The PC Product of the Year

The 2006 PC Product of the Year award goes to:

The Apple Mac Pro!

This award is given by me every year for the one standout product that revolutionizes a major PC category, in this case, high-end desktops/workstations.

The Apple Mac Pro is a computer like no other. It exudes gorgeous build quality. It exhibits beautiful industrial design, with easy access to internal components. It has terrific engineering, providing a quiet cooling solution. It performs like a champ, sporting two dual-core Xeon processors (making for a quad-core machine) perfect for multithreaded applications or multitasking. And it does all this without breaking the bank! People like us can actually afford it!

Look at some professional reviews:

CNET TV

CNET Review

MacWorld Review


We can compare an extremely well-equipped Mac Pro to a similar Dell workstation (as of December 8, 2006 and in Canadian dollars from Apple.ca/Dell.ca):

Mac Pro
Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Xeon
2GB memory 667MHz
500GB hard drive
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB
23” Apple Cinema HD Display
DVD burner
$6,475

Dell Precision Workstation 690
Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Xeon
2GB memory 533MHz
500GB hard drive
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB
24” Dell UltraSharp 2407FP Widescreen display
DVD burner
$6,846


Let’s face it, it’s no contest. Which machine would you rather have sitting on your desk?!

And keep in mind that the Mac Pro is running the fabulous OS X operating system, whereas the Dell is running Windows XP Professional. ‘Nuff said.

This was how PC computing was meant to be. Effortless. Stylish. Safe! With tons of horsepower. The ultimate in Cool! Welcome to the new age of PCs...


If the Mac Pro is a little too rich for you, consider the iMac:

iMac
2.16GHz Core 2 Duo
2GB memory 667MHz
250GB hard drive
ATI Radeon X1600 128MB
20” Widescreen display
Built-in iSight webcam/microphone
AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
$1,909

Dimension 9200
2.13GHz Core 2 Duo
2GB memory 667MHz
250GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE 256MB
20” UltraSharp 2007FPW Widescreen display
Logitech Quickcam Fusion webcam/microphone
Wireless G adapter (Bluetooth N/A)
$1,857


The iMac is a heck of a lot more stylish than the Dell Dimension! And, again, there’s OS X, not stinking Windows. (Moreover, Dell is running Windows XP Media Center Edition, a lesser version of Windows XP Professional. Apple's OS X is alway, always, the full version!)