So I see Macbooks are really super competitive in price...

[Chiropteran]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834114472

There you go. Same price as the apple, with vastly better specs across the board, with your precious 13" screen.


Fact is apple hardware is overpriced. Sure, you can build a contrived example like you did that makes the apple look like a good deal, but in reality apple computers cost a lot more than equivalents from other manufacturers.

Of course, I can already predict your response.

"That computer is nothing like the apple! It has too much ram and the hard disk is too big! My friend wants a computer with only 1GB of a RAM, and her files are just going to get lost in that huge hard drive!"

 

[bastula]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834114472

There you go. Same price as the apple, with vastly better specs across the board, with your precious 13" screen.


Fact is apple hardware is overpriced. Sure, you can build a contrived example like you did that makes the apple look like a good deal, but in reality apple computers cost a lot more than equivalents from other manufacturers.

Of course, I can already predict your response.

"That computer is nothing like the apple! It has too much ram and the hard disk is too big! My friend wants a computer with only 1GB of a RAM, and her files are just going to get lost in that huge hard drive!"

you pay for what you get for...the macbook has 6 pin firewire, gigabit ethernet, wireless N, bluetooth 2.1, 1" thin, etc.

 

[bearxor]

Originally posted by: TheStu
The point is, if you are looking for budget, go as far away from Apple as possible, it simply does not exist there. However, if you are looking at the MacBook, or MacBook Pro, and actually want the features that it comes with, and you spec out a machine from Dell, Asus, HP, Lenovo, whoever, they all end up within a few hundred dollars of each other. In order to do this though, you don't skimp. You don't put in the 8400m GT instead of the 8600m GT, you don't leave out the bluetooth, or 802.11n. If you have the choice between LED and CCFL backlighting, you choose the LED. You get a fair, even as you can comparison.

This really should have been the end of the thread here. Unfortunately the Anti-Apple Brigade always has to get the last word in.

 

[rikadik]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834114472

There you go. Same price as the apple, with vastly better specs across the board, with your precious 13" screen.


Fact is apple hardware is overpriced. Sure, you can build a contrived example like you did that makes the apple look like a good deal, but in reality apple computers cost a lot more than equivalents from other manufacturers.

That computer is nothing like the apple! It has too much ram and the hard disk is too big! My friend wants a computer with only 1GB of a RAM, and her files are just going to get lost in that huge hard drive!

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834114472

There you go. Same price as the apple, with vastly better specs across the board, with your precious 13" screen.


Fact is apple hardware is overpriced. Sure, you can build a contrived example like you did that makes the apple look like a good deal, but in reality apple computers cost a lot more than equivalents from other manufacturers.

Of course, I can already predict your response.

"That computer is nothing like the apple! It has too much ram and the hard disk is too big! My friend wants a computer with only 1GB of a RAM, and her files are just going to get lost in that huge hard drive!"

So your point being? I said Apple's computers are competitive in price, and that was the bottom line. I'm not saying you necessarily get more for your dollar when you buy an Apple, so yes, that Toshiba has more memory and a larger hard drive. Wonderful. If you love a Toshiba, buy one.

I don't know why people are getting so worked up and have to come to a forum he does not frequent just to troll when somebody puts "competitive" with "Apple" together in a sentence. Apple must be doing something right in our "vote-with-your-wallet" society, as evident in increased marketshares and profitability.

Of course, I can already predict your response.

"That Macbook is nothing like a PC! It's too stylish and trendy and offers really nothing at all! Leopard is as unstable and often even worse than Vista!"

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: bastula

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834114472

There you go. Same price as the apple, with vastly better specs across the board, with your precious 13" screen.


Fact is apple hardware is overpriced. Sure, you can build a contrived example like you did that makes the apple look like a good deal, but in reality apple computers cost a lot more than equivalents from other manufacturers.

Of course, I can already predict your response.

"That computer is nothing like the apple! It has too much ram and the hard disk is too big! My friend wants a computer with only 1GB of a RAM, and her files are just going to get lost in that huge hard drive!"

you pay for what you get for...the macbook has 6 pin firewire, gigabit ethernet, wireless N, bluetooth 2.1, 1" thin, etc.

Don't forget the 64bit OS so you can actually put in and use the 4GB RAM cap, iLife, the best trackpad in the business, and oh yea... its not a freaking Toshiba

 

[sourceninja]

I got 2 new noteboooks at the same time, one personal, one for work.

My work bought me a dell D830 (core 2 duo 2.5ghz) with a high res 15 inch screen, wireless G, intel video, 4 gigs of ram and a 250 gig hard drive.

The bad: It is heavy, the screen is impossible for me to read at native resolution, the track pad is slow and hard to make responsive (either too fast or too slow), windows can not 'use' all the ram (at 32 bit windows), it is very thick, produces a lot of heat, has a switch on the outside that I keep bumping that turns off wireless, and does not have a led backlight.

The good: Docking station port on the bottom!, 4 usb ports, tray loading dvd burner (personal preference), it has that nipple thing you can use to control the mouse.

I bought myself a macbook pro (2.5ghz, 2gigs of ram, wireless N, nvidia 8600M, well you know.

The bad: heat!, slot loading dvd (again personal), no docking port (this really sucks for a pro device), only 2 usb ports

The good: LED screen, much thinner then my dell, lighter then my dell (by at least a pound or two), magnetic power cord, the OS can use 4 gigs of ram (which I am going to upgrade very soon), the screen looks great, the trackpad is the best I've ever used, and two firewire ports (400 and 800).

I've used both for the same period of time. I think the dell was 2300 before my work discount (they paid just under 2000 I think), and my mac was about 2600 after my discount. Personally, I would gladly pay that extra cash for the quality of my macbook even without the freaking awesome OS that comes with it.

 

[manly]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834114472

There you go. Same price as the apple, with vastly better specs across the board, with your precious 13" screen.


Fact is apple hardware is overpriced. Sure, you can build a contrived example like you did that makes the apple look like a good deal, but in reality apple computers cost a lot more than equivalents from other manufacturers.

Of course, I can already predict your response.

"That computer is nothing like the apple! It has too much ram and the hard disk is too big! My friend wants a computer with only 1GB of a RAM, and her files are just going to get lost in that huge hard drive!"

404 Vastly better specs not found.

Yes, that laptop compares favorably to the 2.4 GHz MacBook in specs and costs less. But if the Satellite had the same 2.4 GHz Penryn CPU as the mid-model MacBook, the price difference would be quite small. Toshiba Satellites don't exactly earn any praise for build quality either. You'll need to find a better comparison machine to prove your point.

At the end of the day, it still boils down to whether the user wants Mac OS X. The Back to School iPod promo is a nice bonus (for those who qualify), especially if a redesigned MacBook lands before that offer ends on Sept. 15.

Sure, if you want to save some money, go get a Dell preloaded with Windows Vista Basic.

 

[shocksyde]

I love these back-and-forth Apple arguments.

Here's a crazy idea:

Buy what you want and shuck the fut up about what others prefer. Because that's all it is, a preference.

 

[sourceninja]

I'm sorry, I can't sleep at night without correcting everyone on the internet so they all know how right I am.

 

[Carlis]

All these comparisons miss out a very important aspect; quality. Of course, apple is not the only company that can produce quality computers, but they are always compared with the cheapest brands around. It's long since I went through the low end sector of computers, but back in the day it was all acer, at least where I live. I have owned two acers and they were both garbage. One of them was overheating from the very start and crashed frequently.
I have also had a cheap shuttle. It broke down after 15 months. Not a very cheap computer any more...

I only buy quality computers now a days, because I cannot afford cheap systems. And the amount of work you lose when your system crashes is another extra cost of bad systems. I own a mbp and a pm g4 dual 1.0 today. And if I was broke and needed a computer, I would still not buy a cheap system, I would buy a proper computer on second hand.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I love these back-and-forth Apple arguments.

Here's a crazy idea:

Buy what you want and shuck the fut up about what others prefer. Because that's all it is, a preference.

No one here was saying that everyone should buy an Apple, or anything like that. Rather, we are trying to correct the still present ignorance in tech society which is that Apple is ridiculously overpriced, which I too believed for a long time, until i went shopping for my Mac and found out the reality, which is that post Intel switch, Apple is competitive, and when they release new updates (like the Santa Rosa MacBook Pros) they are usually done so before anyone else. When the SR MBPs dropped, you couldn't buy one from any competitor for about a month, and once you could, you could not find one cheaper, the closest one was about $400 more expensive.

And the Mac Pro has always been competitive if you actually spec out with Xeons.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I love these back-and-forth Apple arguments.

Here's a crazy idea:

Buy what you want and shuck the fut up about what others prefer. Because that's all it is, a preference.

No one here was saying that everyone should buy an Apple, or anything like that. Rather, we are trying to correct the still present ignorance in tech society which is that Apple is ridiculously overpriced, which I too believed for a long time, until i went shopping for my Mac and found out the reality, which is that post Intel switch, Apple is competitive, and when they release new updates (like the Santa Rosa MacBook Pros) they are usually done so before anyone else. When the SR MBPs dropped, you couldn't buy one from any competitor for about a month, and once you could, you could not find one cheaper, the closest one was about $400 more expensive.

And the Mac Pro has always been competitive if you actually spec out with Xeons.

These statements are quite true. The difference with Apple, though, is that they don't update all the time. With Dell, they are constantly adding extra components that you can order, so one day you could go and get a 2.4 Ghz C2D, but the next the 2.8 might be available.

Either way, I still think that Apple Computers are very viable price wise, and the reason being is that I want OS X. No matter what the price difference is right now, you can really only reliably use OS X on Mac computers. So while I might save $200-400 by getting a more custom Dell, OS X is worth that difference in price to me.

So both sides can argue until they are blue in the face about price, but you can't argue about preference. And for some reason, Windows users can't understand why we're so passionate about OS X, and our Macs. To be honest, I'm not sure I understand really, but I know that I love the way everything feels in OS X. I can get work accomplished in Windows, but I just like to work in OS X more.

So call me crazy, call me a Mac-zealot... I really don't care. Because until Apple Computers aren't available, I will be using them.

 

[RESmonkey]

Config a Dell m1530 with a Macbook Pro (to make it even more fair, add teh student discount on the MBP and leave Dell alone). Same specs, with Dell having more features, ends up MBP overpriced by 400-500 dollars.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
Config a Dell m1530 with a Macbook Pro (to make it even more fair, add teh student discount on the MBP and leave Dell alone). Same specs, with Dell having more features, ends up MBP overpriced by 400-500 dollars.

Ugh.. this thread has made me physically tired..

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
Config a Dell m1530 with a Macbook Pro (to make it even more fair, add teh student discount on the MBP and leave Dell alone). Same specs, with Dell having more features, ends up MBP overpriced by 400-500 dollars.

Prove it. I just went to Dell.com, chose the XPS1530, configured it to match as best i could, and it ending up being about the same price as the Apple on student discount.

 

[Kmax82]

I did it, and the Dell came out to $1,858 and the Macbook Pro with the same specs (exception being the 320GB HDD, the MBP had a 250GB) came out to... $2,024.00. So they are close. That's with 4GB of RAM, LED screens, 2.4 Ghz C2D, 256MB 8600GTM, WirelessN, etc...

 

[kalster]

macs arent that overpriced when you consider that you get an operating system that doesnt suck

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: kalster
macs arent that overpriced when you consider that you get an operating system that doesnt suck

Dude, that is so not true! OS X totally su.... wait, I don't even know what I am arguing about anymore

 

[TheEarthWillShake]

Don't anger the pc fan boys. They might start crying.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: kalster
macs arent that overpriced when you consider that you get an operating system that doesnt suck

Dude, that is so not true! OS X totally su.... wait, I don't even know what I am arguing about anymore

Hah! so true.. so true..

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Don't forget the 64bit OS so you can actually put in and use the 4GB RAM cap, iLife, the best trackpad in the business, and oh yea... its not a freaking Toshiba

I'm running a 64 bit OS on my $499 Vostro, that isn't an advantage of Apple hardware.

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: kalster
macs arent that overpriced when you consider that you get an operating system that doesnt suck

Macs come pre-installed with Linux now?

 

[Chiropteran]

And yeah. The problem with all these flawed comparisons is you are taking a specific apple configuration and asking to get an identicle or superior PC configuration. That of course gives apple the advantage, since you are starting with a base configuration that is specific to apple and trying to match it elsewhere.

To turn your example around, go spec a Macbook with specs equal to my $499 Vostro. I don't need more than a 1.9ghz dual core CPU. I don't need more than 1280X800 resolution. I don't need more than an 80GB hard drive, and I was fine with 1GB of RAM. Yet you can't match that laptop with a Mac no matter how hard you try.

Apple loses. Maybe in one specific situation where the exact configuration matches what Apple thinks entry level consumers need the Mac is merely overpriced by 30%, but if you want anything other than the narrowly configured machines at the Apple store you should expect to pay a massive premium.

And go ahead, call me a hater or a PC fanboi. I just ordered a $2800 Mac Pro at work. I still think it's overpriced, but I needed a Mac to learn to support the OS because we have started issuing Macbooks to some employees. There are some situations where the 30%+ price premium is acceptable. That doesn't make Apple price competitive, it just means in situations where price isn't the main concern they can be a viable choice.

 

[Kmax82]

And your point? You bought a $3k machine because you needed to learn OS X? "That" is a bit flawed IMO.