The ongoing debacle of Psystar just won’t go away much to Apple’s dismay. Apple tried to do what they prefer to do at first, which is ignore them and hope they’ll self-destruct. Early on that seemed to be the winning move as Psystar changed its location several times, had its capability of ordering through credit cards taken away, and put out its first computers to pretty much universal derision when they turned out to noisier than Obama/McCain supporters on Fox news.
Apparently Psystar continued selling enough machines to stay in business and Apple finally sued them perhaps thinking that their vaunted Death Star law firm would be scary enough to make them cry uncle. Instead Psystar did something unusual…they sued back claiming that Apple was an illegal monopoly in selling computers that ran OS X. I’ll leave the actual legality of the counter-suit to those that know more about the law than I do (which is pretty much anybody with a working knowledge of it) or the chance that this is an effective strategy in the long run, but it did seem to have the desired impact. Apple actually had to pull back and think about what it wanted to do next. Most lawyers outside of those on Boston Legal (Denny Craaaaane) will tell you that when you’re not sure exactly what to do when your opponent pulls a fast one you delay…delay…delay. Eventually it will all get sorted out and I’m curious what effect this will have on the Mac landscape when everything is said and done.
Apple is in a very bad position. They can’t really say that Psystar illegally pirated OS X as they include a full price retail version of it with every purchase. They most likely DON’T want to go to court and have their EULA (End User License Agreement) challenged or even looked at very hard. They certainly can’t just pay them off to make them go away as this would spur on copycats just looking for a big fat check from Cupertino. The next move sounds like it’s in Apple’s court, but I’m not sure where they can go without something bad happening.
So that’s where we’re at concerning the lawsuit and counter-suit. But what are the real meat and potatoes here? Can you get a computer that runs OS X and runs it well from someone other than Apple? The group that runs OSX86 thinks you can and created patches and software that allows you to install OS X (which is how Psystar made their Mac compatibles) on a broader range of machines than what’s available from Apple. It certainly has been proven to work and on the face of it, Psystar makes pretty cheap Macs. There’s a bit more to it than that and after you add the things that Psystar leaves out it isn’t quite as cheap as they lead you to believe.
The following chart has five different machines on it. Two are 24-inch Apple iMacs and the last three are variously configured Psystar OpenComputer Macs. I decided to stick with 24-inch models (though the 20-inch model might have made things a little cheaper all around) since those machines are the most versatile and more desirable. For those that might accuse me of bias toward Apple, keep in mind that by using the bigger, more expensive models it actually skews the differences more in favor of Psystar. I added $350 toward the cost of all but the base model Psystar Macs for a reasonably well performing 24-inch monitor since there was no way to remove it from the price of the iMacs. If you already have such a monitor, reduce my prices by that much.
| iMac 24-inch (new) | iMac 24-inch (refurb) | Psystar OpenComputer 2.2GHz | Psystar OpenComputer 2.53GHz | Psystar OpenComputer 3.0GHz | |
| Processor | 2.8GHz* | 2.4GHz | 2GHz* | 2.53GHz* | 3GHz* |
| RAM | 2GB* | 1GB | 2GB* | 2GB* | 4GB* (RAM added at extra cost) |
| Hard Drive | 750GB (extra cost)* | 320GB | 250GB | 750GB (extra cost)* | 750GB (extra cost)* |
| Additional Hard Drive | N/A | N/A | extra cost (or add after purchase) | extra cost (or add after purchase) | 750GB (extra cost)* |
| Optical Drive | 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) | 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) | 20X DVD±RW DL* (BluRay reader/burner available) | 20X DVD±RW DL* (BluRay reader/burner available) | 20X DVD±RW DL* (BluRay reader/burner available) |
| Additional Optical Drive | N/A | N/A | extra cost (or add after purchase) | extra cost (or add after purchase) | 6X BluRay Burner/ 16X DVD±RW DL |
| Graphics | HD2600 256MB* | HD2600 256MB | GeForce 7200GS 256MB* | GeForce 7200GS 256MB* | GeForce 8600GT 512MB* |
| FireWire | Included | Included | extra cost | extra cost (added for comparison) | extra cost (added for comparison) |
| BlueTooth | Included | Included | extra cost | extra cost (added for comparison) | extra cost (added for comparison) |
| Wireless Networking | Included | Included | extra cost | extra cost (added for comparison) | extra cost (added for comparison) |
| KeyBoard/Mouse | Included | Included | No keyboard/ no mouse | extra cost (added for comparison) | extra cost (added for comparison) |
| Monitor | Included | Included | No monitor | extra cost ($350 more or less for a good 24-inch one) added for comparison |
extra cost ($350 more or less for a good 24-inch one) added for comparison |
| Warranty | 1year included (3 years of Apple care is extra and included for this comparison) |
1year included (3 years of Apple care is extra and included for this comparison) |
1 year included | 1 year included (3 years parts and support from Psystar included for this comparison) |
1 year included (3 years parts and support from Psystar included for this comparison) |
| After sale upgrades | RAM only | RAM only | Processor, RAM, Hard Drive(s), optical drive(s), graphics card (limited to ones with OS X ready drivers), wi fi cards (limited to ones with OS X drivers) |
Processor, RAM, Hard Drive(s), optical drive(s), graphics card (limited to ones with OS X ready drivers), wi fi cards (limited to ones with OS X drivers) |
Processor, RAM, Hard Drive(s), optical drive(s), graphics card (limited to ones with OS X ready drivers), wi fi cards (limited to ones with OS X drivers) |
| OS Updates | Apple | Apple | Psystar (once updates are available from the OSX86 project. Ususally a few days behind but subject to the whim of what Apple might do in the future) |
Psystar (once updates are available from the OSX86 project. Ususally a few days behind but subject to the whim of what Apple might do in the future) |
Psystar (once updates are available from the OSX86 project. Ususally a few days behind but subject to the whim of what Apple might do in the future) |
| Total Cost (shipping not included) | $2,118 | $1,541.40 | $554.99 | $1,431.99 | $2,226.99 |
So what does this chart tell us? It says essentially that Psystar makes attractively prices Macs. Let’s go over a few of the essentials.
Processors: Both are using Intel’s Core2Duo processors and these are so fast that you probably wouldn’t notice too much difference outside of maybe the 3GHz one. No real advantage to either company there.
RAM: Both are limited to 4GBs of RAM. Both allow for either company to install it to the maximum. One big difference is that Psystar doesn’t charge an arm and leg for their upgrade ($70) while Apple’s is decidedly more expensive. NEVER buy extra RAM from Apple if you can avoid it and I didn’t for this comparison. Advantage: Psystar
Additional Hard Drive: No competition here at all. Apple’s all-in-one iMac has no space for an additional drive and you’ll void your warranty if you replace it yourself. Psystar’s tower-based OpenComputer allows for adding two drives of whatever size you can fit. HOWEVER if you replace the drive that holds the OS, I’m not sure you can just use something like SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner to move the OS and other information. Eh, I’ll stick to my original point which is Psystar allows for at least one additional drive of your choice. Apple does not outside of external storage. BIG advantage: Psystar
Optical Drive: Apple’s SuperDrive just works flawlessly for the most part. It’s an 8X DVD/CD R/RW +/- burner. What’s not to like? Psystar gives you a 20X DVD/CD R/RW +/- burner. I don’t have a Psystar machine so I can’t say whether it works with native Mac burner software (some of the reviews I’ve read didn’t suggest any issues). Advantage (with caveats): Psystar
Additional Optical Drive: OK, now this is just getting silly. What could you POSSIBLY use a second optical drive for…what? A Blue-Ray player/ burner is available from Psystar? Advantage: Psystar
Graphics: Even the lowliest Psystar comes with a 256MB GeForce card with for a small fee a 512MB model as well. Apple uses an HD2600 Pro at 256MB. Advantage: base model probably Apple, high end Psystar
FireWire: FINALLY something for Apple fans to cheer about. Apple includes FireWire 400 and 800 on all their iMacs (for now anyway) while it is an extra cost (though no big deal at $40) on a Psystar machine to add a 3 port FireWire 400 PCI card. Advantage: Apple
BlueTooth: Another win for Apple if you use Blue Tooth on a regular basis. It’s included in every iMac and only available as a USB dongle from Psystar. Advantage: Apple
Wireless Networking: Apple includes an 802.11n WiFi card in every Mac sold. Psystar offers it as a PCI card. Even without being able to test it, I think this is a clear win for the boys from Cupertino. Advantage: Apple
Keyboard/ Mouse: Apple includes a keyboard and mouse that is guaranteed to work with your Mac and all the shortcuts built into OS X. The usefulness of the “Mighty Mouse” is open for debate (I prefer to use trackballs and every Apple mouse I’ve ever owned sits unused in a drawer), but Psystar does not include either with the base price of their computer. The good news is that just about ANY keyboard and mouse that is USB-based will work. The bad news is that if that keyboard does not include an eject key, you won’t be able to easily open your optical drives without a text command as OS X disables the eject buttons on optical drives. Also if you’re a big fan of keyboard shortcuts, you’ll have to learn them all over again probably using a keyboard better suited for a Windows machine. Psystar does offer a keyboard and mouse for $29, but how “Mac” friendly it will be is unknown. Advantage: Apple
Monitor: Apple’s iMac monitors have been some of the best I’ve seen. That’s not to say you can’t find one better and for the $350 I included in the prices for Psystar’s Macs (except for the base model), you should be able to find a pretty good one. Advantage: Apple
Warranty: Apple includes a 1 year warranty for pretty much anything that can go wrong with your computer. Between all the Apple Stores and authorized service centers, you should be able to find one near you to fix what might ail your Mac. If you have a problem with your Psystar Mac, well…send it Psystar. Both also offer a three year service plan (assuming that Psystar will be around in three years) but Psystar’s plan is cheaper. Even with that, Apple has you covered better. Advantage: Apple
After sales upgrades: Admittedly this is somewhat dodgy since really the only thing you can upgrade on your Apple Mac is the RAM. The Psystar Mac allows you to change pretty much whatever your heart desires as long as there are OS X drivers for it. Advantage: Psystar
OS Updates: Hands down win for Apple here. Psystar actually incapacitates the OS X update feature since they have no way of knowing if an Apple update will break something on your computer. Usually within a few days of an update, OSX86 has done what’s needed to make it work. Still if anything really critical comes out, you be on the razor’s edge waiting for it from Psystar. BIG advantage: Apple
This isn’t on the chart but is worthy of a mention. The only software on an OpenComputer is the OS. No additional goodies like what Apple supplies. So no iLife 08, though it is cheap enough it does add $79 to the total. No iWork (To be fair, Apple only supply’s a 30-day working version) or much of anything else. Fortunately there is a lot of free or nearly free software available for OS X that should fill the gap of what most people need or want. MacUpdate.com and VersionTracker.com along with many other sites can fill that void of your OpenComputer’s life.
The cost breakdown is what it is. For less money you can get an easily upgradeable computer with some options that Apple doesn’t offer. More storage space, Blue-Ray options, and even a faster optical burner than what Apple offers make the Psystar OpenComputer Macs a compelling choice. Just remember that Apple WILL NOT HELP YOU if you have the slightest bit of difficulty and you’ll have to rely on web-based or Psystar phone support to resolve any issues.
Before choosing either computer, you need to make some hard choices. If cost is an overwhelming factor and you’re willing to live with the fact that you may not be able to update the OS beyond the one it came with; then choose Psystar. If you just want a computer that you know will get you through at least 2-3 OS X updates and support from a world-renowned company and can live with the fact that some options are not available for you, then go with Apple.
email – MyMac Magazine – Twitter – Advertise – Reviews Archive – Podcast
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.