Think a $9,599 Mac Pro is expensive? A Windows-based equivalent costs even more

By Konrad Krawczyk December 27, 2013

windows based high end mac pro equivilent costs even 9599 vs — Image used with permission by copyright holder

At this point, it’s common knowledge that one of the selling points of going with a Windows-based laptop or desktop PC over a Mac option is price. Windows machines are typically much cheaper than Apple’s offerings. When it comes to the new Mac Pro, however, you might be surprised to learn that building a Windows-based equivalent will deliver an even bigger hit on your banks account, at least when it comes to the most expensive Pro.

A top-of-the-line Mac Pro costs $9,599 and includes a 2.7 GHz Intel Xeon E5 12-core processor, 64GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1TB SSD, and dual AMD FirePro D700 graphics cards. In an effort to build a Windows-based equal, Stephen Fung of futurelooks.com chose a Silverstone FT03 case, a Silverstone SST-85F-GS 850W 80 PLUS power supply, an ASUS Rampage IV GENE mATX LGA2011 motherboard, Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 Ivy Bridge-EP 2.7GHz 12-core CPU, and dual AMD FirePro W9000 6GB GDDR5 graphics cards, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3 RAM, and finally, a pair of Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB SSDs.

So after Fung added everything up, what did the total cost of his Windows-based Mac Pro-ish desktop come out to? If you thought $9,599 was a lot, how does $11,530.54 for Windows sound?

We were surprised to hear that a Windows-based Mac Pro equivalent would cost that much more than an actual top of the line Mac Pro, considering that building your own systems from scratch is generally the cheapest way to go when getting a new desktop.

Here is a link to the Futurelooks article

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

Topics

Konrad Krawczyk

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

Computing

Is macOS more secure than Windows? This malware report has the answer

A person using a laptop with a set of code seen on the display.

It’s a long-held belief that Macs are less at risk of malware and viruses than Windows PCs, but how true is that? Well, a new report has shed some light on the situation -- and the results might surprise you.

According to threat research firm Elastic Security Labs, roughly 39% of all malware infections happen on Windows PCs. In good news for Apple fans, only 6% of breaches occurred on macOS, making Mac systems far less vulnerable than their Windows counterparts.

Computing

MacBook Pro M2 vs. MacBook Pro M1: Max, Pro, and more

The 14-inch MacBook Pro on a window sill.

In upgrading the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 from the M1 Pro/Max to the M2 Pro/Max, Apple kept almost everything but the processors the same. That's a good thing, because these are two of the best laptops you can buy and the best MacBooks around.

Apple maintained the same quality in the chassis and displays, retained the best keyboards and touchpads, and didn't mess with what was already working. But if you're looking for an incredibly fast laptop with awesome battery life, should you save some money and get the M1 version or splurge for the M2?
Specs and configurations

Computing

You can finally run Windows 11 natively on an Apple silicon Mac

parallels desktop 18 mac gaming

Apple and Microsoft may be eternal rivals, but that doesn’t mean they never work together. Yet Microsoft has never officially supported the idea of running Windows 11 on an Apple silicon Mac, leaving the practice in something of a gray area -- until now.

Installing Windows on a Mac has been pretty straightforward over the years, but the introduction of Apple silicon chips in Apple’s Macs complicated matters a little. Sure, there were ways to do it, but without Microsoft’s official approval, they required workarounds.