But the Mini lives–and even though $599 is no longer anywhere near a dirt-cheap price for a computer, it remains the cheapest Mac. It also comes in a super-small package that’s still fun and distinctive. So it’s the subject of my fourth excessively in-depth Mac-vs.-PC price comparison. My goal, as always, is to gauge whether you pay a “Mac Tax” when you buy a Mini instead of a roughly comparable Windows PC.

Before we get started, here are links to earlier comparisons in this series, just in case you missed ‘em:

Round one: A mid-range MacBook vs. custom-configured Windows laptops.
Round two: The cheapest MacBook vs. cheap Windows laptops.
Round three: The iMac vs. Windows all-in-ones

As usual, I’ve got some questions and answers about this comparison…

Q. How did you decide what Windows computers to include?

A. There are relatively few Windows PCs that are anything like a Mac Mini. But Dell’s new Studio Hybrid clearly means to compete against the Mini in size and stylish design. Shuttle is famous for its small PCs, and it explicitly compares its XPC to the Mini on its Web site. And while HP doesn’t have anything quite as comparable, its Pavilion Slimline is close enough.

Q. The Mini is the cheapest Mac you can buy, but you can buy a Windows PC for half the price.
Surely that fact alone proves the Mini is expensive?

A. For some folks, a dirt-cheap Windows box might be all the computer they need, However, they’re really not that comparable to the Mini in terms of overall specs, case style, or industrial design. Which doesn’t mean I might not decide to do a comparison in a future article.

Q. How do you factor in the obvious superiority of the Mac platform? (Or, if you prefer, its obvious inferiority.)

A. I don’t! For this series, I tried to make my research err on the side of things that are easy to measure, like hard-drive size and the availability or unavailability of a particular feature. I’m not factoring in the quality of the operating systems, the presence or lack of junkware, or the amount of time that users have to spend wrestling with security software. Folks who are commenting on my comparisons are doing a great job of going beyond that to discuss the platforms in general, and I plan to do so myself eventually.

Q. Will you tell me which of the systems is best?

A. Nope–I’m just trying to determine whether the Mini looks pricey or reasonable when compared to compact Windows PCs that are at least sort of similar.

Q. Is there any way I can convince you to reveal your conclusions this very minute?

A. You need only ask. The Mini I configured looks pricey in comparison to the Dell and HP, not so much because the sticker price is high as because it scrimps on specs. The Shuttle, however, is pricier still. You can configure a well-equipped Mini, but that takes you over $1000, a price range in which the iMac looks more attractive.

Q. Stop calling it the “Mini.” It’s mini, capiche?

A. Sorry, my years of PC World copy editing are showing. We didn’t let companies give their products names that began with lower-case letters. We called the iPod the IPod until the e-mail from angry Apple fans became angry and disturbing! If I get any similar hate mail about “Mini,” I’ll probably fold quickly.

Q. You done asking yourself questions?

A. Why, yes. Yes, I am. Click on to the next page, and I’ll introduce the computers in this comparison.