The Mac Observer: AAPLTalk System Shootouts - US$3,200 Desktop System Shootout

DATES CONFIGURED: 8/12/02 - 8/14/02
READ THESE IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS & EXPLANATIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING!!!

--Must include at least 17" LCD
--Must include both CD-RW and DVD-RW (SuperDrive)
--Must include Subwoofer w/speakers

All images and logos are copyright 2001 to the respective companies listed.
System images & logos will be removed upon request by the respective companys' representatives.

Company

Apple

Dell

Compaq

Hewlett Packard

Gateway

Sony

PowerMac G4

Dimension 8200

Presario 8000

Pavillion

700xl

RX780G Digital Studio

Design/ Styling

"Cyclops" Quicksilver
Polycarbonate Shell

Built-in handles

Black Tower

Beige Tower

Baja Blue Tower

Platinum Tower

VAIO Styling Tower

Mobility:

(all systems weigh appx. 45 - 50 lbs. total (CPU + flat-panel display + speakers))

Component Access?

Side drops open for easy expansion & component access.

"Thumb-screws" for panel removal & component access

Screwdrivers required to remove paneling

"Thumb-screws" for panel removal & component access

Screwdrivers required to remove paneling

Deskspace Used:

(all systems utilize appx. 260-300 sq. inches of total deskspace (CPU + flat-panel display + speakers))

Noise Volume:

(combination convection cooling + ultraquiet fan?)

Loud (full-size cooling fans)

Energy Use:

(all systems use appx. 340-380 watts of electricity on average (CPU + display + speakers); appx. $60-70 / year)

Processor:
Rating Notes

1.7 GHz P4
DUAL 867 MHz
PowerPC G4

2.4 GHz P4
2.4 GHz
Pentium 4

2.3 GHz P4
1.8 GHz
Athlon XP 2200+

2.53 GHz P4
2.53 GHz
Pentium 4

2.2 GHz P4
2.4 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:

1 MB DDR/processor

Memory Type:

DDR-SDRAM
PC2100

RDRAM PC800

DDR-SDRAM
PC2100

RDRAM PC800

DDR-SDRAM
PC2100

Frontside Bus:

133 MHz bus

533 MHz bus

266 MHz bus

533 MHz bus

400 MHz bus

Memory Amount:

512 MB (1 x 512)

512 MB (2 x 256)

512 MB (1 x 512)

1.0 GB (2 x 512)

512 MB (2 x 256)

Max RAM:

2.0 GB (4 slots)

2.0 GB (2 slots)

1.0 GB (2 slots)

2.0 GB (4 slots)

1.0 GB (2 slots)

Hard Drive Capacity:

120 GB

80 GB

120 GB

Hard Drive Type:

Ultra ATA 100

Ultra DMA 100

Ultra ATA 100

Hard Drive Speed:

7200 rpm

CD-Rom:

24x CD

48x CD

40x CD

48x CD

CD-RW:

8x4x CD-RW

12x10x CD-RW

8x4x CD-RW

32x10x CD-RW

48x24x CD-RW

8x4x CD-RW

DVD-Rom:

6x DVD

8x DVD

?x DVD

8x DVD

DVD-/+RW:

2x1x DVD-RW

2x2x DVD+RW

1x1x DVD-RAM/DVD-R

2x1x DVD-RW

Floppy Drive:

Yes

Zip/Other Drive:

Zip 250

Memory stick

PCI/AGP Slots:
Available / Total

4 / 5

2 / 5

3 / 7

2 / 4

3 / 6

2 / 4

Internal Bays:
Available / Total

3 / 4

1 / 2 (?)

1 / 2

External Bays:
Available / Total

1 / 2

0 / 4

0 / 3

1 / 4

0 / 3

Mouse Included:

(Kensington)

USB Optical 2-button scrollwheel

PS/2 2-button
scrollwheel

USB Optical
scrollwheel

USB

2-button
scrollwheel

USB Optical

3-button
scrollwheel

PS/2 2-button
scrollwheel

USB Ports:
available = after keyboard & mouse

2 on CPU back
+ 2 on keyboard
+ 2 on display
= 6 total
4 available

2 on CPU back
+ 2 on CPU front

= 4 total
4 available

2 on CPU back
+ 2 on CPU front

= 4 total
3 available

4 on back (2 are USB2)
+ 2 on CPU front

= 6 total

5 available

2 on CPU back
+ 2 on CPU front

= 4 total
4 available

Firewire Ports:

2 ports onboard

2 ports (PCI)

3 ports (PCI)
(1 in front)

1 in front (PCI)

1 (PCI)

Available Legacy Ports:

1 serial
1 parallel

2 serial
1 parallel
1 PS/2

2 serial
1 parallel
2 PS/2

1 serial
1 parallel
1 PS/2

1 serial
1 parallel

Graphics Card:
Rating Notes

ATI
Radeon 9000

nVIDIA
GeForce4 Ti 4600

nVIDIA
GeForce4 MX 440

Video RAM:

64 MB DDR

128 MB DDR

64 MB DDR

VGA Out:

Yes

DVI/ADC Out:

ADC & DVI

DVI

TV-Out:

Yes

Yes (Giga?)

S-Video Out:

Yes (Giga?)

Dual Display Support?

Yes

Yes (Giga?)

LCD Display:
Viewable size listed

17" viewable LCD
(Digital)

17" viewable LCD
digital

18.1" viewable LCD
digital

18.1" viewable LCD
Composite Video IN

Max. Resolution:
(this display)

1280 x 1024

1280x1024

Audio In/Out:

Microphone jack
Front-mounted Headphone jack
Audio in/out jacks

Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Audio in/out jacks

Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Audio in/out jacks
TV-in/out jacks

Speakers:

Logitech Z-340 2.1 Stereo Speakers

w/Subwoofer

Harman Kardon HK-395 Speakers

w/ Subwoofer

Creative Inspire Slim 2600 speakers

w/Subwoofer

Creative Inspire 5300 speakers

w/Subwoofer

Boston Acoustics BA7800 Stereo

w/Subwoofer

Stereo Speakers
(no subwoofer option available??)

10/100 Ethernet:

Yes

Yes (PCI)

Yes

Yes (PCI)

Yes

Gigabit Ethernet:

Yes

56k Internal Modem:

Yes

Yes (PCI)

802.11b Wireless Network Card?

Yes

802.11b Integrated Antennae?

Yes

Hardware Extras Included:

Deskjet 3280 Printer

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:

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

Windows 95/98/ 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:

ThinkFree Write
(Word compatible)

MSFT Word XP

Corel WordPerfect 10
(Word compatible)

Spreadsheet Included:

ThinkFree Calc
(Excel compatible)

MSFT Excel XP

Quattro Pro 10
(Excel compatible)

Presentation Software Included:

ThinkFree Show
(PowerPoint compatible)

MSFT PowerPoint XP

Corel Presentations
(PowerPoint compatible)

Database Software Included:

FileMaker Pro 5.5 Trial

MSFT Access XP

Drawing/Painting Software Included:

Art Directors Toolkit
Graphic Converter
PixelNhance
OmniGraffle

Calendar/PIM Software Included:

OS X Address Book

MSFT Outlook XP

CorelCentral 10

Planning/Project Software Included:

OmniOutliner

MSFT Publisher XP

Web Browser Included:

Internet Explorer 5.2
Netscape 4.7

Internet Explorer 6

E-Mail/Address Book Included:

OS X Mail
OS X Address Book

Outlook XP
Outlook Express 6

Outlook Express 6

Outlook XP
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:

Money 2002

Money 2000

Peachtree First Accounting

Quicken New Users

Quicken 2002

Reference Software Included:

Encarta 2000

Encarta 2001 Std.

Graphics Editing/
Digital Photo Management:

Graphic Converter
iPhoto 1.1
Snapz Pro X

Image Expert

Unknown ?

ArcSoft My Photo Center

Unknown ?

Photoshop Elements

Picture Gear
PhotoPrinter 2000

Digital Video Editing:

iMovie 2

MGI VideoWave 4

Studio DV

ArcSoft ShowBiz

Pinnacle Express

Giga Personal Video Recorder
MovieShaker
Adobe Premiere LE

Music Software/
CD Burning Software:

iTunes 3
Disc Burner

MusicMatch 6.0

EasyCD 5.0

MusicMatch 6.1

HP RecordNow

Pinnacle Express

SonicStage (?)
RecordNow DX

DVD Burning Software:

iDVD 2
Disc Burner

Unknown ?

DVDit!

HP RecordNow (?)

Pinnacle Express

DVgate
DVDit!

Games Included:

Chess

Mine Sweeper, Asstd. classic games

Additional Software Included

FaxSTF
PCalc
Palm Desktop
Asstd. system software

Asstd. system software

Media Bar
Smart Capture
VisualFlow
Asstd. system software

Free ISP/
Other Services

1 month EarthLink

6 months MSN

Virus Susceptibility/
Security Issues

45 known viruses

over 50,000+ known viruses (see FBI warning)

Built-in Firewall?

Yes

Warranty:

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

2 yr. ltd./at-home
2 yr. phone

3 yr. ltd./at-home
1 yr. phone

3 yr. ltd./mail-in
3 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

Terrible

Easy

Terrible

Customization Allowed?

Some

Full

Some

Full

Very Little

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

$3,233

$3,095

$3,105

$3,202

$3,119

$3,160

+ Ground Shipping:

No Charge

$105

$85

Free (Ltd. Time)

$99

$40

Total Price
as configured:
(Includes cost of all add-ons, rebates, etc.)

$3,233
tax not included

$3,200
tax not included

$3,190
tax not included

$3,202
tax not included

$3,218
tax not included

$3,200
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.

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