cost comparison

[Dublove]

As part of my own deliberations into replacing my old Mac Pro I did a cost comparison of a windows based system against a top spec iMac.

I tried to choose equivalent quality spec components as best I can, all from ocuk. A few choices might be considered wrong but hey! I was quite surprised at the results.

2013 iMac 27"

3.4ghz i7
32gb of ram (8gb from apple, self upgrade to 32gb)
768gb ssd
680mx
bt keyboard, mouse etc etc



Windows box:

gigabyte z77x-ud5h motherboard
i7 3770
patriot viper 32gb
geforce 670 (mobile 680 chip in imac not as fast as a desktop 680...)
samsung 840pro 512gb & 256gb ssd
seasonic 750w psu
silverstone temjim case
noctua nh-u12p cpu cooler

ah but wait! iMac has screen, bluetooth, wireless 720p webcam. So...

dell 2711 27" monitor
asus pcie dual band 5ghz wireless adaptor
creative cam connect hd
logitech mx mouse
microsoft bluetooth keyboard
akasa intenal card read with bluetooth
windows 8 pro


iMac is £2858

Windows box is £2861


I thought this was very interesting. Yes i'm sure the windows box components could be gotten a bit cheaper. Still got to build it yourself though and there is no easy guarantee on the system as a whole.

 

[Skyboat]

Good god. Don't show this to NirK!

 

[edGfaCTor]

Sorry but this isn't a fair compare.

1. you have imac which you add big chunk of ram yourself well that is wrong if your doing proper compare you add the ram at purchase from Apple.

2. the pc bits you have chosen are all expensive ones example gigabyte board in your build £175 Apple don't use parts like that in there system.

There is lot more that can be picked at but this just reeks of apple fanboy.

 

[Doohickey]

Sorry but this isn't a fair compare.

1. you have imac which you add big chunk of ram yourself well that is wrong if your doing proper compare you add the ram at purchase from Apple.

Huh, why is that not a fair comparison, you're building the Windows PC yourself, why can't you add the iMac RAM yourself?

Speaking of building yourself, the iMac cost also takes into account assembly/labour costs, which is obviously free for the PC. If you're doing a proper comparison you would factor in the cost of someone else building the PC for you, surely?

As for the mobo, maybe you have a point, personally I haven't built a PC in a while so not familiar with current mobos etc, nor do I know the tech specs of the boards Apple put in their iMacs.

And wow a bit trigger happy with the fanboy cry or what :-/

 

[Skyboat]

Sorry but this isn't a fair compare.

1. you have imac which you add big chunk of ram yourself well that is wrong if your doing proper compare you add the ram at purchase from Apple.

2. the pc bits you have chosen are all expensive ones example gigabyte board in your build £175 Apple don't use parts like that in there system.

There is lot more that can be picked at but this just reeks of apple fanboy.

1. The RAM on the 27" iMac is user-replaceable, there is even a slot open for it at the back! (Which is not the case on the new 21.5" iMac, in which the RAM is technically non-replaceable).

2. What's not to say the logic boards in the iMac are relatively expensive to produce? Looking at iFixit's teardown of the 21.5" model suggests there is a lot of ICs they've managed to cram onto it.

 

[Mr-White]

That pc is way over priced.

MW

 

[edGfaCTor]

Huh, why is that not a fair comparison, you're building the Windows PC yourself, why can't you add the iMac RAM yourself?

Speaking of building yourself, the iMac cost also takes into account assembly/labour costs, which is obviously free for the PC. If you're doing a proper comparison you would factor in the cost of someone else building the PC for you, surely?

As for the mobo, maybe you have a point, personally I haven't built a PC in a while so not familiar with current mobos etc, nor do I know the tech specs of the boards Apple put in their iMacs.

And wow a bit trigger happy with the fanboy cry or what :-/

I just love how all the same old Apple fans come out to to argue/defend.

It's not fair because your comparing a factory build system then all of a sudden going well i can add this myself to save massive cost well that isn't fair now is it you can't do straight up compare then. A proper compare is everything already included in the box then you choose if available the same or equivlant for other machine.

Lets not get into the labour stuff because that is silly you can't compare that Apple has the system built in like China so labour is like £1 and next people will start getting into it about other stupid like like postage, vat.

I agree with Mr-White over priced if you look into hackintosh builds you can see people have shown you can build the same spec or more powerful for far less money.

The pc build here has chosen premium retail parts which Apple do not use parts to this quality of standard because it's not in there best interest to do so they are about making profit so every system they build they never make less then 40% profit on each until.

 

[lamboman]

edGfaCTor, this is a completely a genuine question, are you trolling just to have a bit of fun in response to the other thread? I'm not accusing you or anything, I'm being completely serious.

Anyhow, this forum seriously needs a moderator who can:
a) Show an interest in the Apple subforums;
b) Detect threads that are going to become flamewars;
c) Invoke temporary bans for those who troll, whether intentionally or not.

Quite honestly, every other subforum on OcUK has managed to stay helpful, but in recent times this one has gone down the drain.

 

[Dublove]

I knew this would cause debate.

I agree that the motherboard choice is wrong as it does not support thunderbolt. I find the Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 TH is the cheapest that does and is slightly less in cost on ocuk at £167.

Apple give you the choice of user upgradable ram.

The 768gb ssd is a samsung in the iMacs so choose samsung ssds.

I just changed the basket to the least expensive 32gb 1600mhz ram kit, a lesser psu and the total is now £2837

I would not say I've picked premium retail parts as such. I mean is an Asus 670 graphics card really premium? I'd say it was run of the mill, from an established provider. Also bear in mind that I am saying ok the iMac has a high quality case, so I picked the Silverstone shown. Same with the keyboard, webcam, mouse, wireless, etc.

Say shopping around an extra 10% could be saved that gives us £2553... The main factors we have here are the shear costs of the ssd storage and 27" screen.

 

[Doohickey]

It's not fair because your comparing a factory build system then all of a sudden going well i can add this myself to save massive cost well that isn't fair now is it you can't do straight up compare then. A proper compare is everything already included in the box then you choose if available the same or equivlant for other machine.

But surely you're contradicting yourself...
A factory built system should almost always be more expensive than a DIY job, which means the PC spec should work out far cheaper than the above (I will admit I haven't looked into speccing it cheaper myself) but it doesn't. So the iMac is surely doing pretty well to come out at a similar cost? But as you say, the iMac components are probably not the same premium as the individual PC parts, so perhaps there substantial savings to be made on the PC spec, I haven't worked it out.

If you wanted like for like then you'd have to compare it with a factory built AIO PC, and I don't know of any AIO of that spec (happy to be corrected) never mind how much it costs.

 

[edGfaCTor]

edGfaCTor, this is a completely a genuine question, are you trolling just to have a bit of fun in response to the other thread? I'm not accusing you or anything, I'm being completely serious.

Anyhow, this forum seriously needs a moderator who can:
a) Show an interest in the Apple subforums;
b) Detect threads that are going to become flamewars;
c) Invoke temporary bans for those who troll, whether intentionally or not.

Quite honestly, every other subforum on OcUK has managed to stay helpful, but in recent times this one has gone down the drain.

Not trolling but then we could ask you the same question.

But surely you're contradicting yourself...
A factory built system should almost always be more expensive than a DIY job, which means the PC spec should work out far cheaper than the above (I will admit I haven't looked into speccing it cheaper myself) but it doesn't. So the iMac is surely doing pretty well to come out at a similar cost? But as you say, the iMac components are probably not the same premium as the individual PC parts, so perhaps there substantial savings to be made on the PC spec, I haven't worked it out.

If you wanted like for like then you'd have to compare it with a factory built AIO PC, and I don't know of any AIO of that spec (happy to be corrected) never mind how much it costs.

No offence do you understand bussiness or production? this is how people get confused they don't understad the whole process.

Factory build vs DIY do you mean based on production cost or retail cost?

The factory build should be cheaper but this is when greed sets in which is why a lot of people jump on Apple and say about over pricing there products heres simple way how you work it out Apple retail imac say at £2000 they make min 40% profit per unit that is £800 I know people will come out now with overheads and so on well otherheads doesn't work on a per unit basis but if you want to add costs it would be around 10% mark leaving 50% to use for rest.

DIY has lot more costs that the consumer has to pay which would be applied to each part that is purchased so this should make it more expensive then factory if doing a like for like compare but Apples greed takes price up making DIY closer, use the same forumal as above on each part and you will understand.

that build that has been put together is stupid the case is £180 there is no way the imac case is £180 so that product should be halved, next £100 for psu come on.

This is the most simple way to type it on here I could go in to great detail about the break downs and how Apple would mass produce/buy parts but knowing this place people will jump on it a denie it like companies do about how much profit they make.

I hope this has sort of explained it.

 

[Disco Boy]

Retail CPU plus aftermarket cooler?

 

[Skyboat]

that build that has been put together is stupid the case is £180 there is no way the imac case is £180 so that product should be

Probably. Although how much does a friction stir welding machine cost?

 

[edGfaCTor]

Probably. Although how much does a friction stir welding machine cost?

I fail to see how that matters.

 

[Skyboat]

I fail to see how that matters.

Because you would need to factor in production costs. Whilst you can't buy an empty iMac chassis OTS you would still need to know what the cost price per unit is. Something I doubt you, I, or anyone else on these forums will have an accurate estimate of.

 

[Doohickey]

Factory build vs DIY do you mean based on production cost or retail cost?

I meant retail cost. Cost to the consumer. I have no idea how much it costs Apple to design, manufacture and assemble an iMac. I'm no businessman or anything, but of course I know there's a large markup, that Apple want to make a profit :-/

Maybe I just don't understand what you're saying, it almost feels like we're making the same point...

 

[passey89]

Imac is also using laptop parts and not desktop so if you want to do a propper comparison you need to use laptop parts as well.

eg. laptop memory for am imac is going to be a lot more even fromm ocuk than say 16gb DDR3 desktop memory.

Your also putting a mobile cpu vs a desktop

 

[Neodite]

Your basket

Samsung 512GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD512BW)
Dell UltraSharp U2713HM 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey£439.99
Intel Core i7-3770 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW)
Asus GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
NZXT Phantom 630 High Performance Modular Full Tower Case - White
Avexir MPower Yellow Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16001008G-2CM) x2
Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM
Gigabyte Z77-HD3 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair 2013 Edition Gamer Series GS 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020063-UK)
Logitech K350 Wireless Keyboard (920-002012)
Creative Live! Cam Chat HD 5.7 Megapixel Webcam With Built In Microphone
TP-Link N600 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN3800)
Gigabyte ECO600 1600DPI Wireless Gaming Mouse - Black
Akasa Internal Media Card Reader (AK-ICR-07)


Sub Total : £1,863.02
Shipping : £0
Total: £2240.06

But dont let choosing the most expensive stuff for no reason hold you back

*EDIT* before anyone else says it. It you are looking at an iMac are you not after an all-in-one solution? So would getting a tower + monitor not be silly?

A closer comparison would be

Asus ET2701INTI-B063K
[ET2220IUTI-B010K]

Asus All In One Touchscreen PC

Intel Core i7-3770S 3.1GHz
8GB RAM
2TB HDD
Blu-Ray Player/ DVD-RW
Wi-Fi
TV Tuner
USB 3.0
HDMI
Card Reader
Webcam
Slim and Space-Saving Design
Windows 8

£1,619.00.

After you get the better CPU/GPU/More memory you a looking at around 2k tho.


OR Dell

XPS One 27


Processor

3rd gen Intel® Core™ i7-3770s Processor (3.10GHz, 8MB)

Operating System

Windows 8 64bit, English

Monitor

27" Multi Touch Screen (2560 x 1440) with Articulating Stand

Memory1

8GB2 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz

Hard Drive

2TB (7,200rpm) SATA Hard Drive + 32GB SSD (Intel SRT)

Video Card

NVIDIA® GeForce GT 640M 2GB DDR5 Graphics Card

Optical Drive

Blu-Ray Combo (BluRay read, DVD/CD read & write) Drive

Keyboard

Dell KM713 Wireless Keyboard & Mouse - UK/Ireland

Wireless

Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6235 802.11 a/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0

£1,679

 

[theheyes]

You should really compare stock All-in-Ones like the Dell XPS to the iMac if you want to do a comparison on price.

 

[NirK]

Dell UltraSharp U2713HM 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £439.99

Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £269.99

Samsung 500GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s £266.99
Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s £169.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Superclocked 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency £179.99

Asus P8Z77-V LE Plus Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £116.99

Lian Li PC-9FB Aluminium Midi Tower Case - Black £99.95

Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI316G160C9K)
x2 £159.98

Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD £79.99

Antec VP550P 550W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £54.98

Logitech Wireless MK520 Desktop £45.98

Thermalright True Spirit 120 Performance CPU Cooler £24.98


Sub Total : £1,591.51
20.00% VAT : £322.32

Self built : Total : £1,903.93

Same PC built by OCUK (with webcam and 660ti) : £1,993.76

Apple i-mac of same spec : £3,178.99

Same / better performance for 59% price self built or 62.5% ready built by OCUK.

Just saying...