Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!udel!mmdf
From: WHE46@ccvax.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Some MAC and Amiga Comparisons.
Message-ID: <33538@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 15 Oct 90 21:54:38 GMT
Sender: mmdf@ee.udel.edu
Lines: 51


    I would like to make some price comparisons between various Amiga
systems and two of the new MAC systems just unveiled today.

    The new MAC LC (actually, it should be called the MAC IILC, because
the only difference between this system and the original MAC II is
the lack of a FPU) gives you a 68020 running at 20Mhz, 2M of RAM, a 40MB
hard drive, color video, and keyboard for $2500 list.  I will build
a similar Amiga system using an Amiga 500 as the base.  Add $300 for
the monitor, which is included in the Amiga system I will compare it
against.  To be fair, I will use list prices.

   You will first need an A500 P/2 system.  This costs $1397 list.
Next, you will need a hard drive, add $629 for the A590.  You still
don't get 32-bit memory or an '020, so add $750 for for a Hurricane
500 with 1M of 32-bit RAM.  The MAC LC also comes with a mono sound
digitizer, so add $75 for the FutureSound.  You get $2851, which is
more expensive than the MAC LC system above, and you only get half
the hard drive space, no high-resolution non-interlaced graphics
with lots of colors, and no 1.44MB floppy drive.  And, until
Commodore makes up their mind about whether or not they are going
to include AmigaOS2.0 with any of the A500 systems, you get an OS
that is not nearly as friendly as the MAC OS.

   Now let's compare the MAC IISI system to a similar Amiga system.
For $3800, the MAC IISI  offers standard MAC II color graphics,
an '030 running at 20Mhz, 40MB hard drive, 1.44MB SuperDrive, and
crude mono sound digitizer.

   The closest Amiga system is the A3000/25-50.  For $4100 you get
an '030 running at 25Mhz, FPU running at same speed, 50MB hard drive,
and inferior color graphics.  You get more hard drive space, faster
CPU, and FPU.  But you don't get 256 colors out of 16 Million
at 640x480 resolution, nor do you get a 1.44MB floppy or a crude
mono sound digitizer (though why you would want that particular
item is beyond me -- IMHO, Apple goofed on that one).  Though the
systems are just about even, the point is that you can now get a
MAC system with better graphics for LESS.  

   When the A1000 was first introduced, there was a gap of thousands
of dollors between it and the nearest-capable competitor.  When VGA
systems were developed, the gap narrowed considerably, but you could
always count on Apple pushing systems that were thousands of dollars
more than similarly capable Amigas.  With the new MAC systems, the
situation has changed.  Commodore has allowed the Amiga to stagnate,
to the point that it is now possible to purchase color MAC systems
that are hundreds of dollars LESS than similarly equipped Amigas. 
Where has the Amiga's competitve color graphics gone?  Down the sewer,
I guess.

                                   -MB-