Which one would you choose?

I'm hoping to apply for a photographic study so will need a Laptop for that, I think I need an Apple but I'm looking at some alternatives just in case.
Which one you think will be most suited and why?

Dell Studio 15 - € 1.553,00 (£1.275)
Custom colour
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 740QM (1.73 Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5470
15,6-inch witte led Full HD-breedbeeldscherm (1.920 x 1.080) met TrueLife
8.192 MB 1333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2 x 4.096]
500 GB (7.200 rpm) Seriële ATA-harde schijf
Blu-Ray ROM Drive (read/write CD/DVD & read Blu-Ray Disc)
9-cel lithium-ion (85 Wh)

Connectivity
Dell Wireless 1520 halve minikaart (802.11n)
Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth-module
(2) USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin ports
(1) USB/eSATA combination port
HDMI connector
15-pin VGA video connector
Integrated network connector 10/100/1000 LAN (RJ45)
AC adapter connector
Audio jacks (1 line-in, 1-line out, 1 Mic-in)
4-pin IEEE 1394 port (Firewire 400 mini)
34 mm ExpressCard slot
8-in-1 Card Reader


MacBook Pro 15 - € 1.884,01 (£1.545)
2.4GHz Intel Core i5
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M met 256 MB
320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Hi-Res Antiglare Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)

Connectivity
802.11n
Bleutooth 2.1
Gigabit Ethernet port
(1) FireWire 800 port
Mini DisplayPort
(2) USB 2.0 ports
SD card slot

I think the models you have chosen are way over specified for photo editing, why spend more than £600?

Yes, totally OTT. Try a Sony laptop for around £700 and you will have a very nice 17" screen and all the spec you could possibly want.

Sue has just bought such a beast and it's fine, much better than the Toshiba that the repairers managed to trash.

I use an Acer 5735 runs @ 2Ghz 3Gb of RAM and it runs CS5 perfectly, cost £350

Not for my kind, I even slow down my desktop computer to a grind
So instead of upgrading my desktop the laptop will also replace that one.

I can off course go for a cheaper Laptop but that will mean I also need to upgrade my current computer completely as well.

That would also be a i7 with 8GB and most likely a Nvidia GTX 460 or ATI Readon 5850, not cheap either.
Together that would be €800 so would have also the same amount to spend on a laptop as well.

If I need an apple though I've a problem, I can't life with a lower specs machine from the normal range

The screen is critical for the highest quality work, so IMHO it would be best to upgrade the desktop along with a new IPS screen and buy the laptop with whatever is left.

A laptop on its own is not the best choice as regards screen quality.

Already have a good screen where the laptop can also plug in to when at home.

As said by others: the screen is the critical item in a laptop-to-replace-desktop strategy. Top of the line Dell screens are great screens, and they are available across much of the product range - even the Vostros.

But if you can handle a different screen when away from home and use dual screen at home, then can you wait for this (Indian) system?

If that doesn't rock your boat (?!) then as you sound as if you are not in an immediate rush, and you know your way around the 'Net, so camp out on Dell Outlet. Good laptops don't stay around long - talking hours - but the deals can be had. Got Vostro 1700 couple years back from Dell Outlet Business (in US) with the 1900x1200 for less than price of standard screen version elsewhere and my only regret was that I didn't buy both of the 2 on offer! Only way to tell that this was a refurb not new, was brown box, and no junk pre-installed. (Just avoid Vista, but note that you can get with XP license too!) Tip: try the business side at end of week.

That's why I looked at Dell Asus, HP don't really have the screens to match only Sony have screens that come close I think but haven't really looked at them.

The specs are far too low, the iPad have the same specs and I'm sure that can't handle lightroom 3 and CS5 fluid

That might be an option and I've a windows 7 ultimate 64bit laying here so no problems.
The only problem is that the specs need to be pretty high.
I need to run CS5 on it at school and I now have a 2.8GHz dual core with 4GB RAM and 1GB graphics card and that's already having stress when running CS5 with certain photos or handlings.

Don't know about The Netherlands, but UK has an Apple Refurbished Store, where you can get "As New" at a small discount. If you buy Apple, make sure that you get Apple Care - their extended warranty - and you know that you get 3 years without further cost.
Otherwise, the choice is very personal. Which machine do you feel best with when you are using. In general, Apple machines are much faster than pure PCs (when running OS-X), and remember that all the current Intel-based Apples will run Windows as well. Do check about upgrades - some Apple laptops are easy to work on, and some are very difficult, even if all you want to do is put more memory in
Geoff.

Well, obviously get the MacBook Pro! Sure you have a spare copy of Windows lying around, so then you get 2 machines in one! Upgrade it to 8GB as well.

Don't know if we have one, will need to look.
edit: have looked but can't find any.

No need for that, Dutch law already gives you 3 year warranty on high-end notebooks.

Well that's the good thing, here in the Netherlands you're allowed to make a hackintosh.
The intell i-cores are also in the Apple and the ATI video cards, so that would mean it most likely will work.

Or are there any other reasons to go for Apple?

Just compare the two specs ...

The Dell has: better processor, greater memory, greater video memory, larger HDD, increased screen definition ...

Yet the MAC is 25% more expensive ! Why ?

In terms of hardware and performance the Dell is the better option. A couple of things to consider too:

Look at the Dell Latitude range - they can take a real battering but only go to 1600x900 in 15.6". The Precision range offer 1920x1080

Get a Port Replicator - so your peripherals and monitor are always plugged in.

Consider an upgrade from the Dell wireless card to the Intel.

Check that you can run both Internal and External screens at the same time with both at 1920x1080 on the digital ports.

Consider the warranty options and especially the "Complete Care" option which will give three years accidental damage cover too.

Thank you Andrew

Will look at those other models you said

That's actually a downgrade, the intel is cheaper but if it's better

The ATI 5470 can drive up to four displays simultaneously with independent resolutions, refresh rates, colour controls, and video overlays.
And these are the resolutions.
dual-link DVI 2560x1600
DisplayPort 2560x1600
HDMI 1.3 with high bit-rate audio 1920x1200
VGA output 2048x1536

I need to check about those options, I might be cheaper to get an insurance somewhere else for it maybe?

Stefan, when it comes to Windows on a Mac 'most likely will work' is not a sentence that should be used. It's a feature, supplied as standard in the OS called Boot Camp, which will create a new partition on the fly and help you install Windows, with all drivers available.

No Hackintosh, no 'it should work', no 'what about...' it just works, supported out of the box.

If you wanted to you could also run a version of Windows at the same time as OSX by using Parallels, so when you plug in your external monitor, you could have an OS on each one.

Please don't turn this into the usual Mac v PC thread as it's not needed, but it's seems to me that you either want or need a Mac, so at these kind of price points I just don't see it as £1275 for a PC OR £1545 for a Mac, I see it as £1275 for a PC OR £1545 for a Mac AND a PC.

As an example, if I wanted to, I could go home tonight and get a 17" laptop running 64 bit Windows, with highres antiglare screen, i7 processor with 8GB RAM etc. etc. for free. Not something I want to do mind you, but I do have the choice.

Just need to save the pennies for that SSD now!