I never said “the mobo would support 8”. Don’t know where you are getting that. I did say something about “all four cores(or 8 if you will)”, meaning 4 physical or 8 total. Never said that a 920 would cost 1000 either. I said to buy a chip at that speed from say Newegg, if it was possible, it would cost over 1000. Just for full disclosure, here’s a copy and paste of my receipt, next time save the time and just ask:
. 2
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5” Internal Hard Drives -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136284
30 Day Return Policy
This item is serviced by the Western Digital. Please call 800 832 4778 for service.
$209.98
($104.99 ea)
. 1
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227381
Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
For Tech support call: 408 986 8400 or email support@ocztechnology.com
$94.99
. 1
Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115202
—Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
Intel (800)-628-8686 Please Verify Processor matches order Prior to installation. IMPORTANT: Always pack you CPU well for return. We will refuse your RMA if we received it as DAMAGED!
$288.99
. 1
COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811119138
—Standard Return Policy
$189.99
. 3
SILVERSTONE FM123 120mm Case Fan - Retail
Item #: N82E16835220022
—Standard Return Policy
$50.97
($16.99 ea)
1
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail
Item #: N82E16827136133
30 Day Return Policy
$109.99
. 1
OCZ ATV 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Model OCZUSBATV8G - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227262
Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
For Tech support call: 408 986 8400 or email support@ocztechnology.com
$22.99
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ASUS EAH4890/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814121308
Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
For Asus Tech Support, Please Call 502-995-0883 or http://helpdesk.asus.com/
$259.99
1
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128374
Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
Gigabyte (626)-854-9338 option 4 www.giga-byte.com
$259.99
. 1
COOLER MASTER RA-1000-SWN1-GP Transparent Acrylic Side Window Panel - Retail
Item #: N82E16811999187
—Standard Return Policy
$29.99
. 1
ASUS VW266H Black 25.5” 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824236047
LCD Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
For Asus Tech Support, Please Call 502-995-0883 or http://helpdesk.asus.com/
$349.99
1
Mushkin Enhanced 550300 800W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817812006
—Standard Return Policy
$139.99
1
AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe MCE ATSC/NTSC/QAM Tuner Card w/MCE Remote & L-P Bracket 7 95522 96066 5 PCI-Express x1 Interface - Retail
Item #: N82E16815100014
—Standard Return Policy
$95.99
Click here to obtain a detailed listing of your packages and their contents.
Subtotal $2,080.85
Electronic Waste Recycling Fee $16.00
Tax $170.02
UPS Ground $50.04
Promo code -$20.00
Order Total $2,296.91
This is straight from the receipt. Now add another ATI 4890, and subtract $130 for mail in rebates I got. $2425. Add an IFX_14 heatsink and voila! $2500. Looks like all your iMac prices are before taxes and what not...LOL. I did damn good back then.
| Qty. | Item | Your Cost | My Cost | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gigabyte X58-UD4P Mother Board | $ 259.95 | $ 257.25 | $ 2.70 |
| 1 | Yours: i7-920 2.66 Intel Quad Core Processor Mine: i7-975 3.06 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor |
288.99 | 574.99 | 286.00 |
| 3 | Yours: OCZ Platinum 3 X 2 GB Triple Channel DDR3 RAM (6GB) Mine: Crucial 3 X 2 GB Triple Channel DDR3 SDRAM (6GB) |
94.99 | 230.00 | 135.01 |
| 2 | ATI 4890 Radeon HD Graphic Cards | 519.98 | 420.00 | 99.98 |
| 2 | 1 TB WD Hard Drives | 209.98 | 220.00 | 9.98 |
| 1 | 500MB WD Hard Drives | 0.00 | 57.00 | 57.00 |
| 1 | LG BluRay Lightscribe DVD burner | 109.99 | 90.00 | 19.99 |
| 1 | HD TV tuner | 95.99 | 88.00 | 7.99 |
| 1 | ASUS 25.5" 1920 x 1200 LCD Monitor | 349.99 | 330.00 | 19.99 |
| 1 | Yours: Cosmos 1000 Case Mine: Cosmos 1000 Case with four fans |
189.99 | 199.00 | 9.01 |
| 1 | Cosmos 1000 Case window | 29.99 | 49.00 | 19.01 |
| 3 | SILVERSTONE FM123 120mm Case Fan | 50.97 | 0.00 | 50.97 |
| 1 | Mushkin 800W Power Supply | 139.99 | 135.00 | 4.99 |
| 1 | Wifi card for Desk top | 0.00 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| 1 | Firewire 400/800 card | 0.00 | 54.00 | 54.00 |
| 1 | Bluetooth card for desk top | 0.00 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| 1 | Webcam | 0.00 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| 1 | Wireless Keyboard and Mouse | 0.00 | 40.00 | 40.00 |
| 1 | Yours: Windows 7 Beta Mine: Windows Vista Ult or XP Pro 64 bit OEM |
FREE | 140.00 | 140.00 |
| TOTAL | 2,340.79 | $ 2,944.98 | $ 604.19 |
Some things I found were less expensive... but some were more expensive. Those were because I assumed you started with a faster i7, and, matching the specs of the iMac, I used much higher quality memory than your no-name memory, opting instead for top of the line Crucial made RAM.
If we replace those with current priced versions of the same stuff you used, (surprisingly your OCZ memory is 50% HIGHER now!) we find that the pricing is $2577.97 including an OS, and the additional IO to meet iMac specs which total $294.00 extra on a PC... not including a suite of integrated software. Subtract that out, and the total six months later is $2,383.97.
That's only $43.18! So, CaboJoe, yeah, you did damn good... but it still ain't as good as an out of the box iMac. ;^)>
But I think you proved Itsahoot's point... that a close to equivalent PC is not 1/4 the price of a Mac. Remmeber, what Mysterio claimed was that the Apple 27" iMac cost four times as much to which Itsahoot replied:
"Show me any PC with specs anywhere close to the Core i7 iMac for the same price, let alone one for $600.00 and I will eat my new mouse."What you very ably demonstrated is that it takes pretty much equal money to make a pretty much competitive computer... if you ignore form factor, esthetics, monitor quality, warranties, support, software, and a host of other engineering considerations. While your homebrew machine may exceed the 27" iMac's specs in some areas, it fails miserably to meet the specifications in areas such as having capabilities such as Firewire, WIFI, BlueTooth, wireless keyboards and mouses, built-in webcam, microphone, Integrated Software suite, available hardware and software support, integrated hardware and software warranties, product liability assurances, etc.