The Apple Mac Cost Misconception

[kennethone]

sorry m8, I can get the specs of the dell XPS for under $1000. In fact I've got the gateway with 512 mb dedicated ATI hd 2600, 4gb of ram, 2ghz core 2 duo and vista 64bit premium for 700 with tax!

 

[Guest]

5.4lbs (Macbook Pro) vs. 10.6lbs (Dell XPS) is not a minor difference. Its basically the difference between a "laptop/notebook" and a "portable". You can't expect to be able to carrying around a 10.6lb computer.

 

[jjmaden]

Since you are familiar with OS X, Vista and Ubuntu please consider doing an unbiased comparison of all 3, including performance comparisons on similarly configured systems.

 

[Guest]

You laptop comparison was horribly invalid. Compare 2 17" laptops and it paints a very different picture.
The Dell XPS m1730 coming in at $2999AUD w/ 2x250GB HDD
Apple Macbook Pro coming in at $4499AUD w/ 1x320GB HDD

And of course if you want to upgrade to a 2.6GHz CPU Dell ask for $248 while Apple want $400, but it's exactly the same component!

 

[veffari]

Article and comments much appreciated reading. I think its fair to try and compare same dollar systems and then compare same-hardware systems. And then compare what you can get as better options to either. I bought a MacBook Pro in 2007. I also use a 2003 ShuttleX with about a $1000 guts, from same year. The Shuttle constantly outperforms the macbook. Tha macbook crashes under heavy use and does not have great ergonomics it has a terrible keyboard that I can´t even type reports on and the battery life is no good. Comparisons between the systems may not offer what really are the differences, the mac generally lets a user go into a program and be a designer or photographer. But this is also a bit of a myth, as an adobe package that I purchased for the mac has to go through some in-between program to actually function on the bloody machine. Mac blames Adobe and so on, Photoshop on mac opens in 45 seconds, while on the 4 year older PC xpc it opens in less than 10 sec. This makes a user end difference beyond the equal dollar here or there. On a PC, the build-end is fantastic but system configuration issues can be terribly distracting from doing real work.
I am just speaking from the end of someone using programs professionally while wanting minimal hardware configurations that I find distracting.
I guess my point is that while I appreciate the comparison, I feel the bottom line isn´t just in the guts or the looks, but is much more nuanced in how a user delivers professional work while using computer as a simple and efficient tool. I am always distracted by either mac or pc.

 

[wancarlos]

I use a quad core PC at work and an 8 core Mac pro and I would love to have the Mac at work. The PC is too glitchy, and slow compared to the PC. I wouldn't swap the Mac for ANY PC. Easy to work inside, looks fab and performs better than ANY PC I have seen!

 

[Guest]

very poorly written article. its not just the facts, but also the horrible writing style.

i've used macs, and personally i would love to own one. not a desktop though, i think macs really win out in the laptop market. the thinkpads and the latest dell precisions may win out in terms of ruggedness, but the macs just feel obsessively well put together. this is something that people notice.

i do however think that price wise (in notebooks) macs are fairly competitive.

naturally if you compare them to other consumer grade notebooks they are more expensive. compare them to other business grade notebooks. like thinkpads, precisions, latitudes, hp elitebooks....

there is minimal price difference for similar spec.

 

[Guest]

wow, it's always amusing to see the Tom's readers so passionately defending against a perceived Mac threat on their holy PC ground. Lighten up. You should realize people that most of the computer users out there, cannot and will not build their own systems. So all your blustering and whining about "go to fry's and find the parts cheaper" is for naught. Not to mention the contradiction in arguements from all of you on the PC side. You have people saying "you're not making even comparisons, waah apples to apple pies..." followed by others saying of course the same parts are gonna cost the same." Point here is that you're paying a premium for niche market hardware and OS. Most PC users want a stable system, with good support, that will let them browse the interwebs, write emails, listen to music, and play with pictures taken from the new christmas digicam. Suck it up, Mac's meet this need better than PC's and with less flippin hassle. Until you build a bunch of these better for cheaper systems for your family and spend a decade expected to be the on call support for each one, don't even bother toting the superiority of building PC's yourself, because it's not something most people do, as I said already. Your granny is gonna blow her money on a crappy prebuilt system, try and get help from india, and end up calling you. Get her a mac, save her the damn trouble.

 

[Guest]

As to why anyone want 8 cores. It's simple I run lots of programs at the same time and I'd like as many as possible to use separate cpus. Why share the cpu? The Mac Pro should not be compared against a gaming machine but against it's real competitor a workstation; which is what it is. 8 cores, 4 video cards and what's that 16GB ECC ram. When your processing video you don't need the machine to crash4 hours into a 4hr 10min rendering. You've just lost $$ on that one activity.

 

[Guest]

You can compare the two systems as much as you like, and you'll find that MACs give more for their price than PCs do.... but MAC is a system that is meant to be visually impressive, and that it is. That extra nice looking graphics also comes at a HEAVY price on the pc processor. Now, if you wanted to re-compare the two systems while subtracting from each what the graphical part takes up, you'll find that MACs come up short in comparison. Of course, if you don't a computer that much, you wouldn't really care anyway.

 

[Guest]

Will you guys give it a rest. LOL!!! PC is better than MAC? Who cares. Anybody wanting to buy a MAC can go ahead and buy a MAC!!! It's there own fault then right? You don't have to give them crap for it. LOL!! GEEZ, Most of you guys come off sounding like you are jealous and are trying to justify why you buy PC instead of MAC. ACER sucks!!! DELL is better!!!! That's what it sounds like. I think the joke is on us PC users... I hardly ever see any MAC users in these comments bitching away at something or someone. I suspect they have better things to do than accusing an author of a computer review site that he is a MAC FANBOY. Also I'm sure people don't buy MACS to be "cool". If you remember high school at all, being made fun of doesn't make you cool does it? Buy a MAC be cool... that's the stupidest thing I have ever heard.LOL!! I don't know if any of you have noticed this but who are you arguing with? LOL!!! It's not MAC users that's for sure. PC guys definitely have some social skill problems and for some reason we think everyone is entitled to our opinions or should I say DELL users or Acer uses or HP users. Remember MACs are reliable and yeah you can get a lemon in any product but I think people that buy from apple have that computer for a long time. Add up everything you have ever spent on your computer. Repairs, upgrades, monitors, video cards and anything else you had to purchase. I don't now about you but mine sure added up in a hurry and I don't even keep up with the latest stuff. Maybe I should get a MAC. LOL!!! Maybe YOU should get a MAC. LOL!!!! Seriously guys... shut up already.

 

[Guest]

My comment was aimed at the very first comments... the ones that only get read. No offense to us at the back but I doubt anybody reads 43 pages of comments on a MAC VS PC debate.LOL!! They kind of sound the same after about 10 comments.

 

[gxsolace]

[citation][nom]Anonymous[/nom]Will you guys give it a rest. LOL!!! PC is better than MAC? Who cares. Anybody wanting to buy a MAC can go ahead and buy a MAC!!! It's there own fault then right? You don't have to give them crap for it. LOL!! GEEZ, Most of you guys come off sounding like you are jealous and are trying to justify why you buy PC instead of MAC. ACER sucks!!! DELL is better!!!! That's what it sounds like. I think the joke is on us PC users... I hardly ever see any MAC users in these comments bitching away at something or someone. I suspect they have better things to do than accusing an author of a computer review site that he is a MAC FANBOY. Also I'm sure people don't buy MACS to be "cool". If you remember high school at all, being made fun of doesn't make you cool does it? Buy a MAC be cool... that's the stupidest thing I have ever heard.LOL!! I don't know if any of you have noticed this but who are you arguing with? LOL!!! It's not MAC users that's for sure. PC guys definitely have some social skill problems and for some reason we think everyone is entitled to our opinions or should I say DELL users or Acer uses or HP users. Remember MACs are reliable and yeah you can get a lemon in any product but I think people that buy from apple have that computer for a long time. Add up everything you have ever spent on your computer. Repairs, upgrades, monitors, video cards and anything else you had to purchase. I don't now about you but mine sure added up in a hurry and I don't even keep up with the latest stuff. Maybe I should get a MAC. LOL!!! Maybe YOU should get a MAC. LOL!!!! Seriously guys... shut up already.[/citation]

Best comment ever.

 

[Guest]

You are a total liar sir! Talk about a total mac fan boy, those prices are so overpriced to try and make it look like the systems would be the same. Intel Xeon X3360 Yorkfield 2.83GHz x 2$1109.98! Not! 2 of those bad boys are selling for like $700. The ram is selling for 50 bucks. I can't imagine how many other prices he got from last year and tried to claim as recent prices.

 

[gxsolace]

@kingpin2k: this article was posted in August dude. Prices have changed.

 

[Guest]

The comparison between Dell and Apple was horrible. First of all, Dell's are already overpriced, AND you're comparing a 17" desktop replacement to a 15.4" media laptop...

I've done 2 comparisons between MBP and Asus laptops before (MV50-B1 vs last gen MBP was my last comparison, before new MBP's were released). For a better CPU, GPU, and RAM speed, with almost identical specs elsewhere, the ASUS always comes $900-1300 cheaper (about 40%). THAT is EXTREMELY ridiculous. Dell's are pretty expensive too, but those of us who know where to find deals (on sale dells or other brands) get MUCH better prices than macbook pro's

Mac Pro... yes... the most "general consumer" product to compare between Mac and PC. Who pays retail for Vista anyways???
Have you tried comparing prices on a iMac to a similar PC? I won't even get started.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Apple's OS. I've used it as my main OS (read: on my PC!!!) for a few months, and it is a decent operating system. I switched back to windows because I can't afford half a gig of RAM to run WLM on XP in VMware, and there's nothing I can do on a Mac that I can't do on Vista (and Vista looks nicer).

The three things I can't stand about Apple are:
1. Their excessive "we're SO much better, you're all retards if you're not one of us" marketing is absolutely sickening
2. Their fanboys that actually believe it
3. Their ridiculous price

In case you're wondering, I don't particularly like PC-fanboys either (i.e. "I hate mac and linux, windows ftw!!)

 

[THE CANARIS]

THE PC GUY: "Oh, gee! I have a Ford Fiesta and I pitty all of you with Ferraris, I pitty you fools! I'm way cooler with my Fiesta, really. What hand-built Ferraris, what fine leather Bentleys, what ultra-fast BMWs? Who gives a flying toss about design? I just want the cheapest computer around, the smallest condo in town and the ugliest chick available. And I'm happy. Also, I'd never buy an inflatable woman (or sheep, for that matter): my hand is cheaper. As for computers, we PC users never buy something expensive or fancy-looking - that's why boutique-companies like Alienware and Voodoo cannot make money on our back and are on the verge of bancruptcy... gosh."

THE PC GUY WITH BRAINS (AND A FIESTA): "Ahem... yo, iSteve... listen, mate, I'll buy a mac. But I'll buy upgrades from you only if you'll buy my Fiesta like it would be a Ferrari."

THE MAC GUY: "Uuuh, it's nice... very nice... What? What do you mean what is it good for?! IT'S NICE! See how nice it looks? And sleek. And thin. And light. And... nice. (Calling a PC-user friend): Dude, how do I open Firefox? No firefox?!"

CONCLUSION: Get on with your lives. What do you care if some guy chooses to pay more for a computer? It's his money and you should be mature enough NOT to be jealous. And if you're self-confident enough, you won't care if he thinks his mac is better than your PC.

 

[tipoo]

the most popular mac wasnt included in this comparison...

 

[sacados]

I just priced almost identical items at Newegg.com. Seems like the CPU price above is WAY OFF. My total comes to $1791.85. You can save $1000 on a base build AND reuse these items for future Mac builds, so I think it's still a better deal to build your own:
Intel Xeon X3360 Yorkfield 2.83GHz x 2 - $289.99 (each)
Supermicro MBD-X7DWE-O Dual LGA 771 - 379.99
Kingston HyperX 2 GB ECC FB-DIMM - 77.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM - 59.99
SAPPHIRE 100233L Radeon HD 3450 256MB 64-bit - 29.99
Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 - 27.99
Cirago BTA Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR USB - 19.99
SYBA 1394a FireWire400 controller - 12. 99
SYBA 1394b FireWire800 Controller - around 36.99
Lite-On DL-DVD Burner - 26.99
Lian-Li PC-A71A Aluminum Full Tower (more expensive than one needs) - $219.99
Thermaltake Toughpower W0155RU - $319.99
Keytronic E06101USBC Keyboard (all you need is an $8 Logitech USB keyboard) - $38.99
Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical - $13.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (or just use what you already have) - 235.99

 

[Guest]

"point a to point b"...MAC could never do it. No software for my GPS, no decent games, no Picasa. Remote control software for a MAC? $600 plus. Free with XP Pro. Macs are all talk, no action.

 

[bundook]

comparing prices between countries doesn't work very well for PC components and even less so for Apple. markets and prices are different. do your own comparisons, if you could be bothered. price changes are passed on at different rates in different countries.

 

[roadrunner343]

I very rarely post here. In fact, I was a regular at Tom's for years before I even signed up for an account. I loved reading the tech articles and staying up to date with technology.

Lately however, things have been declining rapidly. I do not say this lightly, Tuan, and I am not trying to stoop to the level of flaming. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst articles I have ever read here. What makes it worse is your attitude about the entire article.

Had you shut your mouth and not foolishly argued over things you were clearly wrong about (The 8700 Specs for example) I would have much more respect for you. However, you repeatedly told people they were not forced to read here, they didn't pay for it, the reading was free, etc... You should most definitely, without a doubt be fired! We do not pay to read here, no. However, we are your target audience. Without us, you have no job. Tom's has always been the best place for me to get my tech news. For you to blatantly attempt to toss your reader base aside like that is just wrong. If you are so unconcerned with who reads your articles, by all means post your supervisors contact information and I will be more than happy to write a detailed explanation of why you should be relieved of your duties at Tom's. You disgust me, Tuan.

 

[Illmatix]

Macs are good,but when it comes to gaming, I want a pc for the graphics.
Macs are just as they seem, pricy but fast reliable and long lasting.

So Hey you get what cha pay for!

 

[eodeo]

Everyone pays for their ignorance. Some pay more than others and there are far worse mistakes than overpaying for mediocre hardware.

 

[Illmatix]

??? If your calling me ignorant then blah. But I like my mac