Deals: Apple's 256GB 27-Inch iMac Discounted to Year's Best Price of $1,399.99 ($399 Off)

[Amazing Iceman]

I can see that with a laptop but a desktop is easy to set up with external storage and it will likely cost less than the upcharge from Apple.

It depends on what you need the computer for. No external drive can compete with the internal storage embedded in the M1 Chip.