Apple has been using industry standard drives, memory, and graphics components for years, long before the switch to intel chips. The final switch to intel chips was inevitable when Motorola and IBM basically decided to stop pursuing that market. In any case, it didn't really affect the usability of macs one way or the other, aside from providing the bonus of being able to run windows if necessary. Maybe your pc has better hardware than some particular mac, but to say generically that "PCs are better hardware" is sort of ridiculous.
If you have the requisite knowledge and desire to spec out a custom PC, good for you, enjoy using what you like. But there's no need to act like anyone who doesn't make the same choice you do is some sort of idiot. Most custom PCs that I've had any experience with are horrifically ugly, noisy, and less than robustly built. To me, the notion of "hardware" absolutely encompasses the design and construction of the physical case that the computer is contained in, the displays, the input devices, and the accessories, and what Apple provides in that regard is pretty obviously worth a premium over just about any PC manufacturer. Once again, not everyone places value in that, but comparing hardware specs can never account for most of the things that users consider to be the major advantages of Macs (OSX, design, construction, reliability, and resale value, for example)
