The Apple Mac Cost Misconception

[LoboBrancoTimido]

Tuan Nguyen I give you a big ZERO in this article!

 

[russki]

Everyone comparing Macbook Pros to HP's and Dell's are forgetting the fact that:

1. HP and Dell are the shoddiest, cheapest, poorest manufacturers on the planet.
2. The Mac is much thinner, which raises the cost.
3. Vista is crap and XP is obsolete.

Nikki, I can only assume that you're an 18-year-old female from your handle. If that is the case, you are, unfortunately, playing into every negative stereotype of these two groups by this post.

1. HP's quality is so-so; Dell's is quite ok; both are able to produce enterprise-level PCs which are quite solid.

If I'm not mistaken (and I very well may be), I think Apple uses Asus as either OEM manufacturer and / or for a lot of parts, and Asus' laptops are of much lesser quality.

Your point about thinner may apply, but only in some cases (MBA); there are other usability tradeoffs that are often made when moving to thin chassis.

Lastly, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to OSes, so I would suggest you put a cap on that spout of yours.

 

[KyleSTL]

But for everyone else, Macs appear very expensive, because one size just doesn't fit all.

That's why their selection is laughably small and options are virtually non-existant (especially in comparison to the almost limitless Windows configurations that are available from all the vendors).

- cheap, underpowered SFF (Mac Mini)
- moderately priced desktop in special case (iMac)
- server/workstation (Mac Pro)
- very expensive ultra-portable with limited usability - read: DVD-less (Macbook Air)
- moderately priced laptop (Macbook)
- absurdly overpriced high-end laptop (Macbook Pro)

All of which include an OS with a small amount of programs written for it, virtually no gaming and a very small userbase/market share (<8%). Why do you think Apple has enabled Windows to boot on their machines? Think about it (but not too hard).

 

[Narg]

Error on Dell XPS configuration, the XPS nVidia 8700m GT is a 512MB dedicated memory video option, not shared memory. This shows how much Mac zealots know about PCs. NOTHING!

 

[nukemaster]

Everyone comparing Macbook Pros to HP's and Dell's are forgetting the fact that:

1. HP and Dell are the shoddiest, cheapest, poorest manufacturers on the planet.
2. The Mac is much thinner, which raises the cost.
3. Vista is crap and XP is obsolete.

1. HP computer are just fine, They use Asus boards(in case you do not know Asus takes top honors almost every year hear on THG). I have NEVER seen any hp computer die. Even after years of abuse.
2. The laptop in the article is THINNER(0.70 vs 0.75) then the air. The thickest point is normally what matters not the thin front. Remember when CD players did that to "Look" thin? it did not make the amount or space taken any smaller. Can you slide the air into a shelf that has a 0.73inch gap? No, yet that Voodoo will slide right on in.
3.Obviously you have not used Vista(need we remember the bugs Apple released with? Its not much news as there are only a fraction of the users)? XP still has a while left in it. For how long XP lasted, how can you complain?

Fail much?

 

[GlItCh017]

Leave myths to the Mythbusters Toms Hardware!
Tuan Nguyen = Fail

 

[invlem]

The biggest issue with any of these big time vendors like Mac, Dell, IBM, etc. Is upgrading the base model.

The base model of anything these vendors sell is generally a good deal, when you start upgrading or adding components, that's where the price ownage begins. Dell will charge you over $350 for an extra TB SATA drive whereas you could pick up a similar drive from an etailor for less than $150

 

[nukemaster]

Leave myths to the Mythbusters Toms Hardware!
Tuan Nguyen = Fail

Good point

 

[scipio_CA]

This guy is very hard to follow. Is he the same guy who wrote the article about why he keeps his PC but uses a MAC as his primary computer? That article was similarly difficult to follow.

 

[lawrence56073]

One thing that they didnt compare is the cost of repairing a mac. Motherboard prices are thru the roof, and power supplies for their desktop units are 5 times the cost of a good pc power supply. Buying a logic board and cpu on a power pc can easily cost more than buying a whole new machine. Check out the forums on apples site if you don't believe me.

 

[cabose369]

Are you serious.... you compare an Apple to a GAMING machine....

Ok so for a fair test... Let's run Call of Duty 4 on a PC and then run it on a MAC and see which runs better..... oh wait... can't run it on a MAC. Ok, how about UT3... oh wait, can't run that either... you can't game on a MAC.

FYI that Dell XPS is a colossal rip off.

HP DV7-1038
Intel Centrino 2 P7350@2.2GHZ
4GB RAM
320GB HDD
Nvidia 9600M GT Graphics
Blu-Ray Player (Mac does not have) and DVD Burner
HDMI Port (Mac doesn't have)
HD Realtek Audio
2.0 Megapixel Webcam
1920x1200 screen res.
Altec Lansing Speakers (Mac doesn't have)
Wireless-N
Bluetooth
Remote
7.0lbs
17.0"
Reg Retail Price: $1399.99 CDN
On Sale Retail Price: $1299.99 CDN

Mac... eat your heart out

or

20" HP
Same as above except
Penryn Processor
Nvidia 8800GTS Graphics Card
500 GB HDD

Reatil: $1699.99 CDN

That OWNS the Macbook pro by a country mile!!

 

[cabose369]

oh and if you are gonna run boot camp and put xp/vista on it good luck finding drivers for the mac hardware (graphics cards, etc.).

 

[Guest]

This has made me have second thoughts about Toms, simply because anybody who has been around knows for a FACT that apple computers are far more expensive, this was designed to be misleading. I bought a laptop from bestbuy for 400 bux that has similar specs to my macbook.

 

[HunterNIN]

Great unbiased article. I don't like Mac personally, and after years of Windows usage, I'm a Linux fan these days. Whether or not your personal opinion leans one way or another, it is good to base decisions on fact rather than fiction. Even if you hate Mac, you gotta tell it like it is, which exactly what this article did. You have my respect.

 

[omenowl]

[citation][nom]cabose369[/nom]oh and if you are gonna run boot camp and put xp/vista on it good luck finding drivers for the mac hardware (graphics cards, etc.).[/citation]

I run bootcamp and my vista install was as smooth as silk on the macbook pro. The Leopard CD had all the drivers. I installed the base vista and then popped in my Leopard CD and it updated all the drivers. This was 4 months ago so this is not a new thing.

As for cost you still have to compare as close to identical specs as you can get. When I priced out the high end laptops from dell to those from Apple 5 months ago they were within 5% of each other. This of course was when the new macbook pro specs came out. They have not been updated so there will be a bigger difference until the next iteration in a month or so.

As for Dell, HP and Apple costs a lot of what you are paying for is service and warranty. Yes, I can have a warranty on my parts individually if I home build, but it is nice to have a technician replace the part and the OEM pay for the service, replacement part and shipping. Not a big deal if you are a tech savy home user with a spare computer. It makes a huge difference with those users have 1 system who don't understand or are afraid of computers.

And yes I have worked tech support you would be amazed by the people who cried because the computer wouldn't boot (they had a floppy in the drive). These people are the ones OEMs target.

 

[tkphill]

Macs Cost Double. This Is News To Anyone?

http://www.hothardware.com/News/Macs_Cost_Double_This_Is_News_To_Anyone/

 

[Antioch18]

Yea, seriously. I applaud the coincidence of the "PCs are on average 50% cheaper than Mac" article that's been floating around the net today, and this "article." Tuan, nice try but the world in general knows better than you.

Seriously though, has this guy been fired yet? I'd like to know of any backlash relating to this story. Not for har-har's, but I'm seriously concerned.

 

[space_pope]

Hot Hardware took a look at this same question and guess what they found? Mac is twice the cost of PC! Something everyone already knows, but Tuan can't seem to figure out. They actually did real tech journalism and contacted Market research firm NPD to talk to experts about pricing. The simple fact is that Apple chooses to price their hardware at twice the price of comparable PCs. I get that they're designed well and look cool, and I actually want to try out OSX, but not until they stop trying to rip off consumers.

 

[tleavit]

The author’s article is flawed. Dell is primarily a Business driven company. What that means is that you posted a comparison with a $2000 Dell. With my business discount, I get the same Dell for about $1200-$1400 bucks. That of course constitutes probably 90%+ of Dell's business. Let’s see Mac pricing top that.

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

I read the first page of comments and i think pretty much sums what I think of this Mac Fanboy.

Go price out a Mac with a Xeon 2.8ghz with 8 gigs of RAM, 2x 500gig drives, dvd burner, 8800 GTS (G92), a 64bit OS, for under 2 grand. let me know when you find one. That's my system and that's how much I paid. less than 2 grand.

*doesn't hold his breath*

 

[eodeo]

*doesn't hold his breath*

no reason why you should 😀

 

[Guest]

it seen to me that the author has too much money and dunno where to spend ...


*(to the author) oo . .u wrote the article about "why u keep your pc when u goes mac" ? if u dun want your pc hardware . . give them to me .. .

 

[gxsolace]

[citation][nom]ChaohsiangChen[/nom]Didn't see any none mac on that article. Only Power Mac vs Intel Mac. They did what Tom's should have done in the first place, and they didn't even try to proselyting anybody to covert.[/citation]

Did you not see the Dell Precision he compared to? People appear to be highly selective of what they want to read. It's right on the first page.

 

[gxsolace]

[citation][nom]space_pope[/nom]Hot Hardware took a look at this same question and guess what they found? Mac is twice the cost of PC! Something everyone already knows, but Tuan can't seem to figure out. They actually did real tech journalism and contacted Market research firm NPD to talk to experts about pricing. The simple fact is that Apple chooses to price their hardware at twice the price of comparable PCs. I get that they're designed well and look cool, and I actually want to try out OSX, but not until they stop trying to rip off consumers.[/citation]

uh that's not hothardware's study, that's ndp groups's, and they compared a dual quad-core xeon mac to a $500 pc... right.

 

[Symington]

I think some of the key points that have been missed are as follows:
1.) Users that buy a Dell or Apple desktop rather than build their own are not speedfreaks in the sense that they wish to have the highest performance for the dollar.
2.) Apple technology standardizes on each build in the sense that memory sold in an Apple desktop will be the same over the life of the product. Buying an existing model that has been around for 6 months might lock you into living with 800MHZ DDR2 with 8-8-8 timings as opposed to PC-8500 @ 5-5-5 for a quarter of the price of the Apple upgrade option. Even if you buy the memory upgrade for you Apple third-party; you will not have the benefit of changing your timings and manipulating frequencies in your BIOS to reap the benefit.
3.) IF you could - what would the warranty implications be!? Most people that buy a mainstream packaged system do so because they don't know what they are doing/don't want grief or want some peace of mind (which comes in the form of a 1 year to 3 year next-business-day onsite warranty in the case of Dell).
4.) Does Apple come to your house the next day and replace your faulty components!?
5.) I own a PC because I just want one machine that does everything. I play games, edit movies and use media centre on Vista. I need an Apple so I can do "some" of these things on another machine? Why not just buy another PC that does everything again?