Dell XPS 14z Takes on MacBook Pro [PHOTOS]

**Waqas** · October 24, 2011

Dell XPS 14z

Say hello to the Dell XPS 14z laptop, the flagship PC of the company’s holiday lineup.

The XPS 14z, which recently made its debut in China and will begin taking orders on Monday, is the company’s attempt to build a powerful laptop that can directly compete with the MacBook Pro. Its brushed aluminum and magnesium casing definitely takes design cues from Apple, but the device isn’t a MacBook knock-off.

It isn’t an “ultrabook” laptop, but it does pack a 14-inch WLED screen in a 13-inch body — the screen is almost edge-to-edge. The XPS 14z measures 0.9 inches tall, 13.19 inches wide and 9.21 inches deep. It weighs approximately 4.4 pounds.

Like any Dell device, it’s customizable. The highest-end device with 8 GB of RAM, an 8-cell battery, a 256 GB SSD and a 1 GB NVIDIA graphics card costs $1,599, while the lowest-end model costs approximately $999. It comes with a 1.3MP webcam, dual mics, 2 USB ports (one of them USB 3.0) and an optical drive. Dell claims the battery can last up to 6 hours and 42 minutes.

Like other Dell laptops, the XPS 14z comes with the newest-generation Intel Dual Core i5 processor (2.4 GHz), upgradeable to the 2.8 GHz i7 processor.

But how does it compare to the MacBook Pro, its closest Apple analogue? In my opinion, the XPS 14z is one of the best PC laptops on the market. Unlike other PC laptops I’ve played with, the 14z felt solid and finished, thanks to its brushed metal casing.

Dell clearly took pains in the design and aesthetics of the device. And at a cheaper price point overall (the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM costs approximately $2,200), a lot of people will find it to be a viable alternative to the MacBook Pro. Dell is launching a national marketing campaign to get the word out — students are its main target, but we can see a lot parents picking up this device too.

Check out the photos we took of the Dell XPS 14z, and let us know in the comments what you think of the laptop.

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