Cost comparison between a MacBook Pro 15" and HP ENVY 15
Today marks the release of Apple’s new i5/i7 MacBooks and the inevitable comments about the exorbitant prices. Here’s the latest in my price comparisons to see how true those price complaints are. I attempted to configure them as closely as possible.
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MacBook Pro 15" - $2049 OS/X 10.6 i5 2.4GHz 4GB RAM 500GB 7200 RPM NVIDIA 330m 256MB GPU Intel HD GPU 1680x1050 Webcam 802.11n mini-Display port 2 USB + 1 Firewire 800 Gigabit ethernet MagSafe power port Fixed battery (8-9 hours) SD slot Internal DVD burner Aluminum one-piece chassis 5.6 lbs 14.35"x9.8"x0.95" Light-up keyboard iLife suite |
HP ENVY 15 - $1725 Windows 7 Home Premium i5 2.4GHz 4GB RAM 500GB 7200 RPM ATI Radeon 5830 1GB GPU No integrated GPU 1920x1080 Webcam 802.11n HDMI port 2 USB + 1 USB/eSATA Gigabit ethernet No MagSafe power port 6-cell removable battery + 9 cell slice (6 hours) 2-1 media reader External DVD burner w/2 USB ports (no internal DVD) Magnesium chassis 5.17 lbs (without additional battery slice) 15"x9.6"x1.04" No light-up keyboard Corel Paintshop Pro X2 and Corel VideoStudio Pro X2 |
The MacBook Pro 15" is $324 more then the equivalent HP ENVY 15. If you qualify for the education discount it’s $125 less ($1924). Here’s the comparison:
- The HP is 1920x1080 which is significantly higher then the Mac’s 1680x1050. The Mac screens supposedly have better color fidelity and wider range of view but I can’t validate that.
- The Mac has both a full-power GPU and an integrated one and switches seamlessly between them (using NVIDIA Optimus technology).
- The HP’s GPU has significantly more video memory (1GB vs. 256MB) but is slower then the Mac’s.
- The HP has an HDMI slot. This is more convenient for home use then the mini-Display port.
- The Mac’s DVD drive is internal. You can’t get an internal drive for the HP. But, you can get an external Blu-ray for the HP (an additional $150). There is no Mac Blu-ray option.
- The Mac’s chassis is one-piece and is stronger then the HP’s.
- The Mac has a light-up keyboard.
- The Mac has the iLife suite vs. Corel programs.
- The Mac is slightly slimmer. Even more so when you add the additional battery slice to the HP, needed to get battery life even close to the Mac.
- The Mac and HP (with additional battery slice) weigh about the same.
- The Mac has significantly better battery life even with the added HP battery slice.
At the closest equivalence, the Mac is $324 more then the HP. But there’s still a gap between them (on both sides). If we apply imaginary upgrade numbers to equalize them further, it might look like:
- Increase Mac’s resolution: $150
- Add integrated graphics to HP: $100
- Add HDMI to Mac: $50
- Use aluminimum chassis on HP: $100
- Add light-up keyboard to HP: $50
- Add iLife suite to HP: $75
- Add more battery to HP: $50
Which would make the “Mac tax” work out to $150. For that $150 you’d be buying into OS/X vs. Windows, the convenience of Apple stores, the iLife suite, etc. And if you qualify for the education discount, it makes the Mac $25 more.
This shows yet again that while there definitely is a “Mac tax”, it’s slight. The real price difference comes from the fact that you can get a super-cheap Windows laptop that throws out many features that can’t be removed from a Mac.
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