Dell Vs HP: A Clash Of Two Titans In 2022!

When it comes to laptop brands, there are few as reputable as these two. Both Dell and HP have stood the test of time. As two of the leading innovators, customers always expect great products, but it has to be said that HP and Dell did get a bit complacent a few years back.

Things got a little out of hand for both these brands when new entrants like Acer and Lenovo took the market by storm. But, the last couple of years has seen a resurgence of both HP and Dell. They got bigger and better- increasing the range of products and tremendously improving the quality.

We’ll see how both these titans of the tech industry got back to the top and how these two currently fare against each other. And while doing that, we’ll also try and answer the big money question. “Who makes the better laptops? HP or Dell?”

Along with a thorough comparison, we have also found some great laptops from both these brands. One thing’s for sure, choosing between an HP or Dell laptop is no easy task. We just hope we can at least help you make a more informed final decision.

P.S. We’ve also found the finest HP and Dell laptops available right now!

Brand Overview: Dell

Dell has been around since 1984, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The company was founded by Michael Dell, a student at the University of Texas at that time. He started the company out of his dorm room and used to customize and upgrade PCs. Over time, the venture gained traction; and that’s when Micheal decided to drop out of college.

Did You Know? Dell’s first-ever name was PC’s Limited, which then changed to Dell Computer Corporation in 1988.

In 1988, Dell got a makeover- a new name, bigger target audience, and public share offerings. And ever since, Dell has been sitting at the high table of computer manufacturers. New ventures into more computer products have proved fruitful, but their priority still rests with making quality laptops at competitive prices.

Design & Appearance

Sadly the first thing that we are going to talk about is the weakest link of Dell—the design and appearance of their laptops. The build quality and durability are always there, but the laptops could be way better-looking than they currently are.

What we mean is that almost all of their laptops have a similar look, except the gaming range. That too because Alienware mostly operates as a separate unit.

In a desperate attempt to remove this complaint, Dell started making laptops in various colors. It’s a step in the right direction, but the problem isn’t with the colors; it’s the design. It’s high time Dell hired some decent designers or maybe just ask the people at Alienware to chip in.

Hardware & Performance

This is where Dell’s focus truly is- packing top-of-the-line hardware that can provide the best performance. Whether you look at their Chromebooks, budget, premium, or gaming laptops, the hardware in there is top brass.

Hardware Components

They collaborate with the likes of Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA to provide the best hardware specs combo for every user’s needs. What further impresses us is the various hardware configurations Dell offers on their laptops.

Take the Dell Latitude 3420 laptop for example. It has 4 different hardware configurations- each more powerful than the last one.

Performance

Then there is the performance, and Dell laptops hit the right note every single time. Dell’s higher-end laptops never disappoint, whether it’s the CPUs handling multitasking or the GPUs revving up the gaming sessions.

The same can’t be said of the budgetary devices, though, which more often than not fall behind.

Batteries

Another important aspect that plays a deciding role is the battery life, and it’s a mixed bag in the case of Dell laptops. Dell uses 2-cell, 4-cell, and 6-cell batteries in their laptops. A higher cell count means longer battery life and a heavier price tag.

On average, a budget or mid-range Dell laptop will offer up to 8 hours of battery timing. But the premium models can go as high as 12 hours. These are below-par numbers for a brand like Dell.

As for the battery’s life span, almost every laptop’s battery needs replacing after 2 years, period. Dell’s can go up to 2.5 to 3 years, provided you take good care of the battery.

Versatility

When it comes to laptops, there are few brands as successfully versatile as Dell. The name Alienware should tell you all about the quality of Dell’s gaming laptop venture. Every tech blog about the best gaming laptops has at least 2 Alienware laptops.

Their professional laptops and Chromebooks are right up there with the very best. Whether you look at the Latitude or Inspiron series.

You can pretty much get any type of device you require. From 11-inch screens to massive 17-inch laptops, from Windows laptops to Chromebooks, Dell has their hands in every pot.

Price

This is a tricky one, to be honest. Dell has various lineups that range from $300 to $2000 laptops. So, there is a high chance that you can find the right laptop for a price that suits your wallet.

However, as we said earlier, Dell’s budget laptops aren’t always the best choice. So, if you want a bang for the buck laptop, you should explore other brands before turning towards Dell.

Warranties & Customer Care

Dell gives generous warranties on a majority of their products and their laptops are no exception. Although other products like printers and monitors have replacement warranties, Dell laptops only offer a limited warranty for a limited time. 

A huge network of Dell Support Centres across the States provides tremendous repair and maintenance services. And just as for brand new laptops, Dell charges a hefty amount for repairs too- unless it’s under the warranty period.

As for customer care, kudos to Dell for turning it around. Dell used to have one of the worst customer support a few years back. There was no chat option on the website, helplines were always putting the customers on long holds, and in the end, the customer would prefer a third-party repair shop.

Now, Dell has taken some great steps to ensure the best customer care. A dedicated support page and a much improved ‘contact us’ section with e-mail, quick chat, and voice call option right on the official Dell website.

Brand Overview: HP

HP (Hewlett-Packard) is one of the oldest computer brands, with its operations dating back to 1939. However, they released their first-ever computer in 1966. It was called the HP 2116A that was only the second-ever 16-bit minicomputer. Up until then, HP was manufacturing a wide selection of different components.

Fun Fact: HP’s first-ever customer was Walt Disney. HP used to make audio oscillators early on, which Disney used for sound production in their earlier feature films.

At the time of World War 2, HP also helped the American Military and Naval forces in making radar-countering technology and shell fuses. It was only after the war ended that HP was able to truly focus on personal computers. But it wasn’t smooth sailing at all.

All through the 1970s and 1980s, HP struggled greatly at the hands of competitors like Apollo Computers, Silicon Graphics, and then Dell. Then in the early 1990s, Packard came out of retirement, took charge of the company, and turned the company’s fortune on its head.

Did You Know? Stephen Wozniak was an intern at HP, and he presented his PC idea to Hewlett and Packard, but they rejected it. Later, Wozniak went on to join Steve Jobs and incorporated Apple computers.

Design & Appearance

One of HP’s many strengths is the design and appearance of its laptops. Most brands will focus all their resources on their premium series, but HP has the same attitude towards all their lineups.

HP’s Spectre series fully puts its design abilities on show. The HP Spectre X360 is one of the most beautiful laptops we’ve seen in recent years. The best part is that this design prowess trickles down into the budget devices too, and the HP Chromebook X360 is a testament to that.

As for the gaming range, HP has a very uniform design, which looks a bit boring. The HP Pavilion series is a bit different, but the others all look more or less the same. As for durability, the use of Carbon Fibre and Aluminum to build the chassis and housings ensures that.

Hardware & Performance

HP is guilty of discrimination among its various laptop lineups when it comes to hardware and performance. The premier laptops get the best hardware components, which results in better performance. Whereas the budgetary lineups have to make do with pleasing appearances and sub-par specs.

Hardware Components

Looking at the different lineups, there is a clear divide amongst the hardware components in use. Although HP employs all the major players like AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel to make CPUs and GPUs, it’s the use that creates the divide.

HP’s premium laptops will mostly have a combo of AMD and NVIDIA or Intel and NVIDIA. On the other hand, the mid-rangers have to make do with Intel CPU and Intel UHD GPUs.

Performance

Even with altering hardware components on various laptops, processing power and multi-tasking will be good on every device. However, gaming and multimedia users have no choice but to spend extra bucks to get the better specs.

But if you do end up spending more money, you can be sure that the laptop you are getting will be a world-beater. That’s not the worst approach, but in comparison to competitors like Dell, it makes HP look very bad.

Batteries

Anything and everything that it lacks in terms of performance of tech specs, HP more than makes up for it by fitting in superb batteries. HP’s lower-end laptops will easily provide 10-12 hours of battery backup, with the premium ones going as high as 17 hours.

As for the life span, HP laptops’ batteries will easily serve for over three years before needing replacements. Although there have been complaints about the batteries giving up much earlier. So, it also depends on your usage..

Versatility

HP has had its fair share of success when trying out different things, but at the same time, it’s had to deal with plenty of failures too. Ventures like the WebOS and Touchpad Tablet prove that HP doesn’t always get it right.

But, the versatility we are interested in is the laptop lineups, and HP has 5 categories of them. From everyday basic use to heavy-duty content creating laptops and a decent range of gaming laptops, HP does it all.

Price

Much like Dell, HP also faces a lot of criticism for its prices; but HP has a better justification for its higher prices. HP always uses premium quality build material for all of its laptops.

Whether it’s a Chromebook or an HP Envy X360, the majority of laptops will have an aluminum chassis, gorilla glass, and extra rubber paddings to protect against accidental falls.

Still, some people don’t need these kinds of features, so they’ll be better off looking at options like ASUS or Lenovo.

Warranties & Customer Care

HP’s customer support is right up there with the very best, mainly because there are so many channels of communication.

They’ve set up help accounts on every social media platform, including a YouTube channel with plenty of DIY and walkthroughs. Then there’s HP Support and quick chat options on the official website.

Moreover, when you buy any HP laptop, you get free tech support for 90-days and a 1-year limited warranty on the hardware.

Top Picks – Dell Laptops

1. Dell XPS 13 9310

Best Dell Business Laptop

Features Highlights

• Dynamic Tuning Technology
• Fingerprint reader
• Lid sensor. The laptop powers up when you open the lid.
• FHD+ touchscreen with HDR 400 certification
• Thunderbolt 4 ports

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
• GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• RAM: 32GB DDR4X
• Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
• Battery Life: 11 Hours

Price: Around $1530 On Amazon | $1420 On Dell

2. Dell XPS 17 9700

Great Laptop For Content Creators

Features Highlights

• 93.7% screen to body ratio
• Built-in Alexa
• Carbon fiber palm rest
• Waves Nx audio
• NVIDIA RTX graphics

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core-i9 10885H
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
• RAM: 32GB DDR4
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Battery Life: 12 Hours

Price: Around $3560 On Amazon | $2800 On Dell

3. Dell Inspiron 3000

Best Budget Laptop From Dell

Features Highlights

• 15-inch display
• Quad-Core Pentium processor
• Plenty of I/O ports
• Full-size keyboard
• Stereo speakers

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Pentium Silver N5030
• GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 600
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
• Battery Life: 10 Hours

Price: Around $540 On Amazon | $300 On Dell

4. Dell Chromebook 11 3100

Dell’s Cheapest Chromebook with Suprise Performance

Features Highlights

• 2 Type-C ports
• Dual-Core Celeron processor
• LTE option
• Side rubber bumpers for accidental protection
• Spill-proof keyboard

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Celeron N4020
• GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 600
• RAM: 4GB DDR4
• Storage: 16GB eMMC 
• Battery Life: 14 Hours

Price: Around $270 On Amazon | $467 On Dell

5. Alienware Area 51m R2

The Best Gaming Laptop?

Features Highlights

• 300Hz display
• 3ms response time
• N-key rollover technology
• Vapor Chamber Cooling
• 2.5Gbps ethernet port
• Tobii eye-tracking

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super with 8GB GDDR6
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Battery Life: 4 Hours

Price: Around $2480 On Amazon | $2300 On Newegg

Top Picks – HP Laptops

1. HP Spectre X360

Best HP Business Laptop

Features Highlights

• Fingerprint reader
• Band & Olufsen sound
• HP Quad speakers and Audio Boost
• FHD IPS touchscreen display
• Island-style backlit keyboard

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1065G7
• GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Battery Life: 13 Hours

Price: Around $2000 On Amazon | $2600 On Newegg

2. HP Envy X360 15 (2021)

HP’s World-Beater Budget Laptop

Features Highlights

• Fingerprint reader
• Backlit keyboard
• 720p HD webcam
• Multi-touch support FHD display
• HDMI port and 2 Type-C ports

Tech Specs

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
• GPU: AMD Radeon RV Vega 7 Graphics
• RAM: 8GB DDR4
• Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD
• Battery Life: 12 Hours

Price: Around $870 On Amazon | $710 On HP

3. HP Pavilion X360 14 (2021)

Powerful 2-in-1 With Eyes On The Future

Features Highlights

• 11th generation Intel processor
• Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology
• Edge-to-edge glass touchscreen
• HP Fast Charge
• Dual B&O speakers
• SuperSpeed USB Type-C

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
• GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• RAM: 8GB DDR4
• Storage: 256GB SSD
• Battery Life: 10 Hours

Price: Around $700 On Amazon | $800 On HP

4. HP Pavilion 15 Gaming Laptop

HP’s Best Budget Gaming Laptop

Features Highlights

• 6-Core AMD processor
• Full-sized backlit keyboard
• HP Fast Charge
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• 2 SODIMM memory expansion slots

Tech Specs

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
• RAM: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
• Battery Life: 9 Hours

Price: Around $760 On Amazon | $690 On HP

5. HP Pavilion 15

Best HP Laptop for Any Work

Features Highlights

• Windows 11 laptop
• Expandable storage
• HP Fast Charge
• 178-degree wide viewing display
• B&O speakers with HP Audio Boost

Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
• GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• RAM: 16GB RAM
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Battery Life: 9.5 Hours

Price: Around $945 On Amazon | $860 On HP

HP Vs Dell- Head To Head Comparison

After a generalized overview, here’s how these two giants rack up against each other in terms of design, performance, and value for money.

Build Quality

HP has Dell beat when it comes to the build quality, design, and appearance of the laptops. HP has better-looking laptops and also uses superior materials, including carbon fiber. Dell, on the other hand, still looks to plastic for making housings. 

So, the Dell Vs HP head-to-head challenge starts with a point to HP.

Performance

Even though both HP and Dell use similar chips from AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA, Dell’s usage is more uniform than HP’s. Whether you choose an HP or Dell laptop, the performance levels are quite similar for the premium models.

The difference in performance arises when you shift to the budget and gaming category. In the gaming category, Dell’s Alienware series is just too good. HP’s Pavilion series and Omen series are trying but it will take some time to catch up to Alienware.

It’s a sad reality that the budget laptops of both Dell and HP are below-par. Head to head, Dell has a slight advantage due to better hardware, but in comparison to brands like Acer or ASUS, these two fall well behind.

Value For Money

Competitive pricing isn’t the strong suit of any of these two brands. But when you pit HP vs Dell, HP comes up trumps. Except for gaming, HP laptops offer better value for money, because of higher battery life and better quality build material.

While we’re at it, we want to address the ‘are HP laptops good for gaming?” question. They are good, but not the best. Dell offers much better gaming laptops than HP for more or less the same prices. The new Omen Series is a step in the right direction, though.

Conclusion

If you want to know which is better, Dell or HP? there’s no definitive answer to this question. Just like the debate of Apple Vs Samsung, this is a matter of preference. What we can do for you is give qualified opinions about Dell and HP laptops.

For the right blend of build quality and aesthetically pleasing appearance, HP is the better choice. The performance of HP laptops doesn’t match that of Dell.

So, if you can overlook the outer beauty, Dell makes better-performing laptops. Whether it’s budget laptops, premium Ultrabooks, or gaming beasts, Dell ticks more boxes than HP.

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