The numbers will present themselves. Tons of blog posts and columns have been dedicated to the idea that Apple Macs are not only better but actually cheaper than your regular computers from Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo. Let’s cut to the chase and show you hard facts and real numbers.
Just go to the Apple website and order yourself a fully loaded Mac or MacBook. Here are the screen shots:
Upgrade your MacBook’s RAM from 1GB to 4GB: $850
The iMac’s RAM from 2GB to 4GB: $700
The MacPro RAM from 1GB to 16GB: $4,499 (it’s $699 from 1GB to 4GB)
Now, let’s go to the HP website and get our PC a memory upgrade.
The HP D4996T Ultimate Desktop series from 2GB to 4GB: $170
Note, all RAM upgrades are DDR2-667MHz dual channel SDRAM (PC5300). As a comparison, a 4GB (2GBx2) RAM purchase directly from the manufacturer’s website (Kingston, Corsair, Crucial) will only cost you $150.
So why is Apple charging almost $350 per GB or RAM when SRP is just about $50? That’s a 700% mark-up. maybe it’s hard to personally insert an extra RAM module there so Apple is actually charging for professional installation fee to add more memory to your new Mac.
if you have money then go for the memory pero kung wala pwede na pagtiisan ok naman mac eh!
I have to agree with many others here.
I have read many comparisons about value of computers by different manufactures. Sony, Dell, Alienware, HP, Compaq and more recently Apple.
In the past year or so I have even read comparisons about Apple actually being cheaper then some of the PC brands. This was by a few Computer Mag’s, not apple propagandists web sites. The mac pro -> high end Dell, the iMac against Gateway One and the Dell all in one. So I was intrigued to see the opposite here that Apple Macs are still WAY EXPENSIVE.
BUT all I saw here was Apple charges more for Ram, and that you compared different amounts and types. I saw that you compared upgrading 1GB in a Mac to 4GB (a 4x increase) compared to 2GB in the HP to 4GB (a 2x increase). I also learned you compared SO-Dimms (notebook memory) in the iMac and Macbook to regular desktop dimms in the HP.
After a little searching, I also learned a few more things…………
There are many grades of Ram and the ones for Mac are higher priced (for PC and Mac) It seems the Mac, for better or worse, requires a more stringent ram requirement.
There have been numerous articles about Ram costing more at Apple FOR YEARS and advising people to purchase elsewhere. (google -> apple ram price cost)
SO, while I think you have a very valid article, the title is very incorrect. Maybe Apple systems are more expensive, I didn’t have enough time tonight to do comparisons between MACS and PC’s, but they have been done many times.
But this is like having an article saying computers at CompUSA cost more, because their add-on ram cost more (I was always shocked RAM cost 2x – 3x more than online at CompUSA)
I normally do *slight* research on the cost of any upgrades when I buy a system. The last two were a Dell laptop and a cheap e-machine desktop.
Any shopper will compare the spec’s against what else is out there, or in the store. But If you want a bigger HardDrive, more Ram or better VideoCard, most people will compare what it costs elsewhere. Look at Pricewatch or Google for what you want. If its slightly more, I always buy from the manufacture since its less work and includes a warranty. But if its a LOT less I will buy it elsewhere, even if I have to pay to have it professionally installed.
So, WHile I agree, Apple charges too much for Ram (and Much more then HP from the above example, I didn’t check other manufactures)
From what I read in your article that does not mean MACS are more expensive unless you force the person to purchase ram from apple.
My Bias… I have recently been considering buying an apple laptop and have been reading articles about them.
BUT FOR ANY CURRENT LAPTOP…… I found I can buy 4GB of Ram for $93 generic to $149 crucial http://www.ramseeker.com/memory/MacBook_(KITS)-4gb/
And a 250GB HardDrive for under $150 http://www.nextag.com/250gb-2.5/search-html
Please compare price/feature in price comparisons in the future. Not add-on’s unless the article is about add-on’s.
Thank You
mahal lang talaga ang Mac, period. if only Mac OS X can be legally run on non-Apple machines!
Good God, naglabasan mga fanboys. As I said before Apple might look inexpensive when you look at the base products but when you factor in the prices of the accessories that’s where they make oodles of money. P4000-5000 for a freaking component cable for the iPod Nano Fatso ?
Twitter: kzapkzap
says:
Apples are nice and fancy, but theyre not winning any cheapest computer awards.
There’s only 2 things I like about my MAC. The design and the Photo Booth.
The rest …
I am getting myself a new machine when I have saved enough money … and by that time … it’s gonna be back to WINDOWS!
Twitter: kmendoza
says:
Hi there Abe. I’ve been reading the whole comments box and you’ve got a lot of explanations to do for some comment reactions. Hehe..
“Apples are nice and fancy, but theyre not winning any cheapest computer awards.”
I couldn’t agree more. Apple products are indeed nice looking, they perform well, but in the end, they’re just not practical to buy. They’re more hype rather than functionality.
And i guess the whole “more expensive and classy” image Apple has is the reason behind why fanboys and girls so like to look down on others who aren’t so impressed with Apple.
Here’s a link that some might find funny: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone
[...] is an ongoing debate at Yugatech, sparked by an entry about how expensive Mac peripherals are, about how justified Apple is in [...]
The only Mac you should buy fully specced with RAM is a Mini, they are a pain in the harris to fit memory into. All the others, buy with the minimum of RAM and fit your own if you want the same price.
In fairness, the reason the examples seem so much more expensive is that they are bigger, 2GB modules compared with the Dell’s 1GB DIMMS.
Even from Crucial, 8 2GB DIMMS of that spec are $1758 + Delivery – OK that is less that half the Apple price, what can I say – don’t buy RAM from Apple!
Twitter: ralphswurld
says:
acer has better desktops
alienware too
Your country of residence should definitely factor in up high. In the Philippines, MacBooks are the best notebook option if you can afford spending 70k or so, and it’ll last you several years without an upgrade.
MacBooks aren’t perfect, and I wish to God Dell offers warranties here in the Philippines, but they don’t and Apple is the best option.
One more thing about owning a Mac. You cannot use Internet Explorer. I cannot open the apply box on JobsDB because it only supports Internet Explorer.
If you’re crazy about taking pictures and home movies, a MacBook will quickly be your best friend.
Ey Yuga ! I sell Macs for a living !
hehehe
I think the better comparison would be stock configuration. Compare a brand new out of the box macbook and a brand new out of the box branded windows laptop… HP or something else.
You will find out a Macbook is cheaper than a similarly configured laptop from HP or maybe even Dell. And a macbook has a camera in frot !
Plus, it runs both MAc OS X and Windows.
Ey Yuga ! I sell Macs for a living !
I think the better comparison would be stock configuration. Compare a brand new out of the box macbook and a brand new out of the box branded windows laptop… HP or something else with the SAME or SIMILAR configuration. Hard drive, RAM, video card ? should be enough …
Besides I can sell DDR2 667 RAM for P2,500 for Kingston 2GB stick. DONT BUY RAM FROM APPLE !
visit my site http://mactrader.multiply.com/
You will find out a Macbook is cheaper than a similarly configured laptop from HP or maybe even Dell. And a macbook has a camera in front !
Plus, it runs both Mac OS X and Windows.
here’s a tip rather buying a Expensive apple machine , why wont run the New Leopard OS in your Intel Machine… Don’t know how.. email me
daemon… try searching for hackintosh
let me know if you already tried it.
Twitter: mparazgmail.com
says:
The Macbook has lesser specs than non-Mac laptops in the same price class. For instance, those “PC” laptops in the PhP ~60K range have discrete acceleraed graphics from NVidia etc.
If you just need a dual core laptop with Intel integrated graphics, you could get one from Acer for less than PhP 40K.
On the other hand, Mac OS and the “Apple experience” of owning these products are… priceless! No?
I love how all of these people think that having a MAC means that you don’t need a virus scanner. This couldn’t be any farther from the truth, but I guess some people have to learn lessons the hard way.
Twitter: mparazgmail.com
says:
$3,000 MacBook Air + solid state drive, for the win! At least 2 GB RAM is standard.
It is fully-buffered RAM that Apple sells, and the PC RAM you checked out was unbuffered. Check the prices on buffered DDR2.
An alternative to Apple, Dell, HP, etc. is to build your own pc. Newegg.com offers the components to easily build your own computer. Purchase vista or xp operating system from them or install an alternative os (ubuntu etc.).
In California, where I live, “you are what you drive” applies to computers as well as cars. This is a poor reason to select a Prius or an Apple.
The biggest reason for the Apple bias is hate. Hate for the giant corporations from Walmart to Microsoft. This has been going on since Atari and Commodore fought it out back in my day.
You have seen the recent Mac/PC ads. Conservative person (PC) versus liberal person (Apple). Political bias often dictates what you purchase here. Cost is not the main factor so memory cost is unimportant. These same people even buy coffee at retail plus (“to help the coffee farmer”)because they hate Starbucks giant corporation.
My DIY pc has parts from Intel,Microsoft and other big corps. and I run Internet Explorer. Memory for my pc in February 09 at Newegg.com can be had for as little as $25 for 4GB ddrII. 300GB hard drives are $50. Build your own!
Mac Book Pro 17″
upgrade ram from 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 to 8GB
[b]$1200[/b]
That’s TWICE what Dell and others want. Ridiculous.
and thats via the Apple website. Not some 3rd party ‘authorized reseller’.
Sorry Apple, your Customer Care FAIL award is in the mail.
I agree that this is ridiculous pricing.
But to be fair to apple, the last example is with Error Correcting Code (EEC) ram. It is more expensive to manufacture than regular ram. It is usually only used in specialized server and super computer hardware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EEC_RAM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_random_access_memory#Errors_and_error_correction
All the Mac apologists are missing the point entirely. Sure, you can go buy your ram somewhere else and install it yourself, but most Mac users are tards with no computer knowledge and heaps of money to burn.
Apple is counting on this. You’re defending a business practice that some might call highway robbery.
There is nothing at all that can account for the markup except greed and the knowledge that people are stupid. Don’t defend those who are trying to exploit you.