“If you caught the Mac Pro’s introduction during last week’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, you know that Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide product marketing, punctuated his demo of the new high-end desktop by uttering the ‘D’ word—Dell. Specifically, Schiller brought up Dell to compare its price to the standard 2.66GHz Mac Pro Quad’s $2,499 price tag. By Schiller’s math, a similarly configured Dell Precision 690 would run you $3,448—around $950 more than the Mac Pro,” Dan Frakes reports for Macworld.
Frakes reports, “That’s an eye-catching figure, especially in light of the widely held perception that Macs are more expensive than their PC counterparts. But is it an accurate figure? To double-check Apple’s math, I went on a virtual shopping spree. My mission: configure a Mac Pro and a comparably-featured Dell model and see how their prices measured up.”
Frakes found that “the significance of the Mac Pro, from a price perspective, is not that it’s debatably price-competitive with somewhat similar offerings from Dell (and other Windows-PC vendors); rather, it’s that the Mac Pro is the first Mac in a long, long time that is unquestionably less expensive than its Windows counterparts in the same market segment.”
Full article, with price breakdown chart showing an Apple Mac Pro that’s US$1,347 less than a comparably-equipped Dell (plus the Dell can’t run Mac OS X) here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Microsoft Windows five times more expensive for users than Apple’s Mac OS X – August 15, 2006
Apple Mac Pro with/ 20” Cinema Display less expensive than Dell Precision 690 sans monitor – August 10, 2006
Bear Stearns: Apple’s new Mac Pro, Xserve pricing well below comparable Dell systems – August 09, 2006
Apple cuts prices across entire Cinema Display line – August 08, 2006
Dell warns of earnings miss; shares plunge 15% – July 21, 2006
Survey shows big jump in consumer interest in buying Apple Mac; Dell takes steep slide – July 06, 2006
The Wired 40: Apple #2, Microsoft drops to #36, Dell falls off list – June 28, 2006
Time Magazine on Apple’s 13-inch MacBook: ‘Dell and HP should be very worried’ – June 07, 2006
Apple passes Dell in market value – May 02, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Weird that Dell does not offer the same CPU configurations as in Europe. Prices are as given above for the various speed.
Pricing the Mac and the Dell in the same region.
Indeed….
the only thing the USA dell website has for 2.66 GHz Dual Core Xeon Processor is a
2.66 GHz Dual Core Xeon Second Processor for Dell PowerEdge 1950 Server
If your price points are right then MDN should change their title of this article to be more geographiclly specific and provide the email address of the author of the article so we can write to them explaining their mess. ALSO MDN should provide the email address of the author’s Manager, so that we can write to him/her and explain the mess.
That is MDN’s protocol on bad facts for MAC products… isn’t it?
dont tell me you are going to be “yellow” on this MDN…
Tried calling Dell USA and asking for a dual dual core Xeon? This is what the author of the shootoutsystem must have done.
If you cannot have a Dell 690 with TWO dual core Xeon in the US at 2.66 GHz then there is nothing to compare in the US as Dell is not offering a similar configuration than the Mac Pro, hence more expensive by default if they sell a single processor for similar price as dual processor system.
Again, weird that I can get various speeds in EU and you can’t in the US.
Dell must ripping US customers big time then with their prices.
SORRY, SORRY, SORRY.
I wrote <i>Mac Pro, TWO dual Xeon 2.66 GHz: 2799 €<i>
BIG MISTAKE. The configuration above is actually 2498,99 € so…
EVEN CHEAPER.
To get a Dell in EU with two dual core Xeon system it is not 800€ more but a whopping 1100€ more, or in US $ an amazing $1,400 MORE than the Mac Pro over here.
Even more pleased to have double checked. 2498,99 €
Buying TWO now 😀
Indeed…
i dont know how to agree with your comment about dell ripping off its USA customers as the only comparision i can do is with 3.00 ghz ( which is the high end for Mac and the Low end for DELL ) meaning that when you add up everything else you are on different ends of the product spectrum you HD and graphics for example will vary greatly.
I want to say that DELL changed the specs in the USA after WWDC? but that would just mean that i am on the apple side.
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Sorry again, I noticed I had given the right price from the beginning: 2498,99 €
goes to 2799 € with 2 GB memory installed but I can get memory much cheaper than at Apple so I would not do it anyway.
Still, why Dell does not offer the same configuration flexibility as in EU for the 690?
i dont know how to agree with your comment about dell ripping off its USA customers as the only comparision i can do is with 3.00 ghz
Let’s see here:
Mac Pro with 3GHz two dual core Xeon: 3598€ (tax included)
Dell 690 with ONE dual core Xeon 3GHz: 3225 €.
Not going to call again for a dual but assuming same additional 800€ for the dual then
Dell 690 with 3GHz two dual core Xeon: ~4025 €
Concerning ripping off, I was referring to your comments on similar prices but one dual core wrt to two dual core.
Would be interesting to ask the ‘systemshootouts.org’ site how he gets a 690 with two dual core Xeon 2.66 GHz since it is not available on the US Dell web site (haven’t checked myself).
Unless, as you say, Dell removed it after WWDC. Plausible.
the new price point is great, but check out the apple store. Quad core g5s are going for 3,299!!! what is that about? maybe it’s the high-tech liquid cooling system. but still, why woul someone want to buy that when the updated intel version is 8 hundred less?
Two dual-core 2.5GHz PowerPC G5 processors
1.25GHz frontside bus per processor
1MB L2 cache per core
512MB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-4200)
250GB Serial ATA hard drive
16x SuperDrive (double-layer)
Three open PCI-Express expansion slots
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 with 256MB GDDR SDRAM
$3,299
Developers! Developers! Developers! Whaa? Oh – shit – nevermind.
You want to know how Dell can sell a million sub-$1,000 systems for about a penny of profit each? Figure the profit built in to the workstation-class systems in the various comparisons at MacWorld, ShootOuts and Inquirer. Dell is going to have to come closer to Apple’s pricing – closer to the price of a somewhat-similar Mac Pro – to maintain that end of the market. Which means … what? … either for the sub-$1,000 systems or their net profits? They will either have to increase their profit margin at the lower end or suffer a loss of corporate profits. Lose profits and stock price drops, which means executive compensation drops, which means pain from the boardroom down to anyone earning at least six figures. Apple’s market cap ($56B) already exceeds Dell’s ($50B), despite the hit it took from the ‘scandal’. Their trailing P/E is ~15 to Apple’s ~30 … which gives them some room to maneuver.
This price comparison is going to cost Dell (et al) a few sales – maybe a hundred thousand machines per quarter – but the significant fact isn’t in the units sold (trivial, for Dell) but the profits generated by them (NOT trivial).
I did a quick price comparison (Dell against base Mac Pro configuration with upgraded video card for equality) and found a signficant price difference in favor of the Mac as noted elsewhere. However, I did find that the price difference rapidly shrinks as you add options to both (additional RAM, additional/larger HDDs).
The answer, of course, is to upgrade your Mac using third party hardware because Apple BTO prices are generally quite high. That won’t be a surprise to any Mac veterans, but it might help those who are new to the Mac.
@scottm:
“I hate to say this, but the Dell includes a $250 Dell 19” UltraSharp 1907FP monitor, which I guess you could purchase and use with the Mac Pro; Apples 20″ Cinema Display is $699.”
The Dell resolution (from their web site):
Support for 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution for clear, sharp images
The Apple resolution (from their web site):
Support for 1680 x 1050 pixel resolution for display of high definition still and video imagery.
Compared to an Apple Display, the Dell is neither Ultra or Sharp.
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Indeed…
i dont know how to agree with your comment about dell ripping off its USA customers as the only comparision i can do is with 3.00 ghz ( which is the high end for Mac and the Low end for DELL ) meaning that when you add up everything else you are on different ends of the product spectrum you HD and graphics for example will vary greatly.
I want to say that DELL changed the specs in the USA after WWDC? but that would just mean that i am on the apple side.
Actually, the 3ghz Xeon is the old, non-Woodcrest model. Very slow and probably not even dual core. Plus you only get one. It’s like comparing a 2Ghz Pentium 4 to a 2Ghz Core 2 Duo.
Since I’m a Mac user, these comparisons are meaningless; Dells cannot run Mac OS X. But for Windows users, these comparisons highlight the fact that for the same price or possibly much less (depending on who is comparing), you can get a better quality machine that can run either Windows or Mac OS X (and it comes with a popular software suite at no extra cost).
Apple is in for some good times. There is a wide gap in Apple’s desktop monitorless product lineup between the fastest Mac mini and the slowest Mac Pro. If Apple could put something in there that uses Conroe (Core 2 Duo) with upgradeable video (or at least dedicated video), and a standard 3.5-inch hard drive, they would have a big hit. The “gap” is currently so wide that I’m sure Apple can do it without canibalizing sales of Mac mini or Mac Pro.
One big advantage Apple has in pricing… They do not have to include the cost for Windows. There is R&D for Mac OS X development, of course, but that’s accounted for the in 25% (or whatever it is) margin, unlike the OS expense for Dell.
I’m soooo tired of the PC business. Michael Dell can kiss my MS ass.
I’m going to do what nobody else on the planet can do, give away billions of dollars…….aaahhhhh
no more flying chairs and NO MORE FRIGG’N WINDOWS. Jack and Coke HIV cocktails for everybody….. party party party, wooohoooo, I’mmmmm frreeeeeeeeee
Bias and Indeed:
Dell only offers the Intel Xeon 5150 dual core “Woodcrest” processors on their servers and small business workstations.
To find the configurable desk top that includes it as an option, select Dell’s Small Business store and then choose the Dell Precision 690 (the Preceision 490 can handle the 51xx series but not the multiple monitors).
Start here:
Dell Precision 690 Workstation
Be sure to check to 1000 watt power supply to support graphics cards properly (The Mac has a 1400 watt p/s)
Bias said:
i dont know how to agree with your comment about dell ripping off its USA customers as the only comparision i can do is with 3.00 ghz ( which is the high end for Mac and the Low end for DELL ) meaning that when you add up everything else you are on different ends of the product spectrum you HD and graphics for example will vary greatly.
The 2.67GHz 5150 Intel Xeon with a 1.333GHz Front End Bus is far faster than the fastest of the previous generation Xeons, the 5080 although it clocks at 3.75GHz.
The 5150 is 33% faster than the 5080… the fastest of the 50XX series… in the Railgun FPS at 800X600 benchmark
The 5150 is 36% faster than the 5080… the fastest of the 50XX series… in the Railgun FPS at 1280×1024 benchmark
The 5150 is 44% faster than the 5080… the fastest of the 50XX series… in the Doom 3 FPS at 1280×1024 – low quality benchmark
The 5150 is 41% faster than the 5080… the fastest of the 50XX series… in the Doom 3 FPS at 1280×1024 – high quality benchmark
The 5150 is 45% faster than the 5080… the fastest of the 50XX series… in the time for a Lame Compilation benchmark
The 5150 is 48% faster than the 5080… the fastest of the 50XX series… in the Freebench Mason benchmark
Here is my configuration from Dell’s Small Business Store:
I’ll step you through it.
Start with a Dell Precision Workstation 690.
Starting price (all prices reflect a $200 small business discount) : $1579.00
Ignore the processor choice… we’ll adjust that on the next page… but do select the “Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2 with Media” as Apple provides media and OS X.4.7 Intel is not completely 64 bit compatible (OS X.5 Leopard will be but at the moment that’s hot air ware) and the “1 Kilowatt Enhanced System scalable to Dual Graphics Cards supporting NVIDIA® SLI™ technology and Quad Monitor configurations” because the Mac Pro supports Quad monitor configurations.
Upgraded Price: $2049.00
Upgrade the processor from the base 5050 to Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5150 2.66GHz, 4MB L2,1333
Upgraded Price: $2569.00
Add a second matching Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5150 2.66GHz, 4MB L2,1333 to match the Mac Pro’s quad processors.
Upgraded Price: $3438.00
Upgrade the included graphic card one step to a 128MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro NVS 285, Dual DVI or Dual VGA Capable because the Mac has that capability out of the box. The Mac’s card has 256MB of Video RAM… more than this low end PC card.
Upgraded Price: $3448.00
Upgrade the memory to the faster 667MHz.
Upgraded Price: $3478.00
Upgrade the Hard drive from 80GB to 250 GB to match the Mac.
Upgraded Price: $3568.00
Upgrade the CD ROM drive to a 48XCDRW AND 16XDVD+/-RW, w/Cyberlink PowerDVD™ and Roxio Creator™ to match the Mac Pro’s capabilities.
Upgraded Price: $3662.00
Add the Dell Wireless 1450 (802.11 b/g) WLAN USB 2.0 DT Adapter
Upgraded Price: $3711.00
Add the Dell USB Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard with built-in 2-port USB Hub because the Apple keyboard has the built-in 2 port USB Hub.
Upgraded Price: $3740.00
Upgrade the mouse to Dell USB 2-Button Optical Mouse with Scroll
Upgraded Price: $3754.00
Oh. and add another Broadcom NetXtreme 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet controller-PCI Express card because the basic Mac Pro has two…
FINAL Upgraded Price: $3803.00
——————————————-
Basic Mac Pro Price: ……$2499.00
Upgrade the RAM to 2GB.
Upgraded Price: $2799.00
<u>Difference ……………………$1104.00</u>
AMEN to that.
And I do not see Dell cutting their prices on towers by $1000 any sooner. They are in trouble already (lost recently 2% of their market share, lower revenues, bad PR from after sales support based in the far east).