- Joined
- Dec 22, 2006
- Messages
- 26,561
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- Location
- Texas, where else?
- Your Mac's Specs
- 15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
You can get the Dell for about $1500 after tax, and the max memory in pretty much any c2d pc or notebook is 4gb, including the inspiron. Dell always has 20%-30% online coupons.
The fact remains that you can get pc hardware for cheaper than mac hardware because of the competitive aspect of the pc market.
1st - I am no Mac fanboy as others who have read many of my previous posts already know. Just my post previous to this one, was to recommend getting a window machine. I am a long time hardware enthusiast.
2nd - no one is disputing that you can buy Windows PC's cheaper than you can buy Mac's
3rd - there can be no comparing one computer to another without first having the same CPU in each, as this is the most expensive part incorporated into them.
4th - you start with the same CPU in both machines and then compare their pricing, without this, there is no comparison
edit - yes, I know 3 & 4 are the same, it's important
You may consider the CPU to be only a minor difference between the 2 machines, but Dell charges a $425 upgrade to the 2.33 from the 2.00, so the first thing you have to do is add that to get a true comparison.
Next, the 2.33 is not available as an option in the Inspiron - why you may ask, because the motherboard they use in that machine is not capable of handling that chip, so the mobo has to be upgraded also. You're Inspiron is now transformed into the XPS and is over $2K by the time you have upgraded just this one item from Dell.
One of the primary reasons someone with a working computer buys a new one, is because their old one has gotten too slow for the current programs they are installing on the machine. The cause - the CPU. The processor in the machine will be the determining factor of how soon you will be needing a replacement. It is my personal opinion why you can't go into a retail store and buy a windows PC with the same CPU that Apple puts in their machines. Planned obsolescence. That's a big part of why this MBP is my first off the shelf machine since '94. After having been here in the forums for a few months, I now see it may also be the reason why I see many people saying that Mac's are useable for a longer period of time than the typical windows machine.
Any windows hardware enthusiast that's been building his own machines for many years knows, the first place you spend your money is for the fastest processor you can afford. Everything else can be upgraded easily and relatively cheaply down the line. By the time the CPU needs upgrading, typically they have a new socket and so now you also have to get a new mobo. Start doing this, and you might as well build a new machine. The enthusiast that is not buying the fastest CPU, is taking that savings and getting a higher end Mobo and some high end RAM so that he can overclock the CPU to get where he wants to be.