W520 VS XPS 15 - suggestions please...

Hey guys,

Today I placed my order with Dell (XPS 15) but I am still thinking about the lenovo W520 and I might cancel my dell order... so I might need some suggestions in regards to what I picked, here are the main specs on both and the prices:

Lenovo W520 - price $1647 before tax ( Canadian)

i7-2720QM , Quadro 1000M , 4 GIGS , 1080 screen, Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN, HDD 320 gigs @ 7200 RPM, 3 years priority support + 3 years lenovo protection plan

XPS 15 - Price $1600 Canadian before tax( after a huge discount)

i7-2720QM, GeForce GT 540M 2GB, 8 GIGS, 1080 screen, Intel WLAN-N 6230 and BT 3.0 , HDD 750 gigs @ 7200 RPM, 4 years hardware warranty + 4 years accidental damage, JBL 2.1 speakers


I like the W520 and I would love to get it but Dell Canada offered a great deal since I had issues with them.. the Dell has the JBL speakers which I really like.. I am kind of still confused and need some suggestions guys!

Thanks

 

The Quadro 1000M should be slightly faster than the GT 540M, at least on paper. The Ultimate N 6300 is better than the 6230. The W520 comes with BT as well. I find a 4 year warranty overkill as I'll probably replace the machine by then. I'd personally go with the W520, but it really depends on which one you like more (yes, that is vague).

 

Really depends on your needs and plans for the computer and ideas for how long you want to keep the machine.

If you plan on gaming, the Dell laptop will offer roughly the same to slightly better performance due to drivers (while the Quadro 1000m is faster). Depending on the game, the Quadro 1000m may actually preform slightly better.

If you plan to use the computer for general purposes, the w520 maybe better. It ultimately comes down to preference. Here's why:
1. Size and Weight and Build quality- the w520 is slighty smaller and slightly lighter (with a heavier power brick). The W520 has better build quality (IMO and since its a professional business laptop vs a consumer laptop). Plus, the looks somewhat matter. The W520 looks very neat black while the Dell looks somewhat bulky (IMO). Really depends on your preferences.

If I find more reasons (haha, really tired) I'll come back and post them here.

The Dell really has better speakers than most laptops in the market. I mostly listen using headphones or home stero system. The w520 gets the job done just you will not hear anything in a semi-loud to loud room on max sound.

To have a more non-biased and professional opinion, I recommend notebookcheck for all your laptop information needs. While they do not have the exact specs you have listed, you get the general idea. I would not take their ratings to heart as these two laptops are in different categories but should look at the individual sub-scores (battery, weight) and a simple guideline (if that makes anysense...haha)

w520: Review Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

XPS 15 (2011): Review Dell XPS 15 Notebook (i5-2410M & GT 540M) - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

If you want to watch blue rays and use it for your primary media center (such as for dorm room use) you might be better off with the XPS 15 because of its better speakers and the lenovo isn't available with a blue ray player. Otherwise I say lenovo.

I ended up having to decide between the same two and I picked the W520 because other than the speakers and blue ray (which I don't need) it seems like a better overall system.

 

The XPS 15 is a cheapo plasticky consumer grade computer, and cannot be compared to a ThinkPad.

Question is what do you plan on doing with your laptop? Using it in a professional work environment? The W520. Multimedia laptop? Maybe the XPS 15, but given how poor the XPS track record is, I'd avoid it all together and consider the Latitude E6520 or E6510 (most comparable model to the W520/W510), and mainstream E series Latitudes come with a standard 3 year depot warranty in the base price.

 

You should go with the Nvidia Quadro 2000M, it always better to be prepared for the future.

 

Im going to have to disagree with you on this one. The XPS is aluminum and built very well. My little brother has one as does my boss at work. They got rid of (THANK GOD!) the cheapo plastic top when they redesigned the XPS. Now the entire chassis is metal and feels pretty sturdy. But still it is a consumer grade laptop, so Ill agree with you on that. While I loved my xps 1645 and it did hold up pretty well. But I had to be careful with it in fear of it breaking. With my thinkpads I dont, but had I gotten an XPS 15 I would have to have been as careful as with previous xps laptops.

Would an XPS 15 hold up to my tasks and abuse? Maybe. But why take the chance. Honestly it depends on what the user needs are and if constant travel/laptop goes everywhere is going to be common then get the thinkpad.

 

I've had the unfortunate displeasure of servicing a few (I've replaced 4 cracked XPS screens). The bezel is paper thin. I nearly broke 2 of them just by holding them. I've replaced Dell bezels all the way from old school Inspirons to even the 14/15/17R, the XPS bezel is the most paper thin bezel I have EVER seen. The only other bezel I have seen as thin is my Latitude 13, and well it is a thin laptop. I've used the XPS and for me it is too much plastic on a 1200+ dollar laptop. Sorry if I am spending 1200 I want high quality plastics, aka ThinkPad plastics. Plus given the XPS track record of GPU issues all the way back to 2006, it would be better just the avoid the entire XPS line.

 

Yeah I cannot say anything about the internals or how it is to work on a new XPS since the ones I support havent broke yet. I would have gotten a thinkpad but for the needs of my users I wouldnt have been able to get what they need for the price (we got the 799 price for the XPS 15).

 

Sigh. I'm weary of extreme statement like this.

ThinkPads are good (I've owned and used many of various generations), but they are not the absolute measure of anything.

 

Nothing is in this world, and to be frank the only absolute anything is purely based off opinion and nothing more.

 

It is just a personal statement, it doesn't have to be statistically correct all the time. Also, Thinkpad isn't the best, but rather it is that the ODM products like the XPS lines are badly made, basically the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

 

My point was you can't compare apples and oranges. Comparing a W520 to a Dell Precision M4600 would be appropriate.

I had a customer awhile back, he had a 1500 dollar Macbook Pro and a 299 eMachines. He complained why his eMachine was a piece of junk, again apples vs oranges argument.

Spec wise, the XPS 15 isn't bad, but again overall it is not so good. Not so good laptops exist, because people buy them, marketing is key. The reason why I push for business laptops is because I see too many people use consumer grade notebooks for professional use and the results sometimes are horrific. They are working on a key thesis or have a major project and their motherboard dies and it is 2 weeks out to XX manufacturer. Or had they bought On-Site warranty on a business laptop, they wouldn't have this issue, and trust me I deal with irate customers with broken computers all day long (it's my job).

 

Thanks alot guys! the main reason for this laptop is to use at home but I only picked DELL because of the speakers to be honest and I just got an email from work today saying that they will give me an x220...

The funny thing is Dell canceled my order because of the verification although they called me and verified lol and I called them back to verify.. how sad is this.. I am talking to a Manager right now to see if he can discount more on it or else i will keep it canceled, I am buying the W520 if they don't compensate me lol