Investigating the Apple Tax: Part I – The iMac
Apple earlier this week refreshed their desktops across the board. The all in one iMac, the spartan Mini and the workstation Mac Pro all got some new hardware. Does this hardware come at a premium? Is there an Apple Tax, a premium charged on hardware, unavoidable due to Apple’s closed platform? Consider the iMac, Apple’s flagship desktop line, available in all inclusive package with either a 20″ or 24″ LCD.
Base 20″ iMac
Processor: 2.66Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2GB 1066 DDR3
Video: Integrated GeForce 9400M
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA
Monitor: Integrated 20″ LCD
Other features: Keyboard, Mouse, DVD Burner, Mac OS 10.5
Price: $1199
Fully Loaded 24″ iMac
Processor: 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 8GB 1066 DDR3
Video: ATi Radeon 4850 512MB
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA
Monitor: Integrated 24″ LCD
Other features: Keyboard, Mouse, DVD Burner, Mac OS 10.5
Price: $3249
Now, Mac OS 10.5 retails for $129, the Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard retail for $49 each. So we’ll round this up to $230 and credit each iMac. This gives us adjusted prices of
Base 20″ iMac
Original Price: $1199
OS/Accessory Credit: $230
Adjusted Price: $969
Fully Loaded 24″ iMac
Original Price: $3249
OS/Accessory Credit: $230
Adjusted Price: $3119
Now, for comparision, I’ve composed 2 systems from parts at Newegg.com. For each I’ve tried for a rough approximation of the hardware in the iMac. I’ve created “Wish Lists” for each to share them.
20″ dwotMock
Processor: 2.8Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2GB 1066 DDR3
Video: GeForce 9400 GT 512MB*
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA
Monitor: Acer 20″ Widescreen LCD
Other features: DVD Burner, MicroATX Motherboard, MicroATX Case, 500W Power Supply, no OS
Price: $629.91
24″ dwotMock
Processor: 3.06 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 8GB 1066 DDR3
Video: ATI Radeon 4850 512MB
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA
Monitor: Acer 24″ Widescreen LCD
Other features: DVD Burner, MicroATX Motherboard, MicroATX Case, 500W Power Supply, no OS
Price: $1005.90
Savings over Adjusted Price
20″ dwotMock vs 20″ iMac
$339.09
24″ dwotMock vs 24″ iMac
$2113.10
Verdict? Well there’s certain concessions to be made, for certain. System building may not be for everyone, though it is certainly more simple that most would imagine. It’s not without it’s challenges, no one enjoys DOA parts and not everyone can troubleshoot a build gone bad. Off the shelf systems like the Mac often come with support, which I suppose someone has found useful sometime, though I couldn’t provide any evidence to support that conjecture.
There’s also the issue of Mac OS. No Apple Hardware, no Mac OS, right? Not quite. While Apple has certainly made their position clear with litigation, Macs run on standard hardware and there is an active underground scene dedicated to running Mac OS on non Apple hardware. It may not be for the Technophobe, but it’s certainly not impossible. Check out Lifehacker’s amazing Hackintosh guides.
That said, the 20″ dwotMock / iMac showdown gives the dwotMock a $339 edge, or 35% of the adjusted price. System building certainly has some financial benefit.
The 24″ dwotMock / iMac matchup, however, is a blow out. The dwotMock’s $2,113.10 edge is 68% of the loaded iMac’s price. For the cost of a loaded iMac you could build 3 equally spec’d PCs.
Check back later this week for our Mac Mini comparison.
PAX08 Recap
With the weekend now gone, it’s time to recap what we saw at PAX08.
PAX was, in short, fucking amazing. Ken Levine of BioShock fame lead things off with a tremendous Key Note, audio available at Joystiq on what it was that all brought us to Seattle. As Ken put it, we’re all just a bunch of fucking nerds. PAX is a nerd mecca, with panels, concerts and guests tailored to the nerdish pallette.
The Cake is a Lie
…and so is most everything else today.
It’s April Fool’s Day, so take what you find on the web today with a grain of salt. Over the years April Fool’s has had a strong presence on the web. Be sure to check out ThinkGeek as they always seem to have a great series of new product releases on April 1. So who’s got the best prank today? Hit up the comments and let us know what fooled you or what you thought was a great prank.
Watch for our top 10 April Fool’s pranks of all time later today.
Penny Arcade Expo 2008
Today is the last day of “Early Bird” Registration for PAX08, the Penny Arcade Expo which will take place in Seattle from Aug. 29th – 31st.
What is this PAX you say? According to the official FAQ:
PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. We call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas we’ve got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, the weekend-long Omegathon event, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Even with all this amazing content the best part of PAX is hanging out with other people who know their shit when it comes to games.
This year will be my first PAX, as Seattle is a little bit of a haul from Upstate NY. Sounds like an absolutely amazing time, so sign up today and save $10 on your registration. See you there!