Dell XPS vs Acer M5 Ultra

[rash219]

Hey guys!

Need some recommendation since I cant seem to find a proper side by side comparison between the two. The Models I am looking at are the

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook - L321X (2nd Gen i5, 128 GB Solid State Drive, 4 GB DDR3 1333MHz, Intel HD Graphics 3000)

and

Acer M5-481PT-6644 (3rd Gen i5-3337U, 500GB + 20GBSSD, 6 GB DDR3, Intel HD 4000)

What I am essentially looking for is a laptop that is portable but a little larger than the netbook but smaller than the 15.6" screens. And that does not have to be plugged in every 2 hours. It use will be simply basic student use ie Netflix, Lots of IE tabs, Documents, etc...
I do tend to use it in the dark therefore having a lighted keyboard will definitely be a PLUS.

I think I will suffice w/ a core i3 since I am currently happy w/ my netbook after upgrading it w/ an SSD, 4GB Ram and better bluetooth-wifi adapter. Battery life although not the BEST it was manageable considering the small size. But I am open to any suggestions!

Thanks for all the feed back!

 

[rash219]

Here is the link to the models I forgot to attach

The Acer is a refurb from the Official E-bay Store

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-14-Asp...18GHz-6GB-500GB20GB-M5481PT6644-/261245309933

The Dell XPS is from the outlet store

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...arch.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&puid=23f57e7d

The only major difference between the two are the screen size differing by 0.7" and processor by a generation. Considering the processor alone Acer looks like a good buy! But I am still a little unsure since I cant find any disassembly guide to the acer! In case I need to upgrade parts within it! Or know which parts can even be upgradable...... If anyone has come across any links on how to upgrade the Acer M5 w/ a Samsung 840 SSD it would be much appreciated if you could provide it!

Any suggestions on other laptop that can fit the price range and durability and portability are most welcomed! Thanks

 

[toughtrasher]

The Dell page gave me an error, but the Acer does look like an awesome piece of meat! And only $499 for a laptop, pretty good power

 

[rash219]

Sorry about that I have fixed the link hopefully it doesn't keep changing....but yea the XPS is equally powerful just lighter, smaller in screen size, and lacking a DVD drive. My boss has one and has no complaints with it yet! But I see that it lacks an HDMI don't know if the converter I have will work with it yet! But I want to say my concern would be mainly upgradeability and longevity....I would like it to LAST! since I doubt I will ever need a powerful laptop to lug around! So like before my question is would you go for the XPS over the Acer M5 or would you go for something else completely!

 

[toughtrasher]

Sorry about that I have fixed the link hopefully it doesn't keep changing....but yea the XPS is equally powerful just lighter, smaller in screen size, and lacking a DVD drive. My boss has one and has no complaints with it yet! But I see that it lacks an HDMI don't know if the converter I have will work with it yet! But I want to say my concern would be mainly upgradeability and longevity....I would like it to LAST! since I doubt I will ever need a powerful laptop to lug around! So like before my question is would you go for the XPS over the Acer M5 or would you go for something else completely!

Still getting an error bud...

 

[rash219]

Still getting an error bud...

How about this link

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...x?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&fid=9786

its the search link....and the one I choose is the lowest price $769

 

[Enigmoid]

Acer. Dell sucks. HD 4000 is massively stronger than HD 3000 and has better drivers. Dell tends to sell very locked down computers.
IMO stay away from second gen core intel processors. Get ivy bridge.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Acer. Dell sucks. HD 4000 is massively stronger than HD 3000 and has better drivers. Dell tends to sell very locked down computers.
IMO stay away from second gen core intel processors. Get ivy bridge.

Ehhh.... each to his own I guess. I have a dell laptop for my job with a SB i5, and it is very nice. OTOH, I have an acer tablet that is a complete POS. So experiences vary.

Comparing the two computers listed by the OP, each has advantages. The Dell has a solid state drive while the Acer only has a caching SSD, but more storage overall.

Ivy Bridge brought very little on the desktop compared to SB, but it does have advantages in mobile such as lower power usage and a better igp. So I would give the edge to the Acer in the cpu department, especially if graphics is important.

Personally, I would probably go with the Dell due to the fact that has a full SSD rather than just a caching one, that would probably make the computer feel faster. But I dont see either one as outstandingly better than the other.

 

[rash219]

Honestly that is the dilemma I am having....acer does look a little more powerful compared to dell but like you said dell does have the full SSD capability. I already own an acer netbook 11.6" and upgraded it to its FULL potential...better Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ram, SSD and loved it ever since. Honestly I would not be looking for one if it were not for the increase in productivity workload during the last year of college.

Either way the only thing lacking on the Acer is the full SSD drive which I would actually like to install or more like transfer from the netbook but I cannot for the life of me find ANY documentation regarding it.....

And this could be due to either it being DIFFICULT! OR the laptop being good enough that people were satisfied with it...

Have anyone come across an upgrade guide to the Acer M5?

 

[toughtrasher]

How about this link

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...x?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&fid=9786

its the search link....and the one I choose is the lowest price $769

I'd go with Acer. The specs speak almost entirely for my statement, minus the SSD. If that's not too important to you (at least you still have one if you go w/ the Acer), then get the Acer bc everything is better with it.

 

[Infohawk]

Acer. Dell sucks ... Dell tends to sell very locked down computers.

Can you expand on Dell lockdown? If it's running Windows, can't you do whatever you want with it?

 

[Enigmoid]

Can you expand on Dell lockdown? If it's running Windows, can't you do whatever you want with it?

Propriety Drivers.

Video drivers cannot be updated for example unless Dell repackages them. Unfortunately Dell stops repackaging them when they stop selling them (~1 year) and you are stuck with that driver for the lifetime of the system, causing problems down the road. Other drivers are like this too.

I have had three dell laptops.

1. Dell Inspiron 6400 (bought dec 2006). Still working. Okay system. Dog slow, battery is dead, speakers half broken. Video card was underpowered for the system.

2. Dell XPS 15 LX502 (March 2011). Overheated (like 60 degrees idle, 95-98 degrees under load). Crappy screen. Battery after 1 year was 55% health. Charger cord frayed. Could not update video driver so kept crashing in games. Great Speakers. For light use its fine.

3. Dell Inspiron 15 Special Edition. Crappy battery which died after 4 months. Replaced under warranty. System appears to have problems and is extremely slow (like 3 minutes to boot). Occasionally boots into windows in "factory restore mode" with all programs and settings missing (reboot fixes it). Poor Battery life for a $800 system (48 watt battery is not enough for i7 + 1080p screen). Works fine, very heavy.

This can also be seen in desktop system where for example dell uses a propriety PSU so if you need to replace your psu you can't. You will have to check for yourself about specific systems but compared to Acer, Lenovo, Asus, MSI, dell is quite locked down (sony too).

 

[Infohawk]

Propriety Drivers.

That's too bad. I was thinking of getting a refreshed haswell xps once they come out, but proprietary drivers seems pretty ridiculous in this day and age.

 

[Chiropteran]

The Acer looks clearly superior based on the specs on paper. As far as reliability and such, who knows? Neither company has an amazing reputation. I'd personally buy the Acer.