x86 machines have been traditionally much cheaper than their Mac counterparts, but things have improved a lot lately. Still, a Macbook Pro supposedly costs as much as two similarly spec’ed Dells. Naturally, the author ignores certain things (which he at least acknowledges): built-in iSight, bundled software, faster RAM.

Curious about how true this is, I went over to the Dell website and tried configuring a computer with specs similar to the Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo:

Dell E1505 Dual Core

• Components
  • PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7400 (4MB Cache/2.16GHz/667MHz FSB)
  • OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
  • UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA No Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Selected
  • LCD PANEL 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™
  • MEMORY 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
  • HARD DRIVE 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
  • OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
  • VIDEO CARD 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™
  • SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Audio
• Accessories
  • BATTERY OPTIONS 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
  • WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1390b/g (54Mbps)
  • BLUETOOTH OPTIONS Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
  • WIRELESS ENTERTAINMENT Interlink ExpressCard Media Remote for Bluetooth-enabled Notebooks
• Software
  • PRODUCTIVITY No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
  • ANTI-VIRUS & SECURITY No Security Subscription
  • PHOTOS, MUSIC & MORE! Trial pack- Basic and trial products from Corel and Yahoo
  • BURN & VIDEO EDITING Combo: Sonic DigitalMedia and MyDVD Plus (DVD+RW only)
• Service
  • WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service
  • DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included

The Dell E1505 would run me $1,477

Here are the specs of the Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo

2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

• Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” (no mention of future upgrade options to “Leopard” though)
• 1440 x 900 pixels SXGA+
• 1GB memory 667 MHz
• 120GB hard drive 5400 rpm
• 6x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) - ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB SDRAM with DVI output
• Optical Audio
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Airport Express 802.11g
• built-in Bluetooth 2.0
• Apple Remote
• iLife 2006 which includes iMovie and iDVD for editing and burning DVDs, as well as GarageBand and iPhoto
• 1 year of Apple Care

The 15” Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo would run for $1,999

So yeah, a Dell would save me $522, which is nothing to sneeze at, but a far cry from the $1,143 that the article is claiming. However, there were are a few things on the MacBook Pro that I wasn’t able to get the equivalent for on the Dell:

• Firewire
• built in iSight
• DVI output
• Radeon x1600 (vs Radeon x1400)
• 667 MHz RAM (vs 533 MHz RAM)
• optical audio
• Gigabit Ethernet

These pieces of hardware easily make up the difference in price. One may argue that if you don’t want this stuff, you can’t buy a cheaper Mac without it, and that’s true. If all you want is a laptop for surfing the Web at Starbucks or something, you should totally go with the $1,031 Dell, although there are far cheaper, just as capable machines out there.

We’re talking about quality. It’s simply the difference between a luxury car and an economy car. Just like no one buys a BMW to save money, no one buys an Apple because they want a cheap machine. Each has their place.

And I could rant all about how I can’t stand Windows XP, but that’s another blog post altogether.

Then there’s the software: you’d have to get separate pieces of software to obtain the functionality of iLife. Something for your photos, something for your video editing needs, something for creating music. I realize that not everyone is going to have the need for this (I have yet to fire up iMovie) but there is added value in these things.

And the thing that is crucial is customer service. With a Dell, you can only talk to someone on the phone, and if worse comes to worse, you have to mail your machine in. The awesome thing about Apple is that you can just show up at the Genius Bar at their store and get some help for free, and this is even after AppleCare expires. Sure, Apple won’t replace your machine for free after the 1 year warranty period, but I think the face-to-face interaction is particularly valuable.

So it comes to this: yes, the Macbook Pro is far from being a barebones machine. It comes with all sorts of crazy bells and whistles that you don’t need if you’re just going to surf the Web and maybe do some Powerpoint presentations. And if you’re a seasoned Windows computer user, I would go with the Dell, or even better, a much cheaper, just as capable machine.

But I would definitely recommend a Mac to a newbie for two things: (1) ease of use—it just works and (2) easy access to face-to-face tech support for free.