-It's Intel based, which probably means Intel HDA for audio, which

typically means poor DAC and unpredictable realtime performance. You'll

probably want to get an external soundcard of some kind.

Am I a typical spoiled Mac user then who assumes that the laptop comes with a soundcard and it's simply a matter of plugging speakers into the headphone slot? It seems I'm too naive.

The reason I want a Dell is to save money, but if I have to buy an expensive sound card this might be false economy...