One of the most common conversations among tech enthusiasts is the age-old PC vs iMac debate. Some prefer one for philosophical or historical reasons. Others launch into lengthy technical arguments. Personally, I’ve always remained fairly neutral — I’ve always seen both advantages and disadvantages in each option. But in the end you have to look at the numbers: how much more does an iMac actually cost?
The Basis for Comparison
The comparison isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. Comparing the iMac with an entry-level PC would be meaningless. A single company that assembles computers can achieve economies of scale impossible for someone buying individual components. I therefore opted for a comparison with a pre-configured machine from another leading vendor: DELL.
We’ll compare the 27″ iMac with Intel Core i7 against the DELL XPS 8910, also equipped with a Core i7. Where Dell doesn’t include a component (such as the monitor for an all-in-one), I’ve added the equivalent accessory — in this case the DELL UltraSharp UP2715K 27″ 5K, identical in resolution to Apple’s Retina Display.
The Comparison Data
| iMAC 27” with Intel Core i7 | DELL XPS 8910 with Core i7 and 5K Display | Differences and notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Price | € 2,929.00 | Final price with 5K display and accessories | € 2,364.53 | Price delta: 19.27% — €564.47 |
| Form factor | All-in-one | Mini tower + separate display | € 554.00 (display) | The mini tower allows upgradability over time, but has its footprint. |
| Processor | Intel Core i7 quad-core 4.0GHz (Turbo Boost 4.2GHz) | Intel Core i7-6700 6th gen. (up to 4 GHz) | included | |
| Memory | 16GB DDR3 1867MHz | 16GB DDR4 2133MHz | included | Dell uses DDR4, Mac DDR3. DDR4 is more modern. |
| Storage | 2TB Fusion Drive | 256GB M.2 SSD + 2TB 7200rpm HDD | included | Dell includes separate SSD + HDD vs Apple Fusion Drive. |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon R9 M380 2GB GDDR5 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 | included | GTX 1070 clearly superior: 8GB vs 2GB, newer generation. |
| Webcam | Built-in FaceTime HD | Logitech HD Pro C920 | € 78.00 | |
| Audio | Built-in stereo speakers | Dell AE415 2.1 Speaker System | € 123.00 | |
| Input | Magic Keyboard + Magic Mouse 2 wireless | Dell Wireless Keyboard & Mouse KM714 | € 60.53 | Apple multi-touch mouse: hard to find equivalents. |
| OS | macOS | Windows 10 Home 64bit | included | |
| Warranty | 2 years | 1 year on-site, 2 years total | included | |
Conclusions
As you can see from the data, the answer is finally in number form: 19.27% more for a total of €564. Needless to say, someone will always be unhappy with this kind of comparison.
The iMac in our example costs roughly 19% more than the Dell machine used for comparison. Is that a lot? Is it a little? It depends on what we’re looking for and what kind of user we are.
As a gamer, I can say that when I went through this same reasoning a few years ago, I ultimately chose a Dell XPS PC — for the ability to swap components over time, for the larger number of games available on Windows, and because I already had a good monitor available. All-in-ones have always been a gamble for me: replacing a single component is difficult and often expensive, whereas an enthusiast could handle it independently. But Macs remain beautiful machines with outstanding build quality. For those who can afford them without worrying about upgradability, they’re certainly compelling. Which would you choose?
