On CHOW: Holiday side dishes
BNET Business Network:
BNET
TechRepublic
ZDNet
TalkBack 18 of 79:
Next »
« Previous
Comparing apples to oranges
One thing I think you're missing with DIY is you are comparing the prices of generic average PCs from an OEM, such as Dell or HP, to a DIY system built using high quality individual components. That's comparing apples to oranges. That's not an accurate comparison.

The OEMs don't throw high-quality parts in as "free upgrades" as you claim. If you look under the hood of any average PC from the OEMs you'll find average parts. Speaking of video, for example, many OEM PCs come with a GeForce MX, a very low-end gaming card. The average $700 dollar consumer PC doesn't typcially come equipped with an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro or similar. The same could be said about DVD Writers, CD Writers, sound cards, etc. that are included with these systems.

I have built my own systems since 1992 and I can always build a high-quality system cheaper than the total price of a manufactured high-quality system. The stickler is, as a previous poster pointed out, the price of retail Windows compared to OEM-supplied Windows. Sure, when you add that cost in a DIY system, the total price will undoubtedly be higher in many cases, unfortunately.

I guess the way I'd characterize my DIY systems is that I can build close to an "Alienware-level" system cheaper than the total cost of a complete high-end Alienware system rather than comparing my DIY systems to the generic quality PCs from mass market OEMs. In that case, I could likewise say that I can build a generic consumer PC with generic parts cheaper than the average generic system from a mass-market OEM.
Posted by: Oggie_z   Posted on: 02/21/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
Reply to Story Reply to Message

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

What a bunch of BS, Poor Dell  jcarson_z | 02/20/04
I had a hard disk fail  Arrg | 02/20/04
Dell service on the decline  drabicky | 02/20/04
Why are you buying from Dell?  Stale_Pancake | 02/20/04
Clueless  jmcguire@... | 02/22/04
Bad support = Cheap Labor  ddmattison | 02/20/04
You have nailed it down!  Vernad | 02/20/04
Customer non-service seems to be the rule  chocl203 | 02/20/04
what I hate is  Arrg | 02/20/04
you dont need that  doh123 | 02/20/04
I tried that  Arrg | 02/20/04
One good thing about outsourced support  jfrankcarr | 02/20/04
T'ank you for calling Deli -- I mean Dell  Chad_z | 02/20/04
The problem I had with DIY  jfrankcarr | 02/20/04
Depends where you get your parts  voska | 02/20/04
It was web prices I was comparing  jfrankcarr | 02/20/04
That's an unusual story  Chad_z | 02/20/04
Comparing apples to oranges  Oggie_z | 02/21/04
Back to building own box may be best choice  drichards1953 | 02/20/04
Hey Dood! figure it out yourself (nt)  nite_w0lf | 02/20/04
Excuses Excuses  jones_jj | 02/20/04
Proprietary?  jmcguire@... | 02/22/04
Sure  ITGuy04 | 02/23/04
Not sure about that  jmcguire@... | 02/23/04
dell=Garbage  ITGuy04 | 02/20/04
they get what they pay for  JWatson77 | 02/20/04
Lack of language skills is the problem  issthatso | 02/20/04
Contract labor  quietLee | 02/23/04
Paid extra for support  ddonnelly | 02/20/04
QUIT Cryin ..buy a mac  Xon_z | 02/20/04
Only problem with that  drabicky | 02/20/04
Two words: "Virtual Pc"  el1jones | 02/20/04
Cross Grades  ITGuy04 | 02/20/04
DELL Support out of INdia  Davinci_J | 02/20/04
That's why I'm afraid to puy an Axim  jbachandouris@... | 02/20/04
Indian Tech Support  voska | 02/20/04
enterprise service has not changed -- yet  furl12@... | 02/21/04
Dell Sux0r  jsansi | 02/20/04
Warranty  jmcguire@... | 02/22/04
The only real help you get from Dell...  DragonBRockin | 02/20/04
So who is better  bill@... | 02/20/04
Local shop....  ITGuy04 | 02/23/04
Depends where the support call is routed  r7di697 | 02/20/04
re: Depends where the support call is routed  hoyPINOYako | 12/19/04
WHAT????????  Hard Cider | 02/20/04
Sorry You Are Screwed  blakepea@... | 02/20/04
Well they had the call center in India, so what do you expect  Linux is the Anti-Christ of computing | 02/20/04
Offshore  LuckyLuciano | 02/20/04
Let them outsource  Chad_z | 02/20/04
A conspiracy to defraud and reap great profit, perhaps  Cyberspine | 02/21/04
looks like ms only company not selling  V Sanders | 02/21/04
Dell Sucks  g_brooker@... | 02/21/04
Many American Jobs lost  firstmagnitude | 02/21/04
Dell Support  iambonami | 02/22/04
Message has been deleted.  linuxcad_is_a_spammer | 02/22/04
Dell is veddy veddy baahd  noyb_z | 02/22/04
Dell is veddy veddy baahd-reply  Dick Toya | 07/28/04
For all its faults, Dell isn't all that bad.  johnsmith222 | 02/22/04
LOL  V Sanders | 02/22/04
Please buy a clue.  ITGuy04 | 02/23/04
Winbbook also - customer care out the window  abrecher@... | 02/23/04
Dell Tech Support  Sam Pole | 02/23/04
failure to complete order  llamrei2 | 02/23/04
I Agree  dbixby@... | 02/23/04
And I paid extra for this?  doncowdrey | 02/23/04
Bad experiences are the only ones being posted...  BryanDexter | 02/23/04
It's all in the goal.  GooRu_z | 02/23/04
Dell Tech Support definitely has gone downhill  sandyebauer | 02/23/04
I Love Dell's Support - Its the Call Routing That's The Killer  Danbrown | 02/23/04
Say that in English?  GooRu_z | 02/23/04
dell's service  dfp7113 | 02/23/04
Support is Really Bad  shansae | 03/26/04
Terrible Service!!  ginseng37 | 04/23/04
Re: New Customer wish I didn't buy one  Theydisappointme | 05/10/04
"Customer Care" and Thievery  lancelotfl | 05/11/04
Dell systems sucks  sriram_chari@... | 09/07/04
Speaking English  tdavis@... | 11/08/04
Dell's self proclaimed Award Winning Customer Service  Alwinder | 09/11/05
"Hello my good buddy" says Dell customer service  nobitner | 12/08/06

What do you think?

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

advertisement

SmartPlanet

  • Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
  • More from IBM
  • Innovate your business' process model, play against the market, compete against others on our scoreboards and WIN! Try INNOV8 2.0: A BPM Simulator
  • Enabling Real-World Business Transformation through IBM Service Management Read the EMA Analyst Report
Click Here