I'm an idiot, help me decide (MBP or iMac)

[snouter]

Ironically, Apple's workstations are fairly competitive.

Only the dual core models.

I can build any of the single core models for about 1/2 price.

 

[Evil Spoonman]

Only the dual core models.

I can build any of the single core models for about 1/2 price.

Agree. This is one of those times I wish Apple would allow us to spec a standard i7 and non-ECC memory in the Mac Pro. A lot of people who only need one CPU don't need a Xeon.

 

[mikeo007]

I... so Apple makes $450 a machine? Sounds quite possible to me.

Seems more likely to me, and that would put the margins back in the 30% range.

Right. This is the weird thing about the PC market. We've come to expect phenomenally low prices on hardware because it has become so commoditized and modular. Re-integrating is now the name of the game, and Apple is doing that in style. They can charge almost whatever they want for their integrating service. People will pay it because they don't want to think about the computer, they just want to use it.

I suppose it really is down to personal preference as to whether or not the integration is worth it to you. You could still pay a company a small premium to just slap everything together if you didn't want to worry about building your own machine. The place where Apple's "integration" comes out on top is in the fact it's both hardware and software integration. Your choices are limited, your cost is higher, but you get tighter knit systems as a result. Again, personal preference as to whether or not this is worth it to you.

 

[B.winkle]

You will be happy either way!