Yeah that was the PC user I used to be. It WAS a lot of fun putting together a nice system but I really think that building a PC *that* way means you're spending more than on a Mac. Fun times tho and a great way to blow all my student loan cash!

actualy one point the cpu's are not the same.. the imac is using the old core2duo, while the speed is the same the through put is lower than the one on the dell site you linked to.. which means you can get more done at the same speed if the software allows it. but it has 4 threads instead of two, it has the new turbo which alows it to burst to 3.5ghz instead of just 3ish.

now from the people I know who have been running windows 7 they are very impressed with it. it is a huge improvment over vista and vista was finaly a good stable operating system.

Steve

here is a Mac I would concider very close to my dell laptop.

http://http://www.futureshop.ca/en-C...43084732d3en02

I have a 320 7200rmp drive as aposed to its 250 5400rpm, I have a higher level video card, the mack gets twice the battery live, which is one thing I have always been amaze of in macs. it has time warp, I have dells version of the back up and the windows vista's two versions. so all in all verry comparable systems as they are the identicle cpu, screen size, both use a one piece aluminum chasse. I have a 1080P screen and a blueray player, apple doesn't have blueray and they don't say if it is a 1080P screen

the apple is 1800.00 right now, I paid 1200 a year ago for mine.. probably would cost under 1K to build it on dells website now. actualy I just built one to see and it was 1018.00 so still a 780.00 differance for the same hardware. and the same types of software. the apple does have bluetooth and firewire, but thats a 15 buck option, and ther apple has 2 USB2 slots, I have 4 plus 2 SATA.

Steve

if you go to a retail store and buy yes... building is more expensive, but in my case I owned a computer company and the prices I got the parts for ended up saving me an average of 500 to 700 bucks for a high end system over what you would have paid for a run of the mill back then. remembr back then a average run of the mill PC cost 2000 to 2400 bucks.

not the 400 to 700 we see now.

Steve

Yeppers. The linked model is nice. I have looked at some, {not Dell}, at both Future Shop & Staples. Still have to then be happy with cords and wires everywhere, same as my current unit. That was the appeal of the iMac but $400 is also important.

Thats the same processor as in the Sony I mentioned for $1199. Just less memory and hard drive. Of course there is that $400 more again as its not on sale anymore. :lol:

So if that case has a sub woofer built in, where,s the speakers? Still external like my current ones?

what about a wireless keyboard and mouse?

Steve

I use those now Steve. Soooooooo much better than wired. But the back is still full of lines to the tower, speaker lines, and a full plug in strip. Its nice and neat and behind the desk, so not a horrific thing or anything. :lol: You would have to see my tiny room/office. Its the large desk and everything I need to be rid of.

I was actually at Staples the other day, looking at smaller neat little desks, in case I do stick with a desktop which I dont think will happen.

:lol: To many choices out there. Much different than when I bought my first used computer way back when. :lol:

thats for sure.. I don't know if personaly I would have just a laptop. I hardly use my desktop but the kids and wife do. I do once and a while just cuz it has a 24" screen so it is nice for playing a game, although I am not realy a gamer I like to play certian ones once and a while.. my current game is "The Witcher" .

personaly I don't use wireless as I used to have one and I noticed a delay in it and that drove me nuts, now new ones are probably better so who knows.. I just find the touch pad a lot better for potability with the laptop.

Have you looked at tablet PC, they are real cook with touch screens and the ability to flip the screen around. if they would have been more available I would probably have one of thoes.

Steve

So really, the only cords you'd save when comparing to a desktop would be the computer speakers right? Hardly seems worth the premium especially if you don't care about portability.

To be fair, the hard disk crashes I touted as being frequent are from ten years ago when I had Windows machines. I agree hardware improvements have probably minimized this. Most of the people I know have Macs and none of them have had a hard disk crash, while a minority of my friends have PCs and I have heard of a few crashes. Yes, of course Vista is the source of many of the problems and viruses will make up for some as well.

Over the past ten years I have had to work on my wife's PCs and pay for repairs. Maybe it's just my good luck with Macs and my wife's bad luck with PCs, but I haven't had to replace anything on any of my Macs with exception to a burnt out wifi card on my current MacBook Pro (I used to leave it on 24/7 and failed to vent it when I use it on my leather laptop cover).

Viruses are a constant issue with PCs, regardless of the motives. The processor speed is better with Snow Leopard and the upgrade from Leopard is only $28.00. I bet there are a few Vista users who wish they could pay that for Windows 7. I get free updates for all Apple software. I was under the impression that this wasn't the case with Microsoft programs.

This review shows the speed comparison.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31012_7...-10355804.html

Mac computers are more intuitive and therefore easier to use and run more reliably. If you like working on your computer, then the PC is the right choice. If you like working with your computer, Mac is the sensible choice.

If you are a gamer, then Windows is a better OS, no questions asked. I don't play video games, so that wasn't a factor for me.