The old saw about building a PC is incredibly tiresome. Try building a laptop from scratch.
No, what is tiresome is the same old Mac Fanboys spouting the same old tired routines.
And your incredibly naive to think the hardware is the same. Yes, the mobo and cpu might be the same. But the case, screen, and testing to make sure it all works together are not. But whatever.
Screen = Purchase a monitor of your CHOICE in the PC World, not take what Apple gives you and oh gee, what do I do if the monitor breaks after the warranty is up and the computer is still working.... (plug in another monitor and watch the giant dead screen as a dongle, I suppose). Cases are $20-100 items in the PC world. You can get any case you want. And you don't have to build them yourself. Dell will build one for you. Any number of small computer shops (try going to a computer show once) will gladly build them for you with the case and hardware items of your choice (I actually DID put mine together; it was very simple to do, but for less than $50, most places will do it for you; some don't even charge to do it. The last PC I bought locally charged the same either way so I let them assemble it).
Testing? Do you think Dells are tested less than Apples? What about the yellow-screen LED problems on the laptops? What about the keyboards that won't type properly or that were missing the first letter of the first word typed (that bug took over 2 years to get a 'fix'). Paleeze. Apple's products are hardly bug or problem-free.
I could also build my own house and save a pile of money. Who the hell cares.
You're comparing connecting up a motherboard and plugging in a few cards to building a house??? And you expect me to take your comments as anything more than ludicrous nonsense? You're talking to someone that owns a PC and a Mac and AppleTV and an iPod Touch and knows how to run and administrate Linux (which I also have installed on the PC) and has two degrees in electronic engineering. You're not going get any BS past me.
Guess what, my time is money. While I can easily build a PC and have done so in the past when I had more time, I could care less about building one today.
So don't. Select what you want and let Dell or any other number of hardware vendors both on the Net and/or locally do it for you. What's the big deal? If you don't want to do that much work (i.e. pick out what YOU *want* in a computer), you can still go to somewhere like Best Buy and pick a price range and/or marquee that suits you and have a fully functional system in your hands as you walk out the door. You can also buy a Mac at Best Buy these days. What's the difference other than with the PC you tend to actually have a CHOICE what hardware you get whereas with Apple's offerings you're more or less stuck with what Steve wants to sell you at a given price point and too bad if the graphics suck on that model. Go buy the $2400+ Mac Pro or the $2200 24" iMac if you want to play games. The problem is that they're competing with $700-1200 systems in the PC world (i.e. you're pay 2x as much to play the SAME game using the SAME graphics card, etc.). And YET, the fanboys will still CLAIM that the current Macs are comparable to the same PCs at the same price range. The problem is that a Mac Pro is touted by Apple as their best game machine, yet it's NOT the kind of hardware a normal PC user would consider gaming hardware. It's complete and total OVERKILL and yet there is *NO* offering from Apple that CAN game that is NOT overkill. You either pay $2200 for a 'custom' 24" iMac or you pay $2400+ for a MacPro. Actually, that MacPro with the same gaming card will be a couple hundred more so more like $2600.
You might save a couple of hundred dollars, AT BEST, on component costs.
I'll buy that argument IF you'll explain then why the same components in a $800 PC are only found in a $2600 MacPro. That's a bit more than a "couple hundred dollars".
For me, those savings would be gone in about an hour and a half in time.
For me, I'd have the computer assembled in less than an hour. It's not rocket science. It's snap'n'screw.
Factor in build time (about 2 hours), shopping time (1-2 hours at least on the internet, longer going to a store). And hope that every piece works together the first time, with no driver issues, or else your looking at an even longer build time.
So you're saying you don't have to "shop" for a Mac? You just order the first one you happen to click on at the Apple store online or take the first one they hand you at a physical Apple store or Best Buy????
Driver issues, etc. are venturing into software. I maintain you can run OSX on cloneware PC. See Psycorp. They'll sell you a 2 choice pre-assembled OSX option that can also run Windows and Linux for under $1000 that gaming-wise will run circles around everything but the $2000+ Apple models.
99% of people that have a computer did NOT build it themselves. So pointing out that you could build one for less is worthless.
You're making an awful lot out of one little comment that I built MY PC last November. Nowhere did I say you had to build your own. The computer show I went to last year in Allentown PA next to the pinball show I was attending had numerous vendors that begging me to let them build any kind of machine I could want. You CAN still get what you want and NOT have to build it yourself you know. Or maybe you don't know that?
As for upgrading a Mac being cyclical thinking, you are misusing the term. However, I understand what you are saying. But you are wrong.
For one thing, because a Mac Pro or any other tower Mac typically is a fairly powerful system when bought, it has less need for upgrades to stay current.
A typical PC user that upgrades is cash poor and upgrading over time, typically because the PC is too slow at some task. Well guess what, as you
So I'm wrong because YOU think so? I used my last PC for 7 years, upgrading its processor once and its graphics card twice. I had to reinstall Windows98 *ONE* time in 7 years (and not when I upgraded the CPU or graphics cards). I had exactly ZERO viruses during that time too (and no I didn't leave a virus checker running 24/7 and yes it was on the Internet). You see HOW and WHOM uses a PC also factors into the experience. Any moron can get viruses and screw their system up. If you have a little bit of computer knowledge that doesn't have to happen.
The real point here is that the major applications that need ever faster speeds and graphics cards are GAMES. Your argument boils down to the fact that the Mac has very few games of its own that you don't NEED a new computer every few years. Yet if you don't play games on a PC, you don't NEED one every couple of years either (barring video work, etc. in which case you'd probably want a new Mac every couple of years too and invalidates your entire argument).
The CURRENT situation with Macs is that they use the SAME HARDWARE (save EFI versus BIOS) as generic PCs out there. Thus, your argument completely falls flat on its face no matter HOW you look at it. In fact, the Mac that isn't a MacPro isn't upgradeable in terms of graphics cards, etc., so it will need replaced *MORE* often than a PC for the same use.
Honestly, you don't seem to know what you're talking about when it comes to computer hardware (typical of fanboy types in my experience) and so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by your total lack of actual argument points.
I've owned 4 tower Macs, all bought new. The ONLY things I worked on on any of them were RAM, and hard drives. One, I added a new video card and one I added a $20 USB 2.0 card. And when they got too slow, I just bought a new computer. I could have replaced the CPU. Why bother.
Oh, I don't know. I bought a cheap used PowerMac G4 for a song and upgraded its CPU to 1.8GHz, added a Sata card and installed dual 500GB Sata drives, replaced the CDR with a modern DVD-R and added a USB 2.0 card, set up 1.5GB of ram and updated the Operating system, all for less than the cheapest iMac and while it doesn't contain the CPU power of said iMac (and was far less than half what a MacPro costs), it DOES achieve its desired function as a media center server without the freaking MESS of an iMac + *external* typically slower, more expensive hard drives. In fact, my hard drive speed tests faster than a default MacPro. It's connected via Gigabit to my router which then streams its contents all over my house to multiple AppleTV and Airport Express units. Why upgrade? I don't NEED a MacPro at $2400+ to do what I need this to do. I don't want a desk full of external components lying around, etc. Guess what? Not everyone's needs match YOUR needs.
Again, what you seem to be missing is that, in reality, NO ONE really is interested in doing any hardware work more complicated than installing RAM.
"NO ONE", eh? ROTFLMAO. I wonder why Best Buy sells components to upgrade computers at a retail store where space is a premium if NO ONE is really interested in doing anything with their computer. I find it funny you think they're willing to install ram, yet think installing something like a video card is "more complicated" when it's pretty much the same thing. Plug it in and maybe latch or turn a screw. Big deal. If they dont' want to install anything (computers are scary!), fine. But don't pretend they're scared YET are willing to install ram dimms.
As for the hardcore, who build gaming rigs, constantly upgrading, they are a dying breed, just like PC gaming. And a Mac user is NOT interested in finding what video card will actually work with Crysis and installing it. They will just have a 360 or PS3.
Some games will never work right on a console platform. And please don't speak for ALL Mac users ever again as it makes you look bad (some Mac users do use BootCamp for little more than gaming). Thanks so much.
