New laptop - Dell, Apple, Lenovo - which to choose?

[buggaby]

Hi everyone!

I'm in the market for a new laptop and was hoping I could get some thoughts from this great community. Any suggestions would be welcome!

Here's what I'm looking for:
needs:
Fast cpu (for running simulations)
16GB RAM (simulations...)
Good screen at least 1080p
Great keyboard

want:
From a Canadian source
Solid build quality to last 3+ years
SSD of 256GB+
Screen at "retina" level
Not huge
Wouldn't mind ability for casual gaming (Mass Effect level) but this isn't big as I have a desktop for that.
15" ideal, but 17" possible

My budget is $1500-$2200. I'm thinking it's between a Macbook Pro 15 Retina, a Dell XPS 15, or a Lenovo Y50 Ultra HD, but I'm leaning towards the Lenovo as it hits all the marks for cheaper but with worse battery, which I care less about. I'm more familiar with Windows, but am willing to switch if it's good.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!
the bugg

 

[velo3100]

I would go with the lenovo as it has the best gpu which is very important for simulations. The other two in my opinion aren't as good and as you don't care about the battery life it should be ok for what you need.

 

[JUSTPLAY]

i think lenovo y70 will be better than y50

 

[buggaby]

The simulations we run are not GPU intensive at all. It uses the CPU far more. But still, the Lenovo seems to provide a comparable CPU for hundreds cheaper.

And the y70 doesn't seem to come with a UHD screen. I have read about that matte 1080p screen on the y50 and it's rated quite poorly. Screen quality is pretty important, though resolution isn't. I would suspect the y70 has the same poor quality screen since it's a matte 1080p.

 

[JUSTPLAY]

if you dont use gpu intensive programes than go for macbook pro retina 15 it will be good choise

 

[velo3100]

If the screen quality is very important then the dell is good. Only go for the mac if the software you use is available as the drivers for windows in macs are not good.

 

[JUSTPLAY]

yes macbook screen quality is retina that is very good and it will be best notebook i think.

 

[orlbuckeye]

Well the 4 K screens have moved to Windows.

5.6-inch 3,840x2,160 resolution display

http/www.cnet.com/news/asus-4k-windows-8-1-laptop-coming-sharp-shows-8k-display/

http/www.amazon.com/Technicolor-Touchscreen-Photoshop%C2%AE-Lightroom%C2%AE-Performance/dp/B00KQEXD2M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1411062129&sr=8-5&keywords=toshiba+4k

 

[buggaby]

I guess I was hoping for more than just opinions. Maybe some direct experience, or some alternatives? All 3 of these computers have "retina" displays. The dell and the mac compare quite well (speed, screen, so on...), though maybe the Mac is a tad better with heat management. The Lenovo does most of what I want but much cheaper. Its keyboard didn't get amazing reviews, though.

Anyway, I'll likely be buying next week. I'll just stop into a store and check out what they have. I'm leaning to the Lenovo right now, though. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.