A few days ago I went over an exercise I performed for a friend. The excercise consisted of comparing a Dell 4600 to an eMac. Verdict? Toss up. The rub? Once my pal found out he’s going to be parting with a cool grand(ish) he figured: why not go for the flat panel monitor? Well, that’s not the real reason, just his stated reason. The real reason: He had done his taxes in the interim and found out he was getting a nice fat rebate check (hey, he thought he was gonna owe Uncle Sam some scratch).
New Command: Keep it under two g’s (can you guess how much the rebate is going to be? I knew you could)…oh and get an extended warranty. What the hell, all I’ve got is time right? So a quick trip to the Apple store:
iMac 17″
$1799
Applecare
$169
(This is a GREAT deal…For Apple)
Total
$1968.00
Squeaked in under the two grand limit.
The Dell. Well I recommended that he just get a flat panel upgrade for the 4600, The price worked out to $1616.00 (with processor upgrade). With that you also get a free printer, a free digital camera and on site service. Really a pretty good deal.
“Nope,” said he, “get me a cool Dell.” I tried to explain that such a beast didn’t exist and that the 4600 would be all the computer he needed. No dice. Looking around I found the 4600C. I guess it’s a 4600 smashed into a small form factor but it seemed cool. So let’s repeat the excise:
Dell 4600C
$998.00
Upgrades:
XP Pro: $70
80 GB hard Drive: $30
(Standard on the iMac. Usefulness for Johan? Iffy)
Superdrive equivalent:
$270
A feature he probably won’t use, how many people burn DVDs? But one he thinks he needs
3 year warranty:
169.00
This a great deal..for the manufacturers
Norton Antivirus 12 month Subscription
$40
Nope, Macs don’t get viruses. Yup, PC’s do.
Microsoft Works:
$29
Probably better than AppleWorks
17′ UltraSharp Monitor
$210
Graphics Card:
64MB DDR nVidia
$70
The standard here is integrated video. yuck.
Speakers:
$10
Hey, everyone wants speakers
Grand Total for the Dell:
$1996
Dell Bonus Points: If the computer blows up you can keep the monitor
Apple Bonus Points: You get more cool, though possibly useless, stuff. Gigabit ethernet, iLife, OSX (beats XP), excellent looks.
That was a good, tight race. The Dell comes out higher than expected because he’s going after a form factor. That costs extra.
Last time I discussed this topic a thoughtful poster pointed out that the results shouldn’t be too surprising. After all the comparison is between two high end manufacturers. It would be more interesting to compare both machines to something really bare bones. So I did.
Now mix in the low cost option:
Microtel SYSWM8006 PC
$598
Update: A careful reading poster noted that the computer is actually $698. The poster is correct. I’m not sure if this was a transcription error or if Wal Mart Changed the price
This computer stacks up very well except for the lack of a firewire port, no DVD burning capability and built in graphics. Plus it’s a great big honking thing so the form factor is gone.
Upgrades aren’t really an option, cause it’s Wal-Mart and all. Still, ya gotta add the flat panel monitor:
Microtel MTAQ17XP Flat 17-inch LCD Monitor, White
$398
Total cost of Wal Mart system:
$996 $1096
Wow.
I told my pal about this. He decided the form factor wasn’t so important. Decided that recording DVDs wasn’t a big deal. In fact he decided this was the system for him. I patiently explained that it wasn’t Windows or OS X, it was Java based. I also pointed out the screen wouldn’t be as sharp yadda yadda yadda. No good. He had made his choice and it’s going to come with a Wal Mart sticker.
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