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The 17 in Macbook Pro is really a GOOD DEAL

M

mmoran27

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 23, 2006
298
0
If you go to dell, hp or lenovo and configure the same specs 2.93GHZ processor, 1066 fsb, 4 GB ddr3 memory, 320GB hard drive, 17 LED screen.

You will see that the MBP is the cheapest of the 3.

Try and you will see.
 
Eh, Ya sure.

The Dell Precision 6400 looks really killer though.....

-Dual HDDs
-Workstation graphics
-Optional quad core

When it's time for me to upgrade from my MBP, I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be a close fight between the 17" uMBP or a Dell precision.

Don't get me wrong, I love OSX but that kind of power in a notebook is pretty impressive.
 
Impressive specs to be sure.. I wish the MBP's offered 16GB's of ram. But the Dell pays for that kind of power in size and weight. It's fat, heavy and rather unattractive. There's always a trade-off I guess...

NRose8989 said:
Eh, Ya sure.

The Dell Precision 6400 looks really killer though.....

-Dual HDDs
-Workstation graphics
-Optional quad core

When it's time for me to upgrade from my MBP, I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be a close fight between the 17" uMBP or a Dell precision.

Don't get me wrong, I love OSX but that kind of power in a notebook is pretty impressive.
Click to expand...
 
Lone Deranger said:
Impressive specs to be sure.. I wish the MBP's offered 16GB's of ram. But the Dell pays for that kind of power in size and weight. It's fat, heavy and rather unattractive. There's always a trade-off I guess...
Click to expand...

My thought exactly. I love 17" UMBP because it looks really slick with its thin and light body while it's relatively powerful. It's the only 17" laptop I'd carry around.
 
mmoran27 said:
If you go to dell, hp or lenovo and configure the same specs 2.93GHZ processor, 1066 fsb, 4 GB ddr3 memory, 320GB hard drive, 17 LED screen.

You will see that the MBP is the cheapest of the 3.

Try and you will see.
Click to expand...

Wow! I bet nobody has ever had this conversation here on MacRumours! :D


Try this too: configure a MacBook of your choice to be as close as possible to the Dell Latitude E4200, with a compatible Docking station with 2 DVI outputs. Then put 2 Apple 19" screens on there, one as "landscape", another as "portrait". When you're done compare the price of the 2 hardware configurations and see how many firewire ports you ended up with.


More serously, there is a lot of great hardware out there and it's disappointing that it's the Hackintosh community that is enjoying it the most with their triple (or more!) boot rigs.
 
Off the shelf PC"s are usually more expensive than Mac's, spec for spec, thats been known for years.

But if you build your own PC or hackintosh, its obviously going to be cheaper than a Mac, but also cheaper than any off the shelf PC, so its pointless, you may as well have just built your own in the first place.
 
Not to mention that Dell Precision 6400 can be equipped with Quadro 3600M, which is like Geforce 9800M -> great for gaming; 9600M in MBP is fine for 15.4", but I hoped they'll cram something more powerful to the bigger brother... nope :(
 
mmoran27 said:
If you go to dell, hp or lenovo and configure the same specs 2.93GHZ processor, 1066 fsb, 4 GB ddr3 memory, 320GB hard drive, 17 LED screen.

You will see that the MBP is the cheapest of the 3.

Try and you will see.
Click to expand...

Always up for a challenge...

ThinkPad W700 - 1 Yr Depot Warranty $2,499.20
Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q9000 (2.00GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2)1
Genuine Windows Vista Business 6412
17" WUXGA 400NIT TFT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M 48-core CUDA parallel computing processor 512MB (dedicated)
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Ultranav + Fingerprint Reader + Pantone Color Sensor
Internal RAID - Not Enabled4
Non-RAID HDD, 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Ultrabay Enhanced (Serial ATA)5
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology10
9 cell Li-Ion Battery
2757: 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7

Not sure how that quadcore compares to the MBP's, but I got dual 320GB harddrives just for good measure. Not LED, but I'm pretty sure the color gamut exceeds the MBP aand I threw in the Pantone color sensor for easy calibration... and I like black computers more than two-tone or silver. ;)

This is a starting point - you can add a lot more to this in terms of processing power, 3G SIMcard slot, WiMax, slide-out 10" screen and Quadro FX 3700M 1GB graphics card. It may not be skinny and light...but it kicks butt
 
kastenbrust said:
Off the shelf PC"s are usually more expensive than Mac's, spec for spec, thats been known for years.

But if you build your own PC or hackintosh, its obviously going to be cheaper than a Mac, but also cheaper than any off the shelf PC, so its pointless, you may as well have just built your own in the first place.
Click to expand...

Really? I thought it was the other way around as in similarly configured off the self PC's being cheaper than Mac's.
 
mmoran27 said:
If you go to dell, hp or lenovo and configure the same specs 2.93GHZ processor, 1066 fsb, 4 GB ddr3 memory, 320GB hard drive, 17 LED screen.

You will see that the MBP is the cheapest of the 3.

Try and you will see.
Click to expand...

Studio XPS 16

-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9800 (6MB cache/2.93GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
-Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
-4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
-320GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
-ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 3670 - 512MB

$1899
 
Dell has the alienware m17 which is cheaper and has waaaayy better specs.... better display, better processor, better graphics
 
ZenoVT said:
Dell has the alienware m17 which is cheaper and has waaaayy better specs.... better display, better processor, better graphics
Click to expand...

If that's a laptop, and it's an alienware, I'm just going to throw this out there buuuut....... is it 3" thick, weigh 10lbs and have a literal brick power adapter? Does it also have a seperate LCD screen above the keyboard to show a clock and cool blue glowing lights coming out of it or something? A serious guess, but it wouldn't surprise me....

Chances are it isn't anything close to being similar to a Mac laptop. Some people buy their computers for more than specs these days. Sure, some do it for fashion, but many who do so do it for function. It's easier to carry around a 15" laptop that weighs 5.x lbs versus a typical 15" PC that is an entire pound or two heavier.

Furthermore, IT IS ALL RELATIVE!!!!!:

PC: cheap hardware, expensive system software, expensive physical human support (sure you've got accidental damage on your laptop, but you can't walk into any store and get warranty support from the manufacturer.)

Mac: expensive hardware, cheap OS, free physical human support
 
Alienware is not cheaper

The closest processor they have is the 3.06 and that system costs 3099 for the close to the same configuration but this is what you get:

Boat Anchor with 1 hour battery life. But look at the awesome specs.
Cost is 3099

[1] M17

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 - CrossFireX™ Enabled!
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Extreme X9100 3.06GHz (6MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Design & Display: Black Skullcap Design
Chassis: 17-Inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology
Keyboard Options: Illuminated Keyboard – Alienware Exclusive Design - Astral Blue
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 4GB« Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM at 1066MHz – 2 x 2048MB

System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 500GB (250GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® Ultimate N 5300 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card with MIMO Technology
The World's First 450 Mbps Wi-Fi Adapter!
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with Surround Sound
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Onsite Service and 24/7 Toll-Free Phone Support
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: M17 Protective Cloth Sleeve
Alienware Extras: M17 Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Avatar: Alienhead 3D
Window Style: Default Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Power Plan: Standard Power Plan
Automatic Updates: Automatic Updates On
Time Zones: (GMT - 5.00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
 
mmoran27 said:
If you go to dell, hp or lenovo and configure the same specs 2.93GHZ processor, 1066 fsb, 4 GB ddr3 memory, 320GB hard drive, 17 LED screen.

You will see that the MBP is the cheapest of the 3.

Try and you will see.
Click to expand...

They're different types of machine - certified to run major engineering / finance apps, better built with more workstation-specific GPU"s. I wouldn't compare a Dell M6400 to the Macbook Pro - the MBP is just not in the Dell's league.

The MBP is a good choice for undemanding consumers, although the Dell XPS 16 gets you a lot more bang for your buck.

Fail
Click to expand...
Why? The resolution is pretty similar, CPU / GPU options are similar and the Dell has a better-quality screen to boot.
 
can we say... headless?

dr-evil.jpg

Headless_Male_Mannequins.jpg
 
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