$1100 Notebook Shootout - Apple vs. PC

System Shootouts ^ | 5/16/2006 | Charles Gaba

[Swordmaker]

System head to head comparison of equally priced and configured Notebook Mac and PC computers available for sale right now in the $1100 price range. Apple MacBook vs. Dell Inspirion E1405 (+ additions).

Apple MacBook - Intel Core Duo

Dell Inspirion E1405 - Intel Core Duo

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by Charles Gaba

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Date Configured: 5/16/06

Best of Field
(in my opinion)

Apple 1.83 GHz MacBook (stock model)

Dell Inspiron E1405 (with add-ons)

Dimensions:

120 cubic in; 1.1" x 12.3" x 8.9"

187 cubic in. 1.5" x 13.0" x 9.6"

Weight: (all bays filled)

5.2 lbs

"starting at" 5.3 lbs.

Battery Life:

up to 6 hrs. (55 WHr LiON battery)

unknown; assuming up to 6 hrs
(53 WHr LiON battery)

Keyboard/Trackpad:

Scrolling trackpad

Scrolling Trackpad

Preventative Safety:

Sudden Motion Sensor;
MagSafe power adapter

--

Processor: (Notes)

1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo

1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo

L2 Cache:

2.0 MB

2.0 MB

RAM Type:

DDR2 -SDRAM PC2-5300 (667 MHz)

DDR2 -SDRAM PC2-5300 (533 MHz)

Front Side Bus:

667 MHz

667 MHz

RAM Included:

512 GB (2 DIMMs)

512 GB (1 DIMM)

Max. RAM:

2.0 GB (2 slots)

2.0 GB (2 slots)

Hard Drive Capacity:

60 GB

60 GB

Hard Drive Type:

Serial ATA/100

Serial ATA/100

Hard Drive Speed:

5400 RPM

5400 RPM

CD:

24x16x24x

24x24x24x CD-RW

DVD:

8x DVD-ROM

8x DVD-ROM

Floppy/Other Drive:

--

Flash Memory Slot

PCMCIA Slot?

--

(unclear; may include ExpressCard/34 slot)

Bay Type:

Fixed

Fixed

USB Ports:

2 USB 2.0 ports

4 USB 2.0 ports

FireWire Ports:

1 port @ 400 Mbps (6-pin)

1 port @ 400 Mbps (4-pin)

Legacy Ports:

--

--

Infrared:

Yes

Yes

Video Card:

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Video RAM:

64 MB DDR-SDRAM (shared)

(unknown; assuming 64 MB DDR shared)

Dual-Disp. Supp:

Mirroring & Spanning

Mirroring & Spanning

VGA Out:

via optional adapter

Yes

DVI Out:

via optional adapter

--

S-Video Out:

via optional adapter

Yes

RCA Out:

via optional adapter

--

Display:

13.3" TFT XGA (widescreen)

14.1" TFT XGA (widescreen)

Brightness:

250 cd/m

185 cd/m

Native Res:

1280 x 800 (1.0 Mpx)

1280 x 800 (1.0 Mpx)

Max. External Res:

1920 x 1200 (2.3 Mpx)

(unkown; assuming 1920 x 1200 (2.3 Mpx))

Audio In:

Built-in mic; Analog In; Optical Digital Audio In

Line-in; USB mic support

Audio Out:

Headphone; Analog Out; Optical Digital Audio Out

Speaker/HP jack/line-out; USB speaker support

Stereo Speakers:

Yes

Yes

Video Camera:

integrated iSight video camera

--

Ethernet:

10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet

10/100 Base-T Ethernet

56k Modem:

optional USB modem available

56k v.92 fax/modem

Wi-Fi Card:

Integrated 802.11a/b/g (54 Mbps) card

Integrated 802.11a/b/g (54 Mbps) card

Bluetooth Wireless?

Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 card + EDR (3 Mbps)

Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 card + EDR (3 Mbps)

Hardware Extras

Apple Remote Control

Media Center Remote Control

Included OS:

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger;

BSD Unix; X11 Window System

Windows XP Media Center Edition

Windows Support:

DOS/95/98/ME/2K/NT/XP (Beta, via BootCamp)
or via optional Parallels WorkStation

DOS/95/98/ME/2K/NT/XP
(Native, official, fully supported)

Mac Support:

OS X (Native)

Mac OS 8 only (via emulation)

Unix/Linux Support:

Various flavors (Native)

Realtime Metadata Search/Organization:

Spotlight (system-wide)

(includes Smart Folders, Content Search, etc)

(Google desktop search available)

Modular Desktop Utilities:

Dashboard (system-wide)

(Konfabulator available as free download)

Task Scripting:

Automator/AppleScript (system-wide)

Windows Script Host

Save-as PDF:

Native (any file) w/variable settings

--

Zero-Config Networking:

Bonjour (system-wide)

(Bonjour available as free dl)

Handwriting Recognition

Inkwell (system-wide)

--

Voice/Speech Recog.:

Voiceover (system-wide)

(limited to certain non-core apps)

Web Serving:

Apache w/Perl, Python & PHP included

(XP Pro only)

Data Backup Utility:

(iBackup, PsyncX, etc. available as free download)

Included

Developer Tools:

Xcode, Script Editor, etc.

(free download of compiler/linker/diff tools)

File Compression:

System-wide Zip compression

System-wide Zip compression

File Encryption:

FileVault encryption

(XP Pro only)

Word Processor

TextEdit (Word compatible)
iWork Pages Trial; MSFT Word Trial

or OpenOffice (free download; Word comp.)

NotePad; WordPerfect 12 (Word comp.)
or OpenOffice (free download; Word comp.)

Spreadsheet:

MSFT Excel Trial
OpenOffice (free download; Excel comp.)

OpenOffice (free download; Excel comp.)

Presentation:

iWork Keynote Trial; MSFT PowerPoint Trial

or OpenOffice (free download; PwrPt. compatible)

OpenOffice (free download; PwrPt. comp.)

Database:

--

--

Drawing/Painting:

--

--

Page Layout/Publishing:

Comic Life

--

Website Authoring:

iWeb 1.0

--

Font Management:

FontBook 2.0

no on-the-fly font enabling/disabling

Projects/Planning:

OmniOutliner

--

Web Browser:

Safari RSS 2.0

Internet Explorer 6.5

Image/PDF Viewer:

Preview 3.0

Image Viewer/Adobe Reader

E-Mail/Address Book:

OS X Mail / Address Book
MSFT Entourage Trial

Outlook Express

Calendar Program:

iCal 2.0

--

Data Synchronization:

iSync 2.0

--

System Data Transfer:

System Migration Assistant

Settings Transfer Wizard

Chat/AV Conferencing:

iChat AV 3.0
(ICQ, MSN, Yahoo avail. as free downloads)

Windows Messenger
(ICQ, AOL, Yahoo avail. as free downloads)

Media Players:

Front Row; Quicktime 7.0; DVD Player 4.5
(WMP & RealPlayer avail as free dl)

Media Center Software; WMP 10;
Cyberlink DVD Player
(QuickTime & RealPlayer available as free dl)

DVR Software:

(via optional ElGato software)

Media Center Edition Software

Financial:

--

--

Reference:

Dictionary/Thesaurus; Sherlock 3.0
(various free online resources available)

(various free online resources available)

Digital Photography:

iPhoto 6.0; PhotoBooth; ImageCapture

Google Picassa free download

Digital Video Editing:

iMovie HD 6.0

MSFT MovieMaker 2

CD Burning/Music:

iTunes 6.0; Disc Burner

XP Disk Burning; Sonic RecordNow
MusicMatch; iTunes 6.0 free download

Audio Engineering:

GarageBand 3.0

--

DVD Burning/Authoring:

iDVD 6.0; Disk Burner

XP Disk Burning

Games Included:

Chess; Big Bang Board Games (asstd.)

Mine Sweeper, Assorted other games

Total Software Titles Available:

"Less" (no specific numbers; thousands available)

"More" (no specific numbers; thousands available)

(Note: If Windows is installed on the Mac via BootCamp, it has more titles available; if not, it has fewer)

Additional Software:

Asstd. system software

Free Services:

1 month .Mac trial

6 month AOL dialup

Viruses/Trojans/Worms:

No true malicious viruses known
which affect Mac OS X.

Between 1,200 - 70,000 known viruses
(depending on your source)
PC-cillin Internet Security: AntiVirus, Firewall, Spyware removal (15 months)

Security Alerts:
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy

In General: far less common,
far less serious, fixed more quickly.

In General: far more common,
far more serious, fixed less quickly.

Firewall:

Built-in

Warranty:

1 yr. ltd./mail-in; 90 days phone

1 yr. ltd./at-home; 1 yr phone

Customer Service:

Scored 74% by Consumer Reports

(Highest Rating)

Scored 62% by Consumer Reports

Subtotal:

Base system price: $1,099

Base system price $849
+ CoreDuo upgrade: $50
+ 1.83 GHz CoreDuo upgrade: $100
+ XP Media Center Ed. Reinstall CD: $10
+ Remote Control for Media Center: $29
+ Intel PRO/3945 802.11a/g upgrade: $29
+ Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth 2.0 upgrade: $49
+ PC-cillin Internet Security upgrade: $79

- Rebates if any:

--

- $100 instant rebate

+ Ground Shipping:

n/c

n/a (ltd. time)

Total Price as configured:

(tax not included)

$1,099

$1,095

Got a beef with any of this? A helpful suggestion? Join the Discussions!

[Swordmaker]

System head to head comparison of equally priced and configured Notebook Mac and PC computers available for sale right now in the $1100 price range. Apple MacBook vs. Dell Inspirion E1405 (+ additions).

Apple MacBook - Intel Core Duo

VS.

Dell Inspirion E1405 - Intel Core Duo

PING!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[SunkenCiv]

This has no humor potential whatsoever. ;')

[Mr. Blonde]

Even though the Dell has a larger screen, it always seems like I can view a lot more on a Mac. I know viewing a web page and typing in Word is way easier on my Mac than on any PC I have ever used.

[Petronski]

That's a shitty roundup. It somehow counts AOL 6mo-free as a good thing.

Hello!?! McFly!?!

[RosieCotton]

Unfortunately from what I hear the MacBook, like the MacBook Pro before it, gets major points off for heat issues.

I admit, if it weren't for that, I'd be sorely tempted, despite never having had a Mac...and despite Apple's stoopid commercials. ;-)

[Swordmaker]

This has no humor potential whatsoever. ;')

Think Skeet...

PULL!

[Swordmaker]

It somehow counts AOL 6mo-free as a good thing.

I am kind of inclined to agree that one month of .Mac is bettern than 6 months of AOL...

[Petronski]

I've never used iMac, yet I can guarantee to you now that one month of iMac is better than six years of AOL.

[RosieCotton]

Six years of AOL free would be a lot worse than six months of AOL free.

*shudder*

[Petronski]

Very nice. LOL

[SunkenCiv]

I hear the MacBook, like the MacBook Pro before it, gets major points off for heat issues.

Well, then it can be renamed or nicknamed "The Perspirion" to better position itself against the Dell. ...

[RosieCotton]

I also wouldn't automatically put the larger Dell screen ahead of the MacBook screen like they did - that seems pretty arbitrary. For one thing, I don't think the Dell screen is of the same quality. Plus, part of the MacBooks appeal is that there are almost *no* really small notebooks out there that aren't considered ultraportables, with the price tag to go along with that classification.

[RosieCotton]

Ew...

Oh dear.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

Whoops. That didn't work to plan.

[ThomasThomas]

Dell Laptops are the easiest to replace systemboard that I worked on yet. I have always enjoyed taking things apart.

[Echo Talon]

Why didn't they do a HP VS CRAPPLE?

[Swordmaker]

Unfortunately from what I hear the MacBook, like the MacBook Pro before it, gets major points off for heat issues.

The heat issues have been fixed with a firmware update

Firmware update fixes MBP heat issues

Apple's firmware update, which the company issued this Tuesday, appears to remedy MacBook Pro heat issues reported by numerous frustrated users. Apple said the SMC Firmware Update addressed intermittent boot issues at the time of its release. Users began reporting an increase in the usage of the fans in their MacBook Pros within hours of the update, and with the help of diagnostic tools said that their machines were running up to eight degrees cooler, according to InformationWeek. "The fans are now working like they should," wrote one user of Apple's support forums after installing the update. "Although the computer is much louder when being taxed, it's much much cooler. In fact, the area above the f-keys is just warm to the touch because the fans are actually forcing the air all the way out of the machine." MacNewsNetwork

[Swordmaker]

Well, then it can be renamed or nicknamed "The Perspirion" to better position itself against the Dell

See! And you thought there was no opportunity for humor in this thread.