[kazinator]

> Because all PCs ran Windows on top of Intel chips, there was no differentiation, and prices dropped.

Umm, no. PCs ran Windows on top of expensive Intel chips with little competition.

The lack of differentiation caused the prices of much of the other stuff that goes into a PC to drop.

And ironically, that other crap, like network cards and whatever, going into PC's, is differentiated.

That doesn't help because it's not differentiated in a way that the user cares about.

If processors were differentiated they way network cards, keyboards or mice are differentiated, it wouldn't make a difference, except making PC's even cheaper.