The new Mac Pro is in an incredible design feat, but it’s also an incredibly powerful machine in an extremely compact package.  BGR.com wondered how much it would cost to build a comparable Windows machine.  The base model Mac Pro costs $2999 (no monitor, mouse, or keyboard), and the top of the line model costs $9599 (gulp).  4k monitors run up to $4000, so this machine, equipped to perform at the high end of it’s specifications is not for hobbyists.  It’s designed for high end computing work (at a personal level — not the supercomputer level).

Windows machines are generally thought to be much cheaper to buy, so BGR.com decided to see how it would cost to build a comparable Windows machine.  The key, of course, is to get comparable components, and Apple, to fit their high end components into the small cylindrical structure they used for the Mac Pro’s design, had to use pretty special components. The BGR folks found those components, and unassembled and with the $99 cost of the Windows operating system, the high end Windows machine would cost $11,530.54.  Maybe the entry level machine could be cheaper?  Not really.  For Windows, that machine would cost $3994.65. Ouch.  As a small consolation, the specs on the “low end” machine are slightly better than Apples, but the cost for either machine does not include the labor to assemble it.

In this case, it looks like there’s a premium to be able to build a high end Windows machine.  That’s an interesting switch.