A Little Note For Windows Users...

[Puqq]

Every Windows user complains about how much Macs cost. Well, look at this:

MAC:
21.5 Inch screen
4 GB RAM
500 GB HD
Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
Total: $1199

WINDOWS:
17 Inch screen
2 GB RAM
350 GB HD
Wired mouse and keyboard
Total: $800
+RAM Upgrade = $850
+HD Upgrade = $950
+Wireless appliances = $1000
+Virus Protection = $1100
+Editing Suite = $1500

Yes, to get a Win comp up to a Mac level it is more expensive. Plus a $800 monitor upgrade.

Yeah, right.

Dell XPS (these are sooo overpriced anyway). For $959 you get
Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz) (30-40% faster than iMac)
20" Dell ST2010 HD Widescreen Monitor
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM1 at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs (2x more than in iMac)
1TB2 - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache (2x more than in iMac)
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB3 DDR3 (300-500% faster than iMac)
THX® TruStudio PC™
2 Year Basic Service Plan

 

[ayeying]

Yeah, right.

Dell XPS (these are sooo overpriced anyway). For $959 you get
Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz) (30-40% faster than iMac)
20" Dell ST2010 HD Widescreen Monitor
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM1 at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs (2x more than in iMac)
1TB2 - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache (2x more than in iMac)
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB3 DDR3 (300-500% faster than iMac)
THX® TruStudio PC™
2 Year Basic Service Plan

Um.. The 5450 ATi is one of the low end video cards... not high end.

http://hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-5450-DX11-On-The-Cheap/?page=3

Even a GT240, a mid-range nVidia card beats that 5450 easily.

 

[chill.]

Um.. The 5450 ATi is one of the low end video cards... not high end.

http://hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-5450-DX11-On-The-Cheap/?page=3

Even a GT240, a mid-range nVidia card beats that 5450 easily.

ok... but he's comparing it to a 9400m...

 

[arogge]

Your example isn't very good. The "Macs are too expensive" people I run into say things like:

"I want a laptop that's less than $700."
"I want my computer to have some feature that Macs don't offer, like USB 3.0 or Blu-ray support."
"I want a mid-range desktop computer that doesn't have a huge monitor locked to it and something that can accept PCI upgrade cards."
"I need Microsoft Windows to run my software, and I don't want to pay more for a new Windows license on top of the Mac price premium."

These people do have a point. Apple doesn't offer a wide enough selection of computer products. If you don't want extras, you pay a premium for a Mac Mini that can't be upgraded. If you want a mid-range system, you have to accept a monitor that's over 2 feet wide and can't be removed. Try adding a USB 3.0 PCI upgrade card to an iMac. You can't without modifying the motherboard and cutting the monitor case open. For people who consider the value of a computer in its upgrade potential, Apple doesn't score well for the low-end and mid-range market.

As software and hardware peripherals continue to support new technology at the expense of older systems, the Mac that a person buys now could be obsolete within a year. PCI cards can make up for what Apple doesn't give the customer now, and with the exception of a laptop, I would never want to buy a computer that did not have PCI expandability.

Apple doesn't offer choices for laptop screen sizes. If you want small, you lose features that are only available to laptops with the bigger screens. If you want a big monitor, you will pay top dollar for it. How hard is it to include the same audio input port on the 13-inch MacBook Pro that is available on the 15-inch version? How hard is it to keep the ExpressCard port on the 13 and 15-inch models? There aren't any options! You accept what Apple throws at you, or you can buy a Lenovo.

It used to be different when Apple's hardware wasn't reliant on Intel, but now you can see the obvious similarities between Apple computers and everybody else's computers. To the layman like me when I just want a computer that works, what I see is that I can get the same hardware for less money by not buying an Apple system, and get more customization options and not have to fuss with incompatibilities in the Windows software market or the Windows/Linux hardware market. Until that changes, Apple will continue to lose market share to everybody else who doesn't lock customers into a "subscription-based" upgrade plan for their hardware and charge a price premium too, a premium that usually doesn't change until a new product is announced.

I'm noticing more and more people with their Core i5 and i7 laptops, and Apple doesn't even have a Core i3 laptop. I shouldn't have to pay top dollar for old hardware. If the Core 2 Duo laptops were cheaper, and other aging hardware wasn't priced so expensively, there might not be such an incentive to guess when Apple is going to release a new upgrade. Instead, there is a growing mob of MacRumors members who look ready to rush the office in Cupertino and demand to know when the Arrandale laptops are coming out.

 

[xAlucard9000x]

@word of life

ok so with win7 it would still only be 976, lol. but who said i woulnt run linux, which is good, and FREEEEEE.

 

[ayeying]

@word of life

ok so with win7 it would still only be 976, lol. but who said i woulnt run linux, which is good, and FREEEEEE.

Then you have a lack of software that might be needed for work. And don't say there's free alternatives, we all know Gimp cannot compete with Photoshop in the industry level or even the professional level.

 

[helenkan]

Yeah, right.

Dell XPS (these are sooo overpriced anyway). For $959 you get
Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz) (30-40% faster than iMac)
20" Dell ST2010 HD Widescreen Monitor
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM1 at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs (2x more than in iMac)
1TB2 - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache (2x more than in iMac)
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB3 DDR3 (300-500% faster than iMac)
THX® TruStudio PC™
2 Year Basic Service Plan

Wow, I think that a great deal on a pwerful system.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Lol, who pays $400 for an editing suite. Who buys a wireless card for a desktop? 17 inch monitor is so 1999.

PC's can play games, Mac can play WoW. Mac guys are the ones pay more, they have to buy windows

You are still buying Windows with the PC.

Not everyone buys computers to game with WoW, and Civ4, Crisis, etc. are MOOT when you don't game.

You are right about the 17" monitor though.

but basically you are full of **** op. im not a mac hater, i know they are expensive, but i still plan on getting one, but im not a one sided man, i love windows as well ,and even linux, i just love computers, but your prices are wrong. ill show why

This isn't a good comparison either. Not everyone wants to buy barebones kits and spend HOURS learning how to put their machine together then actually putting it together. You save money by doing it yourself, but then you are also spending your time doing it.

Also, like I said in my last post, are we comparing a tower to an ALL-IN-ONE, or have people still not gotten the clue that an AIO is going to cost more money regardless of hardware?

p.s. The last question is rhetorical, so please stop comparing the iMac to a tower.