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Macbook core duo estimated price?

W

Willy S

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 8, 2005
393
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Today I ran into Dell homepage and saw they are offering Core Duo laptops for 780 euros with 15" widescreens.

At the same time, I saw that the estimated price of the Macbook Core Duo is 1400 with the 13" screen, which I think is unrealistically high, since it is almost twice as expensive as the Dell.

Can it be true that Apple´s price premium is going through the roof? :confused:
 
Willy S said:
Today I ran into Dell homepage and saw they are offering Core Duo laptops for 780 euros with 15" widescreens.

At the same time, I saw that the estimated price of the Macbook Core Duo is 1400 with the 13" screen, which I think is unrealistically high, since it is almost twice as expensive as the Dell.

Can it be true that Apple´s price premium is going through the roof? :confused:
Click to expand...

Apple's pricing is always a bit higher than the competition (although its design and software make it well worth the extra cost...)

However, there is no MacBook Core Duo with 13" - in fact, no one really knows if there will even be a MacBook Core Duo with 13". Either way, the lower MacBook model (which should come out in the next few months) won't cost 1400 euros - that's way high. The lower model should be nearer to the 780 that the Dell costs...
 
The specs are for the basic model: 15,4" 1280x800, Intel® CoreT Duo T 2300 (1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB), 512 MB dual channel DDR2 533 MHz, 100 GB SATA 5400 rpm, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950. You can upgrade the graphics card etc for more if you want.

I need a laptop soon and preferrably a dual core and I was thinking of waiting for the Macbook and see what Apple comes up with, but 1400 euros is just too much for my budget, so if that price is most likely, it is not worth waiting.
 
Willy S said:
The specs are for the basic model: 15,4" 1280x800, Intel® CoreT Duo T 2300 (1.66GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB), 512 MB dual channel DDR2 533 MHz, 100 GB SATA 5400 rpm, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950. You can upgrade the graphics card etc for more if you want.

I need a laptop soon and preferrably a dual core and I was thinking of waiting for the Macbook and see what Apple comes up with, but 1400 euros is just too much for my budget, so if that price is most likely, it is not worth waiting.
Click to expand...


The upcoming MacBook will be similar in configuration to the described Dell with a couple of exceptions.
The MacBook Pro is much better hardwarewise that that Dell.No comparison actually.Thus the higher price.
 
The MacBook is likely to be the same price as the current iBooks (although that advert said it would be €50 less) so maybe around the €999 - €1099 mark.
 
BlizzardBomb said:
The MacBook is likely to be the same price as the current iBooks (although that advert said it would be €50 less) so maybe around the €999 - €1099 mark.
Click to expand...

Agreed...nothing about Apple's gameplan to date suggests that the iBook will get a 50% price hike when it gets Intellified™. There might be a slightly more expensive one, as the Mac Mini Core Duo, I think, is somewhat more expensive than any previous Mac Mini? But I would be surprised if it's more than ~$200 / €150-200 more than the base model.
 
Willy S said:
Today I ran into Dell homepage and saw they are offering Core Duo laptops for 780 euros with 15" widescreens.

At the same time, I saw that the estimated price of the Macbook Core Duo is 1400 with the 13" screen, which I think is unrealistically high, since it is almost twice as expensive as the Dell.

Can it be true that Apple´s price premium is going through the roof? :confused:
Click to expand...
What country are you in? The prices vary across Europe. Does that 780 Euros include VAT? Can you provide a link to the Dell website?

Outside the US store, I'm most familiar with the Irish Apple store, which has the current 12" iBook for 1059 Euros, 14" for 1369 Euros. I would estimate a new 13" MacBook to be closer to the 14" than the 12" price, say 1300 Euros, but, like the Mac Mini may end up 100 Euros or so more than the last version.

The Irish Dell website has the following Core Duo base prices:
  • Inspiron 9400, 17" = 1249 Euros
  • Latitude D820, 15" = 1699 Euros
  • Latitude D620, 14" = 1329 Euros

The D620 is probably closest in capabilities to any future MacBook, but that has only 40GB HDD and CD/DVD combo drive, but with 3 year support.

So, where does the 780 Euros come in?

Remember though, these are the Irish websites, and prices do vary. Example: German iBook 12"/14" prices are 1029/1329. The Dell 9400/D820/D620 prices are 999/1549/1159.

Edit: All the above prices include VAT/Mehrwertssteuer.
 
AvSRoCkCO1067 said:
Apple's pricing is always a bit higher than the competition (although its design and software make it well worth the extra cost...)

However, there is no MacBook Core Duo with 13" - in fact, no one really knows if there will even be a MacBook Core Duo with 13". Either way, the lower MacBook model (which should come out in the next few months) won't cost 1400 euros - that's way high. The lower model should be nearer to the 780 that the Dell costs...
Click to expand...

No excuse for it these days, since the components and specifications are virtually equivalent.

Oh, and I expect to see intel integrated graphics on the MB too, no better than the Dell really.
 
The Macbooks will most definately have integrated graphics in order to bring down the price and to sell more MBPs.

You can upgrade to x1300 or x1400 on the Dell, but Dell is charging 120/180 euros for these upgrades.
 
Willy S said:
Hope this link works

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/pr...hs1&l=it&s=dhs
Click to expand...
Thanks, I missed that because I went to the performance section, not the value section. That's 800 Euros on the Irish Dell website. Configuring to something closer to what I would expect the MacBook to be (ie. XP Pro, 1x512MB RAM vs 2x256MB RAM, Bluetooth, 9 cell battery) brings it up to 1065 Euros. Dells are notoriously bad on battery life, so I configured the 9 cell battery which added only 18 Euros anyway. I would recommend that for anyone buying a Dell.

Since the MacBook isn't out yet we can't really say how this compares on specs or prices. Although I also expect integrated graphics, I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

It all depends on how much you value iLife (80 Euros in Ireland), Mac OS X (priceless) and security (even if it were security by obscurity, which it isn't). But the difference isn't 780 vs 1400 Euros ... it's much less.

generik said:
No excuse for it these days, since the components and specifications are virtually equivalent.
Click to expand...
By the same logic, how does Dell justify charging twice as much for the Latitude D820 over the Inspiron 6400, for essentially the same specs?
 
I would only upgrade the battery and buy some 3rd party ram (as I do when I buy a Mac) I do have a original XP pro disc, so I don´t have to buy it again.

But I agree that a Mac is worth more than similar Dell and I´m willing to pay more, but there are limits how much more.

Lets hope that the Macbooks prices and specs will leak soon....
 
Willy S said:
The Macbooks will most definately have integrated graphics in order to bring down the price and to sell more MBPs.

You can upgrade to x1300 or x1400 on the Dell, but Dell is charging 120/180 euros for these upgrades.
Click to expand...

i might sound like an idiot but is there anyway you could upgrade the integrated graphics in the macbook or mac mini to a better graphics card?
 
AvSRoCkCO1067 said:
The lower model should be nearer to the 780 that the Dell costs...
Click to expand...

No way Apple would do that, at least 250 higher, you'll see it if you compare mini G4 and Core dual mini.
 
me354 said:
i might sound like an idiot but is there anyway you could upgrade the integrated graphics in the macbook or mac mini to a better graphics card?
Click to expand...

no. i don't know of any laptop computers that don't have their video chips soldered onto the motherboard. however, the cpu may or may not be soldered on.
 
Benjamindaines said:
But with Intel graphics :(
Click to expand...
Why are people so scared off by Intel graphics? The GMA 950 is a darned good chip. Yes, as a general rule GMA sucks big time. Not true of the 950.

I am really looking forward to the release of the Macbook. Not that I will be getting one personally, but all my soon-to-be switcher friends said they will. (I told them not to get a PPC iBook, and besides, can you say "Boot Camp LAN parties?")
 
Kingsly said:
Why are people so scared off by Intel graphics? The GMA 950 is a darned good chip. Yes, as a general rule GMA sucks big time. Not true of the 950.
Click to expand...

no, it's still a poor performing chip. it's adequate for non-gaming/3d application purposes, but that's true of any integrated graphics chip.
 
How does the GMA 950 compare to the x1300? Little or much difference?

Unfortunately, I cannot wait any longer for a laptop that can have Windoze, so I´m ordering something tomorrow. My budget is 1000€ so a new Macbook would be nice if it will be released tomorrow. Otherwise, I´m just going to get a Dell and upgrade to a Mac when it fails (Dells don´t last for many years) and I´m still going to have an iMac.
 
Willy S said:
How does the GMA 950 compare to the x1300? Little or much difference?

Unfortunately, I cannot wait any longer for a laptop that can have Windoze, so I´m ordering something tomorrow. My budget is 1000€ so a new Macbook would be nice if it will be released tomorrow. Otherwise, I´m just going to get a Dell and upgrade to a Mac when it fails (Dells don´t last for many years) and I´m still going to have an iMac.
Click to expand...
Are you going to game? (Yes/No)

Are you only going to run with 512 MB of RAM? (Yes/No)

Are you going to run Apple video/imaging Pro applications? (Yes/No)
 
Eidorian said:
Are you going to game? (Yes/No)

Are you only going to run with 512 MB of RAM? (Yes/No)

Are you going to run Apple video/imaging Pro applications? (Yes/No)
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply.

1) No I don´t game
2) I will probably max out the RAM (2GB) (don´t know if dual cores require more or less RAM than single cores though)
3) Yes I use Photoshop and do some video editing as well.
 
Willy S said:
How does the GMA 950 compare to the x1300? Little or much difference?

Unfortunately, I cannot wait any longer for a laptop that can have Windoze, so I´m ordering something tomorrow. My budget is 1000€ so a new Macbook would be nice if it will be released tomorrow. Otherwise, I´m just going to get a Dell and upgrade to a Mac when it fails (Dells don´t last for many years) and I´m still going to have an iMac.
Click to expand...

I don't think comparing it to the X1300 is fair. You have to go way down and compare it to the X300 and even then it struggles to compete. However Intel is making a G965 which will perform much better (yes better than an X300).
 
Willy S said:
Thanks for your reply.

1) No I don´t game
2) I will probably max out the RAM (2GB) (don´t know if dual cores require more or less RAM than single cores though)
3) Yes I use Photoshop and do some video editing as well.
Click to expand...
Well the 950GMA sounds fine for you. Photoshop won't be effected at all. It's pumped through Rosetta and it's not dependent on Core Image speed.
 
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