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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → Do you think Macs are overpriced?
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Do you think Macs are overpriced?
2009-03-31, 12:36 AM #1
To clarify -- "overpriced" is not a synonym for "expensive." What I mean by overpriced is "priced above how much you value the product". For example:

Mac A costs $1500. You value it at $1200. Mac A is overpriced in your opinion.
Mac B costs $1200. You value it at $1300. but you only have $500. It is too expensive for you (you can't afford it), but it is not overpriced in your opinion.
Mac C costs $1000. You value it at $900. You have $1200. You can afford it, so it's not too expensive, but it is overpriced in your opinion (and you probably wouldn't buy it).

Another way to think of it is, "are Macs worth their price in your opinion"?
一个大西瓜
2009-03-31, 12:37 AM #2
Well i use Windows, so any mac is overpriced to me.
Not that they don't have their uses.
2009-03-31, 12:44 AM #3
Well I spent £1200 on my PowerBook G4 in the summer of 2005, and that machine still kicks *** today - all I've done is put an extra gig of RAM in it and it still flies today like a new machine. It has ample HDD (80GB), DVD burner, and it still looks the business. When people see it, they still say "ooooo pretty...!"

So at the time, it seemed pricey, but bugger me has it lasted.
2009-03-31, 1:04 AM #4
They're pretty durable.
2009-03-31, 1:04 AM #5
No, I really do think I can get value for money out of my Macs, I currently have 5 macs at home and they just keep going on and on and on. For the hastle and problems that I used to have with Windows it just keeps on plodding on, I have just spent £1989 on my new Macbook Pro 17" and its just incredible. Its well built, Im getting about 8 hours battery on normal mode, and still 5 hours on the dedicated graphics card. I just think that what you buy is what you get, its like comparing a Ford Focus to a Bently, they are just a different machines for different people.
Flying over there some were...
2009-03-31, 1:17 AM #6
Often, yes.

Someone posted the figures (and source) on here a while ago of laptop failure rates. Lenovo had the lowest and Apple had the highest. Of course, it was a 3% difference, so...

That didn't include Toughbooks and similar products.
Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
2009-03-31, 3:59 AM #7
Originally posted by Anakin-Paul:
No, I really do think I can get value for money out of my Macs, I currently have 5 macs at home and they just keep going on and on and on. For the hastle and problems that I used to have with Windows it just keeps on plodding on, I have just spent £1989 on my new Macbook Pro 17" and its just incredible. Its well built, Im getting about 8 hours battery on normal mode, and still 5 hours on the dedicated graphics card. I just think that what you buy is what you get, its like comparing a Ford Focus to a Bently, they are just a different machines for different people.


i lol'd

o.0
2009-03-31, 5:15 AM #8
I voted Yes, although I have never owned a mac. My opinion is solely based on comparisons of hardware prices.
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2009-03-31, 6:13 AM #9
The Macbooks I would say are not overpriced. Specs alone are very close to other PC laptops, and combined with the much smaller casing, and the aluminum body, it's a good deal.

As for the Mac Pros and the iMacs? Not so much.

As for any accessory they sell? Absolutely, 100% overpriced.
2009-03-31, 6:17 AM #10
Cool Matty's got it. Also any upgrade is overpriced. I remember seeing an upgrade to 8gb ram casting 1200 or something like that, lol.
2009-03-31, 6:20 AM #11
Originally posted by Martyn:
Well I spent £1200 on my PowerBook G4 in the summer of 2005, and that machine still kicks *** today - all I've done is put an extra gig of RAM in it and it still flies today like a new machine. It has ample HDD (80GB), DVD burner, and it still looks the business. When people see it, they still say "ooooo pretty...!"

So at the time, it seemed pricey, but bugger me has it lasted.


Lucky. I've got one of them powermac G5 (desktop, not laptop), and its performance in recent versions of the OS and with Adobe CS3 / CS4 products is downright pathetic.

I'm hoping my bosses will finally agree to replace it soon.
Was cheated out of lions by happydud
Was cheated out of marriage by sugarless
2009-03-31, 6:22 AM #12
At the time when I bought my MacBook Pro I did consider it slightly more expensive than a laptop of the same spec that I could have got from say Dell, but, the Mac is just presented in a much tighter package, more compact too and even now, after having it for over 2 years, it's still running smooth as butter.

The comparisons people often do of the spec's never seems to take into account the above when I read reviews and thinking back I paid a premium of perhaps around £200-£300 over a dell of similar spec.

For what I've got out of my Mac (lifetime, battery usage, portability, build quality) and what I've seen of the dells of the same spec (XPS's mostly) I'd take a macbook any day.
People of our generation should not be subjected to mornings.

Rbots
2009-03-31, 6:39 AM #13
When compared to that dell posted last week, no.


When compared to other PC's, yes.
"They're everywhere, the little harlots."
-Martyn
2009-03-31, 6:44 AM #14
I'd say certain models have been.
nope.
2009-03-31, 7:12 AM #15
Originally posted by Cool Matty:
As for any accessory they sell? Absolutely, 100% overpriced.


This. the remote that comes with your laptop costs $20 to replace wtf
[01:52] <~Nikumubeki> Because it's MBEGGAR BEGS LIKE A BEGONI.
2009-03-31, 7:21 AM #16
Originally posted by mb:
This. the remote that comes with your laptop costs $20 to replace wtf


Protip: they don't even come with laptops anymore.

The remote isn't even the worst offender. Check out the Dual-Link DVI adapter.
2009-03-31, 7:38 AM #17
The MacBooks and iMacs I think are well-priced. The MacBooks especially for the unibody enclosure, which just feels built like a rock and very solid. Thinks like the MBP and the Mac mini on the other hand I feel are overpriced.
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2009-03-31, 7:43 AM #18
Mmmm...I do a little. But I'm still considering getting one. My main detractor is that I do stuffs in Windows environment namely Visual Studio and .NET. Yeah, I can boot a windows...partition (that what you call them?) but if I'm gonna spend a lot of time in Window, why not get a PC laptop?

Oh how I wish .NET and VS 2008 were on other platforms.
Code to the left of him, code to the right of him, code in front of him compil'd and thundered. Programm'd at with shot and $SHELL. Boldly he typed and well. Into the jaws of C. Into the mouth of PERL. Debug'd the 0x258.
2009-03-31, 7:44 AM #19
Are they expensive? Yes. Are they overpriced? No, don't think so. Good laptops cost a lot of money. You might be able to get a sub-$1000 laptop with decent specs, but most of the time it will feel like you're holding a hunk of plastic that will break if you look at it the wrong way. When I buy laptops, I tend to buy Dell Latitudes or Precisions, and they most definitely are not cheap.
2009-03-31, 7:49 AM #20
dalf: Try Mono? There's also a free dev gui called SharpDevelop for .NET and it claims to have some degree of Mono support (you might have to build it from source).

[Edit: There's also something called MonoDevelop.]

2009-03-31, 8:15 AM #21
What the hell do you people do with Laptops?

With all the talk of "durability", either I've been very lucky, or you guys like to try and break your laptops.

I've had 3 sub-$1000 laptops, and none of them have been broken, chipped, or cracked. The current one I take everywhere as well, from the lab to the hospital, and it doesn't spontaneously fragment into a million shards.

The solid body is nice, I guess. It's just not an issue as I don't try and throw my laptop off a building.

tl;dr Macs are overpriced and their selling points aren't really that great practically.
2009-03-31, 8:27 AM #22
Kuat: I had an IBM Thinkpad, well known for being a durable laptop. 4 years later, the screen joints are about ready to snap off, they're literally cracked almost completely across. Do I toss or drop the laptop all over? No, as a matter of fact it has never been dropped.

Durability isn't just surviving a fall. Plastic wears out, and crappy bindings as well. The Macbook is so sturdy that you don't have to worry about anything happening to it.
2009-03-31, 8:42 AM #23
Originally posted by Cool Matty:
Kuat: I had an IBM Thinkpad, well known for being a durable laptop. 4 years later, the screen joints are about ready to snap off, they're literally cracked almost completely across. Do I toss or drop the laptop all over? No, as a matter of fact it has never been dropped.

Durability isn't just surviving a fall. Plastic wears out, and crappy bindings as well. The Macbook is so sturdy that you don't have to worry about anything happening to it.


I could've sworn a buddy of mine has a broken case on his macbook..don't remember exactly..
woot!
2009-03-31, 8:47 AM #24
One person having one broken case doesn't tell us much =p
You can't judge a book by it's file size
2009-03-31, 8:57 AM #25
Look at total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the product.

I have a macbook I now use for work. I work in the office some of the time and out of my house some of the time. I accidentally left my power cord at work so I went to the store to get a new one, expecting that it would cost ~30-40 bucks. Nope, it was 80 dollars. For a power cord.
2009-03-31, 9:07 AM #26
that is insane
You can't judge a book by it's file size
2009-03-31, 9:26 AM #27
Originally posted by Deadman:
One person having one broken case doesn't tell us much =p


I had an old laptop a while back..bought it used and cheap (had been stepped on- most of the display was garbage, but sections still worked). The hinges never broke. :P
woot!
2009-03-31, 10:15 AM #28
Originally posted by Cool Matty:
Kuat: I had an IBM Thinkpad, well known for being a durable laptop. 4 years later, the screen joints are about ready to snap off, they're literally cracked almost completely across. Do I toss or drop the laptop all over? No, as a matter of fact it has never been dropped.

Durability isn't just surviving a fall. Plastic wears out, and crappy bindings as well. The Macbook is so sturdy that you don't have to worry about anything happening to it.


I guess your mileage varies.

My old compaq is still kicking since 2002.
2009-03-31, 10:25 AM #29
Originally posted by Brian:
Look at total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the product.

I have a macbook I now use for work. I work in the office some of the time and out of my house some of the time. I accidentally left my power cord at work so I went to the store to get a new one, expecting that it would cost ~30-40 bucks. Nope, it was 80 dollars. For a power cord.


Lenovo's power adapters range from $50-100. It's not all that surprising.
2009-03-31, 10:27 AM #30
Originally posted by Cool Matty:
Lenovo's power adapters range from $50-100. It's not all that surprising.


As do Dell's. And one thing I have to give Apple credit for, they have longer cords than any other power supplies I've ever used.
2009-03-31, 10:41 AM #31
I thought everyone used the same generic power cords, with the 3 holes on the back.
I have a box full of them i have collected over the years.
2009-03-31, 11:12 AM #32
Yes, they're overpriced as hardware. However, the mac community, the apple tech support and store help, the amount of time you keep the product, and the ease of use all make the purchase worthwhile in the long run.
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2009-03-31, 11:19 AM #33
I've found that the resell on Macs is really good too. Any of my older Macs I've sold I have only probably lost only $100-200 off its original purchased value.
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2009-03-31, 11:45 AM #34
Just use ebay for any non-urgent accessories?
"They're everywhere, the little harlots."
-Martyn
2009-03-31, 12:01 PM #35
Originally posted by Onimusha:
Just use ebay for any non-urgent accessories?


That's a whole other can of worms.
2009-03-31, 1:06 PM #36
Originally posted by Tiberium_Empire:
Well i use Windows


Macs run on intel now, numbnuts.
2009-03-31, 1:17 PM #37
Originally posted by Rob:
Macs run on intel now, numbnuts.

...Wut?
nope.
2009-03-31, 1:24 PM #38
Laptop power cords basically have PC power supplies built into them. Hearing someone complain that they're expensive is... well, I don't know, one of those things that surprises me I guess.

Originally posted by Tiberium_Empire:
I thought everyone used the same generic power cords, with the 3 holes on the back.
I have a box full of them i have collected over the years.
we're talking about laptops.
2009-03-31, 1:25 PM #39
Originally posted by JLee:
I could've sworn a buddy of mine has a broken case on his macbook..don't remember exactly..
Macbooks used to have a plastic body.
2009-03-31, 1:29 PM #40
Originally posted by Jon`C:
Laptop power cords basically have PC power supplies built into them. Hearing someone complain that they're expensive is... well, I don't know, one of those things that surprises me I guess.

Well, sort of. They only have a 12v rail, which makes them considerably less complex. They also don't have to provide anywhere the amount of current, as laptops are much more power efficient (namely, you don't have powersucking video cards). They shouldn't be the same price as a PC power supply, but they aren't going to be as cheap as phone charger, either.
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