Actually Macs are Cheaper than PCs

It is pretty generally accepted that, no matter how superior they may be, Macintosh computers are significantly more expensive than Windows PCs. Just out of curiosity, I decided to do a little comparison shopping. Apple just upgraded the iMac today, so I compared the price of the entry-level iMac with a comparable computer from DELL. Here are the specs:

Dell XPS One

  • 20 inch widescreen display with Intel® Core™2 Duo 2.2GHz
  • Adobe Elements Studio for XPS™ One
  • XPS One® Wireless Keyboard
  • XPS One® Wireless Mouse
  • 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24×7 Phone Support
  • Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
  • Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
  • Norton Internet Security™ 2007 Edition 15-months
  • Microsoft Works 8.5 – Does not include Microsoft Word
  • 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz – 2 DIMMs
  • 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
  • 8-in-1 Media Reader Included
  • Internal PCI 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless network card included
  • 8X Slot load CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW)
  • Integrated Audio – 2.0 Speakers
  • Hybrid Analog/Digital TV Tuner with Remote Control
  • Internal Bluetooth 2.0 Included
  • Apple iMac

  • 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 1GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM – 1x1GB
  • 250GB Serial ATA Drive
  • Apple Mighty Mouse
  • Apple Keyboard (English) + User’s Guide
  • Accessory kit
  • Integrated Speakers
  • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory
  • 20-inch glossy widescreen LCD
  • AirPort Extreme
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • remote control
  • iLife ’08 suite
  • Front Row
  • Photo Booth
  • 1 year .mac membership
  • They are not exactly the same of course. The Dell has a wireless keyboard and mouse. The iMac doesn’t. The iMac has a built-in iSight video camera. The Dell doesn’t. The Dell has 2GB of ram, the iMac only 1GB, but then Vista needs that much more ram than OS X to perform acceptably. The Dell CPU is slightly slower than the iMac. All in all, they are pretty close.

    The price tag on the Dell is $1,299. The iMac is $1,269, $30 cheaper than the Dell. This is not taking into account any differences in longevity, productivity, or resale value, all of which favor the Mac.

    Now it’s true that Dell has cheaper computers than the XPS One, but they are not at all comparable to the iMac. Apple just doesn’t sell low end products. What is not true is that you can buy a PC comparable to a Mac for a lot less, or any less, money.

    2 thoughts on “Actually Macs are Cheaper than PCs”

    1. Mac versus Dell or any Windows machine … no comparison. Absolutely none. If anyone wants to use a computer as a hassle-free and reliable creative tool, Mac is the only way to go. Otherwise, it is talking with Dell’s tech people in Berzerkistan.

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