Is the New Mac Pro Really Cheaper than a Dell?
At the most recent WWDC the PowerMac’s successor, the Mac Pro, was announced. And with its debut came the assertion that it was actually cheaper than a similarly equipped Dell. This, of course, was quite a bold statement since Dell is generally considered to be the cheapest PC maker around, while Apple is known (incorrectly at this point in time) for selling hardware at premium prices.
So, to put all of this speculation to an end I am going to compare an Apple Mac Pro and a Dell Precision Workstation and see just which one actually is cheaper. In my comparisons I am only comparing hardware. Since the Mac ships with more software by default it wouldn’t be fair to the Dell and I didn’t want anyone complaining that I was trying to give the Mac any advantages. Now, onward to the test.
[NOTE: The Dell comes in a 750W and 1KW Chassis, I opted for the former because it is cheaper and it makes for a truer test]
Mac Pro vs Dell Precision Workstation
The Specs:
Processor
Two 2.66 Dual-Core Intel Xenon
Memory
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Hard Drive
250 GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM
Graphics Card
512MB PCIe nVidia Quadro FX 4500
Optical Drive
16xDVD/DVD+/-RW
Price
Mac Pro = $4,449
Dell Precision = $5,329
So, initially, it looks like the Mac was cheaper by $880. But if that really was the case then I could stop writing at the end of this line. And yet, you might have noticed that there is a bit more to the article. So, to find out what these numbers really mean, read on.
What the Dell has that the Mac doesn’t
The Dell actually comes with a few more features than the Mac Pro. Now, I can’t claim that these features really justify the price, but they do help explain the difference in cost. Here is a rundown of the Precision’s advantages:
Slots
The Dell comes with the following slots:
3 PCI-e x8 slots
1 PCI-e x16 graphics slot
2 PCI-X 64bit/100MHz slots
1 PCI 32bit/33Mhz slot
There are a total of 7 PCI slots in the Dell as compared to the 4 PCI slots (3 PCI-e and 1 PCI-e graphics slot) in the Mac Pro. Now, I will grant you that I think 7 PCI slots are a bit on the overkill side, but that doesn’t change the fact that if you really needed them, you could get them on the Dell and not the Mac.
Bays
The Mac Pro can boast 4 hard drive bays and 2 optical bays, and that should be plenty for most users. However if your needs are above and beyond the norm then look to the Dell. It too has 4 hard drive bays but it also has 3 optical bays and a smaller bay for a 3.5” floppy drive or a media card reader. As a further enhancement the 3rd optical bay can be converted into a 5th hard drive bay if needed. Once again, I think 5 hard drive bays is overkill, but if you really needed that on the Mac you would be forced to get an external drive. Of course, if you really needed 5 drives worth of storage you would probably have just gone out and gotten a nice external RAID array, but I digress.
So, once again we see that the Dell has a few more features that are not offered on the Mac. And while the usefulness of a third optical drive or a media reader can be debated, it is one more thing that the Dell has that the Mac does not.
Ports
Finally we get to the last major difference between these two machines, I/O ports. The Dell has 8 USB 2.0 ports (2 on the front, 5 on the back and 1 internal), 2 FireWire 400 ports (1 on the front and 1 on the rear), 2 serial, 1 parallel, 2 PS/2, 1 RJ-45, 1 stereo line-in, 2 headphone (1 in front 1 in back) and 1 microphone jack in the front. This brings us to a whopping 20 port connections of various types.
Now, it should be noted that one of the USB 2.0 ports is internal (and thus not easily accessed) and 5 of the ports are quite obsolete (parallel, PS/2 and serial, who uses this crap still? Its 2006, get the with damn program). However, the Apple is close in many respects, it has 5 USB 2.0 ports and 2 USB 1.1 ports (on the keyboard) and superior in others, like FireWire. The Dell has 2 FireWire 400 ports with the Mac Pro having the same 2 FireWire 400 plus 2 more FireWire 800 ports as well.
What the Mac has that the Dell doesn’t
In most regards the Dell has more features than the equivalent Mac Pro, however, the Mac does score a few points here and there. The Mac has 2 FireWire 800 ports while the Dell has none. The Mac has 2 ethernet (RJ-45) jacks to the Dell’s 1. The Mac takes up a smaller space at 3,050 cubic inches (20.1 x 8.1 x 18.7) to the Dell’s 4,220 cubic inches (22.26 x 8.5 x 22.3). (the Mac also weighs less) And, of course, the Mac has handles. (you may scoff but this feature elevates the Mac and thus will save it in the event of mild flooding in your office.)
Conclusion
Between the Mac Pro and the Dell Precision Workstation, the Dell will run you almost $900 more. However, for that $900 you get a couple PCI slots, some extra drive bays and some more ports. Now, if that is worth the extra money then the Dell is a better deal than the Mac Pro (because of the extra headache and cost that those features would run you). However, if you feel you don’t need some of the extra expandability or backwards compatibly of the Dell then the Mac Pro is the clear choice.
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Comments
However the reason articles like this keep appearing is because people continue to argue that Macs are unjustifiably more expensive than PCs.
Sometimes they are, but most of the time you can find a cheaper PC solution compared to a Mac. And like I said, there are other manufacturers besides Dell.
The reality is simply that PCs offer an inherently broader range of quality and selection in a range of prices, whereas a Mac is a Mac is a Mac. I like Macs, but I also like customization, choice, and competition. Not surprisingly, I end of with both Macs and PCs as a result. I have two of each.
But I don’t see the value in deluding oneself into believing that Macs are cheaper (which, make no mistake, is almost always the argument from the Mac camp).
Please Mr Jobs, can I have a desktop Mac with free bays and slots in my price range?
Yeah, the Mac mini is cheap relative to other Macs, but customizable it ain’t. Why not have a low-end Mac with extra drive bays, a full-sized HDD, and PCI slots? What’s so hard about that?
And if you’re not going to do it, at least let other people license the OS and make their own.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Apple would release a low-end desktop case Mac? -CH
I have been clamoring for this since owning the Performa 6400. It was the last consumer level tower that had some sort of expandability and customization from 3rd parties.
I would think if Apple can offer us a smaller form-factor tower or a desktop box with the ability to add and customize the CPU’s and the like - that same line would occupy the big gap between the iMac and the Mac Pro. How about $1399 to $1999 BTO price range? That would not be so hard I agree.
if you’re not going to do it, at least let other people license the OS and make their own. -Bbx
Mac faithfuls do like the idea of building a DIY Mac to our heart’s delights. You can already buy OSX for a household of five computers for only $199. That is not too bad compared to M$‘s lame licensing for Windows. For a fair comparison: one XP Professional full edition (not Home or upgrade) license is $269 at CDW.
But for now Apple doesn’t have the sheer weight to pull yet another licensing fiasco. They are doing just fine at the present as the sole hardware provider for OSX. When Apple has reached the critical mass where apparent cannibalization will not matter as their sheer weight can support the immediate imbalance that licensing will surely cause to their hardware business.
When or what is this critical mass? Hard to say but most experts will tell you around 30-40%. I have to agree. By 2008 when the predicted total volume of the PC market surpasses 400 million units annually, 30-40% is just north of 100 million units. Is that stupendous to even think about today? Maybe not if Apple can pull the magic they recently achieved on the notebook market - a doubling to 12% share. That’s in just ONE year of the Intel transition to boot!
Beeb, you sometimes make me laugh. Other times I think you’re a forum/blog troll. That’s not to say I don’t value your opinions - you’re all wrong anyway. ; P (*for those who can’t read sarcasm, that was a joke*)
Where Pro/Workstation users are concerned, articles like this are useful. However, I think this could have even gone further in depth…
The use of FB-DIMMs is questionable at this point. I think there would have been little harm in waiting until the 1st revision of the Mac Pro to force Mac Pro users to buy FB-DIMMs. Because of the way they work, you may not be getting any performance gains! At least, not without spending more money.
I agree that 7 PCI slots (especially a mix of types) is pretty silly. How many people really use more than 2? There are four PCI slots in my MDD PowerMac G4 and I am using 1 because the previous owner had put a SCSI card in one slot. I don’t use the card at all. Also, the number of ports on the Dell is overkill by about 1 or 2 ports. I won’t argue the whole PS/2 and serial thing because those clearly are staying in the picture for an indefinite amount of time.
Alas, this is a machine I could never own let alone have a true use for. That is why I too dream of the day that Apple gives in to us whiney fanboys and makes a… uh… midMac? A smaller tower that makes it basically a mini with a couple of expansion options, not unlike what Beeb says.
For the time being, I will continue to opose licensing out Mac OS X. I think it still needs a little more time to mature (not to mention be solid and stable on any ol’ x86 box).
Other times I think you’re a forum/blog troll.
It’s sad to think that a Mac user like myself who believes that this article’s kind of manipulation and twisting of the facts is unnecessary to convince people to buy a Mac is considered trolling. What does it say about Mac fans that they believe hiding or distorting reality are the only ways to get people to switch?
Where Pro/Workstation users are concerned, articles like this are useful.
Did this article tell you anything you didn’t already believe? Or did it simply arm you with a set of talking point references the next time someone tells you that Macs are more expensive?
The extent to which Mac fanaticism resembles politics is truly distasteful. Facts don’t matter. Reality doesn’t matter. All that matters is saying anything and everything to get people to fall on your side of the argument.
And while James’s article is biased and manipulative, there are plenty of examples of outright lying and making-shit-up: Like here for example.
Is this guy under the impression that no one uses Windows and therefore doesn’t realize that his costs regarding XP ($1800 over 6 years!) are complete and utter bullshit?
Is this guy under the impression that no one uses Windows and therefore doesn’t realize that his costs regarding XP ($1800 over 6 years!) are complete and utter bullshit?
Well, you may belong to an elite group of computer users who does not need to plop that eMachine or mini to a local PC kitchen, but count on yourself as the exception here, not the rule.
The majority of the remaining flock of PC users Bbx have no clue of what consists of a “virus” or a “trojan” OK? So, if most of PC users have no idea what is causing their problems, wouldn’t it be safe to assume they’d take their laptops and desktops to a whiz kid (hopefully like you) and pay a pretty penny for it?
Daniel Eran in his nicely done article is neither subjective nor flawed. It is based on good research and proper motives. So, let’s take out the Geek Squad fees for you PC geeks and let’s see what we have.
From 2000-2006 you would still have to upgrade Win 2000 to Win XP plus the antivirus/anti spyware yearly shit that is mandatory for a total of $530. Compare that to Jaguar to Panther to Tiger of just shy of $400.
Can we still call owning a M$ provided OS a more expensive proposition???
I think so…
I can’t understand why should I choose between Dell and Mac, if both don’t run the same OS. That is what dictates the real choice. Can Mac user choose Dell, of all his files and programs are Mac version?...
Can Mac user choose Dell, of all his files and programs are Mac version?...Guntis
You have a very good point. But see, this is a Mac forum so that very question is really subliminally and implicitly asking a neutral person to choose between the Mac Pro or a Dell workstation (here based on hardware features and price advantages).
A typical Mac guy will always pick the Mac and the PC guy…well, we know the answer.
I’m a lifelong PC user, but am possibly considering buying a Mac for a specific application (running ProTools multitrack audio recording). I just wanted to address a few statements made above.
7 slots are overkill… For some uses, you really do need that many slots. In my case, I don’t want to use the onboard video (hogs the bus), can’t use the onboard audio (I disable it in the BIOS), I need a modem, may want to use SCSI drives (which will need a host adapter card), and in the case of ProTools HD, I will definitely need at least one processor card and a really big system will have up to 7 (yes *seven*) of these processor cards.
USB ports… I currently use one for my printer, one for my PDA cradle, one for my flash card reader, one for my voice recorder, two for input devices (a jog wheel and a board with faders and encoders), and one for a USB thumbdrive.
PS2 port… my optical wheel mouse is attached to mine - why should I use up a USB port for it?
In the past, I had doubted that I would ever convert completely over to Mac because of all my software investment. I read somewhere that some companies will send you the Mac version of their software if you send them your PC version disks… is that true?
However, I have noted above that someone said you can run Windows on the Mac, which I presume I could do as a dual-boot, right? If that’s the case, then I could boot into OS-X for my audio work and boot to Windows for my Windows versions of Photoshop, Visual C++ compiler, etc. So, maybe I’m much closer to switching over to Mac for everything than I was a few years ago.
However, I have noted above that someone said you can run Windows on the Mac, which I presume I could do as a dual-boot, right?
You can dual-boot AND/OR run Windows in a window using an app called Parallels. It’s supposedly getting very close to running at full speed, and I’d personally prefer running Windows side-by-side rather than dual-booting.
Remember you “have” to buy Windows though - and Parallels too if you’re going to run them simultaneously.
...this article’s kind of manipulation and twisting of the facts…—Beeblebrox
I’ve just read this discussion through and I have to say, in my view this is a bit unreasonable to say the least. Here is James’s final conclusion:
Between the Mac Pro and the Dell Precision Workstation, the Dell will run you almost $900 more. However, for that $900 you get a couple PCI slots, some extra drive bays and some more ports. Now, if that is worth the extra money then the Dell is a better deal than the Mac Pro (because of the extra headache and cost that those features would run you). However, if you feel you don’t need some of the extra expandability or backwards compatibly of the Dell then the Mac Pro is the clear choice.
It seems to me there could hardly be a more accurate and rational summing-up of the situation: he notes that the Dell offers certain advantages but for users who don’t need those things, the cheaper Mac Pro is better value.
Can you point to any specific places where Mr. Stoup “maniuplates” and “twists” reality?
I’d just like to say for the record James, I think this is the best, most level-headed and concise value-analyses of this sort that I’ve yet read.
*analysis
dammit
http://wilshipley.com/blog/2006/09/it-is-what-it-is-cpu-giveaway.html
Ben,
The Beeb doesn’t appreciate all of your attempts at twisting and manipulating the facts.
Remember, just because something is true doesn’t mean you have to accept it. Especially if you have already made up your mind that its all misinformation spread by crazy Mac-Fanatics.
Thanks for the link though, it was great.