Well, I love this debate, but lets look at the things no one really wants to Address on the MAC. I know flame me all you want, for I am an Aniti-Mac fan boy, but lets look at it from another angle.
First, If I wanted to run OSX, I would run it on a custom built box. It's no big secreat that OSX can run (with a patch) on any hardware. Apple's overpriced hardware has proven really suspect lately, thats because they are using ECS and Foxcomm Motherboards and parts.
Any system builder worth their salt knows that manufacturer's like ECS and Foxcom are just about the cheapest and worst (quality wise) components and it has been showing lately with the failture rates of the Mac hardware.This is also true of companies like HP and Dell (although Dell lately has only been using intel boards, but Intel boards are "middle of the Road" for quality also).
I can build a complete low end Foxcomm based system for under $200, not including a fancy case.
Second, Lets look at the OS, FreeBSD is the same, so is OSX really worth paying for when you can get FreeBSD? BTW I am building a FreeBSD server this week, so I can comment more on that later.
So, from a "Good" system builder angle, would you want a box that has really lowend components, and a "Free" OS,- granted with a bit of work, you can have a Mac for under $200-$300.
Now, I also know that a lot of Mac software wont run just on FreeBSD, so lets (for a giggle) buy OSX and download the "patch". Now we are running a Mac Clone for under $500. Now, If I were to do this, I would want "good" hardware, so I would upgrade to an ASUS board, max out the system and still be under $800.
I am no lover of Win 7, if I am going to spend $800 on a new system, it will be with XP, now I can ditch the Intel processor and get me an AMD Phenom and really have some fun, and dual boot to FreeBSD all for under $800. Now to be fair,I can get a Mini-Mac for like $600 , so I guess it all boils down to personal preferences.