Study Finds Macs Cost 2X Windows PCs

A new study released by NPD Group today says that the average price for Macs are twice as expensive as those for the "average PC." According to NPD’s study the average price for a Windows laptop has dropped from $877 to just $700 today. Although at this point, NPD Group did not reveal what laptops it was referring to.

NPD Group’s study also mentioned that the cost of the average Apple system remains above $1500 and has only dropped a measly $59 in the last two years of sales. NPD also mentions that the average price for a Mac is roughly $1000 more than the "common Windows desktop," which NPD says sells for $550. No configuration for the $550 desktop was revealed.

Rumors over the last several months indicate that Apple may be introducing a tower desktop similar to the Mac Pro, with the balanced system components like the iMac, at a more affordable price than the baseline Mac Pro. Possibly called just "Mac" without the "Pro," the new system would offer users better affordability, more avenues for expansion, and no lock-down in the display category. The major drawback with the iMac systems is that customers are stuck with the display.

While Apple is quickly gaining market share, it’s total cut of the industry pie still lags far behind Windows desktops. Apple’s net gains on margins remain very high because of its pricing, and caters to the premium market. We contacted NPD Group for a clue-in on what system configuration it used for the $550 average Windows desktop it used in its study, but no comment was returned to us as of this writing.

Dell’s selling price for this system is $3948 ($4492 regular with discount). Dell however, includes a 19-inch Dell UltraSharp 1908FP display, which sells for $289 on its online store. We were unable to remove the display from the configuration as Dell indicated that the UltraSharp 1908FP was included in the system build. However, without the display, the purchase price would have been reduced to $3659 — for the targeted workstation space, Apple’s offering comes out cheaper. These two builds are based on current offerings from Apple and Dell. With both systems being offered with such closely related specifications, it’s clear that the systems are not for end-users and more for people doing business.

In the desktop space, we take a look at Dell’s Inspiron 518 desktop, which is comparable to Apple’s iMac offerings. In its best configuration, the Inspiron 518 comes configured as:

Competitive Windows PC manufacturers continue to bulk up their systems with better specs to differentiate themselves instead of continuing to cut cost, have become very attractive to would-be Mac/PC decision makers. Apple on the other hand, has done little in comparison, to bulk up its specifications. Minor CPU upgrades over the last six months are disappointing to many who are interested in giving OS X Leopard a try, but are steered away from Apple’s up front costs.

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  • so much for the mac cost misconception
    Reply
  • anonymous x
    this article is by the same author?
    Reply
  • decoppel
    Yeah I find this ironic.
    Reply
  • cruiseoveride
    shaping up T.dawg
    Reply
  • tuannguyen
    Yes, it's by the same author.
    Reply
  • Instead of the Dell Inspiron 518 why didn't you compare it against the Inspiron 530? For $849 you get the following specs:

    Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
    20 inch SP2008WFP Wide Flat Panel with Webcam and Mic
    3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
    500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache?
    16X DVD+/-RW Drive
    ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB
    Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse

    I find your choice of Dells to compare against Macs biased.
    Reply
  • decoppel
    tuannguyenYes, it's by the same author.
    Seriously, way to man up here.

    I didn't think you would but this is good to see this.
    Reply
  • sphericaline
    Why did you compare the baseline iMac with the Dell Inspiron 518 instead of the Inspiron 530? For $849 you can get the Inspiron 530 wtih the following specs:

    Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
    20 inch SP2008WFP Wide Flat Panel with Webcam and Mic
    3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
    500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
    16X DVD+/-RW Drive
    ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB
    Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse

    Isn't this clearly better than the baseline iMac for less money? I think you choice of Dells for comparison to Macs quite biased.
    Reply
  • weepee
    hi decoppel
    Reply
  • decoppel
    weepeehi decoppel
    Hi WeePee
    Reply