Hey PhishPhreak,

That article is a bit dated, (8GB HD system for $900?) and some of the things he states aren't true, at least not anymore. Years ago, it was true that Macs used slightly different hard drives and RAM chips, but these days they are EXACTLY the same as PC ones. I just go to Staples or Costco and buy a hard drive or CDR for my Mac, just like everybody else does for their PCs... it's not an issue.

It is true that the quality of the components you get in a new Mac system are a grade or two above the "clone" level components, (hence the Benz reference) but you're paying more for them, too, so that's expected.

I normally buy new Macs pretty much bare-bones and then just pick-and-choose the components I'd like to add... shop here for RAM, shop there for an extra hard drive, get the monitor from there, etc. to get the best value.

-N.