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- Your Mac's Specs
- 1.8 GHz i7 MBA 11" OSX 10.8.2
It seems there has been either a lot of interest or a lot of trolls lately when it comes to the Mac vs PC debate. I'd like to show why you aren't doing an Apples to Apple (pardon the pun) comparison. I am going to compare to Dell to keep it simple. Plus many companies (including my own) use Dell. I have a lot of experience with Dell as well. Also you will see I will show DIY options for the Mac and not the PC. This is because Apple charges you way too much to upgrade components and Dell does not. I would order upgrades from Dell - I would not pay Apple to upgrade stuff like Ram for me. For example $400 for 8GB vs $150 for 8GB to do it myself.
On System Specs
When it comes to laptops most PC people come on here and go - "check it out I can get a core i7 with 500GB and 8GB of RAM for $900 - why would I get a Mac?"
Quick answer - the system specs are only part of the story and let's put that to rest.
I would postulate that the Macbook Pros would be on par with the business line of most PC makers. That means if you are comparing a Macbook Pro with a Dell Inspirion or any other home use consumer line laptop, then the Macbook Pro is wrong for you. You should be looking at the White Macbook. But you say "I cannot get the latest processors (core i5/i7) with anything other than the 15 inch MBP." That is fine but you cannot compare a core i5 consumer laptop with a core i5 15 inch MBP.
The Pro at the end of the name means you'd have to compare to the Dell Latitude line to get similar build quality. If build quality is not important to you - ie "I'm not going to move this computer around a lot" then go get the cheaper Windows box. You can argue this until you are blue in the face. I am a road warrior - I have the top tier status at a major hotel chain(28 stays/year), and 2nd from the top tier status on a major airline.(50k flight miles) I, and others like me, need build quality. Nothing is more upsetting than a busted computer 1000 miles from home, right before you have to give a presentation.
TL ; DR - build quality of the Macbook Pros means you have to look at business class laptops to compare specs. If you cannot get past this point, then a Mac is not for you. Price is the most important issue so therefore go get the cheapest/fastest machine you can find.
Consumer Grade Comparison
Let us compare a XPS 14 vs a White Macbook.
Size & Weight
Dell Width 13.9" (352.8mm) Mac Width 13.00 inches (33.03 cm)
Dell Height 1.2" (31.4mm) front /1.4" (35.4mm) back Macbook Height 1.08 inches (2.74 cm)
Dell Depth 9.7" (247.4mm) Macbook Depth 9.12 inches (23.17 cm)
Dell Weight Starting weight of 5.35lbs. (2.43 kg)11
with 6 cell battery; 5.72lbs (2.6kg) with 9-cell battery. Weights will vary depending on configurations and manufacturing variability.
Macbook Weight 4.7 pounds (2.13 kg)
Dell Base Price $899
Mac Base Price $999
Dell wins on Processor (core i5 up to a core i7) and Video Card - 1GB 420m Nvidia. It also wins with the option of a tv tuner. I couldn't find a core i5 but here are the geekbench scores for an i7 XPS vs a Macbook core duo. This isn't quite right as I couldn't find an XPS 14 but it is at least a ballpark figure.
Dell Inc. Studio XPS 1645 : Geekbench Result Browser
MacBook (Early 2008) : Geekbench Result Browser
What does that mean in real world scenarios? You can encode movies and audio faster, video editing will be faster, run simulations faster, and 3d gaming will be better on the Dell. Otherwise for web browsing, basic photo editing, email, the day to day stuff I would say you won't see a difference. I would also claim that in the real world you need to have an Anti-Virus on the windows side which takes processing power as well. That never shows up on benches though. Is fastest/cheapest your criteria? Then the Dell is for you.
What is missing from the Dell?
Bluetooth $20
9 Cell 8h 30min battery $40 (Macbook claims 10hr battery life)
Backlit keyboard $25
Windows Ultimate $150 - This would put Windows close to Mac as you need Ultimate to have bitlocker encryption and network backup. (Professional would get you network backup but no bitlocker)
That brings the total to $1134
Ah - but you need to match specs with the Macbook - so the Macbook needs some additions
500GB HD 5400 RPM- $150 from Apple $95 for a DIY kit and cage from OWC for a 7200 RPM 500GB drive
4GB of RAM - $100 from Apple or $80 from OWC to install yourself
8GB install yourself $149
From Apple $1249 - install yourself $1174 - 8GB $1243
And even though I said it isn't fully Apples to Apples - A similarly configured 2.4GHz i5 MBP - with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive is $1949 from Apple. DIY price $1894 or $2043 for 8GB. As I said the Specs match but the build quality doesn't.
TL ; DR - You still can get a faster PC laptop for less money, but it isn't that much less. This is just hardware specs, I didn't fully compare software that comes with the Mac vs what comes with a PC. Only the really basic stuff like backup and disk encryption were included in the compare
Pro Grade Compare
Dell Latitude E6510 - I chose this laptop as it could get the closest specs to the 15.4" Mac.
Dell Starting weight 5.53lbs/2.51kg (with 6-cell battery) MBP 15 Weight 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg)3
Dell Width 14.74"/374.3mm MBP 15 Width 14.35 inches (36.4 cm)
Dell Height (front/back) 1.1-1.3"/27.1-31.5mm MBP 15 Height 0.95 inch (2.41 cm)
Dell Depth 9.97"/253.3mm MBP 15 Depth 9.82 inches (24.9 cm)
Now the specs are more evenly matched.
Both are
2.4GHz i5, 4GB of Ram, 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive, dvd rw drive, webcam and microphone, backlit keyboard, bluetooth and discrete graphics card.
The Dell runs $1424 (with the sale going on right now - normally it is $1839)
The Mac would be $1949 or $1894 with a DIY hard drive upgrade. So without the sale you can see the price is much closer. One can get a refurbished model from Apple for $1529 - and with a DIY upgrade it would be $1624 for the 500GB hard drive.
Now I would say you have similar build quality - and again you see that the price difference for Sales/Refurb ; Actual/Actual still aren't that far away.
TL ; DR Compare build quality when looking at laptops. I generally don't recommend consumer grade laptops as they tend to fail in 3 to 5 years in my experience. YMMV
On System Specs
When it comes to laptops most PC people come on here and go - "check it out I can get a core i7 with 500GB and 8GB of RAM for $900 - why would I get a Mac?"
Quick answer - the system specs are only part of the story and let's put that to rest.
I would postulate that the Macbook Pros would be on par with the business line of most PC makers. That means if you are comparing a Macbook Pro with a Dell Inspirion or any other home use consumer line laptop, then the Macbook Pro is wrong for you. You should be looking at the White Macbook. But you say "I cannot get the latest processors (core i5/i7) with anything other than the 15 inch MBP." That is fine but you cannot compare a core i5 consumer laptop with a core i5 15 inch MBP.
The Pro at the end of the name means you'd have to compare to the Dell Latitude line to get similar build quality. If build quality is not important to you - ie "I'm not going to move this computer around a lot" then go get the cheaper Windows box. You can argue this until you are blue in the face. I am a road warrior - I have the top tier status at a major hotel chain(28 stays/year), and 2nd from the top tier status on a major airline.(50k flight miles) I, and others like me, need build quality. Nothing is more upsetting than a busted computer 1000 miles from home, right before you have to give a presentation.
TL ; DR - build quality of the Macbook Pros means you have to look at business class laptops to compare specs. If you cannot get past this point, then a Mac is not for you. Price is the most important issue so therefore go get the cheapest/fastest machine you can find.
Consumer Grade Comparison
Let us compare a XPS 14 vs a White Macbook.
Size & Weight
Dell Width 13.9" (352.8mm) Mac Width 13.00 inches (33.03 cm)
Dell Height 1.2" (31.4mm) front /1.4" (35.4mm) back Macbook Height 1.08 inches (2.74 cm)
Dell Depth 9.7" (247.4mm) Macbook Depth 9.12 inches (23.17 cm)
Dell Weight Starting weight of 5.35lbs. (2.43 kg)11
with 6 cell battery; 5.72lbs (2.6kg) with 9-cell battery. Weights will vary depending on configurations and manufacturing variability.
Macbook Weight 4.7 pounds (2.13 kg)
Dell Base Price $899
Mac Base Price $999
Dell wins on Processor (core i5 up to a core i7) and Video Card - 1GB 420m Nvidia. It also wins with the option of a tv tuner. I couldn't find a core i5 but here are the geekbench scores for an i7 XPS vs a Macbook core duo. This isn't quite right as I couldn't find an XPS 14 but it is at least a ballpark figure.
Dell Inc. Studio XPS 1645 : Geekbench Result Browser
MacBook (Early 2008) : Geekbench Result Browser
What does that mean in real world scenarios? You can encode movies and audio faster, video editing will be faster, run simulations faster, and 3d gaming will be better on the Dell. Otherwise for web browsing, basic photo editing, email, the day to day stuff I would say you won't see a difference. I would also claim that in the real world you need to have an Anti-Virus on the windows side which takes processing power as well. That never shows up on benches though. Is fastest/cheapest your criteria? Then the Dell is for you.
What is missing from the Dell?
Bluetooth $20
9 Cell 8h 30min battery $40 (Macbook claims 10hr battery life)
Backlit keyboard $25
Windows Ultimate $150 - This would put Windows close to Mac as you need Ultimate to have bitlocker encryption and network backup. (Professional would get you network backup but no bitlocker)
That brings the total to $1134
Ah - but you need to match specs with the Macbook - so the Macbook needs some additions
500GB HD 5400 RPM- $150 from Apple $95 for a DIY kit and cage from OWC for a 7200 RPM 500GB drive
4GB of RAM - $100 from Apple or $80 from OWC to install yourself
8GB install yourself $149
From Apple $1249 - install yourself $1174 - 8GB $1243
And even though I said it isn't fully Apples to Apples - A similarly configured 2.4GHz i5 MBP - with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive is $1949 from Apple. DIY price $1894 or $2043 for 8GB. As I said the Specs match but the build quality doesn't.
TL ; DR - You still can get a faster PC laptop for less money, but it isn't that much less. This is just hardware specs, I didn't fully compare software that comes with the Mac vs what comes with a PC. Only the really basic stuff like backup and disk encryption were included in the compare
Pro Grade Compare
Dell Latitude E6510 - I chose this laptop as it could get the closest specs to the 15.4" Mac.
Dell Starting weight 5.53lbs/2.51kg (with 6-cell battery) MBP 15 Weight 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg)3
Dell Width 14.74"/374.3mm MBP 15 Width 14.35 inches (36.4 cm)
Dell Height (front/back) 1.1-1.3"/27.1-31.5mm MBP 15 Height 0.95 inch (2.41 cm)
Dell Depth 9.97"/253.3mm MBP 15 Depth 9.82 inches (24.9 cm)
Now the specs are more evenly matched.
Both are
2.4GHz i5, 4GB of Ram, 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive, dvd rw drive, webcam and microphone, backlit keyboard, bluetooth and discrete graphics card.
The Dell runs $1424 (with the sale going on right now - normally it is $1839)
The Mac would be $1949 or $1894 with a DIY hard drive upgrade. So without the sale you can see the price is much closer. One can get a refurbished model from Apple for $1529 - and with a DIY upgrade it would be $1624 for the 500GB hard drive.
Now I would say you have similar build quality - and again you see that the price difference for Sales/Refurb ; Actual/Actual still aren't that far away.
TL ; DR Compare build quality when looking at laptops. I generally don't recommend consumer grade laptops as they tend to fail in 3 to 5 years in my experience. YMMV