Apple (Mac) Laptop Versus Dell PC Laptop

Kayla R.
The question of Mac or PC is one that has been asked for some time, but has become more relevant with each passing year. Apple stocks are soaring to one-hundred dollars a share or more, and stores keep popping up all over the country. Dell PC's have also shown a rise in popularity due to easy purchasing power through payment plans. So which computer is better, the Mac or Dell PC.

I personally have both an Apple laptop and a Dell PC. I initially did not mean to purchase two computers but in the end that is what happened. I purchased the Mac laptop first for a number of reasons. For one, a Mac laptop is highly unlikely to get a virus when downloading or viewing files on the internet. Something that I think everyone is afraid of. A virus can be deadly to you personal computer and I would go to great lengths to avoid such a problem. So an Apple only seemed right for me. The Mac laptop was also small in size and easy to carry around in a backpack or small book bag. It is significantly lighter than some other laptops I have had in my life. I also like the look of the Mac laptops. The one that I purchased is a sleek white color with a light up Apple logo on the front. It may sound stupid, but lets face it, looks are important. Apple Laptops also come in black (in the newest version). In addition, the Mac offered some very good options as far as speed and memory goes. After all Apple computers are designed to be used for a number of very creative and artistic things, so the system is designed to be efficient in those areas, word processing does not seem to be Mac's strong suit.

Which brings me to my second purchase of the Dell laptop. I recently enrolled in an online college and needed access to the college website. Unfortunately I was informed that the student website would be most efficiently viewed and used on a PC, rather than on the Mac computer I had previously purchased. You see, Mac used an internet browser called "Safari" which cannot access my online college's web pages. So I opted to look for another computer. I looked through the Dell website and came across a laptop that I felt would be perfect for college use. I purchased a Dell Inspiron E1405. The memory and speed on the computer was larger than that of the Apple, and it proved to be more useful for word processing projects that I was assigned in college. The Dell was also significantly larger than the Mac laptop, it is heavier, and not as portable as I would like it to be. The Dell performed beautifully for a little less than a year, than I started experiencing problems. The Dell started to freeze up on screens for no reason, it closed down web pages without warning, the screen started getting wide black lines in it, that would not go away unless I shut down the system and restarted it, just to name a few. Now I know what you are thinking, a virus right? Wrong, I have run numerous amounts of virus scans and other security measures to ensure the safety of my computer, no virus is present; and yet the computer continues to have frustrating issues. In addition, the speakers on the computer have failed and will cost me extra to have them fixed, only a year after buying the computer!

These types of problems have never been experienced on the Apple Laptop, in fact the Mac has never malfunctioned. The Mac seems to be an overall more reliable computer than the Dell.While Apple Laptops are a bit more costly than the typical Dell PC, I would encourage the purchase of an Apple laptop over a Dell PC any day. The life of the computer is far lengthier in a Mac and you will experience less problems in the long run.

Published by Kayla R.

I am a college graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Legal Studies/Pre-Law with an emphasis on legal procedure, prosecution, and civil rights. I've also studied extensively in the area of Asian culture an...  View profile

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  • Yuki6/28/2010

    I was trying to figure out which laptop would be the perfect one to have for college. I think I would go with the Apple laptop because it has less problems, the memory is great and the battery life is AWESOME!

  • Eddy8/27/2009

    (continued)
    (note: by PCMCIA I meant to say Card Bus).

    The DELL has a solid power connection; the MAC uses a magnetic connector that comes off easily if you move the computer (and if you don't notice, you will run down your battery). The DELL has a full size Express slot, the MAC only has the narrow slot. The DELL has a wireless indicator, the MAC does not. The DELL is 5.1 pounds, the MAC is 5.5 pounds.

    If viruses are your worry, it is much better to just get a free antivirus program like Avast or AVG than to pay the extra money. If it is the OS then there are free programs that allow you to run OS-X on a DELL.

  • Eddy8/27/2009

    The company bought me a MacBookPro and a DELL PC. The same memory/disk/processor is on both. The DELL costs $2500 and the Mac costs $3500. I can tell you for sure ... you don't "get what you pay for". The DELL has 4 USB ports and the Mac has 3. The DELL has a telephone connection and the Mac has none. The DELL has a PCMCIA slot but the MAC has an Express slot (therefore I could not use my current PCMCIA cards and had to buy some Express cards ... even more money). The DELL has external volume/mute/wireless controls, the MAC does not (e.g., you can't eject the MAC CD/DVD unless the software is up and running). The DELL has a disk usage indicator, the MAC does not. The MAC waists a slot by providing an obsolete 1394, the DELL has the newer 1394. The DELL has a removable CD/DVD, the MAC is built in (which is very expensive to repair). The DELL has a mouse joy stick, the MAC does not. The DELL has a standard keyboard layout, the MAC does not. The DELL has a solid power connection; the MAC

  • Captain Obvious6/7/2009

    "I had one positive experience with product A. I had one negative experience with product B. I don't really understand the negative experience, but I am going to blame it on product B's inferiority to product A. Therefore, I can wholeheartedly recommend to ALL PEOPLE that product A is always better than product B."

  • anonamys2/10/2009

    I have a dell studio 1535 laptop and love the high-speed vista and computer. I have never owned a mac but have used one. even though a mac is more expensive it is a very great computer. You can run windows on a mac. by using a paralell you can run mac and windows programs together side by side. both computers are great choices!!!!!!!!!!

  • paul k6/10/2008

    I need to buy a powerful laptop for home and travel. I use both Macs and PC's at work, and would consider buying either. I just compared a Dell Inspiron to a Mac online. With the specs as similar as I could make them (dual processors, 4GB memory, 15" screen, large hard drive) the Dell was $1400, the Mac $2600. I'll take the Dell and the $1200 on vacation.

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