I looked up the MBP 17 inch at the Apple Store. It costs $2799. I have a Dell e1705 (9400) with very similar specs (differences noted:no camera on the Dell, I have a 7200 RPM drive, 2 Ghz Core2duo vs 2.3 on the MBP, I have the 3 year service with complete care/ MBP none, I have a 256 MB ATI video card / MBP doesn't say) Total price for my Dell was $2500 (not exact, but much less than $2600). That's a big difference to me. If I add the Apple Care and upgrade the hard drive on the MBP it would be an extra $449. The MBP is significantly more expensive than the Dell that I'm using right now.