Dell :: Want A Macbook Pro Screen And A Thinkpad Keyboard On The Cheap-E6500

The macbook pro screen is great, and a key insight was to realize that the latitude E6500 screens are the exact same ones (as the last generation before the unibody macbook pros). I got the AUO screen, and it's great. It is the exact same screen as a macbook pro. I had one, so I know until it broke. A great screen totally changes the entire perception of a notebook in my opinion, especially when using it for multimedia.

I have used a thinkpad before and I loved the keyboard. Newer generation ones that I have seen don't feel as cushy and soft. The E6500 keyboard is every bit as good as the current thinkpad keyboards if you like a softer, spongier feel with good key travel. So if you care about the keyboard alot, the new latitudes are I think tied for the #1 spot with anything else that you can throw out there.

Oh, and the price simply can't be beat.

The backlit keyboard is also a very underrated feature. I would absolutely get this if anyone is hesitating.

The one knock on this laptop is the fan noise. It's not bad, but it's not the most silent one out of the macbook pros and the thinkpads. However, I don't believe that there is inferior cooling or inferior design that makes the E6500 run louder. I think that it's probably just a BIOS setting that Dell has put in there to make sure that the system stays cool at the expense of having more noise. In other words, if Dell didn't mind hot system temps like the macbook pros, then I suppose it could run nearly as quietly. Either way, I do wish the notebook was a bit quieter. I do have the nvidia gpu and am curious if getting the intel gpu would cut down on the noise. I'd also gain some battery life and to be honest, I never use any 3d stuff but just like to have the real gpu for resale purposes and to futureproof the laptop.

But for price/performance, this is the laptop to beat because now I can watch videos, even hulu ones, without intrinsically wishing for more brightness and contrast in the dark scenes. I feel like I've got a 15" hdtv.