Macs fetch far more on the aftermarket than do PCs — and after years of use, you can offset that cash-register premium by selling your Mac for a better price than you could your PC.If you used your HP for a year and then sold it, you would have spent $449 to own it — that is, your purchase price of $699 minus your sale price of $250. The Mac Mini, for the same year, would have set you back far less: $799 minus $500, or just $299.
I ran such comparisons on many Windows and Mac systems sold during the past four years, and in nearly every one — whether the machines were laptops or desktops — the Macs sold by enough of a premium over comparable Windows machines to make up for the greater amount you would have paid when buying them.
I haven’t usually factored in resale value. I tend to just hold on to my old Macs forever and use them for trivial tasks around the house. Maybe buying a new one every 2 years or so and selling the old one while it is still pretty current would work out nicely money-wise… With the nice side benefit of always running with a 2-year-old or less machine.
