Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What is up with all the PC people whining about how expensive Macbook Pro's are??

DoNoHarm

DoNoHarm

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 8, 2008
1,138
46
Maine
I just read a discussion on Cnet about how expensive a Macbook Pro is compared to a comparably specked PC. They portray Apple customers as idiots paying 100% more for the same product.

When these people are not online, do they go to the nearest mall and complain that they can buy articles of clothing at Walmart for 10% of what it costs at name brand stores? I wish they just said "Thank You Apple", for all the innovation from Windows all the way to the Iphone.

</rant>
 
Wow, you have a low opinion of PC's. Is this based on any experience? My Toshiba laptop cost around $500 to $600. A comparable MBP is double that. The quality is the same as far as I'm concerned (and I have Vista).
 
I'm new to mac this year and i wish i would have switched sooner... if you can afford it go for it...
 
Whenever I see people comparing a Mac to a PC claiming you get a better deal with the PC, it never seems to me that they are actually comparing a similar computer. Whenever I try and price a similar PC to a Mac it always seems to be about the same price.

Same thing with upgrades on Macs. People say that Apple charges too much, but whenever I check the price of the memory upgrades, or the drive upgrades, they always seem comparable to prices at newegg or tigerdirect.

I think everyone just needs to calm down a bit about it, if you're happy with your purchase, you're happy with your purchase and I don't need to be happy with your purchase.
 
I am happy to pay double for something if I know I am going to be happy with it! Just like my car and my dog, I paid a lot for them but I am happy I did.... Like the person said before me, I am happy with my purchases, you don't have to be happy with my purchases (or something along those lines!) :p
 
seepel said:
Whenever I see people comparing a Mac to a PC claiming you get a better deal with the PC, it never seems to me that they are actually comparing a similar computer. Whenever I try and price a similar PC to a Mac it always seems to be about the same price.
Click to expand...

GPU?
 
the way i feel about it is that people are free to buy apple products, and other people are free to judge them. Whether or not their judgment is justified will always be a contentious matter.
 
DoNoHarm said:
I just read a discussion on Cnet about how expensive a Macbook Pro is compared to a comparably specked PC. They portray Apple customers as idiots paying 100% more for the same product.

When these people are not online, do they go to the nearest mall and complain that they can buy articles of clothing at Walmart for 10% of what it costs at name brand stores? I wish they just said "Thank You Apple", for all the innovation from Windows all the way to the Iphone.

</rant>
Click to expand...

I dont see the need for apple fans to feel justified in their purchases. Use what you use and quit worrying about what everyone else does.
 
-aggie- said:
May MBP and Toshiba laptop have the same CPU. Just sayin'.
Click to expand...

Ludaru said:
GPU?
Click to expand...

I am certainly no Apple apologist, however, the nvidia 9600m is a reasonable compromise GPU. The only other upper mainstream GPUs currently in PC laptops are the ATI 4530, 4570 & 4650 and the nvidia 120, 130, 240 & 260. The highest two, ati 4650 & nvidia 260 are primarily in gaming or "entertainment" laptops. Almost all of these are thicker and heavier units. Even if running Windows games cranks the fans, it works. The 9600 in the MBP compares favorably with all but the highest of these.

I want all the neat stuff you can get in the thick PC laptops or mid-tower PCs. I've even argued for Blu-ray and the mythical Mac in the middle (between the mini and the pro). But in the end, I knew I needed and wanted a Mac. I have Windows 7 installed under bootcamp and own a PC gaming laptop but for all my work I know nothing compares to my uMBP for ease of use and reliability.

I get so tired of all the complaining.

If you need the features/functions only available in a Mac -- BUY one and live with the compromises. It's worth it.

If not, and you want more power than you can get in a Mac, -- buy a PC.

Simple.

Cheers,
 
Another issue to consider is battery life and weight. It is a laptop after all...
 
BlackiBook said:
I am happy to pay double for something if I know I am going to be happy with it! Just like my car and my dog, I paid a lot for them but I am happy I did.... Like the person said before me, I am happy with my purchases, you don't have to be happy with my purchases (or something along those lines!) :p
Click to expand...

Completely agree. What good is saving money if you're not going to be happy with it? I wish PC people would stop making the Mac community believe that they get for $500-$600 is comparable to a Macbook Pro. That's BS. I've checked out $1000 PC notebooks that didn't have half the screen quality and contrast as Macbook Pro and to me the screen is what's more important, I care about my eyes, maybe some PC people with cheap PC's don't care anything about their eyes. Unless you put out some serious $$$ for a Windows PC you will get a screen with low contrast, very limited viewing angles that result in a washed out screen if it's not pivoted perfectly and this can be maddening when watching movies.
 
HLdan said:
Completely agree. What good is saving money if you're not going to be happy with it? I wish PC people would stop making the Mac community believe that they get for $500-$600 is comparable to a Macbook Pro. That's BS. I've checked out $1000 PC notebooks that didn't have half the screen quality and contrast as Macbook Pro and to me the screen is what's more important, I care about my eyes, maybe some PC people with cheap PC's don't care anything about their eyes. Unless you put out some serious $$$ for a Windows PC you will get a screen with low contrast, very limited viewing angles that result in a washed out screen if it's not pivoted perfectly and this can be maddening when watching movies.
Click to expand...

That's a bit of a generalisation. You're saying that every Windows laptop that's not big money has a crap screen? Yes the macs have great screens, but I definitely have seen tons of great screens on well priced Windows laptops.

Who cares what these guys think? If you need a mac for whatever reason (battery, combination of ports, screen, build quality, osx for whatever reason) then great, if not then you can make a saving and get a cheaper laptop!
 
-aggie- said:
Wow, you have a low opinion of PC's. Is this based on any experience? My Toshiba laptop cost around $500 to $600. A comparable MBP is double that. The quality is the same as far as I'm concerned (and I have Vista).
Click to expand...

What did he say that makes you think he has a low opinion of PC users?

And if your two machines are of the same quality, I'm curious as to why you bought the Mac since it was more expensive?
 
I compared an MBP 17" to a similar (ie same CPU, same amount of memory, similar HDD) Dell. They were pretty much the same price - certainly within a couple of hundred of each other, IIRC (I did it last year), so by no means double or anything like.
 
I don't know about you guys but I'd never be able to go back to surfing in my couch with my MB on my lap, without being able to scroll with my 2 fingers. Never. ;)
 
SaltyPiratePony said:
I don't know about you guys but I'd never be able to go back to surfing in my couch with my MB on my lap, without being able to scroll with my 2 fingers. Never. ;)
Click to expand...

^ THIS.

I've only had my MPB for about three months, and already I'm starting to feel like taking a step back into the Stone Age whenever I try and help a friend or family member with a non-multi-touch laptop. Not to mention the numerous other little things I find myself blinking at the absence of -- stuff like the backlit keyboard, the OS, the gorgeous aluminum enclosure (and its lack of six hundred dust-saturated heatsink vents!), the easily-upgradeable RAM and HDD, the MagSafe connector, the little catch that keeps capslock from going on if you accidentally brush it... the list goes on and on, and those are just the little things that I myself have noticed. I'm sure others could easily point out other, better examples.

It's been said before, but it bears saying yet again. System specs are not the be-all and end-all of what makes a computer... so (IMHO) throwing down the "same PC for half the price" argument is kind of void. Same Spec ≠ Same Computer.
 
I've always hated the generalization that PC = windows. I was a longtime (and still am) PC user that rarely ever runs windows. Linux is my OS of choice on PC hardware.

OS X value definitely needs to be factored in. A UNIX OS under the hood with mainstream commercial software widely available. Plus all the goodies you get with a new Mac (iLife suite, for one).

Hardware-wise, I've always hated trackpads and was a die hard trackpoint (thinkpad) user. But the glasspad with all the multi-finger gestures won me over.
 
I've spec'd out a laptop or to a few months ago and got the configuration pretty close to that of the MBP and it was around 700 - 900 dollars cheaper then the MBP. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is an apple tax and Mac's have always had the reputation (rightfully so) of being more expensive then a pc.

With that said, you get something that the pcs don't have. A design that blows away anything else on the market. A great OS and a company that stands behind their products.

So while I pay more money for my Macs, they hold their value better, I have a better built machine that will last me longer then a cheaper pc.
 
I'm surprised that no one mentioned that Apple computers generally have higher resale value compare to Pc. I've tried buying bunch of broken apple laptops, powermac g5 and mac pro and resell them after fixing them up, but even broken apple computers are still too expensive for me even tho I'd get higher return value for them. Have seen broken powermac g5's go for 700 bucks on ebay.



xenoc
 
maflynn said:
I've spec'd out a laptop or to a few months ago and got the configuration pretty close to that of the MBP and it was around 700 - 900 dollars cheaper then the MBP. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is an apple tax and Mac's have always had the reputation (rightfully so) of being more expensive then a pc.

With that said, you get something that the pcs don't have. A design that blows away anything else on the market. A great OS and a company that stands behind their products.

So while I pay more money for my Macs, they hold their value better, I have a better built machine that will last me longer then a cheaper pc.
Click to expand...

You forget that machining a computer out of a solid block of aluminum isn't free. Engineering for it to fit in a machine under an inch thick isn't free either, then there's the OS, multi-touch hardware, backlit keyboard that all come into play, none of which you can get on a PC, so no, it's not a comparable laptop.
 
maflynn said:
I've spec'd out a laptop or to a few months ago and got the configuration pretty close to that of the MBP and it was around 700 - 900 dollars cheaper then the MBP. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is an apple tax and Mac's have always had the reputation (rightfully so) of being more expensive then a pc.

With that said, you get something that the pcs don't have. A design that blows away anything else on the market. A great OS and a company that stands behind their products.

So while I pay more money for my Macs, they hold their value better, I have a better built machine that will last me longer then a cheaper pc.
Click to expand...

What did you spec, and where? I did a side by side with both HP and DELL, both were close to the same cost of a comparable Macbook Pro. Especially when you factor in the cost of the OS. You need to bump up the Vista/Win 7 to Premium to truly compare. Same as for adding the built in Web Cam, etc.

And who cares? If you like Windows, or Linux great. Use it, be happy you think you saved $$, and go on with life. I got tired of having to wipe/reinstall an OS every 8 - 12 months because of some stupid driver issue, or DLL problem, et-al. Have had a white MB for 2 years now, on the same install, and no issues, no slowdowns, etc. Well worth the extra $25 I spent on this vs. the DELL I was quoted...lol...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back