Reading our argument will help TS see both sides of it, though.
I'm well aware of what an IPS screen is. IPS screens are among the best available in image quality. However, while not an IPS, the screen in the ASUS isn't exactly bad, and the difference in eye-strain between them should be negligible. And besides that, the PC is better in nearly every other way. I just don't see how the Mac has any significant advantage in this situation.
The mac has everything you would ever need, and features that come into play that make it a great product. Also, it is built from the ground up, so even lower spec it can still compete with that laptop. Specs aren't the end all be all stat on ho well a computer performs. I run only 1 gig of RAM in my iMac at work. I am running 9 apps right now at once, with only 1 gig of RAM. It is still snappy and fast. That is because Macs have a higher quality control of their product, since they design everything from the ground up. That is why my lower spec Macbook Pro compared to my quadcore desktop, which is over twice the machine, runs along side it with significant paralleled performance.
I could say, man you can buy this KIA with a V6 in it and it has better horse power and specs than say that 4 banger BMW. However, we both know that the BMW will most likely out perform the KIA in every aspect, because it is built up from the ground and engineered to do so.
There have been benchmarks that show high spec PCs running tasks in Windows at the same speeds, and sometimes slower than lower hardware spec Macs.
Hardware is always surpassing software in this day and age, because developers are always catching up to the latest and greatest hardware specs. Look at the PS3, look at the specs, can Sony actually utilize all the power of their 7 core cell processor? No, they aren't really even scratching the surface of what the PS3 can really do. That is a closed system, running an OS specifically designed for one specific task, playing multimedia and video games. If they can't accomplish it, what makes you think Microsoft can?
Computers are all about features, specs, benefits, and overall cost of ownership. It is no longer about clock speed. Most modern processors barely scratch the 3Ghz range of clock speed. That is because they found it more beneficial to improve the instruction sets, floating point, cache and other processor specific features than just the clock speed. This also allows them to keep the processors at lower temps and keep the power consumption lower. The current laws of thermodynamics state that no matter what the input is, some of it is always lost in the output. I have no doubt that some day technology will make this law legacy, and no longer a valid law, but I don't think we are quite there yet.
The whole reason they sell you on specs is to keep the market going, and keep in mind you always need to upgrade. When in reality if they improved existing technology they could make it faster and more efficient for a lot longer period of time. However, the business model is to make money, not improve older products and technology.
Overall, the Mac laptop is superior in that fashion. It consumes less power, performs on par with laptops that have higher specs, has all features you would ever want, uses the highest quality of parts, and the overall cost of ownership is cheaper than the PC, because it will last longer and has a higher resell value.
It does come down to personal preference though, so I am not trying to be an evangelist here, just stating what I think the computer is actually worth in overall value.
