Why would anyone buy an iMac instead of a Windows desktop?

[interstella]

People such as haylight are rather like my son, who spends lots of time building and modding PC's and, when the damn thing finally works and the water cooling has stopped leaking and the BSOD's have gone, he finally gets to play a game for a few hours but even then he spends more time obsessing over the frame rate than actually enjoying the game .

My one remaining Windows PC is a machine I built in 2009. It was high-spec for the time and it's still ok today. I switch it on occasionally to see if it still works and to use MS Money.

These days I'm no more likely to build my own computer than I am to build my own car.

I wish I'd changed to Apple computers years ago. The horrible interface of Windows 8 eventually made the decision for me. Thanks, Microsoft!

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

another major reason for my switch was resale value my last cpu which i posted the video off around that time built cost me nearly close to 4k including everything

guess how much re sale was....600 bucks smh

 

[yjchua95]

A Mac is very nice to use, but it's a bit of a closed garden in my experience- which is why I will soon be purchasing a macbook air retina once it comes out. A mid to high range nvidia card is as big as a mac mini, there's a reason for that- I also plan on this nvidia card lasting a good few years. I would honestly prefer playing a game on 1440p with good fps to "the mac experience" on my desktop (that's just me). Good luck playing a modern game on your 15" mbrp at retina resolution with playable framerates. I want my desktop to be universally compatible with all software, and since I'm interested in medicine a great deal of PCR analysis/other professional software is just better on Windows, parallels is OK but inferior to Windows native for Windows software. Your uses are obviously far different than mine, so I'm glad you've found a solution that works for you!

My 15" rMBP can get decent frame rates in BF4.

1680x1050, 16xAF, FXAA, mix of high and ultra, and I get 47-50fps on average, with 35 being the lowest and easily shooting past 60 in quite a lot of situations.

It may not suit you, but as long as it satisfies me, good enough.

----------

So using OS X is basically like night and day to using windows 8.1 to you, you love stock Apple software, and prefer apple aesthetics? fair enough. For me the ability to swap parts in and out is absolutely massive. Thinking long-term, in 4 years I could swap just the RAM- adding 4gb here and there, just the CPU, maybe I need more memory but can only afford a 150gb SSD momentarily- no problem, I can add whatever whenever, whereas an iMac you're looking at shelling out another $1,500 at least for up to date equipment in that time period. EVGA also has an excellent "step-up" program for video cards where you pay only the difference between your current GPU and a newer GPU up to 80 days after purchase- this means I can basically play any modern game for years to come at a drastically reduced price that I couldn't normally afford. Although the mac software you mentioned is great, I still prefer the full functionality of Office 365 over the proprietary office suite that comes with Macs from a productivity standpoint, and I prefer to do everything in photoshop for pictures, and Fl Studio 11 pro edition is vastly superior to Garage band- you can find completely good Windows alternatives but Apple has always been better about very high quality free software. Many professionals as yourself use iMacs but from a software standpoint you can do just as good on Windows and have access to more programs worldwide. Hackintosh can be a pain, but I would say it can be just as functional/stable as Parallels for Mac if you take the time to properly tweak it. Basically if I were rich and could throw out limitless money for top of the line iMacs I probably would. For a no compromise solution that takes time, research, and more effort, I still see a Windows desktop being ideal for power users.

On a 27" iMac, RAM is swappable.

And with Thunderbolt around, I can just pay a one-off price for a Sonnet IIID Thunderbolt chassis and slot a GTX 780 Ti in it, and get around 87-90% of its performance compared to when the same card is connected natively to a Windows box.

Good enough for me, and if the card gets outdated, I'll just buy another desktop GPU and slot it into the Sonnet chassis.

And Haylight, I see that you're a newbie in the forums here. Did you create an MR account for the sole purpose of bashing Macs?

This place is called a MacRumors forum for a reason.

 

[haylight]

My 15" rMBP can get decent frame rates in BF4.

1680x1050, 16xAF, FXAA, mix of high and ultra, and I get 47-50fps on average, with 35 being the lowest and easily shooting past 60 in quite a lot of situations.

It may not suit you, but as long as it satisfies me, good enough.

----------



On a 27" iMac, RAM is swappable.

And with Thunderbolt around, I can just pay a one-off price for a Sonnet IIID Thunderbolt chassis and slot a GTX 780 Ti in it, and get around 87-90% of its performance compared to when the same card is connected natively to a Windows box.

Good enough for me, and if the card gets outdated, I'll just buy another desktop GPU and slot it into the Sonnet chassis.

And Haylight, I see that you're a newbie in the forums here. Did you create an MR account for the sole purpose of bashing Macs?

You bring up a very good point. If iMacs were to become more customizable I'd probably pick one up in an instant. Swappable RAM is excellent, but a Sonnet IIID solution is cost prohibitive and I'm not so sure how an imac motherboard would respond/ no drivers suited to gtx 780 ti for iMacs. I may be mistaken but I foresee the trend in Imacs as becoming smaller/thinner/simpler like mac minis. While admirable, we just aren't there tech-wise to drive 4k monitors (which will be the standard) in a tiny form factor. My personal opinion is macbook retinas will become inversely proportional to iMacs with iMacs on the downward slope in terms of their overall usefulness/value. I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

[grandM]

I'm no Apple hater, I own an ipad and am planning on getting a macbook air soon, but for desktop computers windows is still the way to go- so much so I don't understand why you would get an imac ? If you build your own computer you can customize every single part and swap one out if you want a newer video card or get more RAM or whatever;

-Windows 8.1 pro 64-bit (Windows 8.1 is just so open, and the flaws of Windows 8 are over-emphasized, I can install anything on it, no restrictions, and having a non-crippled Office 365 2013 version is great) If you absolutely can't stand Windows there's always Hackintosh. I got 8.1 pro $70 student version
-NZXT Phantom 410 case (massive but aesthetically pleasing and good airflow) $50 with rebate, has tons of USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, all display options you want
-Intel core i7 4790k processor (4.0 Ghz quad core) $270
-EVGA nvidia 770 Gtx GPU (Can run basically any modern game at 60 FPS 1080p) $320
-8 Gb hyperjaw RAM (Plan on upgrading to 16gb RAM when I can afford it) $70
-Seasonic 750 Watt EVO power supply (Runs beautifully quiet, can handle any editing, gaming, etc.) $100
-Samsung 250 GB SSD (Everything is blazing fast, windows startup is 3 seconds, programs open instantly) $110 on sale
-Gigabyte Z97 G1 Gaming Motherboard (Excellent overclocking options, gigabyte Bios is very intuitive, has a built in sound card and amp, good for sound quality and gaming capabilities) $140

That's $1130 for a PC that I DARE you to find an imac of equal quality/power at the same price
With the power of my Nvidia 770 GTX I also purchased an Asus 27" 1440p LED PLS display for $480, gaming is astonishingly good on this display. Maybe you could find an equivalent imac for $2,000+, but for desktops deciding on every single part, the experience of building your computer, the bang for the buck raw power, iMacs don't make sense.

Of course each case is different. I myself bought a mac (mini) for learning purposes (iOS). But after been using windows since windows 3.1 (on MS-Dos) till windows 7 which I've used several years (also used win 95, win 98 se, win XP, vista).

But honestly the windows OS has improved over the years but kept surprising me concerning crashes. I don't say macOS doesn't crash but windows does for sure. I remember ms Word loosing an important document I had been working on for weeks (which I had to deliver soon afterwards).

I just couldn't trust windows OS. Combine that with the continuing virus and malware threat and well... But you're right: mac is much more expensive. Apple asks too much for their hardware. My eyes also become much easier weary on my mac. But I can trust this device. My data seems secure. And for me that's worth the premium.

By the way you're speaking of student prices. To do a true comparison you have to look at needs. Most users will be buying an office suite on windows at FULL price. Ok, some will hack, but take a look at the full price of Office. Most of that functionality the end user will barely use. Pages etc is free. As my ex-professor ICT at the university said: and what do you need that isn't incorporated in iWork?

But if you are just a gamer: yes buy a pc. If you need security go unix (so mac).

 

[torana355]

A big custom pc like that is going to make alot of noise. My quad core iMac is in my bedroom, it stays on 24/7 and it is completely silent from 1 foot away. I also have a custom HTPC with a dual core i3 in my bedroom with custom Notcua case and cpu fans but i can still hear it, Apple did a bloody fantastic job on the thermal management on the 2012 iMacs, to be silent and still have so much power is an awesome feat.

Windows is great for a HTPC and i love building pc's but OSX is the better OS, so the iMac is my choice for a desktop along with my MBA for my laptop.

 

[yjchua95]

You bring up a very good point. If iMacs were to become more customizable I'd probably pick one up in an instant. Swappable RAM is excellent, but a Sonnet IIID solution is cost prohibitive and I'm not so sure how an imac motherboard would respond/ no drivers suited to gtx 780 ti for iMacs. I may be mistaken but I foresee the trend in Imacs as becoming smaller/thinner/simpler like mac minis. While admirable, we just aren't there tech-wise to drive 4k monitors (which will be the standard) in a tiny form factor. My personal opinion is macbook retinas will become inversely proportional to iMacs with iMacs on the downward slope in terms of their overall usefulness/value. I'd love to be proven wrong.

I have a Sonnet IIID and a 780 Ti myself, and it works on a Mac nicely. No driver installation needed. Just pure plug and play. It's the same story in Boot Camp. In both cases, just plug it into the Thunderbolt port before switching it on.

When booting into OS X, no drivers are needed, but I headed over to NVIDIA's site anyway just to get the CUDA drivers.

When booting into Windows, I just downloaded NVIDIA's drivers from their site and after a restart, it was working fine.

SLI is also possible on a rMBP with Iris Pro only.

 

[jolux]

Software? Better design? Easier to use? Less desk real estate? Simpler?

 

[12dylan34]

Windows is comparably crap for working with media, so a PC wouldn't be an option for me. Previewing various types of files takes too long or is impossible (e.g you have to open up .psd or .ai files to even be able to see them). Also, Windows doesn't have the ProRes codecs, which are important for video editing.

People, even those that demand a high performance machine, may choose an iMac for reasons like that. A Mac Pro is overkill or too expensive for many, thus exists the market for the iMac.

 

[campyguy]

OP, IMO you didn't ask the correct question to start this thread out. IMO, the question should be more like:
Why would anyone buy an iMac instead of a Windows desktop for needs like mine, with a budget of $$$$$?
I use Windows, and my office is Mac-based. I use some Windows-only software, and some Mac-only software. I chose my company's platform based on my billables and production rate, and knowing that I can virtualize Windows on a Mac, and we're growing.

In my experience, "cheap" or "cheaper" is not a means to an end - it's a means to modify what you want or need, with budget becoming a limiting factor once "what you want" becomes too expensive or exceeds what you're willing to spend. Then, adjustments to your needs or workflow dictate changes to the amount spent.

For example, you spent time hunting down product to arrive at something cheaper. I pay one of my attorneys $500 per hour (and he bills out in 1/10th hour increments), and I bill out between $200-$1000 per hour, depending on who I'm working for an what I'm working on - my rMBP was delivered to my door and all I had to do was pick it out and sign for it, and I would not not been able to bill out $$$$ if I had to futz with every little thing like you did (a generalization).

OTOH, I need scheduling software. I use the Mac-only Merlin. Others use Windows-only Project. My Merlin license cost me $295, which replaces the $995-per-CAL Project - plus I get compliments (and new clients) because my output from Merlin doesn't look like and offers more options than Project.

I have other examples of where my Mac - which runs Windows when I need it via virtualization - costs far less than a Windows box.

And, if you were as resourceful with your Mac-related research as you were with your generic box you would have saved $$$ by buying a refurb Mac and AppleCare at Adorama or B&H Photo as I do.

I buy Macs because they're far more cost-effective for what I do and what my needs are. The customer support is far better than any vendor that sells other products - more so when you factor in my billable rates. I looked into Window 9 just today, and I'm not discounting (pun intended) that OS yet.

I also avoid Windows because of (cue drum roll) The Registry - MS makes the registry a beast to deal with. I can tweak AutoCAD or GIS apps to run on a Windows box better than 99% of the IT guys I know, but I'd rather hang out with my GF or go fishing. Go play with your Windows box, I need to go play with my GF, another Mac owner!

 

[iamMacPerson]

I'm no Apple hater, I own an ipad and am planning on getting a macbook air soon, but for desktop computers windows is still the way to go- so much so I don't understand why you would get an imac ? If you build your own computer you can customize every single part and swap one out if you want a newer video card or get more RAM or whatever.

A few ideas come to mind, mainly one though. For starters, lets face it, most Windows users are consumers. They either don't know how, or don't care to replace components in their PC. I have personally seen this happen. A dead hard drive will lead to "Just toss the machine" because they don't want to touch it or they think its too much money to dump into an older PC, which in most cases is true.

The main thing is, simplicity. Think about it. With the custom PC, the user would have to go out and buy a case, logic board, a compatible processor for said board, video card, monitor, cables, power supply, RAM, a wireless card, etc. and they need to make sure it all works together. For instance, buying the wrong DVI cable can lead to a trip back to the store, or buying the wrong type of RAM could too, add to the frustration. Most people also can't go pick all this up today in store. Now i have a Fry's where I could get all this, but its 25 miles away meaning if I get the wrong part its a half hour drive into LA to exchange it.

With the iMac, its all in one box. No assembly required except setting up the mouse and keyboard (if wireless, OS X Set Up guides you through it, if wired, plug the mouse into the keyboard's USB port, keyboard into iMac) then plug in the power cord. Press the power button, and it welcomes you. Much more consumer friendly.

Most users also aren't going to need a 4+GHz processor. They don't need the most powerful machine ever made, they don't need a super computer. They just want and/or need it to work, and work NOW. They can't wait to build it.

Ram
Apple: 8 GB 1600 Mhz DDR3 SD Proprietary RAM
Mine: 8 Gb 1600 Mhz DDR3 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series RAM

The RAM Apple uses in their iMacs is standard DDR3 SODIMMs. On the 27", the RAM is accessible from a user access panel below the power port on the back of the machine. The current 21.5" models use the same RAM, however complete disassembly of the machine is required. The only exception is the "MacBook Air in an iMac case" or "iMac-Book Air" (1.4GHz Dual Core i5 21.5") where the RAM is soldered on like the MBA.

Also incase you wondering about the type of RAM:
204-pin PC3-12800 DDR3 (1600MHz) SODIMMs. 4-slots (27") or 2-slots (21.5")

 

[triptolemus]

This thread: 17 minutes of my life I cannot get back.

What a shame.

 

[mcnallym]

In your costing you have also missed out the following

1.) Microphone
2.) WebCam
3.) Speakers
4.) Keyboard
5.) Mouse
6.) Heatsink ( please tell me you aren't here extolling the virtues of DIY PC's and then using the Intel Retail Heatsink! )

when comparing with the iMac.

Try and make that aesthetically pleasing as an iMac, with the webcam, speakers and microphone.

Yes the new Devils Canyon refresh does use new TIM, however the TIM doesn't use Power, it is simply used to connect the IHS to the Processor itself, to dissipate heat, the new TIM doing this better and thus allowing the CPU to run quicker as can cool more efficiently. ( Though I really failed to see the relevance of the comment other then to someone concerned about the innards of the PC )

Nice to know that your case has all the display options. I presume you meant your GPU card has all display options.

Most Mac users I know care more about what they do on the machine, rather then the innards of the machine.

You also need to figure in the iWorks and iLife software equivalents, either via purchasing or downloading and installing freeware/shareware products. ( my time is valuable and it is easily available to me out of the box on an iMac )

Try installing Elgato TV, on your Windows 8.1 machine. You cannot as it is only available for OSX.

Guess what I can install any OSX software on my Mac, NO restrictions. I can either install it from the Mac App Store, Mac App Store and identified developers, or Anywhere. Is simply a setting in the Security and Privacy.

Guess what I can install Parallels Desktop or vmware Fusion and run Windows in Parallel using Coherence in Parallels or Unity in Fusion, giving me access to all of the Windows Software as well at the same time, alongside all my OSX software, one one seamless Desktop.

This is all available without additional hacks/modifications to the system. Try and get your DIY machine to do that. Yes you can install vmware workstation, and then use a hack to get it too allow to virtualise OSX however it will be on it's own desktop in vmware, it won't integrate into your main desktop.

You are also trying to compare something that you have built for primarily for gaming. ( Based on references to running games and gaming motherboard ) iMac isn't intended to be a gaming machine ( despite what some people on this forum may think )

In terms of power then glad your e-peen is growing from your 4GHz Processor Power.

My mini from 2009 2.0Ghz Core2 Duo is still going strong doing what it was intended to do. Elgato TV DVR /iTunes Server. It doesn't need more power then it has.
My Mac Pro is only single socket as that provides ENOUGH power for what it is required to do for me. ( I have a Mac Pro as the mini doesn't provide enough power for the video editing/photo editing )
I still have Copper based broadband at home instead of Fibre, why. It is quick ENOUGH for what my broadband needs are.

When I have my laptop out I am not using at my desk, and I wouldn't pay the extra for a laptop to leave it sat on my desk 24/7. ( You don't tend to be able to carry your DVR machine around with you and still have it record ) Not to mention the Drobo Pro is quite heavy to carry around that I record too.

I used to build my own Gaming PC's, usually water-cooled before you could buy the kits. Even had to import a water pump from the states as not many available over in the UK that could use the internal PSU of the PC for power.
They also tended to be built as complete systems rather then continually changing the hardware as something new came along. As such I have already been there, done that and had to replace the tshirt several times.

I still build my own Gaming Rig ( on Windows ) for gaming as that is a better platform. However am still using an i7 980 Corsair H50 / 580GTX with SSD's in a Lian Li 343B case and a Dell 3008WFP, with a Logitech 2.1 speaker system. It handles the games I play very nicely.
It was a cast off hackintosh, where used to run 2 PSU's in the case and dual booted OSX/Windows,

I also still build my own vmware esxi machines and storage servers. I know how to build the machines, when I get home however I don't need the hassle. There are all more people in the world that buy Pc's rather then build your own.

I also frequently get asked if I have any spare Apple kit going, if I take in PC hardware to work then literally cannot give it away.

There are a lot of people that will change there iMac/mini/mbpro etc every refresh, and with the resale value being what is then is just a few hundred to change the whole machine to the newest.

What you are probably getting from the responses to you opening is that everyone has different needs from the computer in front of them, and that is why there are so many different types of machines out there. Lets face it, just look at how many Linux's there are out there because someone wants something slightly different.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuFlavors
Just for ubuntu, 8 releases!

There is clearly a market for iMac's and AIO in general as every PC manufacturer seems to have launched one, so they clearly do make sense to the people that make and buy them.

 

[Slow Programmer]

To each his own. I love my iMacs more and more. One reason is silence. As I sit here in my living room typing this on an iMac it is absolutely silent. No fan noise, hard-drive clicking, etc. My custom built game machine in down the hallway in a bedroom and I can hear the fans running from here. My custom machine is running two SSD's in a raid 0 configuration, 32 GB ram, assorted disk drives for storage and only one 7950 video card (I cross-fired two for a while, but the heat and noise was not worth the gain in performance). I don't want nor need a laptop. My current home built is the last one and I will switch to am iMac or Mac Pro when it has reached the end of its useful life. I really don't get any enjoyment out of tinkering with PC's anymore. I just want to plug it in and go to work.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

*** Warning. Largest post in Macrumors ***​

1. OS X.

2. Free Upgrades when compared to Windows. Windows 8.1 is an update, not an upgrade.

3. Uses much less electricity over a desktop Windows PC (an iMac uses around 35 Watts idle and 90 Watts maxed, where as a desktop PC could uses 5X that easily).

4. No tower will look as good as an iMac.

5. It's very (very) quite.

6. It contains all the software I love to use (where as Windows machines that you never built usually contain Crapware).

7. OS X (again) runs so smoothly.

8. Revert To (an OS X feature that saves an document or file type at certain points and allows you to revert back to anyone of them or even drag content from an previous version to a current version, and best of all this is enabled by default on all apps that use it and it doesn't take up a lot more space because it only saves the changes).

9. Peace of mind (well, if a custom PC goes wrong, you and only you is to blame).

10. Piece of mind II (there is 0 viruses out there for OS X. There is still Malware/Trojans but these can be avoided with simple internet skills (in other words, just don't download crap).

11. Never slows down (I have always found myself having to reinstall Windows due to it slowing down to a crawl after 6 months to a year).

12. The Apps (Time Machine, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, iPhoto, Aperture, Pixelmator, Garage Band, Pages, Numbers, Keynote as well as all the other pre-installed apps). They are all easy to use, have no learning curves, and are useful. Finding even paid applications on Windows can still be a pain.

13. The fact that it is no longer worth nothing when you decide to sell it (in either 6 months or 6 years, it is still worth a lot of it's original value). Wit a custom PC geared for gaming, it is worth nigh on nothing in a year or two's time because it is old news and can't run the latest games as well as the fact that there is now better hardware out.

14. Free Software Upgrades II (Return of the Software Upgrades). Mac users get free OS X upgrades once every year with amazing new features, as well as performance enhancements.

15. No more registry. It's god awful

16. It works with all other Apple devices.

17. It works with all other Apple device's II. Continuity in the upcoming 10.10 upgrade allows us to do an even greater magnitude of things with all of our devices that no other platform offers.

18. RAM compression. Windows has RAM compression, but nothing anywhere near the scale of OS X. On a Windows system with 8GB of RAM, when you hit the 8GB limit, you will start to page out to HDD/SSD and your performance will dramatically drop. On OSX, 8GB of RAM can be pushed all the way to 18.5GB before full page outs (using the WKdm compression algorithm).

19. Facetime, you can't beat the simplicity of it.

20. The App Store is much larger than the Windows store (for desktops that is, I'm not talking about all those mobile games you can't play on your non touch screen gaming rig ).

21. Quicktime screen recording. Us Mac users can screen record without additional software.

22. Full screen apps. Full screen on Windows is just a Windows that is blown up to the resolution of the monitor, a full screen app in OS X is seen as a space and can be cycled through.

23. Mission control. Mission control is considerably more useful than that card based switching Windows has (not sure if Windows 8 does it).

24. The fact that Apple doesn't have awful luck with OS releases. Every second Windows launch is a failure now (Win Me, Win Vista, Win 8...).

25. Warranty. Speaks for itself.

26. The Mac CAN game.

27. The Windows fanboys. They hate the Mac and have never tried it. Almost all Mac users have came from Windows, so when a Mac users states that they hate Windows they know what they are talking about. Windows users just come out will utter rubbish about Macs that just are not true.

So there is 27 easy reasons for me.

----------

I'm no Apple hater, I own an ipad and am planning on getting a macbook air soon, but for desktop computers windows is still the way to go- so much so I don't understand why you would get an imac ? If you build your own computer you can customize every single part and swap one out if you want a newer video card or get more RAM or whatever;

-Windows 8.1 pro 64-bit (Windows 8.1 is just so open, and the flaws of Windows 8 are over-emphasized, I can install anything on it, no restrictions, and having a non-crippled Office 365 2013 version is great) If you absolutely can't stand Windows there's always Hackintosh. I got 8.1 pro $70 student version
-NZXT Phantom 410 case (massive but aesthetically pleasing and good airflow) $50 with rebate, has tons of USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, all display options you want
-Intel core i7 4790k processor (4.0 Ghz quad core) $270
-EVGA nvidia 770 Gtx GPU (Can run basically any modern game at 60 FPS 1080p) $320
-8 Gb hyperjaw RAM (Plan on upgrading to 16gb RAM when I can afford it) $70
-Seasonic 750 Watt EVO power supply (Runs beautifully quiet, can handle any editing, gaming, etc.) $100
-Samsung 250 GB SSD (Everything is blazing fast, windows startup is 3 seconds, programs open instantly) $110 on sale
-Gigabyte Z97 G1 Gaming Motherboard (Excellent overclocking options, gigabyte Bios is very intuitive, has a built in sound card and amp, good for sound quality and gaming capabilities) $140

That's $1130 for a PC that I DARE you to find an imac of equal quality/power at the same price
With the power of my Nvidia 770 GTX I also purchased an Asus 27" 1440p LED PLS display for $480, gaming is astonishingly good on this display. Maybe you could find an equivalent imac for $2,000+, but for desktops deciding on every single part, the experience of building your computer, the bang for the buck raw power, iMacs don't make sense.

But your build will not be cheaper. Yes, the initial cost will be, but after paying for much more electricity to run it, Anti Virus every year, Windows upgrades, and awful re-sale value, the Mac will come out cheaper. Bellow is a little comparison I done a while back:

I have heard and read a lot about people saying iMac's are more expensive over Windows PC's and wanted to make a thread here to show the real colours of this argument; making it more clear for buyers. I have below several price and spec comparisons between the iMac and a Windows PC in several different terms (like All In Ones, Desktops, Build Your Own, Light Users and Heavy Users). For each comparison I have added the price of both the compared iMac and PC's price after 1,3 and 5 years. So I hope you enjoy the read, and hope that it allows for people to see the real difference in price between an iMac and a Windows based PC. Enjoy.


First Comparison - iMac Vs. All In One Windows PC

For this comparison, I have chosen to compare the entry level iMac to the best (similarly priced) Windows 8 All In One I could find; the HP Envy.


iMac @ £1,149/$1,299/€1,299

Processor - Intel Core i5-4570S | 4th Gen Haswell | Turboboost's from 2.7GHz > 3.2GHz | 4Mb L3 Cache
Cores - 4 Cores | 4 Threads
RAM - 8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU - Intel Iris Pro 5200 | 128Mb eDRAM
Storage - 1Tb 5400 RPM Hard Drive
Display - 21.5 Inch IPS Fully Calibrated | 1920 x 1080
I/O - 4 USB 3.0 | 2 Thunderbolt | SD Card Reader | Gigabit Ethernet | Bluetooth 4.0 | Headphone Jack | No Optical Drive
Wi-Fi - 802.11ac
Camera - HD
In the Box - iMac | Wireless Keyboard | Magic Mouse/Trackpad
Operating System - Mountain Lion (with free upgrade to Mavericks)


HP ENVY Recline @ £1,049.99/$1,199/€1,199

Processor - Intel Core i5-4570T | 4th Gen Haswell | Turboboost's from 2.9Ghz > 3.6Ghz | 4Mb L3 Cache
Cores - 4 Cores | 4 Threads
RAM - 8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GT 730A | 1Gb
Storage - 1Tb 5400RPM Hard Drive
Display - 23 Inch | Multi-point Touchscreen | 1920 x 1080
I/O - 2 USB 3.0 | 2 USB 2.0 | SD Card Reader | Gigabit Ethernet | Bluetooth 4.0 | Headphone Jack | No Optical Drive
Wi-Fi - 802.11 b/g/n
Camera - HD
In the Box - HP Envy | Wireless Keyboard | Wireless Mouse
Operating System - Windows 8

The higher end 21" iMac has spec's more similar to the HP Envy but I chose to compare the entry level iMac with it to keep the prices similar. The iMac costs £100 ($100/€100) more than the Envy and at an initial look (at least in terms of the processor and screen); the HP Envy seems like the better deal. The Envy features a processor more similar to the high-end 21" iMac (with an initial clock of 2.9Ghz, that Turboboost's to 3.6Ghz as well as a dedicated graphics card with 1Gb of video memory.) compared to the above iMac that only features a 2.7Ghz i5 with Turboboost to 3.2Ghz. Both All In Ones feature 4th Gen Quad-Core i5 processors with 4 threads (i.e no hyperthreading). Both All In Ones also feature a 1Tb 5400 RPM Hard Drive, which may not be the fastest, but offers great storage at cheep prices.

But that is about it for the similarities as from here on, both computers are configured differently. The Envy features a discrete graphics card with 1Gb of video memory compared to the iMac's integrated GPU that comes with 128Mb of eDRAM. This is a big plus for the Envy as more graphically demanding tasks should perform better with a dedicated GPU. It should be noted that the Intel Iris Pro GPU featured in the iMac is no slouch, as tests have shown it can hold it's own weight. The iMac features better I/O and Wi-Fi connectivity than the Envy. The iMac has 4 USB 3.0 slots (fast data transfer speeds), where as the Envy only features 2 USB 3.0, then 2 USB 2.0 (slower data transfer speeds). What does this mean, transferring data (be it photographs, video, music...) from a USB to the computer will take longer on the Envy if the 2 USB 3.0 slots are taken up. The iMac also features 2 Thunderbolt ports allowing for 2 external Thunderbolt monitors to be connected. Another difference with the connectivity is the Wi-Fi. The iMac features the new 802.11ac, where as the Envy features the older 802.11 b/g/n. This means that with a 802.11ac router, the iMac will perform much faster in wireless activity compared to the iMac. I have also noticed the 802.11ac helped when the computer was placed further away from the router, which could be a very important factor for a buyer.

Up until now, all that has been stated is slight changes; the following is where these two computers differentiate more.

The iMac features a 21.5 Inch IPS screen at the resolution of 1920 x 1080. The Envy features a larger 23" touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. First off, the increase in screen size can be seen as a positive and a negative as it is (obviously) larger, but due to the Envy featuring the same resolution as the iMac, the iMac has a greater pixel destiny. This will make everything on screen appear sharper that the Envy. The Envy does however feature a touchscreen, something the iMac does not. This makes the Windows 8 experience much better as without touch it feels in-intuitive. Another thing to note is how well the screens are calibrated when taken out the box. Most users won't calibrate their computer monitors to perfection so it is important that the "Out the Box" quality is good. Both screens are IPS (allowing for wide viewing angles as well as high response times). The Envy features a well calibrated monitor, but it can't touch the perfection of the iMac's calibrated monitor. In all tests, the iMacs monitor is so close to perfection (in terms of saturation, colour accuracy, brightness, Gamut average and white point average). The screen is so well calibrated out of the box, professional should be happy to use this machine without even re-calibrating it. In the end, the Envy's screen is very good but the iMac is on top.

Now onto Pricing. In the initial prices, the iMac comes out more expensive by £100 ($100/€100), now lets look beyond that.

The iMac (along with all new Macs) come with the following software:
iMovie
iPhoto
Pages
Numbers
Keynote
App Store
As well as others

And the Envy comes with:
Windows Store
Beats Audio Console
A few games

Looking above, I have only noted a small amount of software that comes preinstalled on each computer. It should be noted that the Envy (look most Windows PC's) comes with Crapware. This is software that has been installed on the computer taking up lots of space as well as slowing the computer down and is made hard (if not almost impossible) to remove. This can be removed if the user is willing to reinstall the OS but this can take several hours and can be very troublesome if the user struggles to get drivers for the PC (a good example is the drivers are on the internet, but you can't connect to the internet because you don't have the ethernet or wireless drivers). The Envy doesn't appear to bad with the crap ware installed, most of it is games that should be easy to uninstall.

Moving on, the iMac comes with Pages, Numbers and Keynote for free (also known collectively as iWork). These are a the Word, Exel and Powerpoint of the Apple world. I have used them extensively and have had no problems with them and never had something I can do on Microsoft Office that I can't do on iWork. For the Envy side of things, it does not come with Microsoft Office, that will set you back £79.99 ($99.99/€99.99) a year for Office 365 or a one off fee of £190 (£229, €229) for the 2013 edition (that will not be up to date when a new one comes out, where as iWork gets free updates).

I have also taken into account electricity costs. The iMac uses only 15W at idle. The average cost to run an iMac for a year is £8.06 The Envy on the other hand uses around £20-30 to run per year. This is on average usage.

There is also Anti Virus Software to be taken into account. It is still a fact that you are less likely to get a virus on a Mac with out Anti-Virus than you are on a PC with Anti-Virus. So I'm not saying it is impossible to get a virus on a Mac, I just saying that you are still less likely than if using a PC with. You can still get AntiVirus for Mac, and is usually free compared to being on average £19.99
for a PC.

So here are the figures:

iMac
Initial Price - £1,149
iWork - £0
iLife (for Movie Editing) - £0
Running cost per year - £8.06
Anti-Virus - £0


HP Envy
Initial Price - £1,049
Office(per year) - £79.99
Office (One Off) - £199
Movie Edit Pro - £39.99 (was £59.99)
Running cost per year - £25
Anti-Virus - £19.99

Now, instead of just adding that up, I am going to add up different values depending on the user.

Basic User

Wants to web browse, check emails, do social networking

1 Year
iMac : £1,157.06
Hp Envy: £1,093.99
3 Year's
iMac : £1,173.18
HP Envy: £1,183.97
5 Year's
iMac : £1,189.30
HP Envy: £1,273.95

Contains - Computer, running costs and Anti-Virus.

As you can see, for the Basic User keeping it for 3+ years, the iMac is cheaper than the Windows All in One Alliterative. I would say though that if you come under the Basic user, a cheaper Mac (like a Mac Mini or Macbook Air) or a cheaper Windows PC/Laptop would suit you better.

Average User

Wants to do everything a Basic User does but also Work related things like documents...

1 Year
iMac : £1,157.06
Hp Envy: £1,153.99
3 Year's
iMac : £1,173.18
HP Envy: £1,314.00
5 Year's
iMac : £1,189.30
HP Envy: £1,364.00

Contains - Computer, running costs, Anti-Virus and iWork/Office(365 for the one year user, One Off payment for the 3 and 5 year user).

For the Average User planning to keep the computer for one year, both computer are similarly priced. For the average user that want's to keep longer than that, the iMac is much cheaper (with a difference of around £200).

Heavy User

Wants to do everything an Average User does but also uses the system more and edits Video

1 Year
iMac : £1,161.00
Hp Envy: £1,218.97
3 Year's
iMac : £1,185.00
HP Envy: £1,479.66
5 Year's
iMac : £1,209.00
HP Envy: £1,738.89

Contains - Computer, running costs(£30 instead of £25 as user is on more, £12 for iMac instead of £8.06), Anti-Virus, iWork/Office(365 per year), iMovie/Movie Edit Pro.

For the Heavy User, the iMac is considerable cheap than the Windows based All in One.

iMac vs Custom Build


For this comparison, I will compare the high end 27"(with upgrade to i7) iMac against a Custom Built Window's PC I configured at PC Specialist. I will also add the software from above as it is the Windows alliterative to the Mac's software.

iMac @ £1,939.00/£2,199/€2,199

Processor - Intel Core i7-4771 | 4th Gen Haswell | Turboboost's from 3.5GHz > 3.9GHz | 8Mb L3 Cache
Cores - 4 Cores | 8 Threads
RAM - 8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M | 2Gb Video Memory
Storage - 1Tb 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Display - 27 Inch IPS Fully Calibrated | 2560 x 1440
I/O - 4 USB 3.0 | 2 Thunderbolt | SD Card Reader | Gigabit Ethernet | Bluetooth 4.0 | Headphone Jack | No Optical Drive
Wi-Fi - 802.11ac
Camera - HD
In the Box - iMac | Wireless Keyboard | Magic Mouse/Trackpad
Operating System - Mountain Lion (with free upgrade to Mavericks)

Custom Built PC using PCSpecialist @ £2,058

Processor - Intel Core i7-4771 | 4th Gen Haswell | Turboboost's from 3.5GHz > 3.9GHz | 8Mb L3 Cache
Cores - 4 Cores | 8 Threads
RAM - 8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M | 2Gb Video Memory
Storage - 1Tb 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Display - 27 Inch IPS Fully Calibrated | 2560 x 1440
I/O - 2 USB 3.0 | 4 USB 2.0 | SD Card Reader | Headphone Jack | No Optical Drive
Wi-Fi - 802.11n
Camera - Microsoft WebCam 720p
Contents - £80 tower, Microsoft Office Professional, Norton Anti-Virus 1 Year, Movie Edit Pro, Microsoft Touch Mouse, Arc Keyboard, HDMI, Asus 27" IPS Monitor
Operating System - Windows 8.1 Professional
Added better power supply and cooling which added around £130 to the price to make the computer quieter and cooler.

And all of that would cost £1,729 with no software, no anti-virus...

So in the end you get an uglier looking build PC for more money. The only way the Custom PC will be cheaper than the iMac is if you downgrade things or built it yourself.

So here you have reached the end. And the question I now ask myself is "Are iMacs expensive?". Yes, they are. "Are iMac's expensive compared to similar PC's? No. Defianatly not. Remember that you don't just by the computer and sit it somewhere, you use it and using it costs money as well as the software you use. So now I better go; I don't want to find this year has cost me more than £8.06 for running my iMac

 

[Fishrrman]

haylight wrote above:
[[ So you're basically saying as long as the case doesn't look enough like a Mac the power of my computer is irrelevant? You dismiss an intel core i7 4790k? What's the point of having a desktop computer then? ]]

Without the Mac OS, it's just a pile of parts, as far as I'm concerned...

 

[cynics]

This is a vague analogy but it reminded me of vehicles.

My secondary car is generally a car that I buy insanely cheap and buy the parts to fix it up.

Currently its a 2004 Subaru Forester, body in pristine condition with 70k original miles and I dropped a new motor in it (previous engine had damaged pistons and valves due to a broken timing belt and the start of head gasket failure and failed head cover gaskets). Total spent around 3500 dollars (including the car itself) and that includes all the small bits (a couple bulbs that were burned out in the dash, having it professionally detailed, etc). I could easily sell it for 10k, or hold out for 11-12k. It literally looks like its brand new and came here via time machine.

Why doesn't everyone do this?!?

I don't have the time to learn, research, and build a PC just like many people don't have the time to learn, research and build a car when you can just buy a new car exactly how you want it preassembled.

Like I said, vague analogy lol

 

[insane79]

@ OP why would you buy a BMW to a Hyundai when it has the same purpose? both are cars right? every heard of quality, history, engineering, innovation & brand?

 

[millerj123]

This thread: 17 minutes of my life I cannot get back.

What a shame.

This is the second time I've read it, and now I'm responding, so I've lost more than that. It is simply a point of fact that the OP has started and participated in exactly this one thread.

 

[Wardenski]

Once car analogies appear, thread is over.

 

[imanidiot]

This entire thread (the responses, at any rate) is just feeding the troll.
There have been a zillion baiting threads like this in the past. This, like the others, has no reason to exist.
Don't feed the troll.

 

[rambo47]

So you're basically saying as long as the case doesn't look enough like a Mac the power of my computer is irrelevant? You dismiss an intel core i7 4790k? What's the point of having a desktop computer then? Why not just hook a macbook retina pro up to a nice big display while also having a mobile computer that could suit all your needs? I can also understand the phantom 410 not being for everyone, I got mine because there was a good rebate going and I like the look of it. But there are basically hundreds of custom PC case designs to choose from, from mini-towers that take up little room to massive full-size towers; you would be sure to find one you liked. Also if you hate Windows hackintosh it.

Not everybody needs that much power. So while the specs might be superior, the end user experience might not be superior. And "hackintosh" is NOT the answer. Huge pain in the butt and lots of features that don't work. No thanks. I'll stick to my iMac, even if i pay a little more for it. You get what you pay for.

 

[sinclac57]

Quite the contrary! I have no windows conceit, I freely admit I have used and prefer OS X to Windows 8.1! As another user stated who I agree with I almost get more use out of my ipad than anything. My only point is if you don't need the power, why not get a nice incredibly light/compact Apple laptop, and plug it into that beautiful display you can save up for, spending money on the monitor rather than getting an iMac paperweight? I guess I am realizing iMacs are very valuable to people with little computer experience, for kids, older people, loaded people or those who don't want or need laptops and need a functional computer for basic uses.

I have a new iMac coming and i am willing to bet i have a hole lot more PC experience then you, so much for your thought of only idiots wanting iMacs

 

[JenniferStevens]

In addition to being a web designer, I also dabble in music composition and the main reason I would buy an iMac over a Windows machine is because most of my music software runs much more smoothly on Apple's platform. Less crashes and bugs in general. I also used to work at an educational book publisher in New York where they ran the entire production/design side of the publishing house on iMacs. Just a proven more solid platform for book production and desktop publishing.

 

[tdale]

I'm no Apple hater, I own an ipad and am planning on getting a macbook air soon, but for desktop computers windows is still the way to go- so much so I don't understand why you would get an imac ? If you build your own computer you can customize every single part and swap one out if you want a newer video card or get more RAM or whatever;

-Windows 8.1 pro 64-bit (Windows 8.1 is just so open, and the flaws of Windows 8 are over-emphasized, I can install anything on it, no restrictions, and having a non-crippled Office 365 2013 version is great) If you absolutely can't stand Windows there's always Hackintosh. I got 8.1 pro $70 student version
-NZXT Phantom 410 case (massive but aesthetically pleasing and good airflow) $50 with rebate, has tons of USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, all display options you want
-Intel core i7 4790k processor (4.0 Ghz quad core) $270
-EVGA nvidia 770 Gtx GPU (Can run basically any modern game at 60 FPS 1080p) $320
-8 Gb hyperjaw RAM (Plan on upgrading to 16gb RAM when I can afford it) $70
-Seasonic 750 Watt EVO power supply (Runs beautifully quiet, can handle any editing, gaming, etc.) $100
-Samsung 250 GB SSD (Everything is blazing fast, windows startup is 3 seconds, programs open instantly) $110 on sale
-Gigabyte Z97 G1 Gaming Motherboard (Excellent overclocking options, gigabyte Bios is very intuitive, has a built in sound card and amp, good for sound quality and gaming capabilities) $140

That's $1130 for a PC that I DARE you to find an imac of equal quality/power at the same price
With the power of my Nvidia 770 GTX I also purchased an Asus 27" 1440p LED PLS display for $480, gaming is astonishingly good on this display. Maybe you could find an equivalent imac for $2,000+, but for desktops deciding on every single part, the experience of building your computer, the bang for the buck raw power, iMacs don't make sense.

Is this thread about Why would anyone buy an iMac instead of a Windows desktop? or is it about Why would anyone buy an iMac instead of Haylights Windows desktop?

Lets talk gaming. Windows is better for gaming, as every computer game is available in Windows. A Windows desktop you can upgrade. Windows runs games a few percent faster, I assume thats due to Apple having conservatime timings on the motherboard.

Lets talk non gaming. Windows is fine, its not the joke some Apple users say. But while I have built around 500 PC's on my time, I wont do that unless its my gaming rig. There is no real need to build your own desktop for non gaming. Taking into account the terrible resale value of a PC compared to Apple, its a fools errand to be sucked into the initial lower cost. Apple is better quality, although you can buy Windows in a getter quality machine, that costs. Its not that Apple is more expensive, its just that in Windows there are options to buy cheap gear

Windows? Ive used it for years, I know it, I now also use OSX. No registry issues, no slowing down as registry grows, no slowing down and wondering why my PC runs three times as many process as it did when new. No AV.

Now, you dont actually USE Windows, you need Windows to allow you to USE Word, games, solitaire, Photoshop. In OSX we USE OSX. Its an integrated OS if you use other Apple gear. Even if you dont it runs sweet, smooth, and has no legacy background as Windows hangs onto. If Windows was rebuilt it would be very similar I imagine.

I can use iMessage on my rMBP. I will soon be able to text, and call. Same on my iPad that currently cannot text or call. I will soon be able to be working on a doc, then move to another Mac and continue on, then move to my iPad Air and continue on. OSX is a full experience, Windows is not, its JUST an old OS that you need to install to run your software.