Computer Price War underway, and WE all win!

[MarkieMark]

for all the builders: try throwing in one year phone and onsite support to your computer when you biuld it for your family who aren't that bright in dealing with "how should i turn this damn thing on?"

my 2 cents.

IBM LOVER here! life tech support is 3 minutes wait if you ever need it.

 

[jimmyhaha]

I agree all

building computer is NOT rocker science

the nightware begin when something went wrong, imcompatibility and trouble-shooting

I build my pc, but when friend ask me what to buy,
just point them to dell and others...

most frustating part: friend blame on u when their pc f up...

so buildind PC NOT for general public, AT has too much geeks..

 

[Stevem627]

This is a good deal for those it applies to. I don't think a lot of people here are interested in this type of setup, but a lott of people that are real DHAC's (Doesn't Have a Clue), I'll be sending them out to buy these since they always are more trouble than the money I might make off selling them something.

 

[unclebud]

on the $285 dell deal i got from august, noticed two things SO FAR:
got a letter saying tech support had been turned over to someone named banctec(?) and norton av 2001 (i have a paid [separately] for version on another computer) ran out in november--not really bothered about the latter, cause once i catch a virus and format the hd, i'll put 98 or 95 on it.
about to go over and hassle with coworker i sold oly 460 to for the same price i paid ($65), and she still cannot install the usb sandisk sm reader ($15) on a laptop with win 2000... i knew i shouldn't have sold it, but she kept begging me... last weekend friday fixed screen resolution on friend's mother puter (yes, right-click, choose video mode, change from 640 to 800--didn't even have to go into properties). sunday, im message from friend "i don't know what you did (i showed her FOUR times what i did), but you better get over here and fix this computer..."
there needs to be a 14-day waiting period on computers me thinks

 

[Photon]

<< Still more room for prices to come down...Professor Michio Kaku has stated many times that he expects computers to cost $0.01 in 20 years or so :Q >>



awesome! that guy's the man!

 

[MarkieMark]

hope i will still have 20 years left to get this 0.01 deal on computers

haha

 

[Vic]

<< those prices are GREAT. that gateway is including 15" lcd is it not?
and all the homebuilts i've EVER seen come with terrible support, except the one i bought from my boss (hint, hint)
come on wit them prices! >>



The computers that I build for myself come with AMAZING support and customer service.

 

[unclebud]

priced the same also? where you located? my pop wants a new computer to play freecell on

 

[Gooberlx2]

Still more room for prices to come down...Professor Michio Kaku has stated many times that he expects computers to cost $0.01 in 20 years or so

Does this mean I'll be making $0.00015 / hr?

 

[kbaxter]

I'm with ishmael2k and the others that say "build for yourself and very close friends/family and point others to a great off-the-shelf buy". In fact, I ordered a new Gateway for my dad just today after reading these forums. With the $100 coupon floating around out there, it was a HOT deal. I couldn't buy the components for less and do it myself, so why take the time. This was he gets a year of support....

I also agree that if this systems price war drives down the price of components, we all win!

 

[HerrHarry]

Seems like Gateway managed to take a huge chunk of market share not so many years ago. And they did it by offering the best value for the money - Dell or no Dell. Along the way Gateway lost sight of where they came from, started trying to compete in areas they should have stayed out of, building plants overseas when they didn't need to, etc., etc. Eventually, their prices were undercut and their quality became second rate. The man who started it all even lost interest. It'll be interesting to see if he has the drive now to pull them back from the brink.

I've bought a number of Gateway machines over the years and none of them have been bad machines. Most weren't the newest, baddest machines on the market because I didn't try to buy top of the line, but I think most people are like me in that they don't need the newest and baddest. I want reliable, and if a part does go out, I want it replaced with no questions asked. I have *always* gotten that with Gateway.

I've always priced Dell's and compared prices and features and found that the best bang for the buck was in Gateway. I'll admit some of that has changed in recent years with Gateway pricing themselves out of market share. It'll be interesting to see where this war leads. I agree with BigDoggie - if prices come down, we all win. Those who enjoy building for themselves and those who prefer to buy ready-made benefit from lower prices. For me, building a system robs precious time that I prefer to spend on other things. But I can see how building computers would be like restoring vintage cars - if you like it, nothing else will do...

 

[newbiepcuser]

Today was the day why I reminded why I don't build a computer for anybody anymore. The person calls me up and has some quick rich scheme and needs my help with his computer etc....Its been two years, and I feel like I'm identured servant. The computer still runs fine, but every AOL, jpeg corruption by AOL mail servers, printer jam, etc... I get a call. I send everybody to goatway or Dell now.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

lol ...great thread...uhoh..phone..fudge :frown: another friend wanting some free pc troubleshooting help :disgust:

 

[webley]

<< we here at anandtech like to build our won computers. it wont be long b4 we build out own laptops! AMD all the way! >>



Can't wait till we can build laptops. . When might that get easier? Now it's too hard to get all the parts to work together because they are proprietary so hope some manufacturers will give us standardized parts soon.

 

[XFreebie]

and then we can build our own pda's!

those who do not know how to build their own computer deserve to pay full price. just like if u dont know how to fix ur car u have to pay a mechanic; in this capitalist world knowledge = money $$$

now if only i could sell my brain on ebay....

 

[djlevyii]

<< Bump for Big Doggie Post

My friend and I debated on building a system for his brother. We don't need the headaches of dealing RMA seperate parts if something happens, etc, OS license issues (yes, we all know somebody with "trial" verison of windows), etc.. so dudes he got a Dell.

P4 1.6
256 DDR Ram
64 mb Geforce MX
sb live value
40 gig drive
free upgrade 12x burner
license XP OS
The Dell sticker
etc...

for 749 shipped.

All of us can say build it, etc... but if you had to include OS license, etc...you couldn't beat a Dell or Goatway for the non power user, etc... >>



I picked this exact system up 3 weeks ago from Dell for $586 delivered. Off their Small Business site. They offered free shipping and a free upgrade to the 12x burner. Of course, it was a deal posted on this forum.

 

[HerrHarry]

BigDoggie put together a good post.

In reading through all of the pro's and con's to buying a ready-built system, it seems like a common thread runs through the debate. Those who build their own systems imply that if offers something more than the satisfaction at having accomplished something and the people who build are often referred to as "power users". What is all of the power used for? Gaming? Crunching databases? Surfing the web? Programming? Does "power user" = "build your own computer"?

With the way computer technology progresses, it doesn't make any difference if I'm a person who builds my own system or one who buys a ready-made system, in three or four months I still wind up with a system with less power than what it could be. So it doesn't make much sense to try to stay at the top.

The only advantage I can see to building my own system is to be able to upgrade it more easily at some later date. The problem is that even with a system I build myself, eventually I'll have a problem upgrading it because the technology advances so rapidly. Are there people who upgrade parts in a home built system for the sole purpose of staying with the very latest technology?

Yeah, I realize this discussion is getting a little "off topic" for a hot deals forum.

 

[docmanhattan]

HerrHarry -

Actually, it DOES make a difference if you build your own or buy it. If you buy from Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP, eMachine,etc.. you're going to get an obscure motherboard from a small unknown company that is impossible to find the most recent BIOS for. You get "customer service" ( in quotes, mind you ), but there's a reason they can sell full systems so cheap.

My experience has been that if i build it for myself, then i know exactly what's in it. where to find info on it. where to find updates for it. If i build for a friend or family, i only do it if i know that they are competent enough to troubleshoot the basics. I can't help but roll my eyes when i hear, "Hey. I've got a question for you..." *groan* "...I''m getting this weird message when I do $blah and $bling. Why is that?" It's great that they think I know something ( i've got them fooled! ), but sometimes it gets a bit old.

In response to technology moving so quickly, you can say the same thing for all tech stuff. Not just computers. Take stereos for example. Or even cars! What's VW's latest gimick? 4motion All wheel drive. nifty. Computers get a bad rap for becoming obsolete very quickly, but it's simply not true. It might have been the case a couple of years ago, but it's really leveled off. Plus, a lot depends on your needs. If you have the current best and it's suffering from performance issues, than the lastest and greatest would be necessary.

oh well. end rant.

cheers.

 

[Freebie Hawk]

I tell you what, the more these prices wars go on the more I would rather buy a dell. Gateway is only pushing more customers to Dell by attempting a price war...Stay far away from Gateway systems, they have very poor service and are looking at another year of losses according to Waite at the 4th quarter financial meeting.

 

[iamWolverine]

Still more room for prices to come down...Professor Michio Kaku has stated many times that he expects computers to cost $0.01 in 20 years or so

Who is Professor Michio Kaku???

 

[MarkieMark]

again, i would like to mention that IBM not only has Great technical and customer support, they are always use first rated components. when you call up the tech advisor, they know exactly what is inside of your computer (deskie or lappie.) i had a dell laptop and three months down the road, there are five pixels on the screen stopped working. i had call dell up, although, their suppport was not bad (replaced with a new computer.) i still wished that it would have been as nice crispy screen as i now have with IBM thinkpad. abused it for more than 2 years now. the screen is SPOTLESS. one time i had call to replace the hard drive since it was corrupted (i installed three OS on it and messed up and reintalled them three times till i got it right. but wrong with the hard drive. haha.) the tech advisor walked through the process of examing the problem (which i knew what was wrong.) the hard drive came the third day expressed by UPS with return package inclosed.

nowadays, we all look at the price. but just a reminder: that price does not equal value. if any of your family who is tech blind, suggest a IBM. you will do them a service and yourself a service. besides i have been monitoring IBM price, it has come down dramatically comparing to what they used to sell 40% over the competitors. if you are buying a computer for yourself, i would say one year service is really quite sufficient because i believe that IBM build they product to last.

hope that would help to contribute some different ideas than GATEWAY and DELL.

 

[newbiepcuser]

If you buy from Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP, eMachine,etc.. you're going to get an obscure motherboard from a small unknown company that is impossible to find the most recent BIOS for.

I thought Dell and Gateway uses Intel boards and Tyan for their servers. There are couple of Dell's at work and there are Intel motherbords. Some HP computers uses Asus boards. Not sure about Compaq and e-machine, probably ECS on these guys.

 

[BigDoggie]

Here's a news story on the price war:

GATEWAY COUNTRY GOES TO WAR

Underdog PC vendor strikes at Dell with price cuts and a battle to improve its public perception.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,83204,tk,dn020702X,00.asp

The problem Gateway faces is simple, though, and is that of all the people I know who have Gateways, which is just a few, not a single one is happy with his Gateway experience and not a single one will ever buy another Gateway.

 

[VisionsUCI]

bump for good prices. i just love dell.... much more than the computer i put together myself.

 

[HerrHarry]

BigDoggie,

I can't go along with you when you say that people who've bought Gateways don't like them and would never go back. I've bought 8 or 10 Gateways over the past 8 years and have had no major complaints with any of them. I've also recommended them to others with no complaints. I've bought a Dell or two also. Sure, there have been problems with some parts, but you WILL see that with any manufacturer, including single components you might buy to put together a system yourself. The only problems I've had upgrading Gateways is after I've had them for three or more years and you can have that same problem with any manufacturer, including yourself, when technology runs away and leaves you behind. At some point, you're better off to pass what you have off to a kid brother or a deserving charity and begin anew.

I've followed a lot of the threads, both here and on other forums, where people discuss building their own systems, overclocking, tweaking to get the absolute best speed they can out of a system. I can see where an individual can learn a lot by building a system, but I'm also seeing individuals build systems and overclock them until they begin to have stability problems. Within a few months technology has run ahead of them and systems are available with greater speeds native to the processor.

The complaints I HAVE heard are because of startup companies who go out of business or where an individual or business were convinced by a *friend* that they knew someone who could build them systems better than what they could buy from the established companies like Gateway or Dell. Lack of support and a system with no warranty are the biggest complaint. Sure, the components they use probably have a warranty, but the guy who put the system together usually won't be there to work out the details for you.

Gateway is in trouble and may go out of business. But that would be the absolute worst thing that could happen to all of us. We need all of the competition we can get. We need the "big guys" fighting it out. Our good prices on components are good because of volume buying by the "big guys". When the "big guys" aren't selling systems, the component people have to cut prices to clear inventory and we get the gravy. We certainly don't need to wind up with a choice in buying computer systems like we have now in buying operating systems.

Keep them in business, and keep them fighting it out...