[r00fus]

Problem with this idea, is that a competitor will essentially reverse-engineer the high-end machine, duplicate it as close as possible and basically do 1/10 the work to get a similar or even better product out the door.

Unlike Apple, Dell doesn't own the OS, so there's no differentiation there. They also don't own any of the internal componentry so no control there either.

Intel and Microsoft have no real incentive or desire to prevent this kind of piggybacking from happening.

Ultimate result: Dell doesn't innovate in design, and goes for cheap, low-margin to compete where it can: price.