I get $679 for a comparable Dell system. I kept the 22” analog LCD which most people will take over an Apple 20” digital display. I upped to a processor superior to the imac
I put in same HD as the imac
Put in fire wire
The Dell comes with 2gb memory
Apple comes with 1gb memory
Just curious ....where does Apple come up with a Core 2 duo processor at 2ghz with 4mb cache? I don’t see any anywhere except maybe a laptop processor
It is a high end mobile version of the big box Core 2 Duo processors. IIRC, it is the Intel® T7300 Mobile "Merom" processor in the low end iMac and the Intel® T7900 2.8GHz in the high end 24" model. It draws considerably less power (35 Watts v. 65 Watts on its big brothers) than the other models of the same speed and thus generates considerably less heat. While still very powerful, it is how Apple can make such a quiet computer in a very slim case.
Started with a Inspiron 530S 1GB, 250GB HD, Pentium dual core, base model
Dell offers an instant $390 off... best of the Dell discounts.
Starting price= $478.00
Processor... OK, upgraded to faster than the base iMac. Plus $40
OS.... Still only 32 bit, home edition... I upped it to Home Premium (as far as Dell lets you on this machine) trying to get closer to the full fledged features of OSX Leopard. Add $30
Memory on this build is 1GB to match iMac. $0
Monitor... you can keep your 22" analog... there is a reason for digital. Also your monitor does not have a webcam or microphone like the iMac... so I went with the 20" SP2008WFP with webcam and mic. It's both analog and digital. Extra $280
(Your 22" digital with webcam and mic is another $30 on top of the $280.)
Optical drive to include Roxio to meet the built in capability of the iMac, Plus $79
Graphics card to close equivalent of iMac's. Plus $60
Sound - Upped the sound but still no glass... $25
Bluetooth add $40
Wireless add $70
Firewire $30
Speakers - Add external stereo speakers to match iMac's built in... $20
Software - I should add ADobe Acrobat Standard 8 ($249) because the iMac can create and edit PDF files from any application... but I won't.
Setup - one month Phone support for setup... free on iMac $49
Data and App Transfer - One Time PC to PC transfer... unlimited included free on iMac... $29
$1230 base minus $390 coupon instant saving = $840.... total.
Not bad... for that you get a small limited expansion tower, no entertainment software installed, and lots of wires connecting everything snaking all over your desktop. And the aggravation of Windows...
Oh, I went back to try another build... and the $390 savings coupon was no longer available... these guys at Dell are crazy. Now the best deal was $260 off. Frankly, I have never gotten the same build price twice off of Dell...