Quote Originally Posted by Zenaku View Post
Go to http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ac/family/imac and then click on the 27-inch: 3.2GHz then put all the best upgrade for parts not the keyboard and such. It would come down to 3,849.00 or higher so yes that right from the apple store so i don't know what you talking about. Also things in AU is very overprice my friend payed 2k to build a computer and the price for it in USA to build the same PC would have been 1k.
If you add options, sure you can get the price up there, but I presumed you were talking about a bog stock "top model" iMac. It's like a car, if you want sports trimmings or better rims, you pay for that upgrade. However the target consumer for Apple is the common folk who want to purchase something out of the box, in which case is the standard 3 models they offer. When you start customizing stuff and upgrading from those stock models, it starts becoming a lot more advanced for that common consumer market, and that is not really the audience that Apple targets.

Also I definitely do not disagree that building your own computer is cheaper, however people do pay for this simplicity and "out of the box", plug & play premium that PC doesn't really offer.

Also about your mother you do understand that if a person can plug something in they can easy plug in a ram chip right? If you show her how to do it she can simple do it without issue. It's not about she can't do it, it's all about if she willing to learn something she does not care about. My mom is 60 year old and she does not even know how to use a microwave because in cuba they just did not have that in her time i told how to do it and she still end up calling me to do it for her so it all about willing to do something.
Sure anyone can learn if shown, but once again this moves more towards the advanced market that Apple generally don't target, and once again you do pay for this premium of "out of the box" and stress-free design. I definitely don't disagree that building a computer is quite a simplistic task.

I understand people pay for premium and that how they really get ripped off. It's the same thing as someone buying a alienware vs building one themself. I understand some people just don't want to risk building there own computer so they buy a alienware that fine. But when you talking about buying a imac for 2-4k vs building a computer for the same price you just got ripped off.
Is it really getting ripped off if it is a stress free, out of the box design though? People pay others to change a lightbulb, clean the pool, wash the windows, water the garden - all so they themselves don't have to. It is a similar situation - sure it may be cheaper to do it yourself, but service doesn't come free. You can't call a garden company and ask them to water your garden for nothing.

I don't really care if people buy imac or w/e that up too them it the same for people who buy amd/intel or ati/nvidia. You know tomato tomahto. But remember i trying to prove a point to the person that said that any PC you can build wont be as fast as her imac. A 2k mac vs a 2k build pc is not even a race then the person goes on about labor which i understand cost but we talking about a person building there own pc or asking a friend to build it for them. Not going to bestbuy where they put the most over price i ever seen in my life.
There are positives and negatives to both systems, each in my opinion target different audiences, and it is a good thing to have a choice between these products as it caters for a much wider range of people. Yes, you can build a much faster computer (hardware specific) for the same price as you can buy an iMac but you are also missing out on a superior display (which is actually a solid $600-700 in my country), along with the ability to run Mac OS which in itself caters to a certain audience, not commonly found in a gaming community.

I for one am 100% happy with both my iMac and my gaming PC (turned into a hackintosh), so I definitely see room for both products on the market. I use both Windows and Mac OS quite evenly, for completely different tasks and wouldn't do it any other way after using both.

I not trying to be rude or tell someone not to buy something it's just make sure you know what you talking about. A 2k imac is not better then me building my own computer that what i'm talking about or even buying a alienware one.If you want to buy a build computer because you don't want to risk it that fine
Once again that depends on what you are using the system for, what the person is willing to pay for the service of building the system, and what the system offers them in return. I know you are not being rude, and I am trying not to be, so if I am - I apologise, but I do see the weight of both subjects as fairly viable.

People will pay that premium so they don't have to worry / think about both the components that goes into their computer, and the service in building/setting it up. There is room for both of them in the market, and there are people that would prefer each option over the other.

Overall point is that person comparison is seriously ridiculous.
I don't disagree with this :P


For those computer minded people, I honestly recommend building a system that is indeed compatible with Mac OS (a little bit of extra research and knowledge is required), but using PC components (hackintosh) - as you get the best of both worlds. A gaming PC and a powerful MacPro (effectively), all for the same price as a standard gaming PC. The only difference is compatibility - which simply requires some research.

The only thing that you will miss is a market leading display, while there are other alternatives - you do pay a premium for it. You could always use an old iMac or Cinema Display as your Hackintosh monitor though

TLDR;
I don't disagree that building a computer is cheaper, providing you have the knowledge or willingness to learn how to.
You do pay for the service of setting it up so it is ready "out of the box"
You also pay for the cosmetic design, the software/OS, and quite simply the display (which is a leading item in the industry).