It is about the same price or more expensive to get an equivalent windows machine, the Thinkpad P52 is similarly priced if you go for those specs.
I think part of the issue is that you don't have a choice of specs. If PCI-E SSD speeds are enough for you, you don't have a choice to save the money on it. If you want to go for a cheaper 4-core processor with higher clock speeds and put the money into more/better RAM, you can't make that trade-off.
I do agree that macbooks are pretty good value for the components you're getting, but I think unless your view on what you want in your computer matches what Apple will give you then you will end up "wasting" some money on your machine.
I think part of the issue is that you don't have a choice of specs. If PCI-E SSD speeds are enough for you, you don't have a choice to save the money on it. If you want to go for a cheaper 4-core processor with higher clock speeds and put the money into more/better RAM, you can't make that trade-off.
I do agree that macbooks are pretty good value for the components you're getting, but I think unless your view on what you want in your computer matches what Apple will give you then you will end up "wasting" some money on your machine.