re: Any reason to choos iMac over PC?

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how much cheaper than $500 can you get having someone build one?

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Not much for a basic home PC at that budget, unless you pirate Windows. The kneejerk reaction from people who've ever assembled a PC even once in their lives is "build it yourself!" regardless of what kind of solution is being sought here. It's true, you can build much higher quality PCs, and that's invaluable for task-specific machines or workstations that will see a lot of heavy use. But in all honesty, if you find a well-configured home/office machine at the $400-500 range, an equivalent custom build might save you a few dollars but not offer a whole lot more in terms of durability/quality. You can certainly spend more and get better parts, but enhancements only translate to benefits if they are observable.

Personally, I will always build. But that's me. I enjoy it. It's a hobby. If you're going to pay someone to build it rather than learn to do it yourself, no real reason to go custom-built in this particular case.

Also, don't listen to anyone who bashes Dell or really any of the major brands. Ignorance of the industry leads to lots of brand bias based on anecdotal evidence.

But, you really should get an SSD. They are easy to add to prebuilt desktop PCs. I even wrote detailed instructions for doing so: LINK