Mac Pro 2009 vs Dell T5550. Mac Pro price much lower than competition.

[hal1984]

I have configured the most similar options for both workstation. The Quadro Fx 580 is very similar to GT 120, but it has higher memory bandwidth. Standalone, the Quadro Fx 580 512 MB is selling al 250 dollars. The results are:

 

[Umbongo]

The memory isn't the same. If you buy 3rd party memory and storage (12GB+1TB is like $400) you can get the Dell cheaper than the Mac Pro. Dell's prices on DP systems are more for the higher end processor options though. They also have a 3 year warranty included in their prices.

 

[hal1984]

The memory isn't the same. If you buy 3rd party memory and storage (12GB+1TB is like $400) you can get the Dell cheaper than the Mac Pro. Dell's prices on DP systems are more for the higher end processor options though. They also have a 3 year warranty included in their prices.

Compare this with the baseline of the dual Mac Pro (3299$, with 6 GB ECC DDR3 RAM and 640 GB HDD, and much better chassis comparable to the Dell T7750 workstation):

 

[Umbongo]

Compare this with the baseline of the dual Mac Pro (3299$, with 6 GB ECC DDR3 RAM and 640 GB HDD, and much better chassis comparable to the Dell T7750 workstation):

Yeah Dell's DP workstation options aren't cheap and I know what you are trying to show. Like $700 for 4GB of memory, the graphics card upgrade, dvd writer and the hard disk upgrade to bring it similar to the Mac Pro and the higher cost for 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz options make them seem expensive.

The Dell systems benefit from comming with the minimum specs though. So you can use cheaper 3rd party options. 12GB of ECC memory can be had for $300, or $550 for 3x4GB DIMMS. Hard disks are way, way cheaper even for enterpise grade ones and you can add consumer graphics to match the Mac Pro for $70 (GT120) or $160 (4870).

 

[hal1984]

Yeah Dell's DP workstation options aren't cheap and I know what you are trying to show. Like $700 for 4GB of memory, the graphics card upgrade, dvd writer and the hard disk upgrade to bring it similar to the Mac Pro and the higher cost for 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz options make them seem expensive.

The Dell systems benefit from comming with the minimum specs though. So you can use cheaper 3rd party options. 12GB of ECC memory can be had for $300, or $550 for 3x4GB DIMMS. Hard disks are way, way cheaper even for enterpise grade ones and you can add consumer graphics to match the Mac Pro for $70 (GT120) or $160 (4870).

In that case, also the Mac Pro benefits in the base options. The Dell Workstation starts at 2830$. For compete with the base options of Mac Pro you also have to buy 6 GB DDR3 ECC. 2 GB ECC DDR3 1066mhz is about 55$ (Kingstom Value Ram). 6 GB = 165$. 70$ (at a low price) for the GT 120. 70 $ for the HDD 640 GB 7200rpm 16 mb caché.


Overall= 3135$ -/+. Similar price. Also the Mac Pro offer better chassis and higher OS compatibiliy, and the security of fully compatible hardware in the Mac Pro instead of using 3rd party hardware over the Dell's Workstation base.

As you have noted, in Dell the CPU upgrades prices are in order of 75% higher compared to Apple. (Go to 2.93 in Mac Pro is 2600$, in Dell is 4000$)