And the initial cost would be higher - so that's a wash...
the rest of the quality of the machine is disproportionate to the video card.
the entire value retainment is decreased because of the video card.
e.g.: 12 months from now, as is, would resell for 64%(percentage chosen for illustration purposes) of cost today.
with a proportionate video card, would resell for above 64%.
ounce for ounce, this imac is worth less than if it had 'the right' video card.
so no, in terms of resale- it is not a wash
edit:
another way to illustrate this is to say that a an imac purchased $2000.00 imac today with it's subpar video card is only worth $1800.
compare to a $2200.00 imac with a sufficient video card is worth $2200.00
bottom line, the current video cards devalue the rest of the machine. A significant percentage of computer purchasers will never consider purchasing this imac for it's retail price.