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Although there are some compelling reasons to go either way, I wanted to approach this article from strictly a cost perspective. Specifically, I wanted to draw your attention to the ridiculous pricing of Mac hardware. Although you are likely already aware of this, you may not have ever seen an actual comparison of similar machines. In any case, Apple is able to have such high prices since they do not allow other companies to produce Macs and consequently there is no competition in the Mac arena like there is in the PC arena. Consequently, their markups are exponentially higher than that of a typical PC that has essentially all the same hardware components.
Below are links to 3 comparable laptops for sale in early March 2011. The files include 3 specs and prices of 3 similar laptops: an Apple Macbook Pro 15″ (see basic specs on the right side), a Dell XPS 15″, and a Lenovo IdeaPad 15″. All 4 have comparable hardware (e.g., Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB RAM, 500 GB Hard Drive, etc.), yet the prices are very different.
Admittedly, the Dell & Lenovo machines may come with a bit more bloatware that would need to be removed and may need some more initial refining of configurations in order to perform optimally, but I just wanted to shine some more light on the topic as you make future purchasing decisions.
I do agree that the price of Macs and their hardware is incredibly expensive compared to PCs. Although, sometimes I feel that you pay for quality, the graphics you get from a Mac are excellent, much better than a PC. Although, personally I think they are overpriced for a lot of people, including myself. However, I know that they can afford to keep their prices high, with such a loyal customer base. I also think PCs are better because they’re cheaper to support. I think they’re better for running businesses with, they’re more compatible and so it doesn’t cause any issues. I also think they’re easier to use, but that could just be my opinion. An article we wrote on Mac Vs PC might interest you, it goes through strengths and weaknesses of both http://www.lucidica.com/blog/desktops-laptops-and-macs/mac-vs-pc/