Sure, you can define “better” by different standards, but in terms of hardware performance, Macs are definitely not the best or most cost effective.
Not by raw performance specs. If you are willing to trade stellar build quality for cutting edge performance, then Apple is right for you.
Good luck trying to get a replacement motherboard for a Dell when you are traveling. You probably can’t even get a power cord. In the interest of full disclosure, in past hell computing existences, I have been in both scenarios.