Need new 21.5" iMac with Celeron G1820 processor, 4GB RAM, and 500GB HD...

[QCassidy352]

The fact is, with a 27 inch monitor with a 2560 x 1440 display, and high end components, Apple is on par price wise with competitors. When you factor in the all in one set up and how well designed it is, they do not have a peer in the industry.

This. It's not that apple products are overpriced, it's that they don't play in the low end side of the pool. Yes you can buy a windows PC for $300, but only one with specs that no Mac would ever have. configure a dell or other PC with the same specs as an imac and see what the price is. Not that far off.

 

[scaredpoet]

Yes, I can afford the new iMacs, but the value amount is so terrible I won't even think about it. Sorry, Apple, another Lenovo PC is coming for me when Windows 9 is released, and my iMac will be nearly 10 years old.

You have an iMac that has lasted you for ten years, if I'm reading this right. And you're not seeing the value in that? The price of Apple desktops and laptops are high, but they consistently outlive their PC equivalents.

You can keep buying slower, cheaper hardware every two years and end up paying more in the end, or you can buy a high end workstation that will ultimately save you money because it remains useful longer.

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How will companies selling $300 machines with almost no profit survive in 10 years?

Simple: Companies selling $300 dollar machines make their money off volume. They sell to cheapskates who think buying a $300 computer and then junking it every year to buy another $300 computer makes sense. They also sell en masse to the enterprise sector, particularly businesses who let bean counters rule, and who buy hundreds of bottom-rung $300 machines all at once and then also replace them when they become unbearable to use. Or worse: they lease them.

The profits are razor-thin, but when expectations are low and you can consistently show that the cheapskates keep coming back, investors in those types of stock are reasonably happy.

 

[frankchn]

I've actually went ahead and specified out as closely as possible the parts required for a base 27" iMac - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3l8ym. It came out to be about $1370, compared to a $1800 from Apple (or $1696 from MacMall). I don't think $300 to $400 more is too much money to pay for the industrial design and integration that Apple provides.