MacBook Pro 16" vs New Dell XPS 15" (or a budget laptop and gaming desktop)

[MarkYork]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm currently looking for a new computer for work and gaming (occasionally). I am about to loose my job and I will have to return the laptop that I've been using for the past 2 years. I don't have another computer (only some old desktop computers I use for playing old games) so I need to get a new one. My dream is to have a heavy weight desktop computer, with the latest and greatest gaming GPU (like the RTX 3090), a multicore CPU for code compilation and video editing, lots of storage and a big display. At the same time I need a mobile computer, one which I can take with me and work somewhere else without loosing too much  horsepower. The ideal situation would be to build a desktop computer and have a laptop, but I don't think I will be able to afford both of them. So I started looking for a laptop computer with a comfortable keyboard, a display where I can edit videos or Photoshop, a good amount of CPU cores, a somewhat gaming GPU and good battery life. I came to the conclusion that the new Dell XPS 15" is one of my best choices, but the MacBook Pro 16" is very competitive in terms of horsepower. I like macOS better than Windows 10 for my day to day operations, and I think I will get better gaming performance than the Dell XPS on bootcamp, but I am a bit concerned about thermal throttling. I've watched some of Linus' videos were he talks about MacBook Pro's thermal throttling, but I believe they were done with older versions of the MacBook Pro.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the MacBook Pro 16 2020 edition? I need some advice.

[MarkYork]

One more thing to add, I would appreciate to have a higher refresh rate display, like the Razer Blade 15. I guess this is something I will have to forget about on this types of laptops.

[SupaKomputa]

Bad time buying a mac, you should wait for the ARM Apple version, as it will be supported longer.

Any laptop with a Ryzen 4800U or 4900H is superior now if you're looking for raw horsepower.

If you're concern with thermal throttling don't buy a ultra book, get a gaming laptop instead.

Asus Zephyrus G14 looks great.

[MarkYork]

I though about a gaming laptop, but they tend to be very heavy and battery life is usually pretty bad. I need something light and portable.

[jaslion]

8 minutes ago, MarkYork said:

Hello everyone,

 

I'm currently looking for a new computer for work and gaming (occasionally). I am about to loose my job and I will have to return the laptop that I've been using for the past 2 years. I don't have another computer (only some old desktop computers I use for playing old games) so I need to get a new one. My dream is to have a heavy weight desktop computer, with the latest and greatest gaming GPU (like the RTX 3090), a multicore CPU for code compilation and video editing, lots of storage and a big display. At the same time I need a mobile computer, one which I can take with me and work somewhere else without loosing too much  horsepower. The ideal situation would be to build a desktop computer and have a laptop, but I don't think I will be able to afford both of them. So I started looking for a laptop computer with a comfortable keyboard, a display where I can edit videos or Photoshop, a good amount of CPU cores, a somewhat gaming GPU and good battery life. I came to the conclusion that the new Dell XPS 15" is one of my best choices, but the MacBook Pro 16" is very competitive in terms of horsepower. I like macOS better than Windows 10 for my day to day operations, and I think I will get better gaming performance than the Dell XPS on bootcamp, but I am a bit concerned about thermal throttling. I've watched some of Linus' videos were he talks about MacBook Pro's thermal throttling, but I believe they were done with older versions of the MacBook Pro.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the MacBook Pro 16 2020 edition? I need some advice.

Macs are being replaced by arm stuff so buying one now isn't great. Also gaming on a mac is just a bad experience. The xps has such a massive overheating problem it's really a terrible laptop for the money.

 

Do you have a budget? You can totally do cheaper laptop + desktop and still have a really powerfull laptop for all task described part from gaming and then have a better gaming computer. For example the ryzen 4500u is a insanely powerful cpu that is in cheap laptops and beats much more expensive higher end cpu's.

[MarkYork]

7 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Macs are being replaced by arm stuff so buying one now isn't great. Also gaming on a mac is just a bad experience. The xps has such a massive overheating problem it's really a terrible laptop for the money.

 

Do you have a budget? You can totally do cheaper laptop + desktop and still have a really powerfull laptop for all task described part from gaming and then have a better gaming computer. For example the ryzen 4500u is a insanely powerful cpu that is in cheap laptops and beats much more expensive higher end cpu's.

Lets say I can spend around $4500 USD. Maybe I should look for a more budget friendly laptop and a desktop computer.

[jaslion]

8 minutes ago, MarkYork said:

I though about a gaming laptop, but they tend to be very heavy and battery life is usually pretty bad. I need something light and portable.

They are light now. The g14 is extremely light and packs massive power without the thermal issues of the mac or xps. Sure it's a little heavier but you get so much more out of it. The hp omen ryzen 4000 and xmg core 15 amd also exist. The xmg is currently the best ryzen laptop on the market.

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, MarkYork said:

Lets say I can spend around $4500 USD. Maybe I should look for a more budget friendly laptop and a desktop computer.

You can totally get a badass gaming system and a strong laptop for that. The hp envy x360 4500u sells for 800$ and would be amazing for your on the go needs. May want to add some more ram but up to you. Then well for a desktop I'd wait a little as ryzen 4000 is coming out so no point in getting one right now.

[SupaKomputa]

4 minutes ago, MarkYork said:

Lets say I can spend around $4500 USD. Maybe I should look for a more budget friendly laptop and a desktop computer.

With that money i suggest getting $1000 (or under) for the laptop and the rest for the Desktop.

If you're not doing serious work on the laptop, you don't need that much power.

AMD Laptops are great for this, as it has a great GPU inside, compared to Intel.

So you can still do light gaming with it.

[MarkYork]

That's the main point, I want to be able to do some heavy work on the move, like, virtualization, code compiling, some video editing. I don't pretend to do all at the same time of course. I might go with one of those 1000 under laptops and wait for the next gen Ryzen CPUs.

[Darkseth]

Keep in Mind, going for the first ARM Macbook doesn't have to be the best Idea, if you need specific Applkications in your Workflow.

Vor Video Editing or Photo editing, it shouldnt make a differnce. Adobe's Suite and FinalCut will be optimized on Day 1.

 

Even the current Intel models will be fast enough for most things the next 5 years.

 

But the ARM Macbook Pro 16" will probably not before March - July 2021. And there is a chance, the next 16" might still be Intel Only (just to make sure to have compatibility for all the Pro Apps). So if you wait, you could wait 9 Months, and still don't have an ARM Option.

 

If you need a Computer now, because you wouldn't have one, waiting 3/4 of a year isn't an option.

 

However, if you chose Windows, you could get similar performance for less than half the price, or even a third: Below 1000 bucks you can find Models already with a Ryzen 7 4700u 8-Core. It only gets better from there.

 

Macbook: Only, if it has to be MacOS. otherwise there is no reason to get them.

[Donut417]

7 hours ago, MarkYork said:

Does anyone have any experience with the MacBook Pro 16 2020 edition? I need some advice.

I have the 2020 13". I will say thing, I love my Mac that being said, I wouldn't buy one for gaming. Windows runs like crap on a Mac from what I have heard. I would suggest building a gaming PC, and getting you some kinda of budget laptop. 

[Commodus]

20 hours ago, MarkYork said:

Hello everyone,

 

I'm currently looking for a new computer for work and gaming (occasionally). I am about to loose my job and I will have to return the laptop that I've been using for the past 2 years. I don't have another computer (only some old desktop computers I use for playing old games) so I need to get a new one. My dream is to have a heavy weight desktop computer, with the latest and greatest gaming GPU (like the RTX 3090), a multicore CPU for code compilation and video editing, lots of storage and a big display. At the same time I need a mobile computer, one which I can take with me and work somewhere else without loosing too much  horsepower. The ideal situation would be to build a desktop computer and have a laptop, but I don't think I will be able to afford both of them. So I started looking for a laptop computer with a comfortable keyboard, a display where I can edit videos or Photoshop, a good amount of CPU cores, a somewhat gaming GPU and good battery life. I came to the conclusion that the new Dell XPS 15" is one of my best choices, but the MacBook Pro 16" is very competitive in terms of horsepower. I like macOS better than Windows 10 for my day to day operations, and I think I will get better gaming performance than the Dell XPS on bootcamp, but I am a bit concerned about thermal throttling. I've watched some of Linus' videos were he talks about MacBook Pro's thermal throttling, but I believe they were done with older versions of the MacBook Pro.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the MacBook Pro 16 2020 edition? I need some advice.

The golden rule: don't buy a Mac for gaming. You can game on them, sometimes well, but in my experience (I'm on an iMac) it's a bit of a kludge. And I can't really blame Apple for it... the company isn't developing Windows machines, so supporting Windows isn't its highest priority.

 

If it were me I'd get the most affordable MacBook Pro that meets my needs and pour the rest into a desktop, but if you just have to get in some gaming, grab the XPS 15. The GTX 1650 Ti is still decent for most games, and beyond that you can still get a beefy system. One tip, though: unless you think the 4K screen will be better for your image and photo editing (it might be), don't be afraid to simply customize the base model with the 1200p non-touch display. You'll get better battery life and could roll the savings into extra memory or storage.

[Lord Vile]

On 9/28/2020 at 6:59 PM, MarkYork said:

Hello everyone,

 

I'm currently looking for a new computer for work and gaming (occasionally). I am about to loose my job and I will have to return the laptop that I've been using for the past 2 years. I don't have another computer (only some old desktop computers I use for playing old games) so I need to get a new one. My dream is to have a heavy weight desktop computer, with the latest and greatest gaming GPU (like the RTX 3090), a multicore CPU for code compilation and video editing, lots of storage and a big display. At the same time I need a mobile computer, one which I can take with me and work somewhere else without loosing too much  horsepower. The ideal situation would be to build a desktop computer and have a laptop, but I don't think I will be able to afford both of them. So I started looking for a laptop computer with a comfortable keyboard, a display where I can edit videos or Photoshop, a good amount of CPU cores, a somewhat gaming GPU and good battery life. I came to the conclusion that the new Dell XPS 15" is one of my best choices, but the MacBook Pro 16" is very competitive in terms of horsepower. I like macOS better than Windows 10 for my day to day operations, and I think I will get better gaming performance than the Dell XPS on bootcamp, but I am a bit concerned about thermal throttling. I've watched some of Linus' videos were he talks about MacBook Pro's thermal throttling, but I believe they were done with older versions of the MacBook Pro.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the MacBook Pro 16 2020 edition? I need some advice.

I have a MBP 16"  But for the £2300 price tag you could get a base 13" or wait and get the arm air when it drops for likely under a grand and a £1000~ PC.