Alright, I'll bite, since it's pertinent to my short-term purchasing decisions.
Here are the PC specs I've priced out at my neighbourhood retailer (NCIX.com) - whose service I've enjoyed in the past and who have a B&M store I can drive to if I need to exchange/replace anything.
A PC shopping list, including wireless peripherals, a not-too-shabby looking case, and a mobo with Firewire:
- Intel Core i7 870 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.93GHZ Hyperthreading 8MB Cache Retail Box: $369.99
- OCZ Gold 8GB DDR3 2X4GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10666 CL 9-9-9-20 1.65V Dual Channel Memory Kit: $272.67
- Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM: $96.79
- Powercolor Radeon HD 5750 700MHZ 1GB 4.6GHZ GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card: $144.99
- Samsung SH-S223C 22X DVD Writer SATA Black OEM: $29.89
- Logitech K340 Wireless Keyboard with Mini USB Unifying Receiver: $60.46
- Logitech Wireless Mouse M505 Black: $69.99
- OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W ATX 20/24PIN SLI Ready Modular Cables 135mm Fan Active PFC Power Supply: $89.99
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM: $119.78
- Gigabyte P55A-UD4P ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E RAID GBLAN CrossFireX SLI USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard: $189.99
- Antec NSK4482B ATX Mini Tower Case Black 3X5.25 2X3.5EXT 3X3.5INT Front USB Audio with 380W PSU: $85.99
- Noctua NH-U12P SE2 LGA775/1156/1366 AM2/AM3 I7/I5/PHENOM Heatpipe Cooler W/ 2XNH-P12 120MM Fans: $79.99
- NCIX Assembly: $50.00
- Subtotal: $1,610.52
- + DELL ULTRASHARP U2711 27-INCH MONITOR: 879.00
- TOTAL: $2489.52
But let's say you're a shopping ninja, and you can slash that price by 150 bucks, plus you can assemble it yourself, thus saving another 50 bucks.
A Windows PC (Adjusted Genius Price): $2,289.52
Comparatively spec'd iMac (i7, 8GB, 1TB): $2,539.00
**All prices are in Canadian dollars (because I am Canadian, and I'm doing this for
me.)**
So roughly a $300 savings to build your own Windows machine. Considering the aesthetics, the Mac's additional resolution, the PC's additional expandability, and the user experience difference between OSX and Windows, I'd say that $300 is right on the borderline, and I'd have a tough time choosing.
Now, personally the hassle of assembling it myself VS. the iMac's non-existent expandability cancel each other out. The aesthetics, meanwhile, are VERY important (as is the desktop footprint). And if I bought a PC, I'd spend more on the graphics card. So considering that I don't want to assemble the thing, I'm not a ninja shopper, and I want a better GPU, I'm looking at saving maybe $17.00 by buying a PC.
It's up to each individual how important things like aesthetics and price are, but it seems to me that if I were laying out ~$2000 for a PC, a hundred bucks either way wouldn't be a big deal.
And if you can show me a price list that beats my hastily-assembled list, I'd love to see it (Canadian, if possible - even better? NCIX-based).