Mac vs PC - same price hardware

[ishred]

I've seen plenty of discussions comparing similarly spec'd pc's and mac's, but i'd like to know how the two compare with similar prices.

I've been shopping for a new desktop (my machine is 8 years old btw), and the only thing i've seen are the new imac's, and i'm impressed. But if i'm going to spend $1500+ on an imac, it got me thinking what can i get in the pc world for that price.

for 1500, i can get an i7 processor, x58 mb, 6gb of triple channel ram, a top 5 video card, and I would have a choice between running XP or vista (probably go with xp).

So how would a pc with the above compare to an imac?

I do my gaming on my consoles, so that really isn't an issue. I want to use it mostly for audio/video...nothing professional. I just want a machine that will render relatively quick, or allow for smooth audio recording (probably up to 2 tracks at once), and edit up to 8 at a time.

 

[vaporthug]

I think that you would be really happy with the iMac i7.
I just ordered one and will run some numbers, in a few days.

I have an Alienware machine just for gaming, though currently every game I have
plays fine on my original Verion 1 of the intel Mac Pro line.

I have always been a PC user, building many machines before finally getting the MAc Pro.

With this mac you will get the latest iMovie, which is extremely easy to use for a first timer.
I have been using Windows 7, and though it is better than even XP, its almost cartoonish UI
just doesn't allow me to enjoy the OS at all.

Also the new iMac's come with a 64 bit OS, at no additional charge.
Garageband also comes free, and will easily support 8 tracks in realtime feedback, on any of the latest iMacs, with i5 or i7.

Treat yourself to the iMac, and Im sure you will be thankful in the future, and probably only run Windows on it, when absolutely needed ( ie, for running those apps that just don't exist on the MAc.

 

[TheViper]

On a price point basis the PC will typically provide much more performance than a Mac.

The $1500 iMac can't keep up with the system you just wrote out (i7, top 5 GPU, triple channel RAM, etc...)

 

[obsidian86]

buying a $1500 imac means you paying $500+ for apple os