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Justification of iMac's high price

Solid.Snake

Solid.Snake

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2010
11
0
OK so my family is in the market for a new desktop right now. The only computer we have right now is a crappy 2006 MDG desktop, with 512MB RAM, 250GB HDD, Intel Celeron 3.06Ghz and overall very laggy performance.

So my family is leaning towards the PC because of the price. I've been looking for some reasons to switch, and quite frankly, I think I am losing faith in the iMac as well. The most common reasons I've found are: it just works, OS X looks good, faster than a PC, etc. But these reasons really don't justify the few hundred dollar difference between the PC and the iMac. I can see how the iMac is the better computer, there's no denying it is, but the only thing holding me back from buying an iMac is the price.

So I'd like to hear your guys and girl's opinions on why you chose the iMac over another PC desktop (please be specific, if possible).

PS First post ever! :)

Edit: I was currently looking at the low-end 21.5" (I am aware of the imminent refresh, and will try to wait it out--but I qualify for the free iPod touch [which I can sell because I already have one] as well as the education discount, which brings the price down a hundred dollars or so)
 
The display is astounding, worth at least $600 on the 27".
It will last twice as long as a PC (let's face it, a PC will last 3)
If it breaks, apple support is godly.
It's easy to set up.
The desk will be much cleaner.
 
codenamecueball said:
The display is astounding, worth at least $600 on the 27".
It will last twice as long as a PC (let's face it, a PC will last 3)
If it breaks, apple support is godly.
It's easy to set up.
The desk will be much cleaner.
Click to expand...

Lol ok there is the first contradiction (not trying to put down the iMac) but my current PC (NEVER upgraded) is still...functional at best, downright frustrating at worst, but still it is running and is just over its 4th birthday.

So considering I am looking into upgrading it soon (not much capabilities for that :( ), which is about 4 years after the initial purchase, how long do you think I could last with an iMac?

Thanks :)
 
I chose the 2006 iMac because of having to relearn windows to use Vista. I figured that having to get familiar with Vista which was kind of foreign when comparing it to XP. Also it looked pretty good. Like a piece of furniture and there were no cables messing everything up. The wife bought a nice fancy desk and chair and it looked quite astounding when it was fully set up.

I chose the 2009 i7 iMac because it was an upgrade from the 2006 one. I will choose the 2012 iMac as well.

I did not factor in price because I knew for a fact that I could build a better performing machine for less cost.
 
The 27 inch are very price competitive solely because of what apple offers for a computer using that screen. Dell sells the same panel for 1000usd-- that's without the computer.

The 21.5 inches? Not so much, but you pay for the design and customer care that comes with the whole apple experience. There's no denying how you can get a custom built tower with similar specs for less money, but Apple isn't trying to play that game with its iMac lineup.
 
You can run Windows on it...

Disregarding the awesome Apple quality and support, a primary reason I bought an iMac is because it is like two computers in one. You can super easily run both Mac OS X and Windows on it. No problem at all. In fact, I am doing it right now. That right there makes iMac worth the price of admission.

(Yes, I know you can hack a PC to run Mac OS X, but I am talking about folks who may not necessarily want to deal with that kind of stuff).
 
In the lower end iMac the display is probably worth the most.

The parts might price out at around $300-400 + the display which is outstanding, then you've got the all-in-one form factor, magic / mighty mouse, apple keyboard, great apple support, you're also paying for the research that goes into making their computer what it is and the wicked design of it. Also paying for Mac OS X. You know you're going to get a sturdy piece of machinery that is a pleasure to look at and will last you longer than a cheap PC.

If you were to buy a PC of the equivalent specs, sure you'd pay less but you're getting what you pay for.

Just think of it in the long run, 2 cheap PC's and you have to buy a lesser quality monitor, or one solid iMac that you bite the bullet on the price for one time?

Like you said, if you can get it at an educational discount + sell the iPod touch, the only question that remains is why not?

Having been a PC user all my life until Halloween 09, I can honestly tell you that I would pick a Mac any day of the week.

I was in the cycle of replacing my PC's every 1-2 years.

The only time I would ever want a PC again is to play video games which I don't even do that often anymore, and even then, Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 are Mac compatible so that's all I really need. :D
 
codenamecueball said:
The display is astounding, worth at least $600 on the 27".
It will last twice as long as a PC (let's face it, a PC will last 3)
If it breaks, apple support is godly.
It's easy to set up.
The desk will be much cleaner.
Click to expand...

All of this and you wont need an antivirus suite.

You should get 7 - 10 years out of the imac, maybe with some minor hardware replacements, the os itself, unlike windows will never fail you, and you wont have to do disk defrag or registry cleaning or anything else.
 
jbyun04 said:
In the lower end iMac the display is probably worth the most.

The parts might price out at around $300-400 + the display which is outstanding, then you've got the all-in-one form factor, magic / mighty mouse, apple keyboard, great apple support, you're also paying for the research that goes into making their computer what it is and the wicked design of it. Also paying for Mac OS X. You know you're going to get a sturdy piece of machinery that is a pleasure to look at and will last you longer than a cheap PC.

If you were to buy a PC of the equivalent specs, sure you'd pay less but you're getting what you pay for.

Just think of it in the long run, 2 cheap PC's and you have to buy a lesser quality monitor, or one solid iMac that you bite the bullet on the price for one time?

Like you said, if you can get it at an educational discount + sell the iPod touch, the only question that remains is why not?

Having been a PC user all my life until Halloween 09, I can honestly tell you that I would pick a Mac any day of the week.

I was in the cycle of replacing my PC's every 1-2 years.

The only time I would ever want a PC again is to play video games which I don't even do that often anymore, and even then, Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 are Mac compatible so that's all I really need. :D
Click to expand...

Well, that's what I've been trying to convince my family to do LOL. We really only need 1 more computer, and only because I am going into IB this school year, which requires a lot of computer work, so I don't want there to be conflicts over who gets it and when. There's also a certain curiosity about Macs, I've always wanted to try one after I looked at one at my Apple store.
 
OP, just curious if you have had the opportunity to test one out at an Apple store or Best Buy? I recommend going to an Apple store and spending some time with one if you haven't. My Tampa Apple store has machines loaded up with Final Cut and Logic audio so you can see just what Apple has to offer other than a hardware switch. There are a number of exclusive applications that make the switch worthwhile. Logic audio alone is justification enough for me to continue buying from Apple.

Edit: Oops, you posted while I was typing. Just saw your post about going to the Apple store.
 
Solid.Snake said:
Well, that's what I've been trying to convince my family to do LOL. We really only need 1 more computer, and only because I am going into IB this school year, which requires a lot of computer work, so I don't want there to be conflicts over who gets it and when. There's also a certain curiosity about Macs, I've always wanted to try one after I looked at one at my Apple store.
Click to expand...

I think the iMac will be worth it and it in a couple of years from now... it should still be fast (depending on how technology evolves)

Just curious, IB?, as in, international baccalaureate?
 
Solid.Snake said:
Lol ok there is the first contradiction (not trying to put down the iMac) but my current PC (NEVER upgraded) is still...functional at best, downright frustrating at worst, but still it is running and is just over its 4th birthday.

So considering I am looking into upgrading it soon (not much capabilities for that :( ), which is about 4 years after the initial purchase, how long do you think I could last with an iMac?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Just to note.....I would have described my old Dell computer exactly the same way you described your current PC but my Dell actually lasted 8 years! before I replaced it this summer. To be honest I probably could have kept using it but it was getting almost impossible to update my iPod Touch and iPad due to the slow response when using iTunes. The last iTunes update almost killed it. :)

Not all PCs will completely die out in 2-3years but I am sure that my new iMac and MBP will keep me happy for at least the next 5years before I need to upgrade again.
 
In term of hardware, Macs aren't really that overpriced, its just that of course you don't necessarily NEED a 27 inch 2560x1440 LED IPS Display, but you still get it when you buy an iMac.

Also, build quality, like the case or the keyboard, also come at a price.

But, for the difference that is left, consider you pay for OS X.

The problem is, lots of peoples don't realize that Software is what you really use and also that it is really a hard thing to develop (at least good ones). The difference between "ok" software and "great" software is a difference that you will experience every single time you will use the computer.

Peoples seems to think that software design, clear UI, ease of use, are superficial, but in fact it is really substantial in the fact that it dramatically change the experience you get from using the computer everyday.

For example, "Exposé" is a simple way of finding the window you want in OS X UI, but it remove a frustration that i get everyday.

These are the kind of function that are hard to explain (or sell) by words, you have to use it to understand why it is so great. That's why Apple put a lot of emphasis on the possibility to actually try their product at every store that sell them. Peoples, have to try Mac OS X to understand why it is great.

Hardware is one thing, but it just don't matter when you don't have great software.
 
Oooh man, man I boot into windows, not having expose or command scroll to zoom in and out easily is so damn annoying, makes me stress out.
 
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