The Most Expensive Macs You Can Buy

If there's one thing Macs have and will always be known for, it's their sky-high price tags. You could argue the quality more than covers the cost, and perhaps that's true. It certainly is for a specific type of buyer who will go to Apple.com, hit the configurator, and load up a MacBook, iMac, or even Mac mini with the highest-end components Apple has to offer.

Eventually the new Mac Pro will join that lineup, but not until December. Until then, Apple only notes a single baseline price for the top-of-the-line, 3.5GHz six-core Intel Xeon E5 processor-based PC that looks a little like a black recycle bin: $2,999. Once it's officially for sale we'll know if you can upgrade the 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory, the Dual AMD FirePro D500 GPUs with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM each, or 256GB PCIe-based flash storage. Chances are, yes, you'll be able to.

But what's the most expensive Mac configuration you can get right now from Apple? Here's a quick look:

13-Inch MacBook Air
Sure, you could get an 11-inch, extra-skinny MacBook Air for $999, but you'd be cheating yourself! Here are the top internal specs you can upgrade on the larger 13-inch Air, which has a baseline of 1.3GHz dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of memory, and 256GB of flash storage:
• 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
• 512GB flash storage
Final price: $1,849 (up from $1,299 base)

15-Inch MacBook Pro With Retina display
The cheapest MacBook Pro currently for sale is a 13-inch model with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 chip for $1,199. Does that sound slow and small to you? Then check out the brand new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Gorgeous? Yes. Expensive? Of course. For a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB of 1600MHz memory, 512GB of flash storage, and more, $2,599 might seem cheap after you make these two simple internal upgrades:
• 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
• 1TB PCIe-based flash storage
Final price: $3,299 (up from $2,599).

Mac mini With OS X Server
Isn't the mini all about being cheap? Well, "cheap" is a relative term. The low-end mini is only $599. Things change when you're grabbing a tiny desktop computer that comes complete with OS X Mavericks and OS X Server. It comes with a quad-core Intel Core i7 running at 2.3GHz, 4GB SDRAM, and two 1TB ATA drives.
The Mac mini with OS X Server can upgrade to the following:
• 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• Two 256GB solid state drives
Final price: $1,999 (up from $999).

You can (and should) throw in the very necessary 27-inch Thunderbolt display to work with the Mac mini for another $999. Plus, you'll need input devices, like the Magic Trackpad and a wireless keyboard. That changes things:
FINAL Final price: $3,136

27-Inch iMac
Finally, we come to the all-in-one desktop iMac. Apple has a 21.5-inch model that does the job for $1,299.

The 27-inch high-end version comes with a 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB drive, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M 2GB GDDR5 graphics. Here's what you can upgrade:
• 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
• 32GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 1TB flash storage
• Nvidia GeForce FTX 780M 4GB GDDR5 graphics
• Magic Trackpad and the Magic Mouse
Final price: $4,018 (up from $1,999)

Don't forget, you can add AppleCare protection to any of these systems for a measly $149 to $349 (depending on device and configuration). And you should.