Where are you Mac guys buying your systems....

[Dan-o]

I hear all the time on this forum that Macs and Pcs are similar priced. Well I'm going to get my two daughters and my wife laptops for Christmas so I started pricing the Macs. Was going to get my wife a Mac Pro and my daughters Mac Books for a total of $4997. Go over to HP and configure laptops with more options and bigger screens for $3059. That isn't even close. Is there somewhere other then the Apple store to get better deals? Not trying ( although I'm sure it will end up being) to start a Mac bashing thread as I will probably end up getting the Mac Books for my daughters anyways.

http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/390248635_Evk9B-X2.jpg

http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/390248572_djAbJ-X1.jpg

[Tony-S]

Well, wait until next week since the new MacBooks/Pros are being released.

The principal cost differences seem to be in the features of the computers. The HP is better in some respects, while the MBP is better in others. In the end, you just need to decide which features and OS suit you more. Here are some of the differences from a quick look:

1. The MBP has an aluminum shell, the HP seems to be plastic?
2. The MBP has dual-link DVI port, the HP has HDMI and VGA only.
3. The MBP has digital optical audio in and out (dual function with analog), the HP only has analog audio.
4. The MBP has an auto-dimming display - does the HP?
5. The MBP has a lighted keyboard (also autodimming) - does the HP?
6. The MBP has the option of a matte display, the HP is glossy only it seems.
7. The MBP has a T9300 (2.53 ghz, 6 mb cache), the HP has a P8600 (2.4 ghz, 3 mb cache). The upgrade for the HP to T9400 (2.53 ghz, 6 mb cache) is $75, well worth it for that cache, IMO.
8. A fairer comparison to Leopard would be Vista Ultimate, not Home edition.
9. MBP has Bluetooth built-in, doesn't appear to be an option for the HP?
10. MBP has an LED backlit display, I can't see what the HP has.
11. The HP seems to be about 60% heavier than the MBP.
12. The MBP averages a 3176 geekbench score, the p8600 around 2800, and the T9400 is about 2850.

But the HP has other things that the MBP doesn't such as Blu-Ray combo drive, finger print recognition, card reader and eSATA (MBP has FW400 and FW800). It appears to be a very nice notebook.

[Dan-o]

Yea I know about the announcement next Tues. I was just looking for now. I'll prob. end up getting my wife an HP ( I've had 3 desktops and my current lap is over 3 years old with no probs.) and two MBs. We will see if anything drastic changes on Tues though. Thanks Tony

[andyb809]

you could always try macmall.com

[sunnygirl]

Here in Australia if anyone is a student at either a school, university or other approved educational institution you can get student discounts for each student. Here it was one laptop per student per year and a couple of different software packages. Don't know if that still applies. However may be worth checking out on apple (US) site.

[Dan-o]

Thanks SG I'll check. My wife is a teacher so I get all my Adobe stuff at a discount.

[poppie guy]

When the new MacBook/s and MacBook pro's are announced, the generation that is current today will drop in price. I recently bought a "new" last generation (the model being sold until around last April) 17" MacBook Pro for $2,088.00 with a full year warantee, as opposed to the $2,799.00 for the current model. We bought it at PowerMacPac in Portland... they also have a web site.

[sadatk]

Does your wife really need a mac pro? And daughters a 17" macbook pro? seems a bit overkill.

But yeah, wait till this tuesday.

[Dan-o]

I will be getting the MacBooks for my daughters not the Pros. At at the price of the MacPro I will most likely be getting the HP. These are more for me then them. Tired of fighting over the desktop :)