So I was hanging out chatting with David, a fellow New Yorker who owns the nearby UPS Store, about personal computers. He knows I use Macs, and I’m aware that he’s a Windows advocate. He started claiming, all over again, that his home PC cost a lot less than any comparable Mac. So, with few customers arriving to disturb our conversation, I took ahold of one of his transaction computers and ran the inevitable price comparison all over again.

He knows I recently acquired a spanking new Mac Pro, whereas he has a home-built PC filled to the gills to provide stellar gaming performance. Once again, I suggested the Mac Pro was a lot more affordable than the comparable PC box. He strongly disagreed, as expected, so I suggested we compare apples to apples (actually Apples and Dells) to see what facts we could unearth.

To begin with, he suggested I select Windows XP Professional from the PC order sheet — he dismissed Vista as readily as I did.

Now understand I have a soft spot in my heart for Dell’s displays. The 30-inch HC model I have on my desktop is simply marvelous, with a clear, bright and accurate color picture. Even better, it’s cheaper than Apple’s to the tune of several hundred dollars. So whenever I do price comparisons, I strategically ignore displays.

At the same time, I do hope Apple will one day realize we don’t all want all-in-ones and will refresh its display line with better performance and more affordable pricing.

Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.

This article was posted on Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 6:30 PM and is filed under News and tagged with: Apple, Dell, display, gaming performance, Hardware, Mac, Mac Versus, Macs, New Mac, Pc Hardware, Personal Computers, Price Comparisons, ups store, Windows.