On 4 Mar 2006 at 17:35, Darcy James Argue wrote: > On 04 Mar 2006, at 2:15 PM, David W. Fenton wrote: > > > On 4 Mar 2006 at 3:19, Darcy James Argue wrote: > > > >> If you match the hardware > >> feature-for-feature, Macs are actually competitive with similar > >> WinTel hardware. > > > > I'd actually be interested in someone offering proof of that (i.e., > > making up quotes for a Mac and a corresponding Dell PC). > > Well, for instance, the Dell Inspirion 9400 notebook uses the same > Intel Core Duo processor as the Mac Book Pro. > > When configured to match specs as closely as possible to the low-end > MacBook Pro (1.83 GHz, real video card and not "integrated graphics," > Bluetooth, etc), the Dell costs $2198 -- $99 *more* than a MacBook > Pro 1.83 GHz. (I added a 100 GB HD to the MacBook Pro to match what > Dell offers, which raises the price of the low-end MacBook to $2099).
I was thinking about desktops, not laptops, as Dell laptops have always been problematic, in my opinion. Also, laptops are less configurable than desktops, which makes a straight comparison harder. > It's true that the Dell has a larger screen -- 17" vs 15.4" (although > my impression is that the Apple notebooks have much better quality > LCD's than the Dells). And it's true that once you add a video card > to the Dell, it's a better video card, with twice the VRAM of the one > that comes with the MacBook Pro. To me, the larger screen is worth a lot more than the price difference. Seems to me that you're getting quite a lot on the Dell for that extra $99. Also, keep in mind that if Dell designed that laptop's motherboard to incorporate the better graphics card, it would probably cost less than the Mac. Now, in terms of Dell's laptop lines, the $2,198 machine is not the top of the line, but its far from the cheapest laptop you can get from them. But you describe the corresponding Mac as the low end of the MacPro laptop line. So, this tends to support my point that the lower-end Macs are more like the middle of the PC market in terms of specs and price. If all you do is compare the lowest-price Mac to the lowest-price PC, you're going to think a Mac is far, far more expensive. But if you compare it to a comparably equipped PC, it's not going to be as much of a difference. -- David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
