Tag: #dell

Macbook Pro 15″ vs Dell XPS M1530

Things have been a bit busy lately which is why the laptop pricing comparison has taken so long. But I’m here with the results of building up two similar laptops. If you’ve been following my comparisons, you would probably think that I’m an Apple Fanboy (fanboi?). One would be wrong. Why? Well I still have my Dell Inspiron laptop and it’s still a better deal than a Macbook. Let’s look at the breakdown:

Macbook Pro 15″ – $2049

  • Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4GHz)
  • 2GB RAM (667MHz)
  • 250GB SATA HDD (5400RPM)
  • 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256MB)
  • 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Ethernet 10/100/1000
  • 60 WHr Lithium-Polymer Battery
  • Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
  • Multi-touch Mouse Pad
  • iLife ’08
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • iSight Camera

Dell XPS M1530 – $1512

  • Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4GHz)
  • 2GB RAM (667MHz)
  • 250GB SATA HDD (5400RPM)
  • Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256MB)
  • 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Ethernet 10/100/1000
  • 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
  • Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
  • Fingerprint Reader
  • Adobe Photoshop Elements + Adobe Premiere Elements
  • Webcam

So with the exception of GarageBand, multi-touch mouse, and a backlit keyboard, you get everything a Macbook has to offer in a $500 cheaper package from Dell. If any of those particular things are important to you, it might be worth the extra cash…but personally I’d rather have that money to spend on anime and sushi.

By the way, it is worth noting that this may become an obsolete comparison fairly soon. Dell announced ending their XPS line of computers to let the AlienWare division handle the design/manufacture/selling of gaming systems. I have not yet seen if this applies only to desktops or if it is the entire XPS line. I’ll drop an update in when I get some more information. But hey, either way the Dell is cheaper than the Apple when it comes to the portable systems. Go figure.

Mac Pro vs Dell Precision

Continuing my previous post, I thought I needed to compare the higher end Apple systems with something from Dell or HP. The problem is…they each only have like one high end workstation with dual Xeon processors. It took a fair amount of digging around to finally get something similar to the Mac Pro from HP and Dell, but I manage. Guess what, the Mac Pro still comes out as the cheaper system…let’s take a look:

Mac Pro – $3048

  • (2) Quad Core Intel Xeon (2.8GHz)
  • 2GB ECC DDR2 RAM
  • 320GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
  • ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
  • SuperDrive (16x Dual Layer DVD Burner)
  • No Monitor
  • AppleCare (3yr Support)

Dell Precision T5400 – $4197

  • (2) Quad Core Intel Xeon X5440 (2.83GHz)
  • 2GB ECC DDR2 RAM
  • 320GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
  • 256MB PCIe x16 nVidia NVS 290, Dual Monitor DVI Capable
  • 16X DVD+/-RW w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD and Roxio Creator Dell Ed
  • No Monitor
  • 3 Year ProSupport for IT and 3 Year NBD Onsite Service

Look at that. Over $1000 in price difference between the two systems and hardware wise they are nearly the same. Yes, I know the video cards are not exact but the upgrade price to higher end cards that are similar run about the same price so I opted to just not mess with changing those specs. If you are really that curious, feel free to go configure these yourself and compare. Personally, I can’t afford either system so I’m happy to just see something close for a comparison.

Oh, and trust me…you do not want to see the numbers I came up with on the HP build. After about an hour of poking around their site, I only found one dual CPU workstation and it started at over $5300. Granted, it had a few upgrades from what I quoted above, but not enough to justify another grand or so on top of the Dell build. But then, I’ve always known HP is far more overpriced than any other manufacturer out there as I have ordered well over a million dollars in HP servers and desktops and notebooks over my career.

Anyway, the point is this: Apple computers are not overpriced. The entire problem that causes the perpetuation of this misconception is that they do not have any true mid-range systems. You have the Mac Mini, the iMac, and the Mac Pro. All of these are at very different price points and capabilities and there isn’t much you can do to get something between them. They are not a Dell with 50 or 60 models to choose from before you get into bolting on upgrades. The beauty of this is the simplicity. The downside of this is the misconception that they charge too much.

Still to come…Macbook and Macbook Pro vs Dell

iMac vs XPS

I’m the first to admit that Apple’s upgrade pricing is completely insane (though it has been toned down some since the iMac refresh). But I am so tired of hearing that Apple hardware is way overpriced for what you get. Quite to the contrary, Apple’s systems are right in line with similar systems from other manufacturers. Let’s compare the 20″ iMac with a Dell XPS all-in-one system and see what we get:

iMac – $1349

  • Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4GHZ) Processor
  • 250GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
  • Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
  • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory
  • Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
  • 10/100/1000 Ethernet
  • Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR

XPS – $1299

  • Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 (2.2GHZ) Processor
  • 250GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
  • Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
  • DVD±RW Slot Load Drive
  • Integrated Intel Video
  • Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
  • 10/100/1000 Ethernet
  • Bluetooth 2.0

Now since the iMac has FireWire built in, a faster processor, better graphics, a dual layer DVD burner, and better bluetooth…I can understand a $50 price difference. I also consider Vista Home Premium to be a close equivalent to OSX Leopard with iLife in terms of tools and functionality. Vista has Media Center and OSX has FrontRow. Both offer similar (and for the record…similar does not mean identical) features and interfaces and both work with remotes (which you get with the iMac).

So tell me, how is Apple overpriced? Wait, let me guess…you think my comparison is bogus because the XPS isn’t exactly the same specs, right? Let’s see what happens when I choose a higher level for some improved hardware…

iMac – $1478

  • Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4GHZ) Processor
  • 320GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
  • Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
  • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory
  • Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
  • 10/100/1000 Ethernet
  • Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
  • iWork ’08

XPS – $1799

  • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33GHZ) Processor
  • 320GB SATA HDD (7200RPM)
  • Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
  • DVD±RW Slot Load Drive
  • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 Video Card (memory not listed)
  • Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
  • 10/100/1000 Ethernet
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition
  • Hybrid Analog/Digital TV Tuner with Remote Control

Oh, wait, there’s not option for a TV Tuner on an iMac. That must be the reason for the $321 price difference. And if you want to complain that iWork and Office aren’t reasonable counterparts, Office ’08 for Mac is only $149. So if you substitute that in place of the $79 iWork you would still only get a total of $1548 for the iMac leaving a difference of $251 between the systems. Surely that is explained by the TV Tuner which I can pick up at best buy for less than $100…right?

So get off the old and now invalid argument people. That was years ago. Apple is not this super expensive elitist computer manufacturer the hype makes it out to be. They make good systems that perform well running either OSX or Vista and in many cases run Vista better than machines from the other guys. For the price of the bulky and ugly XPS, I can get myself a sleek iMac and still have enough left over to buy a copy of Vista to run in BootCamp or Parallels. Think about that the next time you get ready to buy a machine.