Replies

Tradition said:

Let’s see...I’ve got a 3.2 gigahertz Intel processor, 2 gigs RAM, LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-160P6S [CD-ROM drive] TSSTcorp CD-R/RW TS-H292C [CD-ROM drive], 160 gigabytes of HD, Creative Sound Blaster 5.1, HP vs 19” monitor with XP Pro with less than $400.00 invested. Apple can’t beat that.

and Filo said:

Purchase price is the only real gauge of what you’re paying and the Mac will set you back at least 50% more than the comparably equipped PC.

Tradition, Apple does not compete in the low-end market... they do compete in the mid-high range market.

Filo... "Apples 50% more..." Not true. Let's do the comparison... actually I did it yesterday in a reply to another freeper:

To Blue Highway

Only if you compare Mercedes to Yugos... both will get you there but one is definitely better... and it ain't the cheaper Yugo.

The facts are that when you compare Apples to "apples," i.e. similar quality and capacity components, the Apple offering is often cheaper. For, example, a $3047 Mac Pro workstation (add 1GB RAM @ Apple price - you can upgrade cheaper with 3rd party RAM, plus 3yrs. Apple Care) was cheaper than the equivalent Dell by $942 when I duplicated the Dell workstation (Retail price: $3989) with the same processors (add/select: Core 2 Duo Xeon 5150 Woodcrest, same HD size and capacity, same memory, similar capacity video card, same 1000W p/s wattage).

Apple Mac Pro build on 11/06/2007, as described above:

Here is the price for an equivalent Dell desktop, build on 11/06/2007, as described above:

Which is less expensive, Blue?

And that is without the comparable PC prices to match the bundled software that comes free with the Mac!

Dell's Workstation price is getting better... when first compared same month last year, the Dell was over $1300 more expensive!

Yes, you could buy a PC for $500 but it did not have Xeon processors, Buffered Error Correcting DRAM, dual 1.33GHz frontside buses, a 1000 watt power supply to drive eight 30 inch monitors and space for two terabytes of hard drive space inside the case. The $500 PC is no way comparable... and is considerably slower than the Mac Pro.

That's where you're running into trouble. The $500 PC isn't a valid comparison, but neither is matching the features that don't have any real-world applicability and only add cost (dual FSB, ECC RAM, etc.)

As was posted above, you can get a very comparable PC system for substantially less than the Mac and it'll come with a display and maybe even speakers and other accessories. Every month or so Dell will even throw in a free printer or camera.

And even the $500 machine won't be "considerably" slower. It will be slower, but not for most of your day-to-day stuff (email, web surfing, spreadsheets, etc.)

Sure the $3K Mac will grind faster on Photoshop, but rare is the user who really needs that. . . but my wife does. :(