Most of us will not scare you and easily give you places where you can buy ram cheaper, i'ts only if the ram you buy causes a [problem do you void you're warrenty. Most of us, especially in NYC will send you to third party places where the upgrade is much cheaper, since you the consumer are the person we have in mind
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Apple cost 200% more than Dell in Hardware
- Thread starter cosmokanga2
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gnasher729
Suspended
Denon is selling a 1.5m Cat5 cable for $499. I don't think I have to say more.
Dell offers computers at cheap prices on their front page. Once you click through, somehow you cannot find the machines at those prices ever again. And if I remember correctly http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/desktop/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208400410 then Dell has just recently been convicted of committing consumer fraud.
I have Dells for work and Apples at home. I think the hardware is broadly comparable. Sure, I like OS X better and I will stick with it, but would I switch now or recommend it? Not so sure - Apples are just a little too expensive for what you get. Sure, macs are fashionable right now, but fashion can be fickle. Apple needs marketshare IMO for long term success. Their OS could be dominant in the marketplace, not limited to the wealthy and fashionable...
And the average user will not swap out their own memory and hard drive. They'll just compare like with like off the shelf and buy the cheaper Dell...
And the average user will not swap out their own memory and hard drive. They'll just compare like with like off the shelf and buy the cheaper Dell...
neiltc13
macrumors 68040
Dell XPS M1530
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
320GB HDD
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory
15-inch display with 1440x900 resolution
==========
£799.00
==========
Apple MacBook Pro
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
250GB HDD
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory
15-inch display with 1440x900 resolution
==========
£1449.00
==========
Difference: £650.00
The price of the Apple notebook is absolutely ridiculous, which is why I try to get people to avoid buying MacBook Pro where possible. It really is overpriced.
I don't think anyone here could possibly say that a backlit keyboard (which is the only real advantage MBP has over the Dell XPSM1530) is worth £650.
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
320GB HDD
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory
15-inch display with 1440x900 resolution
==========
£799.00
==========
Apple MacBook Pro
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
250GB HDD
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory
15-inch display with 1440x900 resolution
==========
£1449.00
==========
Difference: £650.00
The price of the Apple notebook is absolutely ridiculous, which is why I try to get people to avoid buying MacBook Pro where possible. It really is overpriced.
I don't think anyone here could possibly say that a backlit keyboard (which is the only real advantage MBP has over the Dell XPSM1530) is worth £650.
Course not. And it's the same here. Unless someone is absolutely reliant on OS X, other machines offer a far better value to people looking for feature-filled, durable, and reasonably priced machines. I have a Macbook, but I'm never going to recommend one (nevermind buy one) for my family. In contrast, I'm more than happy to buy Windows laptops for folks. They work well, cost cheap, and don't require nearly as much babying to keep from denting, cracking, warping, or just breaking down.
Same could be said of all my Apple computers, so the point would be that both have similar quality, but Dell (according to the article) are much better value.
Not necessarily that I agree with that.
neiltc13
macrumors 68040
Both are about equal in terms of features, but buying a full Windows licence costs a bit more.
Not too shabby for a Dell - Of course it's plastic, has no Firewire, lacks the backlit keyboard and a nice big multi-touch touchpad but other than that it actually looks ok for the money...OOPPS...sorry forgot you have to run windows - and for that reason it might as well be £300 because Vista will render it a nightmare...
Though, I admit if Apple shipped one just like it for £800 they'd probably put Dell out of business in six months...
P.S - You've also loaded the Apple price by adding Apple ram which we all know is ridiculous. That would bring the price differential to £450 if you bought your own 2Gig...
Chappers
macrumors 68020
Now sure the Bugatti Veyron will go faster but it costs so much extra for servicing and spare parts and sure it looks a bit better and probably won't break down so often but that Kia offers such good value for money .... I just gotta get myself one.
Attachments
OK, I'm just interested in peoples opinions on Apple's costs. I for myself think their upgrade cost are too much, however, the design, stability and quality of the products offset it.
Phil A.
Moderator emeritus
Don't forget to add £70 for the upgrade to Vista Ultimate. Also, I couldn't see anywhere that the screen is LED backlit on the Dell. If it isn't then that would explain some more of the difference. No firewire or multi-touch either. And, as someone else has said, buying the memory from Crucial rather than Apple would bring the price down even further.
Are MacBook Pros more expensive than Dells? Yes, they certainly are, but not by as much as your comparison suggests
Is the price difference justified? Yes, in my opinion it certainly is.
As a slight aside, a quick look at Apple's and Dell's financials show that Dell had 4th quarter revenue (for the quarter ending Feb 08) of $15.9 Billion in 2008, over twice Apple's $7.5 billion for the quarter ending March 08. However, out of that income, Dell had net income of $679 million, whereas Apple had net income of just over $1 billion. I think Apple might know what they are doing...
Boy, you must just have money to burn huh? Don't check an invoice or receipt and see what you're buying and for how much? 😱
No they hope to take advantage of people who have so much money they don't check (or ask how much a product is) their reciept before they leave the store.
I think most consumers would check to see how much they'e being charged but wouldn't know they're overpaying, however in this internet connected world, all it would take is a little research to save a huge amount of $$$; which they could do right in the APPLE store on an Apple computer (don't buy at Best Buy!) BEFORE they buy it! 😀
TuffLuffJimmy
macrumors G3
oh Clevin, your posts never cease to entertain me, but the conflict in this one takes the cake!
Its kind of sad that people are making excuses for apple's insane prices for upgrades by saying "people can just upgrade it themselves". Why does that make it any better? Dell can offer ram upgrades for sane prices, why cant Apple? It wasnt that long ago when a 4gb upgrade at apple.com costed something like $800.
Dell makes good laptops and bad laptops just like they make good monitors and bad monitors. Its pretty clear that the people who think Dells breakdown constantly are the ones who have only used the $500 laptops. The top of the line XPS laptops are just as well made as the MBP's, you get what you pay for and if you or someone else buys the $500 laptop instead of the $1300 laptop then dont be surprised when crap falls off and the LCD stops working.
Dell makes good laptops and bad laptops just like they make good monitors and bad monitors. Its pretty clear that the people who think Dells breakdown constantly are the ones who have only used the $500 laptops. The top of the line XPS laptops are just as well made as the MBP's, you get what you pay for and if you or someone else buys the $500 laptop instead of the $1300 laptop then dont be surprised when crap falls off and the LCD stops working.
LethalWolfe
macrumors G3
Really? Taking a look at the computer market over the past 6-7 years and Apple looks pretty darn competitive, IMO. As other companies go broke "racing to the bottom" to try and beat Dell at it's own, low-ball pricing game Apple has avoided that suicide dive and is healthy, growing company because of it.
Lethal
This was a week after the latest MBPs were released and I went to BestBuy to either buy one, buy the older model which was discounted several hundred dollars or buy the mid level iMac. Either way, I just didn't want to go over the $1999 I would have spent on the MBP. It was a Sunday night an hour before the store closed and they had iMac memory. I really didn't care too much about the price because there was no where else I could go and get it on that Sunday night and I was still paying less then I was going to be paying if I bought a MBP.
Full of Win
macrumors 68030
Apple has a different pricing model - where the same price is kept for the entire product cycle of the revision, sans rebates from some sellers. Dell on the other hand uses variable pricing
For example, if you where to buy the MBA with the upgraded SSD, it will cost you another ~1000$ - just as it did 6 months ago. If you were to price out the same computers from MacMall, it would cost you ~1000$ more for the SSD MacBook Air - just as it did 6 months ago.
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macbook_air/
I'm not saying one is better than the other - its just a different way of doing business.
For example, if you where to buy the MBA with the upgraded SSD, it will cost you another ~1000$ - just as it did 6 months ago. If you were to price out the same computers from MacMall, it would cost you ~1000$ more for the SSD MacBook Air - just as it did 6 months ago.
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macbook_air/
I'm not saying one is better than the other - its just a different way of doing business.
Darth.Titan
macrumors 68030
With regard to the comparison of the Macbook pro to the XPS M1530...
I just finished reading an article in Maximum PC (yes a PC mag) that compared these two laptops. Yes, the hardware is practically identical, but the Mac outperformed the Dell machine in most benchmarks. And that was with both Notebooks running Vista. They gave the Macbook the higher rating and "Best in Class" status in the "Professional Notebook" category. The $500 price difference didn't seem to matter in light of the performance advantage.
Even with similar hardware, Apple engineering does seem to make a difference.
Granted Apple didn't fare as well in the "Mainstream" or the "Ultraportable" categories, 😱 but the point is you can't just compare hardware. Performance counts as well.
Article.
I just finished reading an article in Maximum PC (yes a PC mag) that compared these two laptops. Yes, the hardware is practically identical, but the Mac outperformed the Dell machine in most benchmarks. And that was with both Notebooks running Vista. They gave the Macbook the higher rating and "Best in Class" status in the "Professional Notebook" category. The $500 price difference didn't seem to matter in light of the performance advantage.
Even with similar hardware, Apple engineering does seem to make a difference.
Granted Apple didn't fare as well in the "Mainstream" or the "Ultraportable" categories, 😱 but the point is you can't just compare hardware. Performance counts as well.
Article.
I see Hex. That helps explain your actions more, but still it doesn't excuse it (and just goes to prove that you must have money to burn or just don't budget 😛).
Did you really need that extra GB right away? 😕
There are many people running fine on 1GB. You couldn't wait a week(or shorter if you do expedited shipping) and order online from OWC are some other place?
It's too late now I know, but maybe this advice will help you or someone else in the future 😀
Sure I could have waited but why wait when I was already at a store that sold ram? It was 2GB and not one, the iMac came with one GB and I bought a stick of two for a total of three.
Yes, hopefully this will make others question what ram they are being sold at BestBuy by the Apple reps.
Apple, go back to PowerPC and these article will never be written again. PowerPC and x86 hardware can never be fully compared. 🙄