Dell XPS8900 VS Macbook Air 13 ... At same price... Deal?

[DaveM88]

Hi guys,

So, I am about to pull a trigger on either of these two systems and I hope you can guide me into the right path.

I intent to use this as a desktop system. I don't play games. I use my computer mainly for these functions

1) Photography processing with Adobe Lightroom
2) Lots of web browsing ... over 20-30 tabs at the same time (kills my current 4gb ram)
3) Transferring downloaded files to my USB3 flash and external HD
4) YouTube

My current system has not been updated in ages. Can not be upgraded over 4gb ram and USB2 ... pain in the a**. I need something that will serve me well for the next 3-4+ years.

FYI ... I have a 180gb SSD I bought some time ago that I can add to the new desktop and I have a 4tb WD USB3 external HD I can add to the desktop.

My 2 options ... one coming from a friend of my.

Option 1
$630 = Dell XPS x8900-631BLK Desktop (6th Generaton Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD) NVIDIA GT 730

or

Option 2
$700 = Macbook Air 13, i7-3667u, 3.2ghz, 8GB Ram, 128gb SSD

 

[DaveM88]

anyone?

 

[DaveM88]

I have a chance to get this system below for just $232 ....

I have these 2 things that I can add to this desktop.
1) Anker® Uspeed USB 3.0 PCI-E Express Card with 4 USB 3.0 Ports and 5V 4-Pin Power Connector for Desktops [VL805 Chipset]

2) SSD drive
Intel 330 Series Solid-State Drive 180 GB SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5-Inch - SSDSC2CT180A3K5

Will the desktop set up be faster than my laptop? I really need USB3 will it better than my laptop in terms of speed and future upgrade capabilities? My laptop is Dell Inspiron N4010 with upgraded 8gb ram.

Desktop deal for $232
Model Dell Precision T3500
Operating System 64-bit Windows 7 Pro
Software Microsoft Office Starter
Chassis Tower
Processor 1x Xeon Quad Core (W3530) 2.80 GHz
Memory 12 GB (3x 4GB)
Hard Drive 250 GB (1x 250GB)
Optical Drive DVD
Video(Video cables and adapters not included) Nvidia Quadro FX 1800 (768 MB)
LAN 10/100/1000
Wireless LAN Not Included
Ports Serial, Parallel, 2x PS/2, RJ-45, 10x USB 2.0, Audio