Apple iMAC vs. HP Pavilion Elite m9600t

[alexmvp]

Today I "ALMOST" become a MAC/APPLE user.

 

Here's what I Spec'd out on Store.apple.com:

iMAC 24Inch

3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo

4 Gigs Memory 1066 MHZ DDR3 SDRam (8 Gigs was another $1k) huh??

1TB Serial ATA Drive

NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB

Mouse/Keyboard

Price - $2200.00 before Tax

 

I was all ready to go then I decided to do 1 last check... on the DELL and HP Store. The DELL XPS and the HP Elite M9600T Both have the new i7-940 Intel Quad Core Nehalem but I found the HP had nicer packaging and it was less expensive.

 

Here is the HP Spec:

HP Pavilion Elite M9600T

2.93Ghz i7-940 Intel Quad Core Nehalem

6GB 1066 MHZ DDR3

500Gig Raid 0 Hard Drives

1 GB NVidia GeForce 9800GT w/2DVI, HDMI, VGA Adapters

Blu-Ray Writer w/lightscribe

TV Tuner

HP 2159M 21.5 Inch Monitor

HP 400VA UPS Surge Protection

Price - $2100.00 Before Tax w/30 HP Coupon Code - SV2132

 

I can honestly say I ALMOST went with the MAC for the bigger screen but, here's why I went with the HP:

 

1 - Expandability aka - load it up with Drives inside.

2 - 2x the Video Card

3 - RAID on the Drives. Sure, I won't have a TB of disk space built in but, I have 2 external eSATA ports for the $100.00 1TB eSata drive I'll buy a Frys once it gets here.

4 - 2x the CPU. Core 2 DUO Vs. the Quad Core Nehalem. That's 2 more cores!!

5 - Blu-Ray Burner / Writer. That's 50 Gigs of backup per Blu-Ray disk!

6 - UPS

7 - 2 Gigs of EXTRA memory AND, I can add another 8 GIGS to give me 12 GIGS total. Last I looked, I can get 4 GIGS from FRY's for $50. That's $950.00 cheaper than the iMAC on the Apple Store.

8 - Windows 7 Released Q4 2009 + my XBOX 360 = Streaming goodness.

 

Need I say more?

 

I started writing these down in a spreadsheet and by #5 I hit the purchase button on the HP site.

 

Anyway.... Just thought I would pass this on. Did I miss anything? The only thing I'm going to miss is the WOW factor the iMAC gets when ppl see it.

 

Oh well, I think for 2x the Computer, I'll get over it.

[Vadim]

I agree. For the bang for the buck, I think the apple is nice as a piece of furniture. for new computer people, i think the ease of use factor is in the alley of the mac however I have just to much software which would not run on the apple.

 

then there is the premium price for the apple. nahhh... i think you made the right choice with the HP.

 

So, why did you go HP and not DELL specifically?

[shockersh]

Looks like a nice box. Let me know how it performs overall.

 

Be sure to wipe it when you get it delivered. HP (and Dell) both love to fill it up with so much crap it's nuts. Only way to get it clean is to just wipe it and move on.

[Guest Animis]

if you call HP and request an install disk they will mail you (free) a OEM vista install cd that is blank. Good for wiping if you don't feel like buying a new OS. Also it's a handy tool to have if you do much IT work.

[shockersh]

if you call HP and request an install disk they will mail you (free) a OEM vista install cd that is blank. Good for wiping if you don't feel like buying a new OS. Also it's a handy tool to have if you do much IT work.

 

do they charge you for that?