Which was a return of ~$216.6k according to the OP. So, you've made a marginal $55,000 a year since 2009 which you would not have made with any cheaper laptop?
It's only 2013 - I get another six years for my macbook investment to play out. In April 2007, AAPL sold for $90/share, which works out to profit of $36k over the same length of time, four years.
Have I made $9k/year more than I would have had I not bought the macbook? Not likely. But it's helped me to work and learn efficiently and productively, and $9k/year is inexpensive tuition.
Could I have done the same with a different laptop? Maybe. But my point is that it's important to invest (judiciously) in yourself, too. Whatever tools you need to learn and become the best at what you want to do may be different, but don't underestimate the utility of that investment.
(you should compare the price difference to an equivalent laptop (however defined) if you're talking "marginal")
> you've made a marginal $55,000 a year since 2009 which you would not have made with any cheaper laptop?
Of course I don't think he actually has, and that he would have gained pretty much whatever he has gained with a much-cheaper-than-$3k-laptop.
I would wager that in terms of increased personal learning and productivity in the 3-4 years or 10000+ hours of use since then, I've made far better returns on that purchase than even a purchase of AAPL stock in its heyday.