By: Tom Sherkness
BLUE BELL, PA--Apple's 2nd Tier Mac Mini starts at $799. In the PC realm, you could build a similar, customized mini-form tower (including the cost of Windows 8) for $100 less that will have fully upgradeable components for a lifetime, literally. Mac Mini hardware you choose is what you're stuck with except for hard drive and memory upgrades, which Apple doesn't want you to do yourself by restricting access to the inner parts.
The starting price point of a 15” Macbook Pro with Retina display is $1999. A near identical PC laptop with a better processor and a high end gaming capabilities cost $1444, or about $600 less (the MBP has no dedicated gaming capabilities). Although the laptop's resolution doesn't match the MBP, it still runs at 1080p native, or a step above the 720p high definition standard.
When comparing the more mobile 13” Macbook Air to the Windows equivalent, it is almost the same case. The 13” standard Macbook Air starts at $1099, while an Asus Zenbook with equivalent hardware and a higher resolution screen costs $799.
While there are minor feature tradeoffs, for near identical hardware but different software and design, it is necessary to evaluate that the Mac vs PC debate is really an operating system and design debate because the identical hardware running a Windows desktop or laptop always costs less. At identical pricepoints, the PC will always have more powerful hardware. Also remember that even though you can install Windows on a Mac via bootcamp, you can also install OSX on a PC by a process called Hackintosh.
The question you have to ask yourself is, what do you need to do on your computer, and which operating system suits your needs and style?
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