Computer comparison
I've wanted to do this for a while. Basically its a long winded response the Emma or Gavin (I can't remember which) saying, effectively, "why not buy a Mac?". So I'm going to work out, with numbers, why I shouldn't buy a mac (or maybe why I should?).


Firstly, requirements:
Use: I want to overclock the machine and play games on it. So I want a decent CPU, a higher end graphics card, plenty of RAM (at least 4gb) and good cooling potential within the case.
Things I don't care about: portability, looks (I have removed the plastic front of my current case for better airflow and uglier looks), bundled applications (Yay, open source!) and warranty (I plan to void it).

Therefore
CPU: high end Intel core two duo. Quad core doesn't add anything to gaming, most games are single threaded, and I don't do anything else that needs a quad core. 2 cores however do help by allowing one core to just run the game, while the other does other crap.
RAM: 8gb, going no lower than 4gb. Higher frequency is better too, as it's best to run the ram in a 1:1 ratio with the FSB.
Motherboard: High FSB, support for PCI-E x2, support for 8gb of ram.
HDD: at least 500gb
Sound card: able to use my current one, otherwise not on board.
PSU: a little bit of head room, for when I increase the voltage.
OS: The PC would run Linux, while the Mac would use Mac-OS whatever. So I'll ignore OS in this.
Drives: DVD burner.
Case: Decent amount of room (better cooling, easier to work in), 120mm fan mounts.
Screen: I like my current ones.
Other bits and bobs: current ones.

To the Apple site!
Eeeeww, iTunes.
Hmm, Mac Pro from $5k? I'll try an iMac.
2.93ghz core 2 is a E7500, 3.06 is a special job apparently. Well I'm over clocking, so E7500 it is.
Base = 3000 (1066mhz FSB, on board sound)
Memory +4gb= +1700 (1066mhz, DDR3, 2x4gb)
Graphics: WTF is a nvidia 130? The decent nvidia card is the 260. I guess ATI Radeon 4850 then.
= +380
Mouse + Keyoard? Bugger off *puts on Logitech fanboy hat*
Remote? Nah, I watch video and listen to music from 30cm away.
Warranty? Nah
iWork? Not if I can avoid it.
MobileMe membership?
"Buy a Mac on a one-year subscription in MobileMe, the Internet service from Apple that keeps your email, contacts, and calendar up to date across your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. You also get an elegant Gallery for sharing your photos with friends and family, iDisk for storing and sharing important documents online, and you can access and manage it all with a suite of desktop-quality web applications at www.me.com."
I don't have an iPhone, iPods shit me off and I won't have a mac and a pc.
Printer? I thought we already went into this with the i(Don't)Work?
Case: "Elegant, simple, and stunning, iMac packs all its components — from the processor to the iSight camera — into an astoundingly thin, anodized aluminum frame."
Read: no extra fan mounts, no expansion slots, and defiantly no water cooling. Though it does look like a Star Trek TNG prop. I could play Picard, you know that Jean-Luc Picard.

Total $5078

Ok, now the PC (unless I've listed the price for the mac part, I won't list the individual prices)

CPU: E8400 (3ghz, 1333mhz fsb)
Motherboard: DFI Lanparty-UT (1600mhz fsb)
RAM: 8gb Corsair (4x2gb, 1600mhz ddr3) $575
Graphics: Nvidia 285 (a little better than the Radeon one above, but there isn't much in it) $583
HDD: 2 1tb samsung drives
PSU: 1010W OCZ
Case: current one

Total $2272 + postage

To be fair the Mac does include a screen, so I'll add that in.
Monitor: Dell 30" wide screen 2299

Total with big shiny screen: $4600 rounded up a bit

So for my intended use, by going PC I can get better RAM; 3x the HDD space; better case; bigger screen; and probably a better PSU. All for $400 less. Or for $2800 less if I give up the screen.
The video cards and CPUs are pretty much the same.
Intangibles: In my experience Ubuntu and Mac OS are pretty equal, though Ubuntu has the benefit of being open source. Also I'm happy to sacrifice a bit of stability for greater customisability. Though my stability issues are windows related, not hardware.

Lets see what it would take to get a Mac which matches the spes I have there.

quad core mac book pro
Ram: 8gb, $490 (still only 1066mhz)
RAID card? Well the motherboard in the pc above supports RAID, so I guess so. $1400
HDD: hmm 2tb, $800 (Strange, doesn't list cache. No SSD option either)
Graphics: Nvidia gt 120s again. I guess 2 will be about right. $300
Drives: hmm this one is hard. I was just going to keep my 2 DVD drives, but neither will do double layer and only one burns. The Mac has options for 2x double layer burners or just one. No dvd rom option. I'll leave it.
Monitors: Nope
Monitor adaptor: wha? $45
Other crap: Nope

Total $8534. Though it does have free postage.
Still doesn't have 1600mhz FSB support, 1600mhz ram (will limit the overclock fun), psu is still an unknown, and still looks like it has rather poor cooling, though there are no details. It still doesn't have a very good graphics card either, there should be an option for 2 x Nvidia GTX 285/295s, which a pc that price could have.
For that price I can get a custom Mountain mods cube, 2 high end graphics cards, dual loop water cooling, >3tb HDD space, maybe an Intel SSD to boot off.

Overall: Macs are, for what I want, overpriced and underpowered. Also, they probably come with iTunes pre-installed.