I just thought I would take a look around to see where things stood on the Apple Tax situation:
First our Apple unit - 15 inch MacBook Pro Retina base model ($1999)
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache
Configurable to 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache or 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache.
Retina display: 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
Native resolution: 2880 by 1800 pixels (Retina); scaled resolutions: 1920 by 1200, 1680 by 1050, 1280 by 800, and 1024 by 640 pixels
Graphics: Intel Iris Pro
Strangely enough, the closest comparison model is hard to properly determine. The insane screen resolution of the Retina MBP really limits the comparisons if we use it as a criteria. Also the way the solid state hard drive is implemented in the MBP is not duplicated in any other laptop at present - the flash memory is using a PCIe bus instead of SATA which means no SATA controller, ridiculous fast I/O and also pricey.
If we go with the display as a lever point for comparison, the closest match seems to be the Dell XPS 15 at $1499. However the specs are definitely different at that price point:
Core i5
No SSD
1080p display
If you go up to their more premier model at $1949 the comparison is a bit more direct:
Core i7
Hybrid HDD (1TB mechanical and 32GB flash)
3200x1800 display
NVidia GeForce 750m (2 GB) GPU
Interestingly when you bump the Dell up to its more premier model the machines get closer. The MBP will be much faster in regular computing with that PCIe Flash storage coupled with very high bandwidth RAM but the Dell is sporting a Gamer's class discrete GPU. So it will drive its display at a higher fps (although Iris Pro is no slouch especially when coupled with such a high speed chipset in the MBP).
As a final note, add $500 to the apple price and you get the same NVidia discrete GPU in switchable mode with the Iris Pro. Add $500 to the Dell and you get a 512 GB SATA SSD.
So in conclusion, the Apple Tax is still there in a manner of speaking. However, in the past you got inferior hardware while paying more and now at least that premium price is getting you premium high performance hardware.
First our Apple unit - 15 inch MacBook Pro Retina base model ($1999)
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache
Configurable to 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache or 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache.
Retina display: 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
Native resolution: 2880 by 1800 pixels (Retina); scaled resolutions: 1920 by 1200, 1680 by 1050, 1280 by 800, and 1024 by 640 pixels
Graphics: Intel Iris Pro
Strangely enough, the closest comparison model is hard to properly determine. The insane screen resolution of the Retina MBP really limits the comparisons if we use it as a criteria. Also the way the solid state hard drive is implemented in the MBP is not duplicated in any other laptop at present - the flash memory is using a PCIe bus instead of SATA which means no SATA controller, ridiculous fast I/O and also pricey.
If we go with the display as a lever point for comparison, the closest match seems to be the Dell XPS 15 at $1499. However the specs are definitely different at that price point:
Core i5
No SSD
1080p display
If you go up to their more premier model at $1949 the comparison is a bit more direct:
Core i7
Hybrid HDD (1TB mechanical and 32GB flash)
3200x1800 display
NVidia GeForce 750m (2 GB) GPU
Interestingly when you bump the Dell up to its more premier model the machines get closer. The MBP will be much faster in regular computing with that PCIe Flash storage coupled with very high bandwidth RAM but the Dell is sporting a Gamer's class discrete GPU. So it will drive its display at a higher fps (although Iris Pro is no slouch especially when coupled with such a high speed chipset in the MBP).
As a final note, add $500 to the apple price and you get the same NVidia discrete GPU in switchable mode with the Iris Pro. Add $500 to the Dell and you get a 512 GB SATA SSD.
So in conclusion, the Apple Tax is still there in a manner of speaking. However, in the past you got inferior hardware while paying more and now at least that premium price is getting you premium high performance hardware.
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