For the last time, it's worth the money!

(6/24/2007) As is often the fate of technically-minded people, I get asked rather continually for computer recommendations. At least once a week I'll get an email or a call along the lines of "I'm off to college in the fall and am looking to buy a (laptop/desktop) for (schoolwork/graphic design/gaming), what should I look for?". My advice is nearly always that if you're going for a laptop get a Mac, and if you're needing a desktop go custom-built.

"But Macs are so expensive!" they whine. "I could buy a (Dell/HP/Gateway) for half the price! And I'm used to using Windows!" No matter how hard I try to articulate that a Mac laptop really is worth every penny, they just won't listen. Apple's laptop engineering far surpasses anything else in the general consumer market (we're not talking Falcon Northwest here, but the kinds of things your average user or power-user could afford). I've looked at far too many Dell/HP/Gateway laptops that have died a year or two after purchase (usually right around the time the warranty expires...) from poor construction, faulty components, and general design flaws. For comparison, my mother purchased an iBook SE in 2000 (the old kind, gray trim and a handle). That machine was used heavily as her primary computer every day for nearly seven years with no issues whatsoever until the hard drive motor died a month ago. We replaced the battery in 2004 and the power adapter in 2005 when the cord got frayed, but no internal work was ever needed. Oh, and while we're on power adapters, it's worth noting that a friend who called Dell when his power supply ate it 6 months after purchase was told by customer service that it was only designed to last three months.

Unfortunately (and somewhat amazingly), the engineering and longevity argument doesn't sway everyone. There is still a common misconception that Macs are overpriced. Today I debunk that myth. I will be focusing on Mac laptops here, desktops are another story and will be a different article. For the investigation, I chose the 15'' MacBook Pro, since I have exactly such a computer on its way to me through the mail as this is being written. The computer retails for $2499 (or $2299 education pricing). I did some investigation into comparable laptops from some of the other "big-name" PC manufacturers, and was rather shocked to find just how good of a deal the MacBook Pros really are.

I was surprised to find just how few laptops are available with Intel's new Santa Rosa revision of its Centrino platform. Apple was one of the first companies to put the new chipset to use in its laptops. Since you can't really compare oranges to apples (pun fully intended), I looked only at Santa Rosa based laptops to compare with the MPB. It looks like HP's offerings are still in development. Either that or their website is so hard to navigate and use that I gave up after half an hour of trying to find a machine that met my requirements. Lenovo's closest offering, a modified T61 ThinkPad for $2333, didn't even have a respectable graphics processor (sorry, Intel GMA anything can't hold a candle to the MBP's NVidia 8600m GT). Dell was a bit closer. A modified D830 for $2879 (on sale, normal price is over $3000) had most of the specs comparable. Except, again, the graphics card. Paying almost $400 more than an MBP will only get you a Quadro NVS 140m, described on various forums as a "true business GPU". In terms of performance, that's baaaaaad. If you need more convincing about performance, this review has some interesting benchmark comparisons worth looking at.

Even when the non-Apple machines were loaded to the max with all the bells and whistles, from 802.11N to Bluetooth to DVD-RW drives, they still couldn't hold a candle to the MBP in terms of the little things -- the details most companies leave off in the interest of cost. Where's the built-in webcam? The backlit keyboard and LED-backlit screen, both adjusted automatically by an ambient light sensor? A FireWire 800 port for the data-rate conscious? And how about the sudden motion sensor that locks the hard drive heads safely off the platters in case of a fall? I'm not even factoring in the non-quantifiable things like cases and overall design / engineering, but suffice it to say most people would take brushed aluminum exterior and magnetic power adapter connection over flimsy plastic frames and plugs any day.

So is the MacBook Pro a good deal? Yes. An amazingly good deal. They sport more raw power, design features and attention to detail than nearly any other general PC manufacturer's products, and at a price that puts the competitors' offerings even farther to shame. Even if you're all pro-Micro$oft, slap Boot Camp and XP on it the first hour you use it and don't see the likes of OS X for about 5 months (until you have to re-install Windows...), you'll be happy with a MacBook Pro (or a regular MacBook), and you certainly will have gotten your money's worth. When it comes time for your next upgrade, give it a shot. Trust me, you'll never buy Dell again.

--KDT