Matebook X Pro vs Macbook Air vs XPS 13 9380

[westsidestoryz]

Which one should I get? Budget is around $1800

I do have an Apple Watch, Airpod, Iphone, and an Ipad Pro so getting the Air to integrate into the ecosystem sounds like the best option.
At the same time, I have used Windows OS all my life and both the XPS 13 and Matebook X has updated so much more than the Air..

Which laptop would serve me best? I plan to use it for school work mostly (5% gaming, 5% artist work, 90% note taking, data transfer)

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[beattheprocess]

You could probably get a XPS 15 9575 for under that amount if you go with the 1080 FHD and not the 4K display. The colors aren't as vibrant which is the main downside and it's a bit less sharp, but you can't really tell on a 15.6 inch display and you get much more battery life.

Yep. This build right here:

8th gen i7 quad core processor
16 gb ram
512 gb SSD
Radeon graphics 4 gb vram
FHD display with touch/pen

For now, $1,679.99. Tax might drive you over, but compared to med school tuition... lol

Edit 2: check your school's site for the system requirements. Some require dedicated graphics which pretty much rules out all 13 inch laptops.

 

[puahate]

I personally like the Matebook X but XPS is solid.

 

[DoctorOrdinary]

I have the XPS13 9350 (from 2016) and it's battery is rising and reducing the functionality of my track pad. Make sure there aren't any annoying problems with any of the models you're looking into

 

[westsidestoryz]

Since I love Apple's ecosystem, I was going to wait for the refresh on the Macbook for 2019 but it looks like it wont happen till later this year.

I am leaning towards the Matebook X Pro as it is only $1299 on B&H. XPS 13 would be around $1800 for the same config but it is a more well known brand with better customer support. Hmm....

Air is no good?

 

[beattheprocess]

Air is no good?

Dual core processor too weak. Also having to pay $1200 for it before tax is just robbery.

 

[puahate]

Since I love Apple's ecosystem, I was going to wait for the refresh on the Macbook for 2019 but it looks like it wont happen till later this year.

I am leaning towards the Matebook X Pro as it is only $1299 on B&H. XPS 13 would be around $1800 for the same config but it is a more well known brand with better customer support. Hmm....

Air is no good?

If you are going Apple you should get a MacBook Pro.

 

[westsidestoryz]

If you are going Apple you should get a MacBook Pro.

Might as well go all out right? If was going to get one, I was thinking about the i7, 16gb ram with 512gb SSD for $2400
A bit overkill? If I do buy that, I plan to use it for 7+ years. I had a Lenovo ultrabook I used for 6 years. Until i couldn't open the internet without waiting 5 mins.

 

[puahate]

Might as well go all out right? If was going to get one, I was thinking about the i7, 16gb ram with 512gb SSD for $2400
A bit overkill? If I do buy that, I plan to use it for 7+ years. I had a Lenovo ultrabook I used for 6 years. Until i couldn't open the internet without waiting 5 mins.

If you really want it get it. I am not a fan of the keyboard but other than that go for it

 

[beattheprocess]

I don't know what games you wanted to play of that 5% but you might have a lower chance of running them on a Mac.

 

[DrRiker]

Dell Inspiron from 5 years ago is still kicking

 

[animalluver101]

Had a 2011 macbook pro that I just replaced recently. A bottle of seltzer water exploded all over the thing and got into the keyboard, and after much panicking, it dried out and worked perfectly fine for several more years. Lol I became a fan for life after that.

 

[DoctorSwagger]

You can’t go wrong with any of them but pro will always be better than the air

 

[863168]

@Ixacex You basically have no budget limitation for building an optimized tower for gaming/adobe type work along with using the leftover $$$ for any laptop (including a Macbook). And there is virtual software to run Windows and Mac whether it's VirtualBox or Parallels to sync with the rest of your devices if you are concerned about interconnectivity between your hardware. The question is up to you on how you want to spend your money. I think that blowing $1800 for a system is really burning Benjamins when you can build/buy a comparable system that isn't state of the art for a third of that cost, it's just that it won't be able to run 2019's Crysis.

 

[fyang0414]

The Yoga c930 is having a pretty decent sale right now until tomorrow (4/17) according to their website. I also like the XPS 15 2in1 option, the benchmarks for the Radeon RX Vega M in it are pretty darn close to a GTX 1050Ti

Also, if you're willing to share some of your purchasing data indirectly through Ebates or other such websites, you can get some decent cash back (8.0% currently for Dell, it was as high as 15% on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and they probably already have all that information anyways so might as well )

To answer your original question, out of those three options I would probably go with the Matebook X Pro, no to the macbook air (way to expensive just for portability, agree with others with getting a macbook pro instead) and no to the XPS 13 (with that price range you can do better haha)

 

[mc29012]

Friendly reminder if you're going apple to take advantage of their student discount. All I had to do was provide them with an acceptance letter

 

[westsidestoryz]

settled on MacBook pro i5 16 gb with the touch bar. Any idea on which storage space I should go for? 256gb seems enough but for long term usage, 512gb seems like the better choice. The difference is around $200 on Bestbuy.

 

[jurisburger]

settled on MacBook pro i5 16 gb with the touch bar. Any idea on which storage space I should go for? 256gb seems enough but for long term usage, 512gb seems like the better choice. The difference is around $200 on Bestbuy.

Personally, I would just get an external storage drive. $200 can go a long way with external storage...much longer than the measly 256gb you're getting for internal storage for the same money.

 

[863168]

@Ixacex Why are you buying it on Best Buy? Also Apple is notorious for attempting to obsolescence older systems with 10-20 GB system updates.

 

[beattheprocess]

"Macs suck" till the day I die, and then I'll have it put on my gravestone.

 

[westsidestoryz]

@Ixacex Why are you buying it on Best Buy? Also Apple is notorious for attempting to obsolescence older systems with 10-20 GB system updates.

I have the Bestbuy Rewards Card so I can get 5% cash back. And I did the math, even without the tax B&H is still more expensive than Bestbuy.

So you suggest I get the 512?

 

[DameJulie]

Have you considered the MacBook Pro? Give your budget the Pro is feasible

 

[PreMedStudent55555]

I have the 2016 macbook pro with 16 GB ram, i7 processor, and 512 GB storage. Still runs like new to this date and I'm almost reaching 3 years. It might be a little slower but the screen is so clear and so fast. I love the apple ecosystem tbh. I also love how thin this thing is. It's only 1-2 pounds and its so sleek! 512 GB is enough. You're not a computer engineer and most of your storage will be documents, pdfs, and maybe some videos. I've been using mine for 3 years and I only used 100 GB so far.

I figured if I'm gonna buy a laptop that I wanted to go all out since I'm going to be spending so much time on it and I want to be happy whenever I use it. People hate apple and macbooks but I really think that if you're not a super tech geek that a macbook is perfect frankly. It runs smoothly and etc. I play some games on my macbook like LoL, Minecraft and etc but I mostly use it for work (The games work fine). It can't run Mass Effect 3 or super hard games tbh so if you really want to play intense games then get a gaming laptop.

In my opinion, if you're buying a laptop primarily focused for schooling with a little recreation on the side, then the Macbook Pro is the way to go. The sound and graphics on this thing is incredible and I love watching movies on it.

Moreover, customer support is pretty great. The keyboard on my thing was a little defective and they replaced the whole bottom aspect of my computer like it was brand new (I dented the bottom frame of my computer and they replaced that free of charge.) Moreover tech support is always available.

Have fun shopping OP! Buying a laptop is fun and the feeling of a new laptop is always awesome!

I might buy a new macbook pro before I go to medical school as I'll be saving up through my gap year job and might indulge myself in a pre-medical school entrance gift. However, I can totally see myself using my macbook for the next 5 years if necessary.

 

[965978]

Just want to chime in saying that Apple’s “college student discount” applies to medical students also!