| Dell Inspiron 9400 | Apple MacBook Pro | |
| Processor | Intel® CoreTM Duo Processor T2400 Dual core 1.83 GHz |
Intel® CoreTM Duo Processor T2400 Dual core 1.83 GHz |
| Cache | 2 MB on-chip L2 cache | 2 MB on-chip L2 cache |
| System bus speed | 667 MHz | 667 MHz |
| Memory | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Type of memory | 667 MHz DDR SRAM | 667 MHz DDR SRAM |
| Video card | nVidia GeForce Go 7000 | ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 |
| Video memory | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Video bus | PCI Express x16 | PCI Express x16 |
| Display | 17" TFT | 15.4" TFT |
| Resolution | 1440 x 900 Add $149 for 1920 x 1200 |
1440 x 900 |
| Video out | S-video + DVI | DVI only |
| Hard drive | 100 GB 5400 RPM | 100 GB 5400 RPM |
| Hard drive bus | Serial ATA | Serial ATA |
| DVD dual layer | Yes | Yes |
| DVD read | 8x | 8x 6x dual layer |
| DVD-R | 8x | 4x |
| DVD-RW | 2x | 4x |
| CD read | 24x | 24x |
| CD-R | 16x | 24x |
| CD-RW | 10x | 10x |
| USB 2.0 | 6 | 2 |
| Memory card reader | 1, detachable | - |
| Webcam | - | 1, fixed position |
| Express Card/34 slot | 1 | 1 |
| Express Card/54 slot | 1 | - |
| Modem | 56K | - |
| Ethernet | 100BaseT | 1000BaseT |
| Wireless | 802.11 b/g | 802.11 b/g |
| Bluetooth | 2.0+EDR | 2.0+EDR |
| FireWire 400 | 1 | 1 |
| FireWire 800 | - | - |
| PC Card | - | - |
| Size | 1.6" x 15.5" x 11.3" | 1" x 14.1" x 9.6" |
| Weight | 7.94 lbs | 5.6 lbs |
| Battery | 53 WHr | 60 WHr |
| Software | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 | Mac OS X, AppleWorks, iLife '06, Photo Booth, Front Row |
| Warranty | 1 year parts and labor 1 year support |
1 year parts and labor 90 days phone support |
| Price (inc. tax and shipping to Redmond, WA) | $1908 | $2718 |
Now that the core hardware is pretty much the same, price comparisons are more interesting to me than before. The Apple system runs about $800 more, even though its screen is smaller - surely the magnetic power cord costs them less than $800 to manufacture? I keed, I keed; it does cost more to manufacture something so compact [it's only 1" thick, as opposed to 1.6" for the Dell]. Also curious is the lack of a memory card reader as well as apparently no support for Express Card/54 [although the value of that is totally unknown to me] - oh, and no S-video out might make on the road presentations tricky (although the DVI to VGA adapter does help if you're working with a projector and not a TV).
Disclaimer: Pricing is direct from the Apple Store; pricing may be less expensive through third party vendors. The Dell price listed here is not currently available; it used a coupon that expired today. Current prices are about $400 higher, although coupons and other deals do happen fairly regularly with Dell.
