12 ms·

Still... $450 for the CPU only vs a $999 laptop, for most use cases the apple's MBA offers much more value and will have slower depreciation.

superkuh 6y ago
So, like normal, the value of a Mac is in appealing to others not doing things on the computer.
- Ar-Curunir 6y ago
  ? What part of “M1 outclasses every similar laptop” indicates to you that the MBA is a machine targeted at people who don’t do serious computer work (Whatever “serious” means)
  - coldtea 6y ago
    Parent probably associates some value in dishing Apple, the reverse-fan-boy phenomenon.
  - superkuh 6y ago
    First, the article is about performance benchmarks and how the M1 is not some magical entity like the Apple hype train has been screaming. Second, the comment I'm replying to is: >for most use cases the apple's MBA offers much more value and will have slower depreciation. You can build a fine computer with a $400 CPU and $500 left for the rest. One that will absolutely dominate any laptop over a long time span because laptops cannot dissipate heat forever (it's simple a matter of mass and shape).
Macha 6y ago
CPU: $450 (5800x) GPU: $150 (1650 super) Storage: $60 (samsung 970 evo 250gb) PSU: $90 (silverstone sfx 500w 80 plus gold - there's probably cheaper options but most PSUs seem sold out on amazon) RAM: $70 (16gb 3200mhz CL16, gskill or team group) Case: $70 (Silverstone tek) Motherboard: $120 (asrock b550-m itx) There's your $1000 mac killer. I wouldn't call it a sensible build, but it should outperform the mac across the board. Notably the GPU is significantly better but the closest gpu the m1 is to trading blows with is the Radeon 560 which is only $30 cheaper. Also the mac comes with 8gb ram in the base model, and 16gb is a $200 upgrade but I could not find a decent speed 2x4gb ddr4 kit as nobody wants that little ram anymore in a custom build. I could save $40 by going with a 1x8gb kit for $30, but single channel will hurt performance. I'd also consider $30 to go from the 250gb ssd to a 1tb variant, something apple charges $400 for. The reason I wouldn't call it sensible is that the 1650 super is a budget gaming card while the 5800x a higher tier cpu. If you were actually planning to build this for gaming I'd suggest dropping down to the 5600x and putting the extra $100. actually for gaming I'd even suggest squeezing the budget for a 2060 (or even better wait for the standard 3060) by dropping to basic ddr4-2133, and going for standard sized case/psu rather than the small form factor to chase the mac. On the other hand, if you're not gaming and just need a video output, save like 120 bucks and just get a gt 1030. Use that to buy some nicer RAM or more cores via a 5900x depending on what suits your workload better. Sadly you have to get _a gpu_ as Intel is falling behind and AMD won't give us high end APUs in the individual market.
- ykl 6y ago
  The parent post appears to be discussing a MacBook Air though. The specified machine doesn’t do much good for someone looking for a laptop; I’d be very surprised if the average customer compares a MacBook Air type device with a PC desktop when shopping for a new computer.
- stickyricky 6y ago
  Doesn't include monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, webcam, microphone, battery backup, and fingerprint scanner which would be necessary to make it "comparable" to a base model Macbook Air. It also isn't a portable, fanless laptop which has its perks.
  - speedgoose 6y ago
    And you have to assemble the pc and install an operating system on it. It's really not comparable.
    - tonyhb 6y ago
      You also have to unbox each component vs' just the macbook air, am I right? Sarcasm aside, I don't think assembling a PC has any factor in performance/price here...
      - speedgoose 6y ago
        My company doesn't really want to pay me to assemble a PC.
      - speedgoose 6y ago
        @dang Someone flagged my comments. I think they were very normal, about the value of a MacBook air M1 compared to buying parts and assembling a PC, but perhaps they were against the rules.
  - CoolGuySteve 6y ago
    There are plenty of 8 core/16 thread Ryzen 4750U laptops for around the same price that outclass the M1 in multicore benchmarks.
africanboy 6y ago
Actually if you buy the 16gb model with the 512GB SSD you'll spend € 1.659,00 in Europe.

superkuh 6y ago

So, like normal, the value of a Mac is in appealing to others not doing things on the computer.

Ar-Curunir 6y ago
? What part of “M1 outclasses every similar laptop” indicates to you that the MBA is a machine targeted at people who don’t do serious computer work (Whatever “serious” means)
- coldtea 6y ago
  Parent probably associates some value in dishing Apple, the reverse-fan-boy phenomenon.
- superkuh 6y ago
  First, the article is about performance benchmarks and how the M1 is not some magical entity like the Apple hype train has been screaming. Second, the comment I'm replying to is: >for most use cases the apple's MBA offers much more value and will have slower depreciation. You can build a fine computer with a $400 CPU and $500 left for the rest. One that will absolutely dominate any laptop over a long time span because laptops cannot dissipate heat forever (it's simple a matter of mass and shape).

Macha 6y ago

CPU: $450 (5800x) GPU: $150 (1650 super) Storage: $60 (samsung 970 evo 250gb) PSU: $90 (silverstone sfx 500w 80 plus gold - there's probably cheaper options but most PSUs seem sold out on amazon) RAM: $70 (16gb 3200mhz CL16, gskill or team group) Case: $70 (Silverstone tek) Motherboard: $120 (asrock b550-m itx) There's your $1000 mac killer. I wouldn't call it a sensible build, but it should outperform the mac across the board. Notably the GPU is significantly better but the closest gpu the m1 is to trading blows with is the Radeon 560 which is only $30 cheaper. Also the mac comes with 8gb ram in the base model, and 16gb is a $200 upgrade but I could not find a decent speed 2x4gb ddr4 kit as nobody wants that little ram anymore in a custom build. I could save $40 by going with a 1x8gb kit for $30, but single channel will hurt performance. I'd also consider $30 to go from the 250gb ssd to a 1tb variant, something apple charges $400 for. The reason I wouldn't call it sensible is that the 1650 super is a budget gaming card while the 5800x a higher tier cpu. If you were actually planning to build this for gaming I'd suggest dropping down to the 5600x and putting the extra $100. actually for gaming I'd even suggest squeezing the budget for a 2060 (or even better wait for the standard 3060) by dropping to basic ddr4-2133, and going for standard sized case/psu rather than the small form factor to chase the mac. On the other hand, if you're not gaming and just need a video output, save like 120 bucks and just get a gt 1030. Use that to buy some nicer RAM or more cores via a 5900x depending on what suits your workload better. Sadly you have to get _a gpu_ as Intel is falling behind and AMD won't give us high end APUs in the individual market.

ykl 6y ago
The parent post appears to be discussing a MacBook Air though. The specified machine doesn’t do much good for someone looking for a laptop; I’d be very surprised if the average customer compares a MacBook Air type device with a PC desktop when shopping for a new computer.
stickyricky 6y ago
Doesn't include monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, webcam, microphone, battery backup, and fingerprint scanner which would be necessary to make it "comparable" to a base model Macbook Air. It also isn't a portable, fanless laptop which has its perks.
- speedgoose 6y ago
  And you have to assemble the pc and install an operating system on it. It's really not comparable.
  - tonyhb 6y ago
    You also have to unbox each component vs' just the macbook air, am I right? Sarcasm aside, I don't think assembling a PC has any factor in performance/price here...
    - speedgoose 6y ago
      My company doesn't really want to pay me to assemble a PC.
    - speedgoose 6y ago
      @dang Someone flagged my comments. I think they were very normal, about the value of a MacBook air M1 compared to buying parts and assembling a PC, but perhaps they were against the rules.
- CoolGuySteve 6y ago
  There are plenty of 8 core/16 thread Ryzen 4750U laptops for around the same price that outclass the M1 in multicore benchmarks.

africanboy 6y ago

Actually if you buy the 16gb model with the 512GB SSD you'll spend € 1.659,00 in Europe.