Do prebuilt PC makers have their own separate supply lines for GPUs?

[maniacalpha1-1]

Alienware, ibuypower, you know the crews I mean. Right now I've got a 1060 and I'd like to upgrade, but under the current market conditions it'd be more cost effective to buy an entire prebuilt PC just to get the video card. But as close as we are to a new generation I figure it's best just to wait. Especially if performance increases for the next generation are similar to past generations (i.e. benchmarks I read show a 1080 as better than a 980Ti, so in theory a 2080 will be at least slightly better than a 1080Ti).

Obviously, if the next gen releases to sane pricing I'd just get a 2080 and upgrade my current system. But if sane pricing doesn't come, my question is, do the prebuilt makers have their own supply line for GPUs or will they be affected too, and have to increase their own prices by the same huge amounts?

 

[nathanddrews]

my question is, do the prebuilt makers have their own supply line for GPUs or will they be affected too, and have to increase their own prices by the same huge amounts?

Typically not, buying in bulk is a good price shield. For example, if company like Alienware is going to build and sell 20,000 (or 2,000) gaming rigs for $1499 and advertise that price in magazines, retailers, and their online store for several months, they have already secured all the parts or negotiated regular deliveries of components for set prices in order to meet expected demand at that advertised price. Also factored into the price of every unit they build is also the cost of returns and defects, tech support, and the entire reason for doing it: margins.

Anecdotally, I just tried to build this system using the cheapest equivalent parts on Newegg without tax or shipping and couldn't beat their price...

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Typically not, buying in bulk is a good price shield. For example, if company like Alienware is going to build and sell 20,000 (or 2,000) gaming rigs for $1499 and advertise that price in magazines, retailers, and their online store for several months, they have already secured all the parts or negotiated regular deliveries of components for set prices in order to meet expected demand at that advertised price. Also factored into the price of every unit they build is also the cost of returns and defects, tech support, and the entire reason for doing it: margins.

Anecdotally, I just tried to build this system using the cheapest equivalent parts on Newegg without tax or shipping and couldn't beat their price...

I've been really tempted to get a 1080Ti system from alienware from their outlet, you know, a scratch and dent return, I've seen one with 1080Ti as low as $1529. I don't care about the appearance of the machine or this rgb stuff, so if they're going to give $500 off because of a dent, and still give a 1 year warranty, hey, works for me. Still, if I could wait and just get a 2080 for MSRP which would hopefully be $700 or so, I'd rather do that. If not though, my CPU is i7 6700, I could scratch the itch to upgrade that at the same time.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Probably. I imagine they have enough buying power that they can just have Nvidia or ATI run a batch just for them.

What's funny is that it's almost the same price to buy a laptop with a high end GPU right now than to buy that GPU alone.

 

[Snarf Snarf]

Alienware, ibuypower, you know the crews I mean. Right now I've got a 1060 and I'd like to upgrade, but under the current market conditions it'd be more cost effective to buy an entire prebuilt PC just to get the video card. But as close as we are to a new generation I figure it's best just to wait. Especially if performance increases for the next generation are similar to past generations (i.e. benchmarks I read show a 1080 as better than a 980Ti, so in theory a 2080 will be at least slightly better than a 1080Ti).

Obviously, if the next gen releases to sane pricing I'd just get a 2080 and upgrade my current system. But if sane pricing doesn't come, my question is, do the prebuilt makers have their own supply line for GPUs or will they be affected too, and have to increase their own prices by the same huge amounts?

It depends on the company, but they typically have a relationship with certain companies like EVGA, MSI, and ASUS. A lot of the cards that go in the out of the box specials are actually special SKU's that are created just for iBuyPower and Alienware. With the comitmment of purchasing X number of cards with a custom SKU they normally contract the deal at a locked in price per card, which shields them from market inflation at times like this.

You'll notice that for some of the custom builders if you choose a specific GPU SKU upgrade the cost is a lot higher than the base configuration (like adding an FTW or SC2 iCX card as a replacement for the card in the build by default). Those upgraded options are subject to market inflation normally because they aren't price locked through a deal.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What's funny is that it's almost the same price to buy a laptop with a high end GPU right now than to buy that GPU alone.

You do know that same-named laptop and desktop GPUs... are NOT the same GPUs, right?

Edit: Kind of like how Intel desktop-class i7 CPUs are generally always quad-core (or better), but up until CFL-U, i7 laptop CPUs were actually usually dual-core (with hyper-threading, and higher turbo than i5).

(That's why it's important to get an "HQ" laptop i7 CPU, as the "Q" in the model name specifies "Quad-core".)

 

[ElFenix]

You do know that same-named laptop and desktop GPUs... are NOT the same GPUs, right?

for nvidia they pretty much are, now. 1080 mobile is a fully-enabled GP104 chip, with the same boost and memory clock as a desktop 1080. the 1070 is actually more enabled than the 1070 desktop (16 SMs vs 15 SMs), though it has a slightly lower base and turbo clocks. likewise, mobile 1060 is a fully enabled GP106, with slightly reduced clocks.

it's a seriously good time to be a notebook-toting gamer.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I stand corrected. Wow, NVidia really has improved mobile gaming with Pascal. Pretty amazing.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You do know that same-named laptop and desktop GPUs... are NOT the same GPUs, right?

Edit: Kind of like how Intel desktop-class i7 CPUs are generally always quad-core (or better), but up until CFL-U, i7 laptop CPUs were actually usually dual-core (with hyper-threading, and higher turbo than i5).

(That's why it's important to get an "HQ" laptop i7 CPU, as the "Q" in the model name specifies "Quad-core".)

Hmm interesting did not know that. I guess it makes sense, considering most laptops are not really designed for dissipating 150w+ of heat. Let alone provide that much power.

 

[ZGR]

I stand corrected. Wow, NVidia really has improved mobile gaming with Pascal. Pretty amazing.

If we go back further, the GTX 650M is also the same exact chip as the GTX 650.

 

[Tweak155]

I have the GTX970 and basically in the same boat. At best you get a nice 20xx or 11xx card that releases and I'm thinking at worst, 10xx card drop down... although how far is still the question.

I've had the card over 3yrs now... more than ready to get something new!

 

[nitromullet]

If you google for “Alienware GTX 1070” or “hp GTX 1070” there are pics of the cards they use. The Alienware/Dell card looks a lot like the MSI Areo blower card without the lights, while hp appears to have their own shroud. Both look pretty plain and definitely look like volume OEM parts.

I looks like people might be parting out these systems too because these cards are popping up on eBay and etailer marketplaces.

 

[Guru]

They do end up buying OEM from Nvidia and AMD themselves. Smaller ones end up buying bulk from AIB partners like Asus, Gigabyte, etc... There is also mass retailers who buy themselves from AIB partners, but sell to retailers and shops.

 

[prtskg]

According to Lisa Su, they get preference as they sell it to gamers.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Same factories, same chips, slightly different designs sometimes, different branding/stickers, different delivery address.

However, Dell, HP, and other large OEMs have contract pricing, large order volumes, deliveries planned months in advance, and get preferential treatment because there's millions of dollars on the line.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you google for “Alienware GTX 1070” or “hp GTX 1070” there are pics of the cards they use. The Alienware/Dell card looks a lot like the MSI Areo blower card without the lights, while hp appears to have their own shroud. Both look pretty plain and definitely look like volume OEM parts.

I looks like people might be parting out these systems too because these cards are popping up on eBay and etailer marketplaces.

There are good and bad points to these OEM cards. I have an Acer prebuilt 7700 with GTX 1060 for development at work.

For normal desktop use the card is silent, so very nice. Under gaming loads (tried this at lunch) the fan gets noticeably louder than the MSI Lightning LE 980ti in my gaming PC.

 

[jrphoenix]

You can get a computer from ibuypower with a great video card for the price of a card alone. OEM's have preferential treatment which is why currently a person is sometimes better off buying a pre built that building their own pc.