But the new iMac actually costs less than comparable Windows machines. If you tried to match the specs of the base iMac G5 in a traditional Dell tower, you'd still pay more.
| Dell Dimension 4700 | Apple 1.6 GHz 17" iMac M9248LL/A |
|
| Processor | Pentium 4 520 [2.8 GHz, hyperthreaded] |
1.6 GHz PowerPC G5 |
| Cache | 1 MB level 2 cache | 512K SRAM level 2 cache |
| System bus speed | 800 MHz | 533 MHz |
| Memory | 1 GB expandable to 2 GB | 256 MB expandable to 2 GB [add $225 for 1 GB] |
| Type of memory | PC3200 (400 MHz) SDRAM | PC3200 (400 MHz) SDRAM |
| Video card | ATI Radeon X300 SE with TV-Out |
GeForce 5200 Ultra |
| Video memory | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Display | 17" 1280x1024 flat panel 250 cd/m brightness, 400:1 contrast |
17" widescreen 1440x900 flat panel 200 cd/m brightness, 350:1 contrast |
| Video bus | PCI Express | AGP 8x |
| Hard drive | 80 GB [add $40 for 160 GB] | 80 GB [add $100 for 160 GB] |
| Hard drive bus | Serial ATA | Serial ATA |
| DVD read | 8x | 8x |
| DVD-R | - | - |
| DVD-RW | - | - |
| CD read | 40x | 24x |
| CD-R | 32x | 24x |
| CD-RW | 24x | 16x |
| FireWire | None [add $15] | 2 FireWire 400 |
| USB | 6 USB 2.0 | 3 USB 2.0 |
| Modem | 56 Kbps | 56 Kbps |
| Ethernet | 100BaseT | 100BaseT |
| Speakers | Stereo [integrated into flat panel display] |
Stereo [integrated] |
| Audio | Intel High Definition Audio | Integrated 5.1 audio |
| Software | Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works suite, McAfee antivirus, 6 months Earthlink, some other stuff |
Mac OS X 10.3, iLife, AppleWorks, 30 days EarthLink, some other stuff |
| Other | None | None |
| Warranty | 1 year parts and labor, mail-in service; 1 year phone support |
1 year parts and labor, mail-in service; 90 days phone support |
| Price (inc. tax and shipping to King County, Washington) |
$1313 | $1413 |
$100 cheaper != "you'd still pay more" - especially when the PC has four times the RAM, faster video hardware, etc. The iMac does however have [for my money] the sexier display... again, what I want is a Media Center PC with a widescreen flat panel display. HP, where are you?
Final tally: iMac $1413, Dell 4700 $1313, hp Media Center PC $1281.
Of course, that iLife bundle is kinda sweet... and then there's the spyware/virus issue...
