3 ms·

This isn't worth there time. If a person can afford $399 plus shipping they can probably afford a few more hundred for a real mac.

by gscott 19y ago

randallsquared 19y ago
If you max out the machine on their store, the result is $1045 plus shipping. Add in a 24" LCD with the same resolution as Apple's 24" for ~$360 with free shipping (found on pricewatch.com) for a total of ~$1450. If you price out the equivalent iMac (except slightly worse (320 GB instead of 400GB; 256MB graphics instead of the max of 512MB graphics at Psystar) the result is $2299. That's about $800 extra for slightly less. Of course, Apple's will be nicer in design, fit, and finish, and you'll get Apple support (and I don't know whether Psystar will provide equivalent support). Is that worth $800? I dunno.
- mhb 19y ago
  ...Apple's will be nicer in design, fit, and finish... I'm a little mystified when I read this stuff. On my new iMac, both the keyboard and mouse are very unimpressive. Although I'll admit that the keyboard looks nice and the little mouse scroll ball is clever, neither the keyboard nor the mouse is comfortable to use. The pretty aluminum monitor/box stand only allows up/down pivoting - where's my height and side-to-side swivel adjustment? Based on my experience with the hardware (i.e., mouse and keyboard need to be immediately replaced due to bad design and monitor would be if it were practical), I conclude that the premium is almost entirely based on the software. And I also was very disappointed that it is basically impossible to use iPhoto to conveniently access photos on a NAS drive.
  - randallsquared 19y ago
    Hm. In some ways, I agree. I use an iMac from 2005 as my main computer, and I don't use the Mighty Mouse that came with it. I, too, would like height adjustment on the iMac panel, but side to side seems inherent in how light it is: even my cat can spin the whole iMac around by brushing against it. I haven't had any problems with the keyboard, and I've grown very used to its idiosyncrasies, like the always-on numpad, etc. Eh. Enough rambling. :)

This isn't worth there time. If a person can afford $399 plus shipping they can probably afford a few more hundred for a real mac.

by gscott 19y ago

This isn't worth there time. If a person can afford $399 plus shipping they can probably afford a few more hundred for a real mac.

randallsquared 19y ago

If you max out the machine on their store, the result is $1045 plus shipping. Add in a 24" LCD with the same resolution as Apple's 24" for ~$360 with free shipping (found on pricewatch.com) for a total of ~$1450. If you price out the equivalent iMac (except slightly worse (320 GB instead of 400GB; 256MB graphics instead of the max of 512MB graphics at Psystar) the result is $2299. That's about $800 extra for slightly less. Of course, Apple's will be nicer in design, fit, and finish, and you'll get Apple support (and I don't know whether Psystar will provide equivalent support). Is that worth $800? I dunno.

mhb 19y ago
...Apple's will be nicer in design, fit, and finish... I'm a little mystified when I read this stuff. On my new iMac, both the keyboard and mouse are very unimpressive. Although I'll admit that the keyboard looks nice and the little mouse scroll ball is clever, neither the keyboard nor the mouse is comfortable to use. The pretty aluminum monitor/box stand only allows up/down pivoting - where's my height and side-to-side swivel adjustment? Based on my experience with the hardware (i.e., mouse and keyboard need to be immediately replaced due to bad design and monitor would be if it were practical), I conclude that the premium is almost entirely based on the software. And I also was very disappointed that it is basically impossible to use iPhoto to conveniently access photos on a NAS drive.
- randallsquared 19y ago
  Hm. In some ways, I agree. I use an iMac from 2005 as my main computer, and I don't use the Mighty Mouse that came with it. I, too, would like height adjustment on the iMac panel, but side to side seems inherent in how light it is: even my cat can spin the whole iMac around by brushing against it. I haven't had any problems with the keyboard, and I've grown very used to its idiosyncrasies, like the always-on numpad, etc. Eh. Enough rambling. :)