I am trying to decide between the two notebooks. It is mainly for school, but also enjoy playing World of Warcraft. I will be upgrading from the Dell Inspiron E1705 17 inch notebook. The weight is not really an issue and moving to 15inch because I want it slightly smaller to fit my backpack, but enough to keep my desktop view at approx 1440 x 900 range.
My limit is under $1,500 and it looks like the ASUS is a better deal even with the Dell student discount. Below are the specs for ASUS and options I selected for Dell. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
ASUS G53JW-XA1 (Amazon Exclusive) $1,349
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit full HD display (1920 x 1080)
Processor: Intel Core i7-740QM quad-core processor (1.73 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.93 GHz)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz), Bluetooth v2.1
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM, 4 x SODIMM (expandable to 16GB)
Storage:500GB 7200RPM hard drive
Optical Drive: Super Multi DVD
Camera: 2.0 megapixel
Speakers: Altec Lansing speakers with EAX 4.0 sound
Card Reader: 8-in-1 card reader (MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory stick/MS Pro/MS-Duo/MS-Pro Duo)
Battery: 8 cell
1 Year ASUS Global Warranty
1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty (ADW)
Dell XPS 15 $1,339
Silver Anodized Aluminum 15.6" FHD (1080p) B+RGLED Display with Facial Recognition
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-740QM (1.73GHz, 8 threads, turbo boost up to 2.93GHz, 6M cache) I7740QM
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M 2GB graphics
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory 6G2D133
640GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 IN1000 1 [430-3889] 19
Dell Bluetooth 3.0
JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
Backlit Keyboard - English
2 Year Basic Service Plan
My limit is under $1,500 and it looks like the ASUS is a better deal even with the Dell student discount. Below are the specs for ASUS and options I selected for Dell. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
ASUS G53JW-XA1 (Amazon Exclusive) $1,349
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit full HD display (1920 x 1080)
Processor: Intel Core i7-740QM quad-core processor (1.73 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.93 GHz)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz), Bluetooth v2.1
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM, 4 x SODIMM (expandable to 16GB)
Storage:500GB 7200RPM hard drive
Optical Drive: Super Multi DVD
Camera: 2.0 megapixel
Speakers: Altec Lansing speakers with EAX 4.0 sound
Card Reader: 8-in-1 card reader (MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory stick/MS Pro/MS-Duo/MS-Pro Duo)
Battery: 8 cell
1 Year ASUS Global Warranty
1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty (ADW)
Dell XPS 15 $1,339
Silver Anodized Aluminum 15.6" FHD (1080p) B+RGLED Display with Facial Recognition
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-740QM (1.73GHz, 8 threads, turbo boost up to 2.93GHz, 6M cache) I7740QM
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M 2GB graphics
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory 6G2D133
640GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 IN1000 1 [430-3889] 19
Dell Bluetooth 3.0
JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
Backlit Keyboard - English
2 Year Basic Service Plan