Ever since Apple became a major player in the portable computing market I have heard the same phrase over and over: “I could totally buy the same PC laptop for WAY cheaper!” Well, let’s have a look at current PC laptops and compare prices!
Let me start out by saying that Apple has made it very difficult to compare its brand new retina Macbook Pro to anything PC builders have to offer. The obvious reason for this is that no other PC manufacturers offer a retina-type display. In fact, no phone has managed to match the quality of Apple’s retina display since it’s debut on the iPhone 4 over a year ago. Certainly some manufacturers have come close, and there has been debate as to the quality difference between several modern Android phones and Apple’s display, but if you get down to the tech and pixel density, no one else is quite there. It’s safe to assume that if no one has matched Apple’s display tech in the phone world, we probably have some time to wait before we start seeing the PC world match it as well.
As expected, I went with Alienware (Dell) for the main comparison. However, I wanted to get some other sites in there as well, so I included Origin PC and iBuyPower. Dell is by far the closest comparison, with iBuyPower being too cheap due to a lack of better RAM options (and, let’s be honest, being “cheap” in more ways than just that), and Origin PC being a bit more expensive due to only having the GeForce 660m (instead of the 650) available for its 15.6″ model with 1GB VRAM.
The specs I am using for the new retina Macbook Pro in these comparisons are taken directly from Apple’s specs page, and are as follows:
- 15.4 inch LED “retina” display @ 2880 x 1800 with 220ppi
- 2.3GHz Intel quad-core i7 processor, 6MB cache
- 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM
- 256GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1GB + Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Wireless N + Bluetooth 4.0
- no optical drive
- 7 hour battery (wireless web)
- .71″ thick, weighs 4.46 lb
Price: $2,199
Alienware (Dell) m14x Gaming Laptop
- 14 inch WLED “High Def+” display @ 1600 x 900 (no ppi advertised)
- 2.3GHz Intel quad-core i7 processor, 6MB cache
- 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1GB
- Wireless N + Bluetooth 4.0
- optical drive included
- 5 hour battery (unspecified use)
- 1.49″ thick, weighs 6.45 lbs
Price: $1,749
Difference: $500
Disadvantages:
- No integrated Intel Graphics to use for less power consumption
It was brought up in the comments that the Ivy Bridge chipset does come with the integrated Intel 4000 video card.
- Smaller screen
- Far Lower resolution
- No retina display
- 2 hours less advertised battery life
- twice as thick, 50% heavier
Advantages:
- it has the cool Alienware logo?
- has an optical drive
Thoughts
You may disagree, but I feel like the extra $500 for a far superior display, almost 50% better battery, extra integrated video card, and far more slim and light chassis design is justified. I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of that extra $500 is just for the display. Those things ain’t cheap!
Origin PC Eon 15-S High Performance Gaming Laptop
- 15.6 inch LED LCD display @ 1920 x 1080 (no ppi advertised)
- 2.3GHz Intel quad-core i7 processor, 6MB cache
- 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM
- 256GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 660M 1GB
- Wireless N + Bluetooth 4.0
- no optical drive
- 6 hour battery (unspecified use)
- 1.5″ thick, weighs 6.8 lbs
Price: $2,126
Difference: $73
Disadvantages:
- No integrated Intel Graphics to use for less power consumption
- Lower resolution
- No retina display
- 1 hour less advertised battery life
- twice as thick, 60% heavier
Advantages:
- better video card
Thoughts
This laptop appears to be on the pricey side as far as gaming portables go. You’re paying only $73 for a far bulkier, heavier gaming laptop that has an inferior screen and less battery life. However, it does have a slightly better video card. If it were up to me, I would go with the new Macbook Pro without a second thought.
iBuyPower Battalion 101 W150ERQ Gaming Laptop
- 15.6 inch LED LCD display @ 1920 x 1080 (no ppi advertised)
- 2.3GHz Intel quad-core i7 processor, 6MB cache
- 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
- 240GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1GB
- Wireless N + Bluetooth 4.0
- optical drive included
- no battery life information found?!
- no dimension information found!?
Price: $1,300
Difference: $899
Disadvantages:
- No integrated Intel Graphics to use for less power consumption
- Smaller screen
- Far Lower resolution
- No retina display
- slower RAM
- smaller hard drive
- absolutely no battery life information found anywhere on the internet
- absolutely no dimensions found anywhere on the internet
Advantages:
- it’s waaay cheaper?
Thoughts
I’ll be honest, after my terrible experience attempting (and failing) to find basic specs information on iBuyPower’s website, I’m beginning to wonder how they do business. I searched far and wide on the internet to find basic battery estimates and dimension information and came up with absolutely nada. I couldn’t even find a review for the laptop anywhere. Ok, with far inferior features, and zero dimension/battery information, I found a laptop that is $900 cheaper. I don’t know about you, but there is no way I would invest money in this product.
The Bottom Line
The biggest contender to matching the retina MBP’s specs while maintaining a lower price is obviously the Alienware m14x. $500 is not a small amount of cash, and while a lot of hate is piled onto Dell from hardcore gamers out there, they’re not that bad are they? If they are that bad, and you really don’t go with them, you’re going to be stuck with an extremely cheap, and unnervingly shady product from iBuyPower that falls far short of the MBP, or an almost identically-priced product from Origin PC that has a slightly better video card while falling short in several other categories.
Like with Alienware before they were bought out by Dell, high quality comes at a high price. When it comes to gaming laptops, which generally can’t be built from scratch (or rather, not easily built from scratch), you really do get what you pay for. If you don’t care about the retina display, that’s ok (although if you’ve ever gamed on a retina iPad, I think you might change your tune), but what about the decreased battery life and majorly bulky/heavy design of modern gaming laptops? Call me crazy, but considering the high design quality in Apple products combined with superior and equivalent hardware, I don’t see what the fuss all about. From what I’ve seen in this example, and many times in the past, Apple’s price points are pretty on par with other high-quality PC companies such as Origin. Obviously prices will always vary based on different features, but Apple’s portable prices have always reflected the incredibly high quality of their products, which includes design points that other PC makers can only dream of achieving. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and I feel like Apple is prime proof for this.
Do you have a better comparison using a PC-building service that I didn’t use here? Feel free to post it in the comments, but keep in mind that as the weeks pass and newer technology is released, configurations will undoubtedly drop in price!