[Swordmaker]

Specs:

• Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor E2160 (1.80GHz, 1MB L2 Cache
• Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
• Dell 22 inch Widescreen E228WFP Analog Flat Panel Display
• Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - 2DIMMs
• Single Drive: 16X (DVD+/-RW) Burner Drive
• 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
• Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
• 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
• 10GB for 1 Year Online Data Backup by Dell DataSafe

You are not comparing equivalent machines at all...

• Your processor is an older, slower 1.8GHz Pentium and has only a 1MB L2 cache while the basic iMac's is a 2.0Ghz 4MB L2 cache. This is a big difference.
• Your OS is a home edition while the OS on the iMac is a complete, non-crippled professional grade OS.
• Your E228WFP Dell display has a lower angle of view in both horizontal and vertical and the Apple's is a brighter display with better contrast ratio... yours is also apparently analog compared to digital for the Apple.
• smaller hard drive
• Integrated motherboard graphics vs. ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory Optical in/out on sound?

I just went to your Dell link and added the stuff that is standard in an iMac... to make it comparable... things like:

• the same grade processor,
• wireless N,
• stereo speakers,
• IEEE1394 firewire,
• optical mouse,
• 250GB HD,
• 20" Digital display (took out the 22" analog),
• upgraded your OS to an equivalent match (sort of),

and guess what? The price of your bare bones, strippy computer is now suddenly $1212.00 including the "instant savings" discount.

Write back when you do a real equivalent comparison.

[dennisw]

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