For ages now, we are discussing Dell vs HP laptops, which brand is better, and why? Whenever we think about buying a new laptop, these two brands pop-up in our minds, Dell and HP, the tech giants. There the discussion starts off “Dell vs HP laptops”. Apple’s MacBook is not an immediate choice for everyone as it’s expensive and has software update issues that mess up the user’s experience.
Furthermore, Lenovo has also been running the race for the past many years now and is producing great laptops, PCs, and many innovative smartphones. Although these brands had made a significant difference in the market since people used the brands ‘Dell and HP‘ for so long now, these brands had become their choices to go for. But then a question arises, is Dell or HP better?
These brands have a wide variety of laptops, making it difficult for a user to find just the right one. This is why you go on Google and start comparing every laptop machine that comes in front of you—looking at specs, size, prices, durabilities, software and trying to hunt for the best laptop that meets your demands.
Before you narrow down a laptop of your choice, the first thing that you should establish is which one is better? Dell or HP? Well, let us compare the two brands and see which one suits your demands better.
Dell vs HP Laptops: Brand Discussion
It’s not a tough question to answer when we ask which is the better brand? Dell or HP? Both have produced great laptops and have built great machines over the years. Dell or HP, both have manufactured laptops for students, teachers, engineers, doctors, IT developers, gamers, etc. All of the niches are covered by both of these brands.
The gaming laptops are starting to become a great hit among the Dell vs HP laptops race. According to the tech experts, Dell laptops are better on an overall basis when they are compared to HP laptops. A few of the laptops manufactured by HP have no other competition in the market against them.
However, Dell laptops beat the HP laptops over the longer run. When it comes to Dell vs HP laptops, Dell is considerably a younger company than HP as Dell was established in the 80s, whereas HP was founded in the 1940s.
Deciding what brand to go for (Dell or HP) can be a very challenging decision because buying a new laptop is a long-term commitment for most of us out there. None of us want to keep on jumping between laptops while transferring our data and installing all of the necessary stuff again and again in our newly owned laptops.
So, let’s take a closer look at both of these brands and observe which one is a better choice when it comes to Dell vs HP laptops.
Dell Laptops
1. Outline
Dell is an American-based Fortune 500 company. It is a multinational computer technology company that manufactures and sells products, does repairs, and has a vast network of support for computers, services, and other related products.
Being such a huge company, they do a lot of IT work, yet, their main domain is still PC and laptops. Commercial use in offices and factories has been a trustworthy brand for people for usage at home.
2. Design and Appearance
We have seen over the years that Dell has never paid too much heed to the designs of their laptops. They have always tried to make their machines more reliable and comfortable to use regardless of the Dell vs HP laptops discussion.
Dell’s laptops are not unusual to look at, but they have powerful hardware components installed in them, making their lives longer. Most of their laptop designs are of the same style and shape, along with many similarities in their overall look.
Alienware series and the Inspiron range from Dell have many modern-looking and updated designs. If you want something sleek, have a slim profile, backlit keyboards, and have smooth form factors, you should check out the gaming series of laptops offered by Dell.
Additionally, Dell has made vital improvements to their notebooks by offering them a wide variety of vivid colors. Nevertheless, the design limitations of Dell laptops can be a massive no-no for you if you are a person of style and appearance.
So, if you are considering the Dell vs HP laptops debate and identify yourself as the person of style, then you should certainly not go for a Dell laptop.
3. Quality of Components and Hardware
What makes Dell stand out when it comes to Dell vs HP laptops, is the use of high-quality components installed in them. They utilize the top variants of hardware and effective parts to maintain the build quality of their product.
The newly launched expensive Dell laptops’ models have a quad-core processor with a combination of a minimum of 8GB RAM. This generates a high-performing laptop that overpowers the rest of the competition in the market.
Within the range of its budget laptops, Dell installs dual-core processors inside of them. Most often, they use processors from Intel and AMD. It is highly implausible that you will find a Dell laptop without a dual-core processor inside of them.
Based on the survey, we can observe that all of the newly manufactured Dell laptops have an Intel Core i7 processor inside of them. Only the old models have an Intel Core i5 processor. Alternatively, HP is still manufacturing laptops at a base variant with the Intel Core i5 processors.
Similarly, Apple always made its MacBooks with an i3 processor until they finally made an upgrade to M1. If you take a look at Alienware, you can see that they come with premium prices. The reason is that they have high-quality processors, robust hardware, and have an overall high build-quality. Having the best build quality in the market means that they are the most expensive also.
So, all of those perks come with a price and in the Dell vs HP laptops arena, Dell wins this round by a long run.
4. Display and Resolution
HP and Dell had always fought over who has the best display. Dell again overtakes HP in this regard as they also have specialties in manufacturing monitors, which gives them an edge in the display department. Apple’s MacBook Air has also locked horns with Dell in the display factor. Apple’s laptops have a better retina display, although Dell’s XPS series has caught up with them in this regard.
If the display is what you are looking for in a laptop, you can look into Dell’s models with Intel HD integrated graphics card or Core i7 6th Gen processor. This will give you a great experience and make you comfortable with your choice of laptop.
Dell manufactures laptops with the NVIDIA GTX 2080 video card and Intel Core i7 8th Gen processor.
When we talk about screen sizes, Dell has screen sizes ranging from 11 inches to 17+ inches. The low-budget laptops are not all HD, but the more expensive ones all have an HD display.
Also, the top line of Dell laptops has a 4K resolution. You can consider upgrading up to a 4K resolution laptop, especially if you are a designer. If this kind of display quality is your preference, Dell is the way for you to go.
5. Performance
When it comes to performance, the budget laptops of Dell are not so good. Out there in the market, many other cheaper laptop brands offer better performance at a lower rate. With Dell always reaching for the maximum performance in their laptops, their high-performing laptops get stuck in high-expensive line-ups. As per this reason, only users who have an affordable budget to buy these laptops can have access to Dell’s high-performance product.
Dell’s top-of-the-line laptops have high-quality processors and have huge RAMs installed in them. This makes their budget laptops look like a piece of junk and not worth buying.
On the other hand, if we take a look at Alienware by Dell. It is one of the most powerful machines out there in the market. Other brands struggle to compete with its high-performing Intel Core i9 10th Gen processors with Turbo Boost 2.0 and have CPUs up to 5.3 GHz. They have 4K displays, 32 GB RAM, SSD disks, and various other top-of-the-line hardware installed in them, making them the leaders of the market when it comes solely to performance.
6. Durability and Battery Life
When tech experts are asked which one is better LIFE wise, Dell or HP laptops? They say that one of the most long-lasting machines they have seen in the market is Dell laptops. Their product is durable and has a very rigid and sturdy exterior compared to other brands in the market.
Dell installs 2-cell and 3-cell batteries in their products, which gives you enough juice to last you long enough (7 to 8 hours). The battery life of any laptop is essential as it is a portable device.
Like all other premium brands out in the market, laptops’ battery life depends on how you are using them. The XPS range in Dell laptops claims that battery life can last up to an entire day.
Nevertheless, based on their touch screens variants, 4K resolutions, and their high energy-consuming processors, battery life will get drained much quicker.
7. Innovation
Dell, like all other companies, is continuously innovating their product. Their innovation strategies and approach are what have made them last that long in the market. They keep innovating the following:
- Specifications and high performing software
- Usage of upgraded construction materials
- Cinematic experience on Dell XPS laptops
- Upper-level execution of Dell Inspiron and Vostro laptops
- Introduction of Control Centre in its Alienware laptop
- Innovative features like controlling users mobile phone from their laptops
- Dell’s precision series for Video Editing
Although Dell’s innovation department, “Research and Design,” has introduced many tech revolutionizing changes, these innovations are limited to Dell’s high-ended products. Their cheaper products are not innovative and have an ancient outlook.
8. Customer Support
When we talk about Dell vs HP laptops, Dell throws HP out of the water to customer support. Dell’s analysis/reviews of selling on Amazon speaks for themselves. The customers praise the fast and structured customer support offered by Dell.
The warranty category in their plans is also better than the rest of the competition. Tech experts claim that (after Apple) Dell gives out the best warranty when it comes to laptops. If something gets broken or an injury occurs to the machine, Dell responds instantly. There is no problem with returning a laptop if the company’s reliability is at stake.
Nowadays, customer support and services are everything. This is a very critical area every consumer should think about before buying an HP or Dell laptop. Their services are worldwide.
9. Pricing
There is no doubt that Dell is a costly brand. They ask for a higher price based on the reliability they offer. With so much invested in their manufacturing quality, their prices are usually higher concerning cheaper products in the market.
If budget is not an issue for you, you should not get into the Dell vs HP laptops discussion and nothing should stop you from getting yourself a machine manufactured by Dell.
If you are on a budget and are looking for a machine with high specifications, you should not consider leaning towards Dell as it will cost you a fortune. Try looking at some other brands.
10. Dell Laptops Manufacturing Locations
The production of Dell laptops is mostly done in Asian countries. In particular, Xiamen (China) and Penang (Malaysia) have manufacturing factories for Dell laptop units. In 1995, Dell started its factory in Malaysia, whereas the bricks of the Chinese factory were laid down in 1999.
Dell also invested in India and Brazil to establish new manufacturing units to meet the market’s growing demands for its products. Their top variant Alienware is manufactured in the US. Although, many factories in the US-owned by Dell were shut down because of high fees and taxes. However, this hasn’t interfered with their production units or a drop in their product quality.
11. Dell – Suggested Laptops
Dell – Top of the Line Laptop
Dell XPS 15 (2020)
- CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7
- Screen: 15.6″ FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit – 15.6″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display
- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
- Storage Range: 256GB – 2TB M.2 PCle NVMe
Dell – Budget Laptop
Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1
- RAM: 8GB – 16GB
- CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7
- Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) – 15.6-inch UHD (3840 x 2160) Truelife Touch Narrow Border WVA Display with Active Pen support
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 8
- Storage Range: Intel Optane Memory H10 32 GB with 512 GB Solid-State Storage – 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
HP (Hewlett-Packard) Laptops
1. Outline
HP is a direct competitor of Dell. Following the convention of starting computer-based or technology-based companies in ‘car garages,’ HP also started in a car garage.
William Hewlett and David Packard began making cheap and very tough laptops with a good quality of elements and durable form factors. This approach made them the most reliable laptops in the market during that time.
Over time they expanded and started offering their laptops at a global level. They became computer giants in no time. With a wide variety of the products provided by them, computers remain their primary product.
One part that stands out in Dell vs HP laptops debate is HP laptops are much cheaper and affordable than Dell top variant laptops.
2. Design and Appearance
When it comes to the style, design, shape, and overall appearance of HP laptops, Dell laptops do not stand a chance against them (especially if we are doing Dell vs HP laptops debate).
As we are familiar with the fact that there is a wide variety of notebooks worldwide, many users do not care for the machine’s specs. Instead, they demand a lovely-looking laptop. HP has gotten this demand covered for them.
The HP inventory is full of a wide variety of beautiful, sophisticated, elegant, and sleek laptops. They also offer an entire metal casing for laptops which gives them an outstanding appearance that is attractive, fashionable, and very tasteful. Please have a look at HP Spectre, and it will be candy to your eyes.
HP has used genuine chrome-tanned leather in their product and has hired the best designers in the world to make their product outstanding.
Furthermore, they also use carbon fiber and aluminum in their styling. The laptop model that made a blast in the market as per its design and style was HP Spectre X360. It has a silver-colored aluminum chassis with high-tech hinges, which transforms the laptop computer into a tablet. When we do HP vs Dell laptops in the styling area, HP laptops are the clear victors. However, the choice of colors in HP laptops is limited.
3. Quality of Components and Hardware
Here, in the build quality section of Dell vs HP laptops, Dell has the upper hand. One can say that HP is also inserting the same level specifications in their laptops, similar to Dell. What’s the difference? Well, the significant difference is in the quality.
Nevertheless, HP installs both AMD and Intel processors in all of their laptops, which boosts their speed. HP invests Intel HD graphics processors in the cheap models. However, for their gaming laptops series such as HP Omen, HP uses NVIDIA graphic processors and the latest Gen Intel processors. This enhances the gaming laptop to maximum performance. So, it would be best if you looked into the HP Omen line for anyone looking for a cheap gaming laptop. HP or Dell laptops, which is better in the build quality? Dell takes the lead in this category.
4. Display and Resolution
HP laptops’ screen sizes vary from 11 inches to 17+ inches (similar to Dell laptops). The screen resolution is dependent upon the price. The more you are willing to pay, the better you are going to get the screen resolution. The quality of display and resolution is not the same in all of the variants of HP as in Dell laptops. If one wants a screen with high-quality resolution in HP laptops, you must increase your budget accordingly.
5. Performance
Dell vs HP laptops discussion and debate about whether to buy a Dell or HP laptop, all comes down to the issue of performance. Which machine works the best (HP or Dell) when it comes to performance? Well, the answer is relatively simple, it is “HP” all the way.
HP takes the lead in performance criteria in comparison to Dell. While Dell offers high-performance machines in premium-priced laptops, HP’s performance is not limited to its high-quality variants. You can get high-performing HP laptops in all categories, from the cheapest to the most expensive ones.
Most HP products offer you more specifications, functions, and smooth performance at low-level prices. It’s the leading competitor in the market when it comes to buying an affordable branded laptop with all the functions. The Spectre line and the Envy line (which are high range laptops of HP) are the top products offered by them, covering both quality and performance areas.
In contrast to Dell, at a low budget, one should go towards an HP laptop if you are looking for performance. However, you may not find as many more excellent quality laptops in the cheaper versions of HP compared to Dell.
6. Durability and Battery Life
One of the things HP laptops are famous for is their long-lasting and robust battery life. They install 3-cell and 4-cell batteries in all of their laptops, which covers a battery life of up to 12 hours on average. This is much more than what Dell laptops have to offer.
HP claims that their laptop batteries will remain good for over a thousand full charges. Contrary to Dell laptops, HP laptops are not as durable. The reason lies in the priorities of both companies. HP invests more in performance, whereas Dell’s investments majorly lie in maintaining quality and durability.
So, HP laptops are not as well built as Dell laptops. You would have to be careful while handling an HP machine as it can break and cause you a headache. The durability in Dell vs HP laptops agenda is overtaken by Dell easily.
7. Innovation
We are all familiar with HP’s innovation in scanners, printers, desktop machines, and laptops. Since we are discussing Dell vs HP laptops here, we have not seen a considerable amount of innovation in HP laptops over the years. Dell has beaten HP in creation.
Nevertheless, HP laptops that are coming into the market nowadays have 2 in 1 feature installed in them, i.e., they all have touch screens. The major attraction for a laptop customer in HP laptops is the design, style, and a number of functions it has to offer. Innovation is not one of them. HP has directed most of its “research and development” department’s attention on introducing innovations in their scanners and printers.
Although HP laptops are still up to date with modern standards, it’s not an out-of-date technology (yet!).
8. Customer Support
Similarly to Dell, the customer services of HP are also very efficient. On buying their laptop, you will get a free 90 days on-call service from customer support.
Additionally, they will also offer you a one-year warranty on the hardware of your laptop. Other than that, they have their own YouTube channel full of tutorials on DIY stuff and social media accounts where you can contact their support assistants about any problem or query you have.
Some HP customers have complained about HP’s customer center, saying that they had to wait too long for their query to get resolved. Most of the time, they get the basic answer of updating their anti-virus software. That’s their universal answer (according to users).
So, when it comes to Dell vs HP laptops customer support services, Dell is more customer-oriented in this regard.
9. Pricing
HP laptops have always been under the light of criticism that their laptops are costly. Even though their quality is not nearly as good as Dell or Apple products yet, why are their prices high? This agenda is that they only allow dedicated retailers to sell their laptops (which costs more). You cannot buy their laptops directly from their website, which will cost lower. This increases their prices, and thus HP laptops cost more.
Dell vs HP laptops debate tells us that Dell laptops at the lower range will have lower prices in contrast to HP laptops which at the lower range will have higher prices as per their policies. The lower range of HP laptops will not give you good quality for money, and you should opt for some other brand.
10. HP Laptops Manufacturing Locations
HP or Dell laptops are manufactured following the market space they are targeting. Most HP laptops are manufactured in the US, where they hold 23% of the market shares.
The top-line variants of Hp laptops, i.e., Pavilion, Elitebook, the gaming laptop Omen, and the HP Envy, are all made here in the US. HP laptops made in the US have to meet the US market demand, and the laptops manufactured in Asia are for the Asian market.
Furthermore, in Asia, HP has manufacturing units in China, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The manufacturing done in Asian countries is not only limited to laptops or notebooks. They also build components for other HP products.
11. HP (Hewlett-Packard) – Suggested Laptops
HP (Hewlett-Packard) – Top of the Line Laptop
HP Spectre x360 Convertible Laptop - 13t-aw200 touch
- RAM: 8GB – 16GB
- CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7
- Screen: 13.5-inch, 1920 x 1280-pixels IPS or 3K2K OLED
- Graphics: Iris Xe Graphics + 8 GB (Onboard) (OLED)
- Storage Range: 256GB/512GB/1TB
HP (Hewlett-Packard) – Budget Laptop
HP Chromebook x2
- RAM: 4GB
- CPU: Intel Core m3-7Y30
- Screen: 12.3-inch, 2400 x 1600-pixel
- Graphics: Intel Core m3-7Y30
- Storage Range: 32GB eMMC
Dell XPS 13 vs. HP Spectre x360
The Dell XPS 13 is one of the finest laptops, and the recent refresh with Intel’s new Tiger Lake Processors makes Dell’s mobile behemoth all the more impressive. But the XPS 13 does not live in a vacuum. It is a perfect machine, but there is a bit of hard competition from all sides. And there is not a machine that showcases that competition better than HP’s Spectre x360. The HP Spectre x360 humbles even Dell’s best with almost identical prices and specs.
It is difficult to decide between the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360. Let’s dig into the details to find the best premium laptop you can buy.
Pricing and configurations
Dell XPS 13 is powered by Intel’s 11th generation Tiger Lake processors. The cheapest configuration comes with an i3, paired with 8GB of ultra-fast memory and a 256 GB NVMe hard drive for only $1000. The most expensive configuration cost around $1650. The expensive configuration keeps the memory and storage the same but upgrades the processor and the screen display. Users can configure the machine with up to 16 GB of memory and a 2 TB SSD.
On the other hand, the Spectre x360 starts at a bit higher price, and this machine will cost around $1080 new and $980 on sale. That extra $80 buys you a perfect i5 system compared to the XPS 13, but the other specs are almost identical. The cheapest configuration comes with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD.
Both machines are almost identical. The low-priced XPS 13 comes with a worse processor, but Dell provides a configuration that matches the low-cost Spectre x360 for only $20 more. If there is an edge, it goes to the XPS 13 because processor options are the most crucial component in this form factor.
Design
When it comes to quality and appearance, it is difficult to go wrong with the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360. Dell’s model is familiar, short of a reworked hinge, and comes in two colors. Silver with a black interior or silver with a white interior. HP Spectre x360 is a bit more flashy with diamond-cut corners and Spectre logos adorning each of the hinges. This machine has many color options, including gold, black, silver, and navy with silver accents. However, The Dell XPS 13 is a bit lighter and thinner.
As for typing, the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360 are the finest when it comes to laptops. This completely depends on the preference, but the HP Spectre x360’s keys have more travel than the Dell’s XPS 13. However, the Dell XPS 13 2020 model does improve on previous models, changing out the butterfly mechanism for a tactile feel and moving the page up and page down keys away from the arrow keys.
These two machines are not equal when it comes to port selection. The Dell XPS 13 continues the trend of Dell removing ports, featuring a single Thunderbolt 4 port on each side of the laptop with a 3.5mm headphone combo jack and a MicroSD card reader. The HP Spectre x360 comes with a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5mm combo jack, and it trades the MicroSD port for a USB 3.0 Type-A port. As for wireless connectivity, these two machines are equally matched, sporting the latest WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5. The HP Spectre x360 also supports LTE on specific models.
Specs | Dell XPS 13 | HP Spectre x360 |
---|---|---|
CPU | 1.5 GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.5 GHz Intel Core i5 |
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB |
Display | 13.4 Inches touch | 13.3 Inches |
Ports | 2 Thunderbolt 3, MicroSD card reader, Headphone jack | 2 Thunderbolt 3, 2 USB Type-A, MicroSD card reader, Headphone Jack |
Graphics | Intel Iris Plus | Intel Iris Plus |
Battery Life | 12.39 hours | 13.20 hours |
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB |
Weight | 2.8 Pounds | 2.7 Pounds |
Laptop size | 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 Inches | 12.1 x 7.7 x 0.7 Inches |
Frequently Asked Questions
If we talk about on an overall basis, then the Dell laptops easily beat the HP laptops out of the water. They are considered better than HP laptops in the longer run. Although, HP does have some great range of laptops, and have unbeatable machines, however, Dell beats HP across the board.
According to TechNinjaPro:
- MacBook Pro
- Dell XPS 15
- Lenovo Chromebook Duet
- Razer Book Pro 17
- HP Elite Dragonfly
The most humongous problem with Dell is that they never change the design. They would upgrade their RAM or Graphics or CPU etc. But the never bring any kind of modification in their design factor.
In the start Dell was a cheap but high-quality brand. As the market became bigger and the demands got higher, the rich segment of the market began to grow i.e. people were willing to pay more. Still, Dell keeps a cheap lines of their laptops in production.
- Apple
- HP
- Dell
- Acer
- Lenovo
- MSI
- Asus
- Acer
- Razer
- Samsung
- HP Spectre x360 14
- HP Envy x360 13
- HP Envy 13
- HP EliteBook x360 1040 G7
- HP ZBook Create G7
- HP Chromebook x2
- HP Omen 15
- Check Screen Size. Between 12 to 14 inches is acceptable.
- Check Display Type. IPS is best for screen view angles.
- Battery Life should also be around 8 hours.
- ROM and RAM should also be checked. Minimum RAM should be 4GB and Minimum storage space should be 512GB.
Final Words: Dell vs HP Laptops
Finally, if we can summarise the Dell vs HP laptops discussion and try to pinpoint whether one should go for Dell or HP laptop, one can say, Dell is better, hands down.
The price range in which HP is delivering laptops (with fewer features) is not worth the money one should pay for. In contrast, Dell will be a much safer, smarter, and long-term choice in all aspects of quality, performance, and durability. The price range is also reasonable for Dell products.
Based on history, we have seen that there are very few Dell models that have proven to be unsuccessful compared to HP laptops which have failed the tests of the time.