Apple’s MacBook Professional laptops are thought to be top rate laptops, however they serve as as industry and client laptops, writer laptops, or even high-end workstations. That makes it tough to discover a Home windows identical for the MacBook Professional. Input the Dell XPS. As a an identical multi-use top rate computer, the Dell XPS has steadily been the one primary festival for the MacBook Professional’s stranglehold on a big a part of the inhabitants.
Alternatively, with the appearance of the M1 chipset, that cross-comparison turned into tougher than ever. With the Intel Extremely silicon at the XPS 14, we will be able to in any case relevel the enjoying box. Which brings us to this query: between the Dell XPS 14 and Apple MacBook Professional 14, which is the simpler computer?
Dell XPS 14 vs. Apple MacBook Professional 14: Worth and configurations
The beginning fashions of the Dell XPS 14 and Apple MacBook Professional 14 M3 start at $1,699 and $1,599 respectively. We reviewed the MacBook Professional 14 M3 at its beginning configuration, even though either one of our Dell XPS 14 evaluation gadgets incorporated the not obligatory Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU improve. The Dell XPS 14 non-OLED fashion we reviewed was once priced at $2,099 whilst the Dell XPS 14 OLED fashion we reviewed was once priced at $2,699. Our colleagues at Tom’s Information reviewed the MacBook Professional 14 M3 Professional beginning fashion, which retails for $1,999.
For additional context, a completely specced-out Apple MacBook Professional 14 M3 Max retails for $6,899. Whilst a completely loaded Dell XPS 14 will set you again simplest $3,789. So, we aren’t speaking about reasonable laptops right here. Whilst the fee unfold at the Dell XPS 14 is nearer in vary ($1,699 to $3,789), the beginning fashion of the Apple MacBook Professional 14 M3 remains to be $100 inexpensive than the beginning fashion of the XPS 14. For that on my own, this class edges towards Apple. However worth isn’t the one issue right here.
The Dell XPS 14’s Intel Core Extremely 7 155 H chipset does fare higher than the bottom Apple M3 on the subject of natural CPU efficiency, however the distinction between the M3 and the Intel Core Extremely 7 is splitting hairs. It’s now not sufficient to make both computer extra of a “bang in your dollar” sort cut price. Each laptops offers you extra energy than you’re more likely to want.
So for providing a inexpensive access worth and having extra configuration choices, this class guidelines simply rather towards the MacBook Professional.
Winner: Apple MacBook Professional 14
Dell XPS 14 vs. Apple MacBook Professional 14: Design
Apple’s MacBook design has been constant for relatively a very long time, that includes a variation of the aluminum clamshell chassis debuted at the MacBook Professional line in 2006. Whilst that consistency in design language created the long-lasting MacBook Professional glance — one who lots computer producers nonetheless replica to nowadays — the Professional design is dull. Positive, it is available in House Grey along with the normal Silver colorway, however that’s now not sufficient after nearly twenty years with the homogeneous design.
Dell took a possibility on its redesign of the XPS lineup. With InfinityEdge bezels, a hidden trackpad, and a touch-control serve as bar, the XPS 14 is extra like a computer out of a sci-fi TV display than a contemporary client product. That hyper-futuristic design additionally is available in each Platinum and Graphite colorways for just a little of extra aptitude.
The MacBook Professional 14 is thinner and lighter than the Dell XPS 14, because the XPS 14 weighs 3.7 kilos with out the discrete Nvidia GPU. Alternatively, 0.11 inches and nil.3 kilos is rarely a game-breaking distinction. So the verdict comes right down to natural aesthetics.
Whilst the MacBook Professional 14 design is an icon for just right reason why, the Dell XPS 14’s hyper-modern “spaceship” design feels a laugh and contemporary. In a panorama of chrome clamshells, we need to praise Dell for bold to switch up its design language.
Winner: Dell XPS 14
Dell XPS 14 vs. Apple MacBook Professional 14: Show
The XPS 14 sports activities an not obligatory OLED show whilst the MacBook Professional 14 is caught with Apple’s mini-LED backlit Liquid Retina XDR show. After all, mini-LED and OLED applied sciences range of their technical utility of brightness and colour, however they may be able to steadily seem very similar to the human eye. The XPS 14 OLED computer and the MacBook Professional 14 inspired reviewers with their talent to seize colour, intensity, and element whilst streaming.
Whilst you might be expecting the XPS 14 OLED to have probably the most colourful show in our lab checks, the MacBook Professional 14 M3, MacBook Professional 14 Professional, and XPS 14 OLED had been all in the similar normal vary at the DCI-P3 colour gamut. The XPS 14 OLED lined 79.9% of the colour gamut, which places it solidly in the course of the pack, because the MacBook Professional 14 M3 lined 81.3% and the M3 Professional model lined 79.1%. The XPS 14 non-touch show suffered probably the most on our show take a look at, with a depressing 64.5% gamut protection.
As for brightness, the MacBook Professional 14 averaged 558 nits of SDR brightness and 1560 nits of HDR brightness. The XPS 14 non-touch show (461 nits) was once brighter in SDR than the OLED fashion (377 nits), and each fashions paled towards the MacBook Professional 14 on SDR and HDR metrics.
As for answer, the XPS 14 OLED does have a three.2K (3,200 x 2,000 pixels) show which will provide you with some further pixels to paintings with in comparison to the MacBook Professional 14’s Liquid Retina (3,024 x 1,964 pixels) show. In the case of pixel density, the XPS 14 OLED has 260 pixels-per-inch whilst the MacBook Professional 14 gives 254 PPI. So that you’re getting 6 further pixels according to inch of display house with the XPS 14 OLED. After all, the bottom fashion of the XPS 14 is simplest FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200 pixels), whilst the bottom MacBook has the similar Liquid Retina show answer because the absolutely loaded fashion.
Brightness reasonable isn’t probably the most fascinating deciding issue on show high quality, however it’s the largest differentiating issue between the XPS 14 and the MacBook Professional 14. Given the pointy disparity in SDR and HDR brightness, this can be a transparent win for the MacBook Professional 14.
Winner: Apple MacBook Professional 14
Dell XPS 14 vs. Apple MacBook Professional 14: Efficiency
In case your web conduct are summed as much as opening emails and keeping an eye on your 20+ browser tabs, the XPS 14 and MacBook Professional 14 boast greater than sufficient processing energy. The Intel Extremely 7 155 H and Apple M3 chips are similarly provided for extra strenuous duties, like photograph and video enhancing.
At the Geekbench 6.2 total efficiency take a look at, the Dell XPS 14 OLED averaged a single-core ranking of two,326 and a multicore ranking of 12,701 (the XPS 14 non-touch fashion introduced an identical rankings). The MacBook Professional 14 M3 hit a single-core reasonable of three,163 and a multicore reasonable of eleven,968, whilst the MacBook Professional 14 M3 Professional were given a single-core reasonable of three,154 and a multicore reasonable of 14,357. The XPS 14’s Intel Extremely 7 155H processor has higher multicore efficiency on Geekbench 6.2 than the MacBook Professional 14 M3, however the M3 Professional chip is the transparent winner in each single-core and multicore classes.
As for our Handbrake 1.6 benchmark, which takes the 4K model of Tears of Metal and encodes it in a 1080p 30FPS layout, the MacBook Professional 14 introduced a transparent benefit. The MacBook Professional 14 M3 took simplest 5 mins and 38 seconds to finish the duty, which handily beat the XPS 14 fashions (5:57~5:58). Alternatively, the full winner is the MacBook Professional 14 M3 Professional, which finished the video encoding in 4:43.
The M3 Professional chip is a much more robust CPU than Intel Extremely 7, even though the M3 base chipset does lend a hand decrease the MacBook Professional 14’s benefit. That mentioned, if you want to do an important quantity of photograph and video enhancing, you’ll want extra robust single-core processor efficiency. The Handbrake benchmark is a brilliant real-world instance. Thus, the MacBook Professional 14 takes house any other win.
Winner: Apple MacBook Professional 14
Dell XPS 14 vs. Apple MacBook Professional 14: Graphics
Whilst Apple’s M3 chipsets stepped forward its graphics and gaming efficiency, that is nonetheless a coarse class for any MacBook Professional. The XPS 14 advantages each from extra to be had gaming choices and from its optionaldiscrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. Either one of our XPS 14 gadgets featued the not obligatory RTX 4050 improve, making this class tougher at the MacBook Professional 14.
The XPS 14 OLED and XPS 14 non-touch fashions each held the lead towards the MacBook Professional 14 fashions on our gaming benchmarks. The XPS 14s benchmarked at 87 and 88 frames according to 2d at the Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Collecting Hurricane benchmark (Medium, 1080p), and at 47 and 50 fps at the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (Perfect, 1080p). The MacBook Professional 14 M3 benchmarked at 51 fps and 32 fps on Civ VI and Tomb Raider, whilst the MacBook Professional 14 M3 Professional benchmarked at 54 fps and 48 fps, respectively.
Whilst we don’t have benchmarks for the XPS 14 with an built-in Intel Arc GPU, we’d be expecting Civilization VI: Collecting Hurricane benchmarks starting from 30 to 42 fps in keeping with our critiques of the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425M) and Lenovo Slender 7i Gen 9. That does give the bottom Apple M3 chipset a lead towards the built-in Intel Arc GPU, however the M3 Professional didn’t give the MacBooks sufficient of a lead towards the upgraded XPS 14s with their discrete Nvidia GPUs. So this class is a simple win for the XPS 14.
Winner: Dell XPS 14
Dell XPS 14 vs. Apple MacBook Professional 14: Battery lifestyles
Battery lifestyles could make or spoil a computer, and whilst all 4 laptops can remaining for a complete paintings day without having energy, the Apple MacBook Professional 14 is without doubt one of the laptops with the most efficient battery lifestyles we’ve noticed, 2d simplest to the MacBook Professional 16.
Lasting for over 17 hours on our Computer Magazine battery take a look at, each the Apple MacBook Professional 14 M3 (17:16) and the MacBook Professional 14 M3 Professional (17:22) left the XPS 14s within the mud. The XPS 14 non-OLED fashion (10:09) held out just a little longer than the OLED fashion (9:35), however neither got here as regards to beating the MacBook Professional. This one is a transparent win for Apple.
Winner: Apple MacBook Professional 14
Base line
With any face-off between Home windows and Mac laptops, the standard caveats nonetheless stand. In case you abhor macOS, the MacBook Professional 14 isn’t going to be the computer for you. In a similar fashion, in case you despise Home windows 11 then you definately’ll wish to give the XPS 14 a move. However in case you, like many people right here at Computer Magazine, are wonderful the usage of both working machine then you definately will have to base your determination on how you intend to make use of your new computer. If you want to do numerous photograph and video enhancing, paintings out of doors, want the brightest conceivable show, or desire a computer that may paintings additional time on battery energy, then the MacBook Professional 14 is a a long way more sensible choice.
After all, if you want a computer that may deal with gaming periods, then the XPS 14 is a a long way more sensible choice. The Mac gaming house is much less grim than it as soon as was once, however many new video games aren’t constructed to run on macOS, and gaming doesn’t appear to be a big precedence for Apple in order that is not going to switch a lot someday. After all, you’ll be able to nonetheless sport on a MacBook Professional, even supposing your favourite video games aren’t on macOS. It calls for the usage of a cloud gaming machine like Nvidia GeForce Now and coping with that slight streaming lag.
General, the Apple MacBook Professional 14 has an edge over the XPS 14. It’s additionally inexpensive and has extra spec customization choices. So we do have to offer this to the MacBook Professional 14.
Winner: Apple MacBook Professional 14
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