how low can PCs go?

D

dividend

4 years ago i ordered mailorder parts and built my own computer because it was more cost effective and gave me better performance. i never imagined i'd be buying a packaged computer from dell, but here i am.

if i were to build one today, just the cpu and motherboard would cost ~$300. the monitor would cost ~$300 = $600. that still doesn't include HDD, CD, RAM, keyboard/mouse, ETC...

yet, dell sells the entire system for (~$600)...


does dell make any money on these things? something is weird. either wholesale costs are waaaaaay below retail, or prices are going to pop up. but dell shares hit $40 so i cross my fingers and bought a dell... lol.

how long can PC prices go?
 
Yeah, I was looking up prices for my mother-in-law the other day, and I could get a decent PC (for web surfing) for $420 with S&H and taxes. Had 256 meg a 2.4ghz Celly, and all the attachments like printer, modem, keyboard, nic, mouse, etc. Even a CD burner they'd never user. And Win XP home.

And that's $99 for shipping and $26 in tax, before all that it was $300. Geez.
 
exactly, i mean, even a computer case will cost around $100...
legit (hehe) win xp is another $100...

wholesale prices must be half of retail.. or
these are some weird bargains
 
Dell does barely better than breakeven on the low-end consumer line. They do well is on the business side and higher-end consumer.
 
this low
Dimension 2400
Intel® Celeron® Processor (2.40GHz, 400 FSB)

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

17 inch E773 (16 inch viewable) Conventional CRT



Featured at

$299
After $75 Off Instantly!
Offer Details
 
Technology is amazing. My first hard drive (for a 286-SX system) was 10 megs and cost me about $200. Last week I bought a 512 mb flash drive for $40.

H
 
Intel Celeron 2.4 $60.00
Mother board 30.00
case 20.00
HD 35.00
video card 20.00
cdrw 25.00
ram 25.00

total 215.00

What parts are you looking at?
 
ooh, sorry shouldve been more specific

intel pentium 4 processor 2.8ghz retails around $150( not including +tax+sh+heatsink+fan), OEM probably can shave about 1/4 off that.

btw, i think the extra L2 makes a noticible difference bet. celeron and p4
 
Quote from dividend:

4 years ago i ordered mailorder parts and built my own computer because it was more cost effective and gave me better performance. i never imagined i'd be buying a packaged computer from dell, but here i am.

if i were to build one today, just the cpu and motherboard would cost ~$300. the monitor would cost ~$300 = $600. that still doesn't include HDD, CD, RAM, keyboard/mouse, ETC...

yet, dell sells the entire system for (~$600)...


does dell make any money on these things? something is weird. either wholesale costs are waaaaaay below retail, or prices are going to pop up. but dell shares hit $40 so i cross my fingers and bought a dell... lol.

how long can PC prices go?
More...
I feel exactly the same way and did the same as you (used to build them myself from scratch, Abit & Asus motherboards). The last 4 computers I got I bought from Dell when they were on sale with coupons/rebates (SC400's). There was no way I could come close to putting together those systems at the price I paid (plus its easier to take a tax deduction a complete system purchase then individual components ordered separately)

I think Dell's costs are low because of the volume they do and I think from time to time you can get real good deals because Dell just wants to move product out (to keep its volume up & get rid of inventory). Anyone who builds computers from scratch these days does it because they have very specific needs or they just plain enjoy it (e.g. case modders) - I don't think it makes economic sense.
 
Quote from dividend:

4 years ago i ordered mailorder parts and built my own computer because it was more cost effective and gave me better performance. i never imagined i'd be buying a packaged computer from dell, but here i am.

if i were to build one today, just the cpu and motherboard would cost ~$300. the monitor would cost ~$300 = $600. that still doesn't include HDD, CD, RAM, keyboard/mouse, ETC...

yet, dell sells the entire system for (~$600)...

......
More...

Build was never an option for me: it was always a losing proposition when you added up my time. Today it would be an even bigger loss: buy is actually cheaper in many cases than building - excluding the cost of your time.

Hardware is very much commoditized and money is made on razor thin margins - much like grocery stores etc ..... Dell and others make more money by selling you non-commodity add-ons and financing and services, and through coopertive marketing agreements....
 
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