of the notebook steer some of the manufacturer's decisions (like having a DisplayPort with no audio instead of an HDMI output) and this must be taken into account.

I'd recommend reading the DELL forum also because one of the strong points of the DELL is it RGB-LED screen but some of the people are very dissatisfied with the color fidelity and contrast.

 

I'd also recommend reading the xps1640 thread. A lot of people are complaining about dust in the lcd. The new studio xps line is having a lot of issues with heat and build quality

 

the XPS 16 is actually about 200 dollars more for the same config I got with my W500.

Oh yeah and who wants to play games at 1366x768?

 

Yeah. That resolution is lame. A T500 or W500 at 1680x1050 is a pretty sweet spot.

I'm not really into these 16:9 screens. They're only good for watching movies. Everything else you're better off with 16:10 (I know, or 4:3).

 

Yeah, exactly.

Not to mention my W500 runs at 37C idle and 50C on full load during COD4.

The last Dell I had (although back in 2004) got up to 90C on full load.

 

I agree with the suggestions to consider the T500. How exactly are the Dell's specs better? For machine quality, the ThinkPad is the obvious choice. I don't care for the 16:9 displays, and have also read about the heat issues inherent in the entire XPS line, not just the 16.

 

I have been using a 15" UXGA and more recently a 15.4" WUXGA on Dells for 9 years now, and can't do with smaller densities. I am considering a 15.4" WUXGA replacement notebook for my M70. Is there really a serious problem with the Lenovo 15.4" WUXGA screens? (compared to the Dell's?). I have heard they are not super-bright, that's all...postcript: any comments on the W500 keyboard? The modern Dell Studio-line keyboards I have tried are dreadful. I have heard the W500 is not up to the usual IBM standard? My present M70 keyboard is perfect.

 

Both companies give you random selection of screens, my personal experience is that Dell gives you a little better screens on average. The Lenovo screens tend to be pretty dim, Dell would definitely take the win on that aspect due to the bright LED backlight. Other than that, the Dell has better connectivity with its HDMI and eSATA. If you don't care for those features then I would choose the Thinkpad due to superior build quality, switchable graphics and better cooling.

 

The Dell E6500 line that I am considering do not have an LED WUXGA option in Australia, nor the HDMI or DVI port. I am not very confident that the XPS 16 has a good enough keyboard, if the Dell Studio line keyboards are similar...? I hate so many recent flexi Dell notebook keyboards...

 

Take a look at the review of the W500 on this site - they thought the WUXGA screen was mediocre. Do note, however, that they received a pre-production laptop, so the quality may be different. Best to wait for an actual W500 owner to give their opinions.