consumer reports and apple

kuyu · Dec 2, 2003

I just got the new consumer reports, and they have an article about desktop computers. Here's the skinny.

Apple is #1 in these catagories: brand offering, repair history, technical support, best place to buy (apple.com), and the FASTEST in their independant tests.

CR used a single 1.8 G5, and it was 25% faster than the fastest pc they tested in adobe photoshop filters!!! it's too bad they didn't test a dual G5.

Apple is last in this catagory: price

all in all, CR loves apple. After reading the article, it almost seems like they have a mac bias. But, CR is a completely independant publication, so apple just rocks. BTW, apple is the only company with less than 30% of computers needing repairs.

Counterfit · Dec 2, 2003

Could you post what kind of PC's they used? Couldn't possibly be top o' the line stuff, they would probably still beat the single 1.8...

kuyu · Dec 2, 2003

the 25% thing is mentioned in a blurb, and it says the "high-end Windows computers in the Ratings." The ratings feature gateway 700 and 710x, mpc millenia 920i, compaq presario 8000, dell dimension 8300, ibm thinkcenter a50p 8194, hp pavilion m200y and m300y, and a sony vaio pcv-rz30c. all the pc's have 128 mg graphics cards and at least 120 gb drives.

It seems the single 1.8 was faster than all of these. Also, CR does their own tests. They don't use industry bench's, but rather their own real world tests.

*note* the article says G5's are way too much for average users. It recommends them to pro audio, video, photo, and scientific users.

patrick0brien · Dec 2, 2003

-kuyu

Well, I have to say this is a drastic improvement to their previous stuff. The'd usually not even mention that the OS was completely different from Windows and that in itself has a wholely different user experience.

howard · Dec 2, 2003

well apple does have the most fanatic users so i'm sure there reports are going to be very positive

everyone in the pc world always seems to hate their list of computer manufacturers...and the best isn't the best because its the best, but because it isn't the worst.

superbovine · Dec 17, 2003

Re: consumer reports and apple

interesting stuff, could you post what scripts they used to test photoshop. i have read two reviews like this. one in macworld and its sister magazine maximum pc. apparently scripts that mac world uses are more biased towards macs, but the one scripts maximum pc uses are more biased towards pc. i think in the max pc article they used both scripts. so i'd like to see a 3rd opinion on the issue and what scripts they used.

Originally posted by kuyu
I just got the new consumer reports, and they have an article about desktop computers. Here's the skinny.

Apple is #1 in these catagories: brand offering, repair history, technical support, best place to buy (apple.com), and the FASTEST in their independant tests.

CR used a single 1.8 G5, and it was 25% faster than the fastest pc they tested in adobe photoshop filters!!! it's too bad they didn't test a dual G5.

Apple is last in this catagory: price

all in all, CR loves apple. After reading the article, it almost seems like they have a mac bias. But, CR is a completely independant publication, so apple just rocks. BTW, apple is the only company with less than 30% of computers needing repairs.

jxyama · Dec 17, 2003

i really wouldn't bother doing detailed check on this.. consumer reports isn't really the expert in doing benchmarking. take at a face value - as all benchmarks should be taken at anyway, imo.

the thing about apple.com is true, though. they are very well made and easy to use. i went to dell.com to see and man, that was a mess of a website.

iJon · Dec 17, 2003

well that is a huge surprise to me because cr usually bashes macs. "the ibook is a very nice laptop but has not floppy drive and has no virus protection software.

iJon

bousozoku · Dec 17, 2003

They should stick to evaluating toasters.

I saw a recent computer blurb on some talk show and the guy mentioned that Consumer Reports loves eMachines. That tells a lot about how much you can trust them.

They're terrible with computers and terrible with cars. They do a fine job with toasters, though.

superbovine · Dec 17, 2003

ouch they like emachines.....

ltgator333 · Dec 17, 2003

CR..

well that fits then.. I've heard emachines described as 'glorified toaster ovens' so..

Waluigi · Dec 17, 2003

"Apple PowerMac G5. Not to be outdone by the new Pentium, Apple recently introduced a PowerMac with a new processor, the G5. We found it to be very fast. But for most people, that kind of speed doesn't merit spending hundreds of dollars extra." (page 49 of the December 2003 issue of Consumer Reports)

It is a really flattering statement about the power of the G5, but it is a little flase if you compare it to a PC with the same performance in terms of price.

--Waluigi

pinto32 · Dec 18, 2003

Actually, they hate eMachines because of thier half-assed repair policy.

razorme · Dec 18, 2003

The thing to remember about CR is that they attempt to determine the best value for the money. If you are about to buy a dishwasher, for example, and don't have brand loyalty, it is worth looking at.

Often one disagrees because you would spend the extra $100 or whatever for that extra must have feature.

I find that they are usually sparse on the details of the different products, but I use it for categories that I have no interest in doing lots of research on.

Les Kern · Dec 18, 2003

Originally posted by razorme
The thing to remember about CR is that they attempt to determine the best value for the money.

And I would agree. I checked them out when I wanted a riding lawnmower (Craftsman for it's ease of use, performance, price and repair history), and a washer/dryer (Maytag - not much of a contest). I trust them on consumer items.
But computers? No, and I don't care if they SAY Mac is the best ever. They are not set up to adequately test these things, and they just don't know the intangibles that PCMag or Macworld know. Viruses? Even a noob knows that this is immaterial. I wish they would either stick to toasters, or get the experts needed to run adequate tests. But then they would be a PC mag, right?

Le Big Mac · Dec 18, 2003

Originally posted by razorme
The thing to remember about CR is that they attempt to determine the best value for the money. If you are about to buy a dishwasher, for example, and don't have brand loyalty, it is worth looking at.

Often one disagrees because you would spend the extra $100 or whatever for that extra must have feature.

I find that they are usually sparse on the details of the different products, but I use it for categories that I have no interest in doing lots of research on.

Well put. If you're looking for things where you're open to many brands, or don't have a clue, it's great, because they introduce you well to the topic.

But if you're knowledgeable about the product, most of the evaluation is only skin deep. The problem with computers is that for the most part they're biased towards PCs because of compatability. Unfortunately, the person who buys computers based on CR reviews wants something to work just like it does at the office. Macs don't always do that, even though they generally work better.

Glad to see that they're plugging macs, though.

pinto32 · Dec 22, 2003

Another thing about Consumers Union/Consumer Reports: They have been one of the loudest voices urging congress to pass a computer-lemon law!!!

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