Tempted by the dark side
 

So i am finding my self getting more interested in a imac. However i would like to see if you guys here can come up with a system that will either meet or beat the 21" one for either same or less money. Here are the required specs.

Core i5 2.7Ghz
4GB DDR3 1333
1TB HDD
Radeon 6770m (Or equivalent desktop version)
802.11n
Bluetooth
22" IPS Monitor @ 1920x1080
Optical Drive (DVDRW to match imac, BDRW would be a bonus)
Operating System (windows 7 home premium x64)
As small a form factor as possible.

Pre tax price to beat 1499.99

I already own a webcam, speakers, keyboard and mouse.

The uses for this machine would be mostly daily tasks, video and photo editing. And possibly some light gaming.

Processor: Intel Core 220$
Motherboard: Infonec Computers - Computer parts Canada, PC Components, laptop computers, motherboards, processors, CPUs and much more : ASUS P8H67-I DELUXE R3 S.1155 INTEL H67, M.ITX, 1X PCIE X16, 2D.DDR3-1333/1066 (included wireless N and bluetooth) 140$
RAM: NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto 4GB 2X2GB PC3-10666 DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit - Mushkin Enhanced - 996768 - in Canada 25$
Windows 7: Buy the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT - OEM DVD at TigerDirect.ca 99$
Power Supply: NCIX.com - Buy XFX 450W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 34A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze - XFX - P1450SX2B9 - in Canada 30$ after 20$ MIR
DVDRW: NCIX.com - Buy LG Internal 22X SUPER-MULTI Drive Black Pata OEM - LG Electronics - GH22NP21 - in Canada 19$
Graphics Card:Gigabyte Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort at Memory Express Computers 100$ (though probably could go with a cheaper one)
Case: NCIX.com - Buy Silverstone Milo ML03B Black mATX HTPC Case 1X5.25 2X3.5INT USB3 Supports 4 80MM Case Fan - Silverstone Technology - ML03B - in Canada 60$ (will hold your DVDRW + the Hard Drive) 60$
Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Blue7200rpm SATA III w/ 32MB Cache at Memory Express Computers 80$

This total comes into just under 800$ (excluding taxes). This would give you a very large wiggle room for increasing the performance for the price you want to spend, as well as up to 700$ towards the monitor.

Never buy a Mac for performance. (also, never buy a laptop for performance.)

Apple is involved in all steps of building their machines, as a result the tend to work more "smoothly", along with that being part of the point of the brand. You pay for that.

It's like a Cadillac vs. Ford (or BMV vs. VW, or you get the picture).

MAC= Honda, PC = American Muscle (HEMI)

Cars make poor analogys in this case.

Things "work smoothly" due to very little hardware configuration possibilities, hence the attraction to consoles for a lot of people.

22 or 23 inch IPS panels can be had for under $300 in the LG brand. From what I understand LG supplies their panels to Dell for the Uxxxx series.

I think macs are a waste (look at the price compare that Arinoth made). They have created quite a following that if you buy into then go for it. You could upgrade the build Arinoth posted with an i7 @ 3.4 ghz, bump up to 8/16GB ram, and add an SSD for faster loading of OS and common programs....and you would still be under the price of the mac.

Best of both worlds? (just make sure to scroll down to see the higher end configurations)

tonymacx86 Blog: CustoMac

I thought those are illegal now.

If computers are a hobby like they are for me, why limit yourself ...

Try one or serveral flavors of linux and or a Mac ... why not?

I build computers I don't need all the time :whistle:

I purchased a Mac Mini (late 2009 model) and used it for a few years ... still have it.

What are you saying? Mac is better? :P