Which do you think is better?: ASUS ROG G501JW or DELL Inspiron 14-7447

raisonjohn

Estimable
Herald
Feb 22, 2015
57
0
4,660
Looking for opinions in choosing just between these 2 laptops (I have already eliminated other laptop choices due to unavailability, price range, and system requirements).

Here are my 2 choices, with specifications as offered/available in my location:

Choice A:
13474057_xxlg.jpg

Asus ROG G501JW-DM138H
15.6" TN (non-IPS) 1920 x 1080
i7-4720HQ
12GB RAM
GeForce GTX 960M 4GB
1 TB HDD
No Optical Drive
Black/Red Color
4-Cell Battery @ 60 Whrs
2.06 kg Weight
20.6mm Thick
$1,195
My remarks:
I would have preferred the IPS variant, but unfortunately, only TN panels are available here.
I would also have preferred the 6-Cell @ 96 Whrs Battery, but only the 4-Cell 60-Whrs is available.
No Optical Drive is a non-issue for me as it also lessens the weight of this laptop.


Choice B:
post-144125-1418747173_thumb.jpg

Dell Inspiron 14-7447 Pandora
14" IPS 1920 x 1080
i7-4710HQ
8GB RAM
GeForce GTX 850M 4GB
1 TB HDD
DVD/RW Drive
Black/Red Color
6-Cell Battery @ 65 Whrs
2.23 kg Weight
25.9 mm Height
$1,086
My remarks:
I would have preferred a 15.6" (but there is none). But on the plus side, the screen is an IPS panel.
I don't know if the optical drive can be excluded in the purchase to bring both the weight and the cost down.


Reasons for choosing these laptops:
- Weight concerns (as I lug it around the city for work and/or presentations)
- Long Battery Life (when no outlets are readily available)
- Color (Black/Red are my corporate colors)
- Quad Core (I use 3D rendering software like vray, sketchup, autocad)
- 4GB VRAM (I play graphic-intensive games, though, I can live with medium settings if needed)
- 1 TB Storage (I have millions of files)
- Price (Budget concerns)

What are your thoughts/experiences related to these 2 laptops that I am eyeing (serviceability? stability? keyboard layout/use? connectivity? upgradability? overheating? and other issues?).
 

raisonjohn

Estimable
Herald
Feb 22, 2015
57
0
4,660
In short, if I get the Dell Inspiron 14-7447, is it worth to pay the extra $109 to get the Asus G501JW:

Where I will:
Upgrade from an i7-4710HQ to an i7-4720HQ
Upgrade from a GeForce GTX 850M to a GeForce GTX 960M
Upgrade from a 14" Screen Size to a 15.6" Screen Size
Upgrade from an 8GB RAM to a 12GB RAM
Upgrade from a heavier (2.23-kg) laptop to a lighter (2.06-kg) laptop
Upgrade from a thicker (25.9-mm) laptop to a thinner (20.6-mm) laptop

But, I would:
Downgrade from an IPS panel to a TN panel
Downgrade from a laptop with a built-in DVD ODD to a laptop with no ODD
Downgrade from a 6-cell 65Whr battery to a 4-cell 60Whr battery

I do not know if there are other specific issues with these laptops such as overheating? scratch/fingerprint resistance? noise? upgradability? etc.

Thanks in advance if you can shed some light on my posted question.
 

MarcusCo

Estimable
Jul 15, 2015
3
0
4,510
Hello,

I have the Dell 7447 and upgraded to 16GB. But I would recommended the Asus G501JW with the IPS Display (IPS is also available). The only +point from Dell is the 14inch combinated with a optical drive. I thought I need it but no I don't and if I could buy a 50$ usb optical drive.

Sooner or later you need to buy SSD, 16GB Ram for the DELL, so the budget point will be gone.

Reasons to better go with the Asus G501JW IPS version:
1. The Asus has a GTX 960m 4GB GDDR5, the Dell just a GTX850m 4GB DDR3. The performance difference is 100% in games, even bigger when used for rendering, CAD because 4GB GDDR5 (Asus) have 4times the bandwith of 4GB DDR3 (Dell).
2. The Asus with IPS has 16GB Ram and you will need that for rendering.
3. The driver from Dell performing aweful, in general all Notebook driver are bad for the Dell 7447. It was a big trouble to test alternativ drivers (I am now on a Nvidia 344.75 DESKTOP driver to solve graphic driver issues, yes DESKTOP Driver on a Laptop).
4. The Asus throttle a little bit due to small AC Adapter but the Dell has the same Problem. Many Laptop has that problem. Easy solution, just buy a new AC with 150W and no throttling anymore.
5. The Asus has a PCI-e 3.0 x4 interface for M.2Sata as a harddrive, the Asus PCI-e 3.0 x4 M.2Sata harddrive built in is 3times faster than a ordinary SSD. The Dell just have SSHD Sata Harddrive which is so aweful slow and no option for M.Sata at all. So I will need a SSD update soon.
6. The Dell is a Fingerprint and dirt magnet,after 2 month the rubber finish looks like a 5 year old Notebook. The rubber surface is hard to clean. The Asus has some Fingerprint problems too but it is made of Aluminium and so easy to clean.
 

buigiathinh

Estimable
Nov 3, 2015
1
0
4,510


Hi. I'm having a Dell 7447. Because you mentioned that you have issue with NVIDIA graphic, I don't know if my issue is like you but I'm having trouble too. My GTX 850M drop clock on every game after 15-20 min playing game. Dell replace the mainboard for me but the issue still persists. Could you please suggest me which version of Nvidia desktop driver you are using. Thank you very much.