The Mac Observer: AAPLTalk System Shootouts - US$1,600 Desktop System Shootout

DATES CONFIGURED: 8/12/02 - 8/14/02

Must Include: DVD, CD-RW, & 15"+ LCD

READ THESE IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS & EXPLANATIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING!!!
All images and logos are copyright 2001 to the respective companies listed.

Company

Apple

Dell

Compaq

Hewlett Packard

Gateway

Sony

iMac G4
Combo Drive

Dimension 8200

Presario 8000

Pavillion 761n

500X

VAIO PCV-RX750

Design/ Styling

"Lamp"-style / White

180° swing arm
fully repositionable

Black Minitower

Beige Tower

Baja Blue Tower

Platinum Tower

VAIO Styling Tower

Mobility:

All-in-one design
22 lbs. total

(all PC systems listed weigh 40 lbs.+ total including tower, flat-panel display & speakers)

Component Access?

Easy ccess to memory & wireless cards only

(all PC systems listed have thumb-screw or other relatively easy access for panel removal & component access)

Cords/Cables:

6 cables/cords

(all PC systems listed require appx. 10 cables/cords total,
including tower, display, modem, speakers, keyboard, mouse & microphone)

Deskspace Used:

88 sq. inches

(all PC systems listed use up from 180 - 220 square inches of space for tower, flat-panel display & speakers)

Noise Volume:

Ultraquiet fan
+ convection cooling

Loud (full-size cooling fans)

Energy Use:

130 Watts total

appx. $24 / year

(all PC systems listed use appx. 170-200 Watts total (appx. $70-80 / year))

Processor:
Rating Notes

1.1 GHz P4
700 MHz
PowerPC G4

2.0 GHz P4
2.0 GHz
Pentium 4

2.2 GHz P4
1.67 GHz
Athlon XP 2000+

2.26 GHz P4
2.26 GHz
Pentium 4

2.0 GHz P4
2.0 GHz
Pentium 4

L1 Cache:

64k

32k

128k

32k

L2 Cache:

256K on-chip

512K on-chip

256K on-chip

512K on-chip

L3 Cache:

Memory Type:

SDRAM PC133

RDRAM PC800

DDR PC2100

Frontside Bus:

100 MHz bus

400 MHz bus

266 MHz bus

533 MHz bus

400 MHz bus

Memory Amount:

384 MB (1x256, 1x128)

256 MB (1 x 256)

512 MB (2 x 256)

512 MB (1 x 256)

256 MB (1 x 256)

Max RAM:

1.0 GB (2 slots)

2.0 GB (2 slots)

1.0 GB (2 slots)

Hard Drive Capacity:

40 GB

80 GB

60 GB

Hard Drive Type:

Ultra ATA 66

Ultra ATA 100

Ultra DMA 100

Ultra ATA 100

Hard Drive Speed:

5400 rpm

7200 rpm

5400 rpm

7200 rpm

CD Rom:

32x CD

40x CD

48x CD

40x CD

CD-RW:

12x8x CD-RW

40x10x CD-RW

24x10x CD-RW

48x24x CD-RW

24x10x CD-RW

DVD-Rom:

8x DVD

16x DVD

DVD-/+RW:

Floppy Drive:

Yes

Zip/Other Drive:

Memory stick

PCI/AGP Slots:
Available / Total

0 / 1

3 / 5

3 / 6

1 / 4

2 / 4

Internal Bays:
Available / Total

0 / 1

1 / 2

1 / 2 (?)

1 / 2

External Bays:
Available / Total

0 / 1

1 / 4

0 / 3

1 / 3

0 / 3

Mouse Included:

(Kensington)

USB 2-button optical scrollwheel

PS/2 2-button scrollwheel

USB Optical 2-button scrollwheel

PS/2 2-button scrollwheel

USB Ports:
available = after keyboard & mouse

3 available
5 total
(2 on keyboard)

3 available
4 total
(2 in front)

4 available
4 total
(2 in front)

5 available
6 total
(2 in front; 4 are USB2)

4 available
4 total
(2 in front)

Firewire Ports:

2 On-board

2 (via PCI)
(+1 internal)

3 ports (PCI) total
(1 in front)

2 On-board

Legacy Ports:

1 serial
1 parallel
(2 PS/2; 1 used by keyboard)

2 serial
1 parallel
(2 PS/2; 1 used by keyboard)

2 serial
1 parallel
(2 PS/2 used by keyboard & mouse)

1 serial
1 parallel
(2 PS/2; 1 used by keyboard)

1 serial
1 parallel
(2 PS/2 used by keyboard & mouse)

Graphics Card:
Rating Notes

nVIDIA
GeForce2 MX 440

nVIDIA
GeForce4 MX 420

nVIDIA
GeForce4 MX 440

nVIDIA
TNT2

Video RAM:

32 MB DDR

64 MB DDR

128 MB DDR

32 MB (shared)

VGA Out:

Yes

DVI/ADC Out:

DVI

TV Out:

Yes

S-Video Out:

Dual Display Support?

(mirroring only)

Yes

Display:

15" viewable LCD
(attached)

100% digital

15" viewable LCD

100% digital

15" viewable LCD

digital

Max. display resolution (monitor):

1024x768

Microphone/
Line in:

Built-in microphone

Line-in jack

Headphone/
Line out:

Headphone jack
Line-out jack

Digital-audio ready

headphone jack
Line-out jack

Speakers:

Harmon Kardon
stereo speakers

Harmon Kardon
HK-395 speakers w/subwoofer

JBL Platinum
stereo speakers

Polk stereo speakers

Boston Acoustics
BA-745 speakers w/subwoofer

Stereo Speakers

10/100 Ethernet:

Yes

Yes (via PCI)

Yes

56k Modem:

Yes

Yes (via PCI)

802.11b Wireless Network Card?

Integrated 802.11b Antennae?

Yes

Hardware Extras Included:

Lord of the Rings DVD

Epson Stylus
C40UX Printer
MicroVault 32 MB USB keychain storage

Included OS:

Mac OS X 10.2;
Mac OS 9.2;
BSD Unix;
Apache Web Server

Windows XP
Home Edition

Windows/DOS Support:

DOS/95/98/ME/
2000/XP
(via Virtual PC)

DOS/95/98/ME/2000/NT/XP

(Native)

Mac OS Support:

Mac OS 8,9,X

(Native)

Mac OS 8 only (via emulation)

Linux OS Support:

Various flavors (Native)

Unix OS Support:

Various flavors (Native)

Word Processor Included:

AppleWorks 6.2
(Word compatible)

MSFT Word XP
MSFT Works 6.0

MSFT Works 6.0

MSFT Word XP
MSFT Works 6.0

Corel WordPerfect 10
(Word compatible)

Spreadsheet Software Included:

AppleWorks 6.2
(Excel compatible)

MSFT Works 6.0

Quattro Pro 10
(Excel compatible)

Presentation Software Included:

AppleWorks 6.2

Corel Presentations
(PowerPoint compatible)

Database Software Included:

AppleWorks 6.2

MSFT Works 6.0

Drawing/Painting Software Included:

AppleWorks 6.2

Calendar/PIM Software Included:

MSFT Works 6.0

CorelCentral 10

Planning/Project Software Included:

Web Browser Included:

Internet Explorer 5.2
Netscape 4.7

Internet Explorer 6

E-Mail/Address Book Included:

OS X Mail
Outlook Express 5

Outlook Express 6

CorelCentral 10
Outlook Express 6

Media Player Included:

Quicktime 6
DVD Player
Media Player 7 avail.
RealOne Player avail.

Media Player 8
DVD Player
Quicktime 6 avail.
RealOne Player avail.

Quicktime 6
Media Player 8
DVD Player
RealOne Player avail.

Financial Software Included:

Quicken 2002 Deluxe

Money 2002
Quicken 2002

Money 2002

Quicken NewUsers

Unknown (?)

Quicken 2002

Reference Software Included:

World Book OS X

Encarta 2002 Std.
Streets & Trips 2002

Encarta 2002

Encarta 2002
Streets & Trips 2002

Digital Photo Management:

iPhoto 1.1

Image Expert 2000

Unknown (?)

ArcSoft My Photo Center

Picture it!

Photoshop Elements

Picture Gear
DigitalPrint

Digital Video Editing:

iMovie 2

MGI Videowave 4

Studio DV

Pinnacle Studio 7

Pinnacle Express

DVgate
MovieShaker

Music Software/
CD Burning Software:

iTunes 3
Disc Burner

MusicMatch 6.0

EasyCD 5.0

Unknown (?)

MusicMatch 6.1
HP RecordNow

Pinnacle Express

SonicStage

Games Included:

Chess
Otto Matic
Deimos Rising

Mine Sweeper, Asstd. classic games

Additional Software Included

FaxSTF
Palm Desktop
Asstd. system software

Asstd. system software

Smart Capture
Asstd. system software

Free ISP/
Other Services

1 month EarthLink

6 months MSN

1 year AOL

Virus Susceptibility/
Security Issues

45 known viruses

50,000+ known viruses (see FBI warning)

Built-in Firewall?

Yes

Warranty:

1 yr. ltd./mail-in
90 days phone

1 yr. ltd./at-home

1-yr. phone

1 yr. ltd./at-home
90 days phone

1 yr. ltd./mail-in

1-yr. phone

1 yr. ltd./at-home

1 yr. phone

1 yr. ltd./mail-in
90 days phone

Quality of Products & Service:
Consumer Affairs

"Good Guys"

"Rogues Gallery"

Navigation?

Easy

Poor

Easy

Poor

Customization Allowed?

Some

Full

Some

Full

Very Limited

Subotal:
(includes rebates, add-ons, etc.)

$1,614

$1,507

$1,605

$1601

$1,505

$1,569

+ Ground Shipping:

No Charge

$99

Free (ltd. time)

$99

$25

Total Price
as configured:

$1,614
tax not included

$1,606
tax not included

$1,605
tax not included

$1,601
tax not included

$1,604
tax not included

$1,594
tax not included

The information above is as accurate as I could make it based on a reasonable time studying the respective companies' Web sites. There is no guarantee that these configurations, prices, and features are the best that one could come up with; assorted bundles, free internet access, free extra memory, and so on can most likely be found for any of the above systems. The point of this chart is to demonstrate that Apple's lineup holds its own against any brand-name computer, even in areas in which it has traditionally had resistance. In short, do not base your purchasing decisions solely on this chart or information. Neither I, nor The Mac Observer will be held responsible or liable for any purchase decisions you make based on this presentation.

Charles Gaba started the AAPLTalk System Shootouts at AAPLTalk.com, and has brought them to TMO. Charles is the creative talent behind Brainwrap Web Design.

AAPLTalk System Shootouts Archives

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