Puncturing the "PCs Are Cheaper Than Macs" Myth

jcatcw writes "The recently converted Scot Finnie went notebook shopping. At the high end of the notebook spectrum, in order to get comparable power and features, a Dell machine comes in $650 over the Apple, and it was clunkier and weighed more. Sony couldn't beat the Apple either. Midrange and low-end machines, though, turn out to be pretty comparable, with more choices in the PC arena but some good values if you happen to want what Apple has decided you need. So, if you're talking name-brand hardware, it's just no longer the case that PCs are cheaper than Macs."

Comments

Re:Dell != PC

[__aaclcg7560]

You can find a biege box?! OMG! Why isn't this on the front page of Slashdot? These days I have to settle for black cases and get rid of all the neon LED enhancement crap so it doesn't glow in the dark.

Re:No competition on the low end

[rvw]

Hello?

Hello, is it me you're looking for?
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it in your smile
You're all I've ever wanted
My arms are open wide
Cos you know just what to say
And you know just what to do
And I want to tell you so much, I love you

Re:No competition on the low end

[HTTP Error 403 403.9]

Can't say I'm surprised, a Mac user is exactly the kind of person who would bring a sword to a gun fight.

The Mac guy would still win because the PC guy would be too distracted bragging about how cheap his gun is.

Re:No competition on the low end

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly.

Re:No competition on the low end

[MyOtherUIDis3digits]

Mod me to hell, but I gotta say it:

And by the time he gets through all the "You have turned the safety off - Cancel or Allow?", "You have pulled the trigger - Cancel or Allow?" BS he will be bleeding profusely from several puncture and slash wounds.

That, or it just explodes and blows his frickin hand off.

Yeah, you tell 'em!

[mattgreen]

Now, when I get in a heated debate that approaches fisticuffs over the prices of personal computers, I have a reference which will assure me victory. I merely need only bait my opponent into saying, "but Apple computers are so much more expensive!" Then, I pull the trigger, and navigate to the article. I will strike Darth Vader down with a single stroke of logic from this Slashdot post and shall rescue the galaxy from this horrible, horrible misconception that plagues the minds of so many. Then a new empire shall be ushered in...

Re:Dell != PC

[MightyYar]

Only thing I hate about them is the stupid blue light under the power button. I usually put tape over it. Presumably you are building the machine yourself... You don't have to plug it in! lol

Re:No competition on the low end

[rcamera]

i thought the porno-popups were an added bonus of running windows... you make it sound like an unwanted behavior.

Re:Dell != PC

[thegnu]

Antec offers nice simple cases and gaudy ones. My current case is rolled steel and aluminum. Simple and clean. Not a beige box, but it doesn't have landing lights either.

If you insulate the plug for the landing lights from the plug that the power comes from by about a half inch of, well, anything, you can avoid the landing lights. Though I do hate having danglies on my computer. F-ing danglies. I had a Sonata, and it made me so very happy except for those danglies for that stupid double-barrel blue spotlight on the front. I'm much more a fan of their utilitarian series, which in prime utilitarian fashion, has no stupid giant lights.

And now I have a P180, which while not fulfilling my life completely, comes very close. I defy any Mac user to sincerely argue that you can actually say that a Mac Pro is better looking than a P180. But I suppose half of them clicked the probably Reply button before reading this sentence. I guess the Mac Pro case would probably cost a lot more if you purchased it separately. Oh, man... [offtopic] I just had a great idea. Someone needs to call Apple and tell them that your case broke, and you need a replacement part, lol. I would love to have a Mac Pro case. Despite what I said about the P180
[/offtopic]

APPLE SUPPORT: Thank you for calling Apple. How may I assist you today?
ME: My case broke, and I need a replacement part, lol.
AS: What?
ME: I said my case broke, and I need a replacement part, lol.
AS: ...

Maybe I can affect this whole thread with fake tags:
[/offtopic] :-)

Re:No competition on the low end

[Ahruman]

"Don't forget to remind them that (unless they also buy Windows) the only software they'll ever get to use is whatever it comes with out of the box"

No, no, no. That's the willfully ignorant jibe for the iPhone, not Macs.

Re:No competition on the low end

[bill_mcgonigle]

So you're saying that 100 Macs cost only twice as much as a single PC?

Only if you figure in the support costs.

Re: qiuite true, but I can't blame them either

[Bastard of Subhumani]

"Your not paying 2,799.00 for the hard drive"
OK, maybe it's a typo.

"your paying it for the bigger screen"
Hmm. Seems not.

"failed your case since that runs just about right to all of the other 17 laptop manufacturers"
Not an idiomatic expression. Several decidely unidiomatic ones, in fact.

"you would STILL have a smaller HD to the MPB"
Smaller than.

"I ended up paying less than 2000 with the educator discount."
Please tell me you got that through someone else. Please.

Re:Dell != PC

[Lars T.]

I can get beige custom boxes for cheaper than both Dell and Mac, I haven't seen beige laptops for ages.

Re:Dell != PC

[spun]

Step 1. Choose the case. Step 2: Put your junk in that case
Step 3: Get her to open the case

P.S. Do not put your junk in the case through the power supply fan while it's on.

Re:No competition on the low end

[falcon5768]

Yes but at least Apple coded it to assume that plugging in your new mouse, your not going to be trying to take over the US defense grid.

Re:To the average person

[AdamKG]

when I was in collage.

... I kinda think you should ask for your money back.