CyberbrineDreams

Over years I’ve found that if you actually compare component for component Apple often has a favorable price point to a corresponding PC.

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to say an Apple is better than a Dell or other Wintel machine. I’m also not saying that the PC world does have many more price points, configurations, a machines that can do what the average person wants to do for much less. All of those points are true. What I am saying is if you compare two similarly configure machines, often Apple has a completive price.

Now that Dell has a Nehalem-based workstations and laptops it is possible to actually compare a Mac to a Windows based PC component to component.

So here’s a Dell Precision 5500 compared to a MacPro

• Dual 2.26GHz Quad Core Xeon (Nehalem)
• 12 GB DDR3 1066 memory (6×2GB)
• 1TB 7200RPM SATA drive
• CD/DVD burner
• No monitor
• Dell – 256MB NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 295
• Apple – ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB

Apple: $3,899
Dell: $5,427

I realize there’s a slight mismatch on the graphics but everything else is the same (or equivalent). However, there are some differences. The Dell is ultimately a more configurable machine with 9 vs 8 memory slots where the Mac Pro maxs out at 32GB the Dell can goto 72GB (for $27,090 more, and it runs the memory at 800MHz instead of 1066MHz) and it supports faster memory DDR3 1333. That accounts for part if not all of the price difference.

On the laptop front I could not find a Nehlem based 15” inch from Dell so I had to goto 17”. The Dell M6400 is the closest thing I can find to a 17” Macbook Pro. Configuration:

• 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Nehalem)
• 4 GB 1066MHz DDR3 (2×2GB)
• 320GB SATA @ 7200RPM
• 17” 1920×1200 RGB LED display
• Webcam, Bluetooth, Wireless N, etc…
• DVD RW
• Dell: NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M, 512MB
• Apple: NVidia 9600M, 512MB

Apple: $2,849
Dell: $3,422

Again there is the graphics mismatch and again Dell is more configurable with four memory slots vs two so the Apple can goto 8GB and the Dell to 16GB. Also the Dell has two drive slots to the Apple’s one.

So for the same class of machine at this moment it appears that PCs are more expensive, but more configurable, than the corresponding Apple machine. If this generation of machines follows the historical pattern this will reverse over time.

As with Core Duo, Core Duo 2, and now Nehlem Intel has allowed Apple to be first to the party. The early adopter PCs that follow are a lot more expensive. As Nehlem processors and DDR 3 ram become more popular in mid-tier PCs the corresponding machine prices will drop and towards the end of the product cycle the corresponding Dells will be less expensive component to component.

I guess I should maybe do this comparison every 6 months or so and see how it goes