Please tell me where I can find a laptop with similar specifications as a Macbook and Macbrook pro for half the price of one.
Ok, I'll bite:
Macbook (13 inch): $1300
2.0GHz
* Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB DDR3 Memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (onboard) graphics
* Standard keyboard
* Aluminum unibody
Dell (13 inch inspiron):
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-13?c=us&cs=19&l=en&ref=lthp&s=dhs
Core 2 Duo (2ghz)
2Gb memory
320gig HDD
Onboard Graphics
$679
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Macbook pro (15 inch): $2000
15-inch: 2.4GHz
2 gig memory
250gig hard drive
Discrete graphics (9600M)
Dell(15 inch studio 15): $984
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndwra2&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=productdetails~laptop_studio_15
2.4ghz processor
4gig memory (2x as much)
250 gig hard drive
Discrete graphics hd3450 (comparable to the apple)
That's not even looking for coupon codes and deals. That's another thing: you pretty much have to pay sticker for the mac. You can find deals on PCs.
You're paying for better quality of life! Using my mac makes me happy every day, and the components integrate especially well with other peripherals (I use an iPod touch as a PDA). Outrageously easy to back up files and restore your computer in the event of a total hard drive meltdown. Solid operating system (Vista, seriously?) and in the event that you absolutely need windows, you can still run it on part of your hard drive.
I like my PC quality of life :-) Windows 7 Beta FTW.
To the OP, WAIT until windows 7 is out to buy a PC (around August).
I probably should have said identical in the key spec categories - Processor, Memory, and Video card, but alas that ship has sailed.
Nevertheless -
Between the Dell you listed, there appears to be a difference in processor and memory. The Apples all use the Core 2 Duo 1066MHz FSB with 3 MB onboard cache, the dells listed use 800MHz FSB, 2MB.
The memory on the Apples is 1066MHz again versus 667MHz for the first listed Dell and 800 MHz for the second.
Other differences
The first Dell has onboard video made by Intel while the Apple has NVidia GeForce chipsets in all their laptops.
The Nvidia chipset in the Powerbook is also contains dual video cards that you can switch around.
Plus Snow Leopard OS X, the next version, has been built specifically to work with multicore processors.