{"id":426,"date":"2006-06-02T15:25:26","date_gmt":"2006-06-02T07:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nargalzius.com\/blog2\/http:\/www.nargalzius.com\/blog2\/archives\/2006\/06\/2006_06_02_1525.php"},"modified":"2006-06-02T15:25:26","modified_gmt":"2006-06-02T07:25:26","slug":"bang-for-buck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/archives\/2006\/06\/02\/bang-for-buck","title":{"rendered":"Bang for buck"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/suplido.com\/joel\" title=\"visit blog\">Joel<\/a> and I have been commenting back and forth in one of his <a href=\"http:\/\/suplido.com\/joel\/2006\/05\/30\/compare-mac-and-pc-prices\" title=\"read post\">posts<\/a>, and I thought it would be better to just post a blog entry of my whole argument here in my site &#8211; instead of second guessing what &#8220;perspective&#8221; one has to take when stressing the point of the Apple-PC debate in terms of &#8220;value for money.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In summary, the &#8220;debate&#8221; began from a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.macnightowl.com\/2006\/05\/25\/perpetuating-the-myth-of-expensive-macs\/\" title=\"read article\">linked article<\/a> stating that the &#8220;myth&#8221; of Apple being more expensive than PCs is <em>finally<\/em> being debunked, now that the platforms are on a level x86 playing field. And just for the record, I agree that it is in fact a myth when it comes to a certain price-point with laptops.<\/p>\n<p>What I just wanted to clarify however was <strong>at this point in time,<\/strong> when it comes to the <em>desktop<\/em> realm. This isn&#8217;t a myth at all. Apple products are indeed much more expensive than the PC counterparts beyond any doubt.<\/p>\n<p>So I thought I would just post the following scenarios and points to clarify my stand.<\/p>\n<!--more-->\n<h3>Laptops<\/h3>\n<p>I&#8217;ve always said that I <em>never<\/em> considered any other <em>laptop<\/em> other than an Apple. I mentioned stuff like better resale value, etc. But one of the <strong>main<\/strong> reasons was ultimately because, like what the article said, Apples were <em>indeed<\/em> as cheap (or even cheaper) than their PC alternatives&#8230; in the <em>portable\/laptop<\/em> realm.<\/p>\n<p>The reason why it <em>seems<\/em> that Apple laptops are more expensive than PCs is simply because Apple gives too little choices when it comes to their portable line. You could definitely go BTO, <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_426_1('footnote_plugin_reference_426_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_426_1('footnote_plugin_reference_426_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_426_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">1 <\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_426_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Built To Order (customized purchase) <\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_426_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_426_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> <em>but<\/em> it still has a <em>configuration floor<\/em> wherein the specs can&#8217;t go any lower. If you look closely, that &#8220;configuration floor&#8221; is pretty high end-already as far as laptops go.<\/p>\n<p>This is a <em>very good<\/em> thing for enthusiasts, because to us, whether we get a PC laptop or Apple portable, we would <em>never<\/em> consider anything lower in the first place &#8211; in fact we would even think that floor of Apple portables would still be too &#8220;low&#8221; to our standards.<\/p>\n<p>So what does this entail?<\/p>\n<p>Simple: translate that configuration floor of Apple to a PC laptop and what do you get? Now try canvassing PCs that offer similar configurations. You then end up seeing those particular configurations falling into the upper bracket of PC laptop setups&#8230; yes, the very same PC laptops that cost quite a penny. Now you will be <em>further<\/em> surprised that Apples in fact <em>can<\/em> be cheaper depending on which brand you&#8217;re comparing it to. Compare it to a VAIO, and Apples <strong>don&#8217;t<\/strong> look expensive <em>at all!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But that doesn&#8217;t mean that there <em>aren&#8217;t<\/em> PC laptops that are much cheaper&#8230; the only difference is there are <strong>no<\/strong> Apple counterparts for them. And the biggest mistake people make is comparing those low-end, cheap PC laptops with the Apple portables, which floor at a considerably higher configuration (ergo price) &#8211; which is obviously an unfair comparison.<\/p>\n<h3>Desktops<\/h3>\n<p>Desktops on the other hand are a whole different issue altogether. Apple is <em>clearly<\/em> putting a hefty premium on the hardware than what you can build yourself.<\/p>\n<p>To be fair, just like in the laptops, let us compare the really high-end conterparts so that we know we&#8217;re on a pretty level playing field. On the comments I made on <a href=\"http:\/\/suplido.com\/joel\" title=\"visit blog\">Joel<\/a>&#8216;s blog, I tried comparing PC desktops to the Mini &#8211; because price-wise, it falls under a reasonable budget for a normal consumer to have. I also mentioned however, that ultimately, a Mac Mini is really a desktop which uses laptop components &#8211; ergo I personally consider it as a laptop in a desktop casing.<\/p>\n<p>To get around this, let&#8217;s only consider the high end counterparts &#8211; that way we can clearly see that if price were no object, given all the premiums component manufactures can incorporate into their sales, which setup will come out cheaper. The comparison would be simple:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Configure the highest-end Mac desktop you possibly can (BTO if you have to).<\/li>\n<li>Take a look at it&#8217;s receipt.<\/li>\n<li>Take that amount and use that as a budget for a PC desktop system.<\/li>\n<li>Try building a PC system using that budget.<\/li>\n<li>Since the new Macs are now on x86 processors, then a legitimate comparison can be made when running Windows <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_426_1('footnote_plugin_reference_426_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_426_1('footnote_plugin_reference_426_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_426_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">2 <\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_426_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">If Apple would quit being a snob and allow OSX to be run on non-apple hardware, then we could do the same comparison on the OSX environment.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_426_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_426_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> programs.<\/li>\n<li>Get back to me and tell me if you still believe that Apples <em>aren&#8217;t<\/em> more expensive than PCs \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>So again, in terms of raw hardware potential, I honestly believe that <em>at this juncture,<\/em> Apple wins the bang-for-buck argument only when it comes to the laptop realm.<\/p><div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_426_1();\">Notes<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_426_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_426_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_426_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">Notes<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_426_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_426_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_426_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8673;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Built To Order (customized purchase) <\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_426_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_426_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_426_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8673;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">If Apple would quit being a snob and allow OSX to be run on non-apple hardware, then we could do the same comparison on the OSX environment.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_426_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_426_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_426_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_426_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_426_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_426_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_426_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_426_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_426_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_426_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_426_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_426_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_426_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_426_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joel and I have been commenting back and forth in one of his posts, and I thought it would be better to just post a blog entry of my whole argument here in my site &#8211; instead of second guessing what &#8220;perspective&#8221; one has to take when stressing the point of the Apple-PC debate in &hellip; <p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/archives\/2006\/06\/02\/bang-for-buck\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Bang for buck&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,13],"tags":[96,670,715,886,944,949],"class_list":["post-426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-laptop","tag-mac","tag-pc","tag-powerbook","tag-price"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nargalzius.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}