Let’s start with the base model iMac, that Apple sells for $1199:

While a bit weak by current standards, that’s not too bad of a system right there. Certainly enough for someone who just wants to surf the internet, play an older game or two, etc. Now let’s take a look at a price list for comparable system components at NewEgg.com, a popular site for system builders.

As you can see, it’s a system that pretty much identical in hardware specs to the iMac listed above, with a few exceptions:

So it’s a bit more powerful, but nothing to write home about. Admittedly, that ATI HD2400XT is a piece of crap video card – I would personally never build a system with it considering the other options that are available. But, unfortunately, thats the only card that ships with the iMac.

And what’s the price for those components folks? $867. We’ll be nice and round up to $900, factoring in shipping.

So that’s a $299 premium for the basic iMac, vs building a slightly more powerful machine yourself. You also have to consider that Apple is paying MUCH LESS for individual components than you are, as they buy in much larger lots of 1000 or more…so their actual markup is quite a bit more than that.

Now, before I berate Apple for being the highway robbers that they are, and the iMac for being an overpriced bucket of crap that it is, let me say that I do see where some may find an advantage to the iMac’s configuration. These are:

To the Apple lovers among you, those alone may be worth an additional $300. If that’s the case, click an ad so I can make an extra cent and get the hell off my blog.

To those of you that may be searching for your next machine, and are rolling the idea of getting an iMac around in your head because for some reason you’ve been falsely led into believing it’s the ‘best computer you can buy, consider the following:

At this point, you may be saying to yourself “But…$300 is worth the expense to me…I love Apple and I think paying extra for what in 3 years will be a worthless household decoration is alright…you make me sad apple.cansuckmyballs.com!”

So, if you really are saying that blurb of astinine stupidity to yourself, let me ask you this:

What else could you do with that $300?

Well, if you were building your own system, you could do a whole heck of a lot! Like…

Upgrade to 2GB of memory AND a 320Mb NVidia 8800GTS video card!

Or maybe…

Upgrade to 2GB of RAM, a 24″ Display AND a sweet set of computer speakers!

Or maybe…

2GB of memory AND a super-cool high-end case with loads of potential for future upgrades!

The point I’m trying to make here is that when you make the decision to educate yourself on what you’re buying, and when you decide to take the plunge into building your own machine…YOU decide the options. And YOU build the system that fits YOUR needs. Not Apple. Not Dell. Not HP. YOU. And who is going to be using the computer?

And best of all, you save an assload of money.

This also brings up another sore point I have with Crapple. They WONT make OSX available on any hardware platform. Obviously, this is to force anyone who wants to convert to the Mac OS to buy their crappy hardware…and you’ve just seen the little bonus they’re taking on for themselves when you make that move.

For the record, I think OSX is actually pretty cool. I do prefer Windows myself, but wouldnt mind checking out the Apple OS if I could actually purchase it and install it on my machine. But Nooooooo…Apple has to make everything proprietary to further the myth that they’re some sort of super special high end computer master crafters.

Well, as you’ve just seen, they’re not. They suck. And that’s why I’m here and you’re reading this article.

Next time, we’ll see just how much that ‘Apple tax’ widens the higher you go up their scale…and just what kind of machine we can put together for that kind of money. Bring your hip waders, ACSMB fans, ’cause Apple’s BS is just gonna get deeper. And deeper. And deeper.

Did you know about the new feature in Windows Vista called ‘Readyboost’? It allows you to make an immediate increase in system performance by boosting virtual memory performance with any compatable USB memory device!

How cool is that? Photoshop dogging on that big TIFF file? Stick a 4GB flashdrive in any free USB port and your Vista based PC can automatically use it, rather than the hard disk, as the virtual memory.

While not as fast as true System RAM – its MUCH faster than trying to access the hard disk’s pagefile. This is a really cool way to increase Vista performance on an older machine with less than a gig of RAM…

Check the video below and have a look at WindowsVistaBlog.com

Can OSX Leopard, an upgrade that you’re going to pay $170 for but should be free, do that? Can it, MacFreaks?

Well my friends, the only secret is that Apple is deliberately robbing their fan base blind, while providing nothing for that premium – unless you think an OS with scarce 3rd party software support is worth that premium when there are alternatives out there that are free (Linux or Solaris x86 anyone?)

Now if you love OSX, and dont mind paying the extra $$ for the experience, power to you! If you are looking for a computer, like to tinker, and are genuinely interested in saving money, read on…

First, let’s take a look at the base level iMac’s system components:

-1GB DDR2 Memory
-250GB SATA Hard Drive
-2.0Ghz Intel Core2Duo
-SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
-Apple Mighty Mouse
-Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
-ATI Radeon HD2400 128Mb
-20″ Widescreen Display

Not bad – a good general purpose PC for someone who really isnt into gaming or other graphic-intensive stuff. For $1200 though…you could do a whole lot better, even purchasing a machine from an OEM like Dell or HP.

The iMac is now an ‘all in one’ solution – where all the computer components are integrated into the housing of the monitor. While I know everyone has different needs when it comes to a computer system, I really think this is a poor idea – especially when purchasing an OEM computer.

An all-in-one’s biggest fault is that its not very upgradeable. By selecting your own components, it’s very possible to design some level of ‘futureproofing’ into your new machine, ensuring that when new technology arrives – and it does with blinding speed – you’re able to update your machine at an acceptable cost. What if you want a bigger monitor when 28″ display’s drop down below $400? Faster CPU? You’re screwed if you just bought a shiny new iMac – not even an Apple Genius is going to be able to help you there! Unless, of course, you want to spend more money…

With the iMac, or any mac for that matter, you are expected to purchase a new system. This is bad for the consumer – great for the corporation who is selling the locked down, unupgradeable, all-in-one PC solution.

Now, some of you may be thinking ‘but all I want to do is surf the internet, etc – the all in one PC solution is perfect for me!’ Well then son, get yourself a $500 laptop and run Ubuntu on it:

…now let’s look at the completely pimped out iMac, which comes in at an nauseating $3449:

-2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
-4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM – 2×2GB
-1TB Serial ATA Drive
-SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
-Apple Mighty Mouse
-Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
-ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
-24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
-AirPort Extreme

Roll those specs and prices around in your brains, and stay tuned for this afternoon’s installment – part IIb, where will see just how much computer we can get at these price points.

You’re gonna be shocked!

• You will gain a ton of knowledge about what goes into building a computer, and through that process you’ll learn how to troubleshoot your own PC problems.  Kind of like learning how to fix your own car, but you wont get as dirty:)
• You can spec out a system to suit your needs, and not rely on a generic OEM machine – like a Mac – that is built for the lowest common denominator of performance but priced as if it were a top shelf piece of hardware.
• You’ll be able to design in a certain degree of future proofing, and make drastic upgrades to system performance without having to buy a whole new computer.  Try putting an aftermarket, high performance motherboad into your iMac and see what happens:)
• The computer YOU build will be totally unique to you.  You can hand select every component to match your own critera.  Want an asthetically gorgeous PC that you can show off like a piece of artwork? You can do it.  Howabout building it into a HTPC case so you can rack it with your other A/V components in your entertainment center?  Now you will truly be able to ‘Think Different’ and have a unique machine that does what YOU want it to, all the time.  Not something built by someone else who is telling you what you should want through deceptive and audacious propaganda.
• Overclocking – being able to squeeze a ton of performance out of less expensive hardware.  The new Intel Core2 chips are made to overclock…does buying a $200 processor and making run as fast as a $1000 top-of-the-line CPU sound appealing to you?  If you’ve read this far, Im sure it does.  It’s an advanced technique, and you do have to know what you’re doing -but anyone can do it with a little patience and careful tweaking.
• Finally – You can have your choice of OS.  According to Apple, the Mac is the ‘only computer that can run OSX and Windows’ That’s a lie.  The PC you build yourself can run Linux, OSX, WindowsXP, Windows Vista, Solaris10 – hell whatever YOU want to use.  Granted, the OSX you can run yourself is not licensed from apple – but it’s still possible.  You can read more about it here: http://www.osx86project.org/ and I’ll cover it’s installation later in this series.

 However, building a computer isnt for everyone.  There are some caveats you must consider:

• YOU are tech support.  When something goes wrong with your Mac, you can bring it to the Apple store and if its still under warranty, you can get it fixed. After that year is up though, you pay out the ass.  Most people don’t realize there are ton of resources on the web that can teach you how to fix even complex problems yourself! Still, this takes time – and if money isn’t an object to you and you dont care to get involved with the technical aspect of computing, building a PC isnt for you.
• Unexpected costs – there are so many options for various components that if you dont spend your time researching compatability, etc – you can end up having to return items, buy something twice to test a potential bad part, etc
• Patience - you need a lot of it.  While once your computer is built it will ‘Just Work’ exactly the way you want to, a good amount of time and effort goes into getting it to that state.