Computer equipment quality
September 8th, 2007
Ahh, computers… That’s why you’re here, right ? That’s how you got here, too!
With the recent release of ‘new’ iMacs from Apple a few weeks ago, there has been much buzz around the blogosphere about quality and value. A lot of whiney ignorants like to hear themselves say that Macs are expensive because they are built with high quality components, but really how can you gauge the quality of a piece of computer hardware ? Is there really that much variance in quality from one brand to the next ?
Billco says NO!
First of all, Macs are sold with the operating system included, so you shop at that cross-eyed asian fellow down the street, don’t forget to tack another $150 to $200 on the price of your equivalent PC
Macs use the same parts as any other PC, with the exception of the motherboards which are unique to Apple and incorporate their own quirky little garbage like EFI (BIOS on steroids), and that pesky TPM chip that makes sure Mac OS (almost) only runs on Macs. Everything else is just off-the-shelf parts, the same you can buy yourself for half the price from your favorite asian importer. Seagate hard drives, (cheap) Corsair RAM, Intel Core processors, ATI graphics cards (and not the fast ones either); these are all standard components used in millions of computers of all brands (well, except for Acer, they suck!)
Now that we’ve got a level playing field, let’s get back on-topic and discuss quality. How do you gauge a computer part’s quality ? Do you squeeze it for ripeness, do you shake it around and listen for loose parts, do you take a hammer to it and test the breaking points ? No. You plug it in and use it. If it works, it works. It’s not so much about quality as it is about functionality. It’s either good, or not good. It shows you naked people, or it doesn’t.
Now tell me, if you paid 3 times the market price for your Seagate drive, Corsair RAM and Intel CPU, does that mean you got better parts than the rest of the world ? Are you that special ? Do you really think those manufacturers have a whole series of premium-quality products exclusively supplied to Apple ? If you do, then I have a premium-quality 2001 Ford Focus with your name on it, for only three times what I originally paid. Get it while it’s hot!
The truth is, Macs break just as much as PCs do. The reason why you don’t hear about them as much is because only an estimated 7% of computers sold in the last five years are Macs. I don’t hear about many Maserati owners having mechanical issues, but that’s because I don’t know any!
So in the end, a Mac is as shitty as that PC you bought at Walmart. It’s prettier, but it’s built with the same garbage inside. It’s particularly insulting with the high-end models, where you drop 5 large on a tricked out 8-core Mac Pro and they still stick you with a sparkomatic power supply that cost about six bucks to make.
Just because Lexus can put a gold sticker on a cheap Toyota and double the price, doesn’t mean that shit can fly in the cutthroat computer industry.
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- Posted in Apple, hardware, crazy, rants, lies, damn lies
