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Dell Precision vs Mac Pro
- Thread starter jmggs
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did anybody saw the new Workstations of Dell Precision series T3500, T5500 and T7500 for equal configurations the prices are the same. The good is the bottom of the line from $999 the one that is missing the macpro line...
It's been discussed in a few threads
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/678606/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/675315/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/665054/
So? There are more things to look at in a computer than just the OS.
The Dell has more ram slots allowing for more memory expansion, you can run any graphics card you want on the native OS, and the Precision comes with a better video card.
Out of the box, No, but it can be done.
+1.
OSX86 has gone so far in the past few months that almost any PC can be running OSX in no time.
Well, the octad was too expensive for me, so I settled with the quad.
And yeah, I'd rather pay the premium and have OS X on a Mac
than Windows on a PC or an effing 1337-Hackintosh, the Mac for cheapos -.-
I'd rather not compute at all than run a WinTel box - or really have to use anything with the MS name on it. But luckily I can run OS X on just about any hardware now and with the same amount of trouble/freedom as running it on Apple hardware. I don't want to pay the premiums Apple is asking.
The DELL looks like a pretty good alternative maybe?! I was all ready to go for one of the 2009 Apple boxes till they put the prices down in ink.
My 2¢
The DELL looks like a pretty good alternative maybe?! I was all ready to go for one of the 2009 Apple boxes till they put the prices down in ink.
My 2¢
oh god why do people always bring up hackintoshes in these threads now hahahahaha?? (nothng against them btw)
yes good point, there is no support, no warranty, and if you try to get it fixed by a generic IT person they wont work with it. take it to an apple store and they wont work with it either.
(id work on it but haha)
I work on films you see in the theater and CMs you would see on TV if you lived in Japan, music videos you might watch too. I'm also a professional photographer and musician by most definitions of "professional". My next machine will in all likelihood be running OS X on non-Apple hardware if that's what the definition of a "hackintosh" is.
yes but if you didnt have the hardwareical (made that word up) know-how, would you be buying one??
YES, that's the definition of a Hackintosh.
But such skills can allow one to save some cash, or at least get exactly what they need.
Sometimes BOTH. 
YES, that's the definition of a Hackintosh.
But such skills can allow one to save some cash, or at least get exactly what they need.
At the end of the day it comes down to what your time is worth. Is a $500-$800 savings really that big of a deal to a person who earns six figures?
Is it worth their time to have to hack on something to get it working and then have to worry about every driver/ESI/software update causing something to break?
No, it's not.
I never said it was applicable to everyone or situation.
Each person has to make their own decisions. (I use person, as it's unlikely a large company would even think about it). More likely individuals, perhaps including a self employed professional or two.
Its not $500-$800. As soon as you start loading it up with tons of upgrades, that margin turns into thousands.
That really a silly question. The price gap between similarly configured PCs and Macs hasn't changed much since Apple went Intel. Generally, bargain hunters do not buy Macs and even scoff at people who do. Nothing new there. I'm OK with current Mac prices, as I believe a computer is more than the sum of its parts.
I enjoy not having to worry much about spyware, viruses, etc. and especially not needing anti-virus s/w that always slows a computer down. I prefer FCP to other video editing apps. I like how everything on Macs generally just works, and when things do go wrong it's easier to fix than on PCs because of the way PC apps can get splintered and buried deep into the OS structure.
PCs have there points too, but I like Mac, and yes, I'm OK with the wide price gap. Judging from Mac sales in the past few years many others are too.
Link to some of your works... mr. professional that can't afford a proper computer?
I don't suppose I'll ever need to find out. It's a bargain at the moment.
Everything in the computer is subordinate to the OS. Once the OS is correct, then we look at choices.
Out of the box, No, but it can be done.
It can be done, but generally it's done badly.
Dell is far cheaper for the performance... from a Pro User
I bought a Dell Precision recently, it is according to cinebench, 85% the processing power of my 8 core mac pro 3 Ghz.
This unit has
- a quad 2.66 i7
- 6 Gigs triple channel ram
- HDMI & DVI out
- 2 hard drives
- a 512 video card
- a fully 64 bit OS
I like it so much, I ordered another!
It cost me [in Canada] $ 1150... tax and shipping included! It arrived 6 days after I ordered it.
If I order a similarly configured Mac Pro... [Quad 2.66 i7/6G ram/2 harddrives] it will cost me $3,319.00 WITHOUT tax!
That is at least 3 times the price as the Dell !! Insane. : (
I can certainly afford a proper computer, but as I run a small renderfarm for my Visual effects business, I need more than one computer. I have 6 computers on my network now [4 macs, 2 Dells], and will be buying more as I grow. Unless apple drops the Price of their pro equipment by a huge margin, I'd be stupid to buy Apple equipment.
I'm as big a mac fan as any of you, and I'd dare say I've owned more High end macs than any of you. But for all the dumping on the windows platform, it is a 64 bit OS!... can OSX claim that? Once you are using the software of your choice, does it really matter what Platform you use? I've worked on Irix, Linux, Windows, and Osx. It doesn't really matter, just use the software you like.
There clearly is a Mac tax, I've paid it, and though I love my Mac Octo, it will probably be the last pro mac I ever buy.
I bought a Dell Precision recently, it is according to cinebench, 85% the processing power of my 8 core mac pro 3 Ghz.
This unit has
- a quad 2.66 i7
- 6 Gigs triple channel ram
- HDMI & DVI out
- 2 hard drives
- a 512 video card
- a fully 64 bit OS
I like it so much, I ordered another!
It cost me [in Canada] $ 1150... tax and shipping included! It arrived 6 days after I ordered it.
If I order a similarly configured Mac Pro... [Quad 2.66 i7/6G ram/2 harddrives] it will cost me $3,319.00 WITHOUT tax!
That is at least 3 times the price as the Dell !! Insane. : (
I can certainly afford a proper computer, but as I run a small renderfarm for my Visual effects business, I need more than one computer. I have 6 computers on my network now [4 macs, 2 Dells], and will be buying more as I grow. Unless apple drops the Price of their pro equipment by a huge margin, I'd be stupid to buy Apple equipment.
I'm as big a mac fan as any of you, and I'd dare say I've owned more High end macs than any of you. But for all the dumping on the windows platform, it is a 64 bit OS!... can OSX claim that? Once you are using the software of your choice, does it really matter what Platform you use? I've worked on Irix, Linux, Windows, and Osx. It doesn't really matter, just use the software you like.
There clearly is a Mac tax, I've paid it, and though I love my Mac Octo, it will probably be the last pro mac I ever buy.
As someone who earns $65/hr, I can say no, it's not worth my time. I've built my own machines in the past, and still have the occasional hankering to do so again, but the more I earn, the less time I have to tinker. And none of the machines I built ever worked exactly the way I wanted (I guess I wasn't very good at picking components). OS X on Apple hardware gives me all the Unixy goodness I want, while working out of the box, and also satisfying my tinkering urges when I have time to play about with it.
So, how much would I pay extra for OS X? In the past it would have been a week's salary, but that's a bit overboard now ... let's say I would work an extra day ...
I don't want to call you a liar ... but that's not possible. The least expensive Dell Precision with quad Xeon on Canada's Dell store is $1975, and that's not a Nahalem processor.
You are technically right... it is not a Precision.. Mea Culpa
it is a Studio XPS... I got it on one of their sales a few weeks back, phoned in and got them to ditch the promotional audio system in exchange for upgrading the video card and hard drives.
Other than the NAME... I am not lying... it is a machine configured for home users, buying Dell Workstations has it's own tax, and all I need is mad processing power.
I am no expert on microarchitechture monikers, I thought i7 was Nehalem..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_3
Regardless of the hair splitting, My main point is I got a cheap machine with very high processor performance for FAR cheaper than apple can offer me. That's no lie! : )
http://configure.dell.com/dellstore...hs1&kc=productdetails~desktop-studioxps-435mt