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Dell Dimension 5150 w/XP upgrade to Windows7
I have a customer with a Dell Dimension 5150. Purchase date 6/23/2006. IF you where that average customer, would you pay $400 to update it to Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB ddr 800 and restore data, email, contacts, and all updates and security programs or Let me build you one with an Good ASUS Mobo, Kingston 2-1GB DDR2 800, 500GB Hard Drive, Nice looking case with 3 fans and Restore Data, email and contacts transferred, install security programs and all updates and programs(adobe reader & acrobat for $750 and trade in the Dell.
All we are doing is trading cases. He keeps the Monitor KB, Mouse, Speakers etc.
Here are the specs on the Dell:
Quantity Parts # Part Description
1 CC299 DISPLAY..., FLAT PANEL DISPLAY..., 19, 1907FPC, BLACK..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
0 149DF INFORMATION..., PREPARATION MATERIAL..., DEVIATION..., PRECISION WORKSTATION..., INCREASE..., #2
1 CJ339 MOUSE..., UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., 2BTN, WHEEL..., LEAD FREE..., OPTICAL..., BLACK...
1 DJ331 KEYBOARD..., 104, UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., UNITED STATES..., ENTRY..., LITEON..., BLACK...
2 F6761 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE..., 512, 533M, 64X64, 8, 240, 1RX8
1 JK592 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., OVERPACK..., WINDOWS XP..., MCE05U, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
0 4X388 INSTRUCTION..., PREP-MTL, DEVIATION..., DIMENSION..., INCREASE..., NUMBER...
1 MJ772 PROCESSOR..., PENTIUM D PRESLER..., 930, 3.0G, 2X2M, C1
1 CD940 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., WORDPERFECT..., 12, PLUS-TRIAL
1 KH285 CARD (CIRCUIT)..., GRAPHICS..., X300, SERVER ENHANCED..., MRMGA9LF
1 YG768 ASSEMBLY..., DVD+/-RW..., 16X, PHILIPS, CHASSIS 2005...
1 CC306 HARD DRIVE..., 160G, S2, 7.2K, 8M, LEAD FREE..., SGT-TNK
1 TH760 KIT..., SPEAKER..., 120V, A525, LEAD FREE..., BLACK..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
1 KD104 ASSEMBLY..., Flash Storage Device..., UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., READER..., HALF HEIGHT..., TEAC..., CHASSIS 2005...
1 R6401 ASSEMBLY..., CABLE..., FLEX-BAY, DIMENSION..., MATRIX,SMITH,MINI TOWER...
1 D9926 ASSEMBLY..., DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., 16X, HALF HEIGHT..., TOSHIBA SAMSUNG STORAGE TECHNOLOGY..., CHASSIS 2005..., LEAD FREE...
If you were that customer
All we are doing is trading cases. He keeps the Monitor KB, Mouse, Speakers etc.
Here are the specs on the Dell:
Quantity Parts # Part Description
1 CC299 DISPLAY..., FLAT PANEL DISPLAY..., 19, 1907FPC, BLACK..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
0 149DF INFORMATION..., PREPARATION MATERIAL..., DEVIATION..., PRECISION WORKSTATION..., INCREASE..., #2
1 CJ339 MOUSE..., UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., 2BTN, WHEEL..., LEAD FREE..., OPTICAL..., BLACK...
1 DJ331 KEYBOARD..., 104, UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., UNITED STATES..., ENTRY..., LITEON..., BLACK...
2 F6761 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE..., 512, 533M, 64X64, 8, 240, 1RX8
1 JK592 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., OVERPACK..., WINDOWS XP..., MCE05U, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
0 4X388 INSTRUCTION..., PREP-MTL, DEVIATION..., DIMENSION..., INCREASE..., NUMBER...
1 MJ772 PROCESSOR..., PENTIUM D PRESLER..., 930, 3.0G, 2X2M, C1
1 CD940 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., WORDPERFECT..., 12, PLUS-TRIAL
1 KH285 CARD (CIRCUIT)..., GRAPHICS..., X300, SERVER ENHANCED..., MRMGA9LF
1 YG768 ASSEMBLY..., DVD+/-RW..., 16X, PHILIPS, CHASSIS 2005...
1 CC306 HARD DRIVE..., 160G, S2, 7.2K, 8M, LEAD FREE..., SGT-TNK
1 TH760 KIT..., SPEAKER..., 120V, A525, LEAD FREE..., BLACK..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
1 KD104 ASSEMBLY..., Flash Storage Device..., UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., READER..., HALF HEIGHT..., TEAC..., CHASSIS 2005...
1 R6401 ASSEMBLY..., CABLE..., FLEX-BAY, DIMENSION..., MATRIX,SMITH,MINI TOWER...
1 D9926 ASSEMBLY..., DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., 16X, HALF HEIGHT..., TOSHIBA SAMSUNG STORAGE TECHNOLOGY..., CHASSIS 2005..., LEAD FREE...
If you were that customer
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ASKER
@leew as stated in my question.."IF you where that average customer, would you pay..." The average computer user in my mind would be surfing the web and email.
I have been owner and operator of this business for 13 years and build systems because Name Brand PC's put low grade parts. Meaning less than average motherboard, ram, power supplies, etc. I warranty the PC's I build and use nice cases with three fans, 700 or more power supply, Kingston, Corsair or G-Skill with heat spreaders to deflect heat away. At one time I did use whatever name brand PC the customer wanted but lately I have noticed that all they are doing is put windows 7 with a lot of ram and a big hard drive. Everything else is low cost junk in my professional opinion. I also stand behind every unit I build with outstanding customer support.
(Incidentally, that is the reason I build systems for client. Like I was building it for myself.) Customer service is the name of the game. But when you build good PC's, rarely does anything go wrong hardware wise the first year. Usually 3-4 years on average on hardware.
Thanks for your opinion though. We all have one.
By the way, I talked to him today and with the PC being 4 1/2 years old, he is trading in his Dell and I am taking $250 off the price of the custom build. That's what I would have done if it were me.
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I have been owner and operator of this business for 13 years and build systems because Name Brand PC's put low grade parts. Meaning less than average motherboard, ram, power supplies, etc. I warranty the PC's I build and use nice cases with three fans, 700 or more power supply, Kingston, Corsair or G-Skill with heat spreaders to deflect heat away. At one time I did use whatever name brand PC the customer wanted but lately I have noticed that all they are doing is put windows 7 with a lot of ram and a big hard drive. Everything else is low cost junk in my professional opinion. I also stand behind every unit I build with outstanding customer support.
(Incidentally, that is the reason I build systems for client. Like I was building it for myself.) Customer service is the name of the game. But when you build good PC's, rarely does anything go wrong hardware wise the first year. Usually 3-4 years on average on hardware.
Thanks for your opinion though. We all have one.
By the way, I talked to him today and with the PC being 4 1/2 years old, he is trading in his Dell and I am taking $250 off the price of the custom build. That's what I would have done if it were me.
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ASKER
Thanks for both your opinions.
Opinions, Yes, we all have them. Mine is based on 16 years of professional experience. I decided after about 7 or 8 years I no longer wanted the support headaches. Let Dell or HP or Acer or whoever handle the them. And if I'm the one calling, I know that I have precisely one call and potentially ONE argument. Not 2 or 3 with different vendors over a bad part. The cost to build is roughly the same as the cost to buy (the margins are so low, I wouldn't WANT to bother.
That said, I only recommend business class systems - even for home users. I've had one hardware failure in the last 4 years that I can remember on a business class workstation... that was a hard drive. And my support call lasted all of 10 minutes, INCLUDING hold time. I've also had PROMINENT manufacturers deny their device was a problem and blame the other component's manufacturer... Promise and Western Digital fighting it out. Last time I had a RAID controller/hard disk uncertainty, DELL replaced BOTH. Neither Promise nor WD wanted to replace either. That's what you're at risk for when you build for a client. To me, it's not worth the time and headache potential - further, if the system does fail, the client knows YOU put it together... they can more easily fault you and ask if you were wrong about that hardware, what else are you wrong about? If a Dell fails (or HP, or Acer, or etc), then it's bad luck... at the very least it's not as much of a black eye on me.
Anyway, that's my opinion on this for the record. Others could read this question and I think it's important to clear perspectives... feel free to post back or let this die... I'm going to unsubscribe/unmonitor now.
That said, I only recommend business class systems - even for home users. I've had one hardware failure in the last 4 years that I can remember on a business class workstation... that was a hard drive. And my support call lasted all of 10 minutes, INCLUDING hold time. I've also had PROMINENT manufacturers deny their device was a problem and blame the other component's manufacturer... Promise and Western Digital fighting it out. Last time I had a RAID controller/hard disk uncertainty, DELL replaced BOTH. Neither Promise nor WD wanted to replace either. That's what you're at risk for when you build for a client. To me, it's not worth the time and headache potential - further, if the system does fail, the client knows YOU put it together... they can more easily fault you and ask if you were wrong about that hardware, what else are you wrong about? If a Dell fails (or HP, or Acer, or etc), then it's bad luck... at the very least it's not as much of a black eye on me.
Anyway, that's my opinion on this for the record. Others could read this question and I think it's important to clear perspectives... feel free to post back or let this die... I'm going to unsubscribe/unmonitor now.
ASKER
Thanks for your opinion Leew. I understand and did it that way for years. But recently about 9 months ago I bought this customer an HP middle class PC and after about 4 month his ethernet adaptor went out. When I went to put a replacement pci ethernet adaptor the motherboard didn't have any pci slots. Theu where all pci express slots. That is when I started back building them myself. I have notice that all PC manufactures where putting in cheap, low grade parts inside the cases. I do understand the risk of building them myself and the pros and cons of buying from manufactures (HP, Dell, Gateway, etc.) Interesting opinions and view points.
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ASKER
Thanks
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