Having a hard time justifying imac vs Dell

[topmounter]

While I certainly prefer my Macs and OSX for everything except gaming, I really can't say I've had any of the traditional Windows-type problems with Win7 (BSOD's, deteriorating performance, etc.) and it runs great on my mid-level quad-core hardware.

 

[webstersp]

I was in the same boat as you for a few years and finally bought an Imac 27 last may with logic 9 and I would never go back to pc. I aslo have pro tools 10 because of my eleven rack but I don't really use it.

I still have a pc at home that my girlfriend is using, that was the pc I was using before i bought this Imac and she is always using my mac. Let me say this very important thing yo you.

My pc got more and better memory (16gb corsair dominator 1600).
Got a better video card: XFX 6970
The processor is a I7 930 (ok not sandybridge)
Mobo: Asus P6X58D Premium (with USB 3)
WD Black caviar hd's
Windows 7 64 pro


And the only this this pc is better at is gaming.
At everything else my Imac runs faster and 100% stable...
...for music, for pro tools and reaper (can't try logic on my pc!)
The difference between my mac and my pc is night and day!

Specs doesn't mean ****!

Try this with a pc: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v467yNQy7k

 

[jha40]

Once you go mac you dont go back

To help you make your decision check out a spoof ad we did for a school project on Windows http://youtu.be/hFbGuAA6744 Pretty safe to say this wont happen on a Mac

 

[jouster]

Eh, I figure if you're unable to justify the purchase price of an iMac to the extent that you post on a message board you should just get the Dell.

 

[athens]

Lately I've been spending a lot of time researching computers and have a hard time justifying buying an imac over a monster Dell desktop for literally more than half the price. I'm mainly a PC user but I do have an older Mac G5 that I use for music recording with protools and itunes. I enjoy using Mac but there is a Dell is going onsale for 799.00 over Thanksgiving. It has 3.4Ghz with an Intel core i7 2600 12GB of RAM 1.5 TB hard drive and the list goes on. Granted it's just the computer itself but it's still a great deal. The top of the line iMac has the same thing but I'd pay over 2000.00. Probably closer to 3000.00. I'd literally save over 1000.00. That's a lot of loot. How can I justify buying an Imac with a deal like this?

Because you are looking at only the surface and immediate cost?

You use both so I won't get into the Windows vs OS X part of this. You should know which one gives you more problems.

iLife is a hell of a lot better then Windows Live attempts of coping it. But of course that isn't worth $1000.00

Warranty support, and overall care Apple gives in my books is worth a good penny more because it is by far superior then any other company I deal with. But that isn't worth $1000.00 difference on its own either.

Resale value of the Apple is much higher then a Dell. You would be lucky to get $200.00 for that Dell in a year from now. On the other hand Macs resale value drops slowly over time. It is not uncommon for some one to get 50% of the purchase price even after 4-5 years.

So when you piece it all together, OS X, iLife, Apple Support and overall the way they treat customers and the resale value of a used Mac, the difference in price really becomes the same. You really have to look at the entire package if you are going to compare. Because on the surface a Mac is a bit over priced. But there is a lot more to a Mac being a Apple Customer then the surface.

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I would like to see more than anecdotal evidence to support this. I am not sticking up for Windows, but I don't think this is the case in 7.

Mac and Windows, the Core i5 and the Core i7 are nearly identical for performance until you run optimized software that makes use of extra features of a Core i7 at which point the Core i7 just blows the Core i5 out of the Water. Most software is not optimized for the Core i7 neither is Windows. I already decided I rather save a 100 bucks on a Core i5 2500k over a Core i7 for this very reason.