Quote:
I'm comparing to a self-built system because if tomorrow I was to say "I want a new computer," I would have essentially three options open to me: Apple, Dell (and Gateway/Alienware/etc.), or build it myself. If we're just arguing the price, then other factors like differing OSs aren't in play. Out of those three options, building it yourself will save you the most money.

FWIW, the actual reason I got an Apple PC rather than building my own was because, with Hugo's friends-and-family discount, it was fractionally cheaper than buying the components separately to upgrade my previous PC. But I'm so glad I did -- not because I've become a MacOS weenie (I've booted it into MacOS a couple of times, but really only use the thing for Linux), but because it's so much quieter in operation than any self-built PC of the same spec would be. My old dual P3 sounds like a particularly badass hoover, but the Mac is just a murmur. You just can't, as a self-builder, buy the sort of heatsinks you get in a Mac Pro, nor the sort of case design that lets it use the big, slow fans. If I'd known about the quietness in advance, I'd've been happy to pay the Apple premium even if there were one.

Peter