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Are MBP's really overpriced?

M

mbpjohnson

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 18, 2010
37
0
I have always had windows machines and today hope to pick up our first Mac for my wife, Probably get the 17 inch I7 2.66 at the local Apple store.

I know Macs are not cheap and I read a lot of complaing about the price and 600 or 700 dollar windows machines doing what a MBP can do. But when it gets right down to it I can not find a comparable specs windows laptop.

Most seem to use a 1.6 or 1.7 I7 processor and with about the same specs I am in the 2000 dollar range for a windows based laptop. I have not found another machine using a 2.66 I7. I know this is a lot of money for a laptop but I don't feel like I am being ripped off when comparing apples to apples. Is there really anything comparable to a top line MBP.

Phil
 
There are comparable machines, but don't forget that within the price of your MBP you are receiving OSX. For me this was the one factor that made me choose Apple. After years of Windows, OSX was the change I needed.
 
Specifications wise....yeah they are more expensive for what you get. But you have to consider other factors, I don't think you could find many other laptops with equal build quality, battery life and specifications for the same price :). I just ordered a 13" MBP, I have been using a friends previous generation 13" and i must say i love the build quality, most laptops I would pick up feel cheap and not that durable, Unibody ftw! Cant wait for it to arrive tomorrow :D.
 
The 1.6 and 1.7 GHz models, are Clarksdale processors and are genuine physical quad cores, which has makes quite a difference performance wise.

Also, they will turbo boost up to 3.06 GHz.
 
Hi Phil,

The 1.6, 1.7ghz i7 are true Quad cores.
The apple one is actually slower, 2.66ghz but are dual cores.

Benchmarks:
2.66 i7 620M 2830
1.6 i7 720QM 3250
1.7 i7 820QM 3550

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

Spec for spec, apple is overpriced. No doubt. But like most, I pay for nice trackpad, aluminium build and a light laptop that doesn't burn my crotch off.
 
I think for the performance, they are overpriced. However, these are the reasons why I bought mine:

1. The best trackpad
2. Excellent build quality
3. Comfortable back lit keyboard
4. Beautiful screen
5. Fast machine (the latest 13" MBP)
6. Long battery life

It is VERY hard to find all of these features in one laptop (I've owned and sold at least 10 different ones in the last 2 years). Note that nowhere did I mention OSX. I could care less for the OS because a PC works just as well as a MAC if you know how to use it.
 
Hard to keep all these different processors straight these days. My daughter loves Macs and got us to go look at them and after a few demos I was sold on them too. Just been waiting since Jan for the new ones.

I was just trying to point out that a high end windows laptop and a comparable MBP are pretty close in price. Seems pople like to compare a 2000 dollar MBP with a 600 dollar windows machine and say they are equal. The MBP may be a couple hundred more but whats that over a few years and when spending 2000 and its hard to not like the Mac build quality and operating system.

Phil
 
DLovett said:
The 1.6 and 1.7 GHz models, are Clarksdale processors and are genuine physical quad cores, which has makes quite a difference performance wise.

Also, they will turbo boost up to 3.06 GHz.
Click to expand...

The i7 MBP can turbo boost to 3.06 GHz too.


As to the original question... are MBPs expensive, yes. But Apple keeps breaking sales records quarter after quarter, increasing market share along with profits, so are they overpriced? Obviously the sales market says no.
 
mbpjohnson said:
Hard to keep all these different processors straight these days. My daughter loves Macs and got us to go look at them and after a few demos I was sold on them too. Just been waiting since Jan for the new ones.

I was just trying to point out that a high end windows laptop and a comparable MBP are pretty close in price. Seems pople like to compare a 2000 dollar MBP with a 600 dollar windows machine and say they are equal. The MBP may be a couple hundred more but whats that over a few years and when spending 2000 and its hard to not like the Mac build quality and operating system.

Phil
Click to expand...

Macs tend to re-sell for more, too - if that interests you :)
 
I still reckon the MBP is the best all-around money can buy.

Jack of all trades, master of quite a few!

If you want specs, build you own desktop rig, you can buy 3-4 year old PC's that perform similarlyto top of the line laptops today.
 
Resale now that I think about that I still have a 386/33 in the basement, my first computer. When I think a bit harder about it that was a top of the line computer in its day. I paid about 4800 for it back then got all the upgrades 4 meg ram for 400 and a 200 gig hd for 800 and a 14 inch monitor no modem or cd drives were available. Makes the new one seem kind of cheap.

Phil
 
mbpjohnson said:
Resale now that I think about that I still have a 386/33 in the basement, my first computer. When I think a bit harder about it that was a top of the line computer in its day. I paid about 4800 for it back then got all the upgrades 4 meg ram for 400 and a 200 gig hd for 800 and a 14 inch monitor no modem or cd drives were available. Makes the new one seem kind of cheap.

Phil
Click to expand...


200GB for a 386/33? I am not sure there was such. I had a 386/40 with a 80MB hdd and it was pretty much the state of the art. ;)
 
Your correct there was not 200 gig back then it was 200 meg sorry I mistyped. A 40 meg was pretty standard and 80 were around but I did pay to max it out with a 200 meg hd that was the largest I could get. It was 800 for a 200 meg hard drive back then.

Phil
 
I think the argument that Macs are expensive is one reason not as many people adopt a Mac. However, I think it is a little absurd. The thing is, the base price may be a little more (not always though) and the payoff comes in the long run. Let me explain. Currently I use an early 2004 iBook G4. The system came with a 1 GHz processor, 256MB of RAM, 32MB of VRAM, and a 30GB hard drive. At the time I received it, it ran OSX 10.3 beautifully. My PC with similar specs struggled to run Win 2000 smoothly at times.

I have since upgraded my laptop to include 1.25 GB of RAM, 160 GB hard drive, and OSX 10.4. The system still runs beautifully. Actually a little smoother with the maxed out RAM. Still has the paltry video card though. My PC has had XP on it at one point, but that ran like ****. I since downgraded back to Win 2000 and it sits unused. Oh, it has about the same amount of RAM as the iBook, but it struggles to run an OS that predates it by a couple years. My iBook runs an OS that outdates it a few years as if it originally came with it. And to compare the quality of the OSs! Early versions of OSX are at least as sophisticated as XP (arguably more) and many people still use XP because Vista and Win 7 are not too much better and less stable.

My point is, not only do you get a better OS with a Mac, but the hardware is better optimized to run the OS than a PC. You simply do not need as much raw power (as determined by the numbers on the page) to get the same amount of work done with the same quality as you do on a PC. In the long run, this means the MAC will last longer, not only because it still functions, but because it still functions for the stuff you want to do.
 
One can compare specs with other Windows laptops til the cows come home but the way I look it as its like buying and driving a nice car.

What you get with a MBP is overall design, innovation, performance, user experience, after sales service (Applecare or not) etc etc. Its also an asset you can really feel proud of.

I'd say, splash the cash and enjoy the ride!

col sandurz said:
My point is, not only do you get a better OS with a Mac, but the hardware is better optimized to run the OS than a PC. You simply do not need as much raw power (as determined by the numbers on the page) to get the same amount of work done with the same quality as you do on a PC. In the long run, this means the MAC will last longer, not only because it still functions, but because it still functions for the stuff you want to do.
Click to expand...

Totally agree and a point that many are often unaware of or forget about.
 
Speaking from purely a financial perspective:

Yes, Macs are more expensive up front. But you make up for it with their resale value down the road. PC's lose value way faster than Macs.

Don't believe me, go check eBay...
 
I haven't read much of the above but...

If you were to customize a Dell or Alienware laptop of around the same specs and same screen size, you will be set back around the same as a macbook pro. Please note, that this was tested with a student discount for the apple equivalent. Obviously video cards and processors vary as they dont sell the exact same ones, but you will realise that for the base model, apple sells its products quite expensive. However, once you hit the high-range apple laptops, you are better off with apple than the others (because apple laptops look better :D)
 
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