macintax

[waider]

I'm still toying with the idea of replacing my 8-year-old Compaq Armada M700 with a shiny new Macbook Pro. Out of curiosity, I did a bit of poking around on the Dell site to try and find a roughly equivalent laptop to the Macbook I'm looking at (much as tongodeon has done with far more care and attention previously) and this is what I've found (the Dell model is the Precision M4300):

Manufacturer	Apple	Dell
CPU	2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo	2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory	2GB	2GB
Disk	160GB SATA 5400 RPM	160GB SATA 7200 RPM
Optical Disk	8x Superdrive	8x DVD+/-RW
Screen	1440 x 900 15 inch	1680 x 1050 15.4 inch
Video H/W	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM	Unspecified "high-performance" NVIDIA Quadro, as far as I can tell
PRICE	€2,399.00	€1279.00

So it looks like the Apple Tax in Ireland is pretty hefty for this particular box: over €1000, and you're getting a slower hard-drive and a lower-resolution screen into the bargain.

It's still a prettier machine, though.

Comments

[bitpuddle.livejournal.com]

That is crazy -- I don't understand that price. It should be closer to €1600.

Why is it so much more expensive? And why don't you fly here, buy it, and fly back?

[odaiwai.livejournal.com]

First Point: There's a MacWorld in less than two weeks. Don't buy a new Mac right now!

Have you considered a MacBook? The major downgrade from the spec above would be the screen size and graphics, but you can get 4GB of RAM and the same disks as the larger version. (do the RAM and HDD yourself, they're trivially easy to do on a MacBook.) They're a better bargain than the big guys, in my opinion.

You should also consider a trip to somewhere to buy it: All of the power stuff is modular and works everywhere, plus you can get a converter kit for the power block, so you can pick one up in the USA and use it in Ireland.

[waider.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah. I know about the MacWorld, and I know about getting it cheaper elsewhere (see my followup to the above). I'm inclined towards the Pro pretty much because of the screen size, but I may juggle the other options and see what comes up.

[tongodeon.livejournal.com]

Are you sure about those numbers? I spec'ed a Precision M4300 and got much different numbers both in the US and Ireland.

I think you're comparing Dell's base model to a comparatively spec'ed model, and you're comparing Dell's pre-VAT, pre-shipping prices to Apple's out-the-door prices.

[odaiwai.livejournal.com]

One tip, if some kewl stuff comes out at macworld, but you're still happy with the older spec, is that it can be possible to get the old spec at a discount.

I got a 2Ghz MacBook with 2GB RAM and SuperDrive for the same price as the updated Base MacBook last Summer, which meant that I basically got a SuperDrive and 2GB of Apple RAM for free.

[waider.livejournal.com]

Again, yes, that's the plan :)