Mac vs. Windows: What Does $1K Get You?

Apple's been criticized a lot lately for charging premium computer prices during a recession. In its defense, though, I hasten to add that Apple generally delivers value with its computers. In my experience, with a few nits aside, Mac laptops are imaginatively designed, well built, and a pleasure to use. Macs aren't subjected to all the viruses and malware aimed at Windows computers. You can run Windows on a Mac. And though Apple laptops slipped a bit in PC World's most recent reliability and service survey, they still get high marks in those areas.

I should also mention that in July 2008, I compared the specs of Mac laptops to those of similar Windows machines and found very little price difference. In some cases, Apple laptops were less expensive than similarly configured Windows laptops.

But with the recession continuing, I took another look at how Apple's laptops compare price-wise to Windows notebooks. This time, I made a different comparison. Instead of starting by comparing specs and then comparing price tags, I flipped the equation. I asked the question: What would I get if I spent $1000 on a MacBook, and what would the same amount of money buy me in a reasonably similar Windows laptop? That's the focus this week. Next week: What will $2000 buy in a MacBook vs. a Windows laptop?

The Laptops

I compared Apple's least expensive MacBook (the white model, costing $999) to two Windows consumer laptops that also have 13.3-inch screens: the $999 HP Pavilion dv3510nr and a $1005 configuration of Dell's Inspiron 13.

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