Originally posted by: DerSoldat
Originally posted by: Commodus
Originally posted by: DerSoldat
forgive me for what i am about to say but, for 1700 you could blow whatever mac there is at that price out the water (with a pc).
again, i apologize
Only... not.
The main thing is that there's no factory-fresh MacBook at the $1700 mark, so you can't really do a direct comparison. It's Apple's loss in that there's a chasm between $1500 and $2000. A refurb MacBook Pro at that price could actually be very fast at that price, but wouldn't meet this guy's criteria.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're definitely drawing on the "Macs are always more expensive" myth. Rather than explain, I'll just compare specs between systems:
Apple 2GHz MacBook (white)
- 13.3" 1280x800 screen
- 2GHz Core 2 Duo
- 1GB of RAM
- 80GB hard drive
- Dual-layer DVD+/-RW drive
- Bluetooth
- 802.11a/b/g/n wireless
- iSight webcam
- Front Row + Apple Remote (always standard!)
- Mac OS X + recovery DVD
- iLife (GarageBand, iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iWeb)
- $1299
HP dv2000t
- 14.1" 1280x800 screen
- 2GHz Core 2 Duo
- 1GB of RAM
- 80GB hard drive (temporary 120GB promo on right now)
- Dual-layer DVD+/-RW drive
Bluetooth
- 802.11a/b/g wireless (no 802.11n option)
- webcam
- HP Mobile Remote Control ExpressCard
- Vista Home Premium (needed for Front Row-equivalent Media Center)
- recovery DVD (a $19 option, ugh)
- Works 8
- $1282.98... after a $100 discount.
So don't be too quick to assume Fin's wife gets a worse deal by going Mac.
lol. . . "this guys criteria" ? it's okay to talk directly to me. even if we are on the opposite side of the mac pc schism. . . (like dems and repubs some time). and no i'm not playing off the myth. actually now that macs are more like pc's (componentwise Intel etc) the difference is less noticable and the comparison that i had in mind (simply decided not to post it) was this. (i also realized that there was no mac priced at the 1700 price point).
i'll use the mac in your example
Apple 2GHz MacBook
- 13.3" 1280x800 screen
- 2GHz Core 2 Duo
- 1GB of RAM
- 80GB hard drive
- Dual-layer DVD+/-RW drive
- Bluetooth
- 802.11a/b/g/n wireless
- iSight webcam
- Front Row + Apple Remote (always standard!)
- Mac OS X + recovery DVD
- iLife (GarageBand, iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iWeb)
- $1299
VERSUS
ASUS A8 Series A8JP
- 14.1" WXGA+ 1440 x 900 native res
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.00GHz
- 1GB DDR2
- 120GB HD
- DVD Super Multi
- Bluetooth
- 802.11a/b/g wirless
- webcam
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1700 256MB (512MB 'Hypermemory')
- ASUSDVD 6.0, Power Director V3.0 DE, Medi Show V2.0 SE, Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2005, NERO Express V6.0 etc, etc, etc
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Carry bag and optical mouse
- 2 years warranty
- $1,298.99
the only place where the ASUS falls short is wireless n compatibility and the remote? am i right? which can be had for an additional 20 (the notebook does have IrDA). i checked and even the mem config it the same: 512 x2. which is a mutual disadvantage. the difference in native resolution is big in my opinion; not as big as the additional 40GB with the hard drive, because you can upgrade at anytime unlike the LCD. DVD super multi is an advantage if the mac can't use DVD-RAMs which i actually find useful. i think also i read in someone's review saying that the notebook had Lightscribe cap. ASUS must have some confidence in their build quality because this is the only notebook that i can remember recently having a standard 2 year warranty. they throw in an optical mouse and a somewhat cheesy bag too. but the nut that broke the gerbil's tooth is that X1700. i don't need to tell you that the mac's GMA950 is not even close to compitition.
even with the hp example you gave (which actually configs out to 1,243 not 1282.98 and the discout is instant so there is no need to mention it) you have the option of a custom config. if you're feeling industrious you can have the thing made sans processor and memory buy the stuff yourself and install it yourself. this would save you an additional ~150.
getting a mac is only a worse deal if you belive it is. if you justify it then it's worth it to you. for some people that ASUS, loaded as it is, is not enough to make the difference between that mac they want. an with other people, who require those unique, nobody-else-has-got-it items, they wouldn't be caught dead with that milky white mac.
welp, thas all i have to say. i knew i prolly shoulda jus not said anything, sometimes i can't help it though.