On 11 Feb 2006 at 11:38, Richard Smith wrote: > I, too, like Dell and have had good experience with them. However, I > am concerned about the impending market push to 64 bit processors.
I'm not sure what the concern would be. > David, I wonder what you would say about a custom built machine from a > reliable local builder? I think this may be the way to get the most > upgradeable machine possible as well as a 64 bit processor. I know > dual core is supposed to be like true 64 bit but I suspect it will be > only a stop gap. I would never use a local builder. Nor would I build one for myself. Take that for what it's worth, but I just don't see that there's significant value to be gained there. Most comparisons of white-box generic PCs to those made by the large vendors are deceptive, in that the components and specs on the white box PCs are well below those of the retail boxes. I've gone through this many, many times, doing a Dell quote for a client who comes back and says "But Joe's computer has the exact same computer for half the money!" When I upgrade Joe's model to have all the same features (RAM size and speed, HDD size and speed, video card memory/speed, monitor size/quality, mouse quality), about half the time Joe's PC ends up costing slightly more, half the time slightly less, but on average, not enough to make the jump from a large established vendor who can support the machine better than your local shop. Many people say "well Dell and HP use pretty generic, cheap components, too" and they would be correct. But those components are often engineered specifically for Dell's machines, and thus have performance specs that are not available in generic products available through the distributors a local retailer can go to. This is because Dell and HP have large enough volume to get mass-produced components that are specifically engineered and manufactured for their use. The local white-box PC builder doesn't have either any engineering expertise nor any market pull to get such components. Of, if he *can* get such components, he can't get them at anything close to the price that Dell can get them at. The result is that when Joe specs out a computer that really is identical to the Dell box, it is often more expensive. So, once you are comparing apples to apples, and have identically configured PCs to compare, my experience is that the local builders simply can't compete with the volume efficiencies of companies like Dell. So, I and my customers buy Dell. -- David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
