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Actually if I was going to use Intel, I would have used the i7 920 Nehalem 2.66 quad (it's the same chip as the XEON but is over-clockable, which the XEON isn't, and it doesn't have the ECC turned on) currently selling for $279 so add a hundred for the chip and another hundred for the more expensive MB; you're still at $1200 and you can overclock it if you choose.

Or did you use an AMD? The i7 920 is NOT the same chip as the Xeon... the i7 uses 130Watts while the Xeon uses only 95Watts. and the Xeon's QPI is 50% faster. That's a big difference.

Unless you are running a server the use of XEON chips is massive overkill. The only real difference is that XEON chips, like their Opteron AMD opposites, are tested to a much higher standard. The general reliability of commercial chips is such that for a work station or for home computing purposes server grade chips are unnecessary and a waste of money...unless you are looking for snob appeal, which most Mac users are.

These are PRO machines. That's why the higher standards. They are used in mission critical jobs. They are, I agree, complete overkill for the average home owner, but for the purpose they are designed for, saving a small amount of upfront cost can be exceedingly expensive when you are on a deadline and need that high standard the Xeon's are tested for.

I don't know of any professional user that is looking for "snob appeal", they are looking for reliability and something that will get the job done better than the competition.

I make my living keeping WINDOWS computers running for numerous small professional offices. I assure you that there are many reasons why I have elected to use Macs for my personal use and "snob appeal" is not one of them. I certainly did not buy my 24" iMac for "bragging rights" or to join a "cult." It is amazing how many Windows users get on Mac threads and tell us that our subjective and objective experiences with both Windows and Macs are reducible wanting "snob appeal" or "bragging rights." when the Windows user is really the one taking his position with a lack of experience or knowledge having used only one platform. Most of us Apple users are fully knowledgeable and experienced in Windows... because we have to work with them for our employers or have had them before we switched to Macs. The so-called "Apple Tax" is worth paying for the peace of mind a Mac provides and the expansion of our productivity that we have experienced once we switched.

We Mac users appreciate VALUE over PRICE.

If there was a great a reliability difference between commercial chips and server grade chips and the QPI made much of a "real world" defference and if Apple was building their Macs the same way I built my PC, you might be right, but there's not, it doesn't, and I'm paying retail prices for all of my hardware, they are paying wholesale prices...huge difference.

Their profit margin is well over 100% on each machine.

OH yeah, BTW the XEON is a Nehalem architecture chip and thus is an i7 based chip. You are right that it is a different die, 45nm. and thus lower power consumption, but the same basic chip.