PCs on Average Half the Cost of Macs
Posted 08/07/08 at 09:27:03 AM | by Chris Moody
In the world of PCs we have it pretty good. Hardware is pretty inexpensive for the performance across the board. It’s well developed and pretty amazing that you can take a conglomeration of parts drop Windows or Linux in it and have the thing work (usually). Overall this makes PCs cheap enough for the masses. Mac’s on the other hand tend to average almost double the cost of the PC average, according to a story by DailyTech:
“Macs have gone from an average price of $1,432 and $1,574, for desktops and laptops respectively in June '06 to $1,543 and $1,515 respectively in June '08. While much lower to start, PCs are now even lower in average sale price. The average PC notebook went from $877 to $700,”
I would have thought that the recent change in Mac using Intel hardware would have enabled them to lower their prices, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
It has always been comparing Apples to, well, PCs to compare the platforms. Apple controls its production from end to end. Microsoft’s approach is more of a middle of the road approach with its Windows Certified Logo program, and Linux of course goes for the gusto with a completely open approach. Each has it’s advantages and draw backs. What we are seeing now is the result of openness and demand. If Apple wants to catch up it means opening up and letting builders use their OS X on their systems. I can just imagine how that will affect their vaunted stability, even though OS X is Linux at heart with Mac clothing. It will level the playing field and Macs might actually capture a larger market share while reducing their prices.
What do you think? Will we see Apple open it’s OS to system builders?
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Submitted by for the lolz on Mon, 2008-08-18 23:17
It's kind of nice reading an article that isn't windows bashing. And now i'm going to put save that image as my background.
*right click*
* set as backg etc..... *
---
I do it for the LolZ. =)
Submitted by GreenTurtle on Thu, 2008-08-07 13:46
So far; people I know have bought Macs because it is trendy. Kind of like why people bought VW beetles. The marketing has worked very well for them; and the prices show it.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
Kind of useless
Submitted by Skiplives on Thu, 2008-08-07 12:33
All this study says is that people spend more on Macs than PCs? That isn't really helpful. It's like doing a study and reporting that the Wii is cheaper than the PS3.
You don't buy Apples based on price, mostly because they don't make a model for the budget minded. Even the Mac Mini is more about size than price. They also don't compete at all in the desktop market. The iMac is a laptop with a cord, very nice in a kitchen or bedroom, where having a mid-tower case isn't going to fly. The Mac Pro is a workstation, plain and simple.
I have an iMac and a PC. They do different things. All this report does is quantify the reality - people on a budget don't buy a Mac. Shocking. When you only have one product that lists under $1000 did you expect to find any other answer?
I'd love to run OSX on a PC. It won't happen for two reasons, cost and control. Making OSX run on any PC would require a lot of work Apple sees no reason to do, the exclusivity of OSX helps justify the premium they can and do charge.
There is not anything that a
Submitted by big_montana on Mon, 2008-08-11 11:21
There is not anything that a Mac can do that a PC cannot do just as efficiently. I have both a G5 and a Windows Vista based computer that I built myself (cannot do that with a Mac, wish I could). About 8 to 10 years ago, Apple did license out their technology to two other companies to build and sell their PC's. This did not last long, as the two companies (whose names escape me now) price their products at half of what apple was selling theirs for. If Apple wanted to cut prices they could, but they keep the prices artificially high. I for one did not like having to spend $300 when my super drive died on my G5 as an off the shelf model that cost $35 would not work in it (even though it was made by the same company). Needless to say I told Apple to kiss off, and I do what ever burning I need from my Vista PC. Making OS X run on nay PC would not require much work, you just assume it would, and the exclusivity of the OS is not all that it is cracked up to be. Right now, I find Vista to be more secure and able to run on more hardware platforms than OS X could. You thought Windows people whined when Vista released about it's hard ware requirements? Leopard requirements is just as high if not more so. At least with a Windows box you can actually upgrade it, with Mac OS X, if you want to upgrade to the latest, you have to replace your entire computer, forget about upgrading processors and hard drives and memory.
Submitted by sdcat on Thu, 2008-08-07 18:28
Every study would tell us something, and would raise questions and be able to reveal possible problems. In this case looking objectively,
1. Why would mac cost more than pc about or close to 1k difference under same hardware spec?
2. Why would the price not coming down but go up instead over 2 years period of time for macs?
2-1. Isn't technology more advanced and able to cut down more cost to produce parts?
2-2. Could it be mac still hanging on old technologies to produce parts?
3. MS windows OS(came with system) is more compatible than mac with all the parts out there, including mac's system, and is cheaper ?
and so on....
I'd say they should open the OS, but they probably won't.
Submitted by Wildebeast on Thu, 2008-08-07 12:16
I've never been sure just how much of Apple's stuff being over-priced is the high level control they have over functionality and compatibility. ---How much is just them doing the Nintendo thing, limiting production/supply so that they can charge more of a premium price.
How you respond to their ad program just depends on whether you'd feel more "scalped" having bought the new AirBook at a premium, or having been an early adopter of Vista --and gotten a system that wasn't well configured to run the OS.
If they let ---say, HP/Voodoo market an OS X machine, they'd be blind-sided by a certain number of complains about problems with parts that are not on the Mac list... A very un-Mac-like thing.
Right now, you a Mac owner has a problem with an un-approved component, Macintosh will tell them: "Well, gee, that's your problem --not ours."
It's an industry thing, really. Mac owners are just used to being told any non-Mac component just should not be expected to work. I sometimes think this is a goal/"feature" nVidia and AMD/ATI are playing around with...
Submitted by sdcat on Thu, 2008-08-07 10:56
I 2nd that ^^
Apples have always been overpriced...
Submitted by dwr50 on Thu, 2008-08-07 08:00
people that buy Apples want computers that "just work" and they are willing, and able, to pay extra for them.That said... I wonder how many of the faithful are pleased with the, problem plagued, computers Apple has turned out lately. It seems that Apple computer reliability has taken a major drop since they started their phone business.
Acer Aspire 5610z,Vista HP, No problems with Vista... so far, but I'm learning Linux, just in case.
Acer Aspire 5315-2153, $348 Walmart Special,Mandriva Linux 2008.1 Spring Edition,VirtualBox 1.6.4
Submitted by brokenmoth08 on Thu, 2008-08-07 10:31
Acer Aspire 6920 Macbook
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1 Ghz
Ram 3Gb Ram 1Gb
Hard disk space 320Gb (already partitioned) Hard disk space 120Gb
16 inch wide screen 13 inch screen
extra features: virtual surround sound extra features: comes in black or white.
finger print reader, ect.
$600-$700 $1,099 from the Apple store
Need I say more?
To be entirely fair, the
Submitted by Magaliiiii on Thu, 2008-08-07 18:41
To be entirely fair, the Macbook is not the laptop most people recommend unless you're a hip trendy college kid or whatever. The Macbook Pro on the other hand is absolutely a force to be reckoned with.
The real downside to buying an Apple is the lack of ability to do anything yourself. Until my laptop was out of warranty I had to either pay them a ridiculous fee to upgrade my memory/whatever other parts (and they'd only do it with the stuff they sell, for way more than market price) or void my warranty doing it myself. That blew chunks.
Submitted by brokenmoth08 on Fri, 2008-08-08 19:21
but i am a trendy college kid(/nerd)
Submitted by Magaliiiii on Tue, 2008-08-12 15:47
me too. but i went for the pro becuase i didn't care if the laptop was white or black. lol i wanted the bigger/more powerful laptop.
Submitted by brokenmoth08 on Thu, 2008-08-07 10:35
sry, clicked more than once. who wants to see me do this to the mac pro? r if someone else dosen't mind.....
Submitted by yagisencho on Thu, 2008-08-07 13:52
When has this not been the case? The remarkable thing now is that despite using the same off-the-shelf parts, Apple customers are still willing to pay the premium. Works out great for Apple.
I've never understood the
Submitted by xiqtem on Thu, 2008-09-11 19:47
I've never understood the elitist attitude of Mac fans. I've used many distros of Linux and every version of dos and windows, mac, os2, and so on. I just can't get my head around it. It is kind of like voting for a socialist... It doesn't make sense to me but, someone out there thinks it is a good idea.
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