Group Deal on Computer stuff?

[Bruce]

Folks,
Anyone interested in a good deal on computer equipment? At least it seems like a good deal to me. I was approached by a forum member with whom you are all probably familiar, who deals computers, and he offered to provide computers to forum members at a group rate if we can come up with 10 interested parties. I will paste in below one possible set up, but I believe there are a number to choose from. The price is $788. set up and delivered to your home or business. I think that includes shipping.

510D Desktop: Pentium® 4 Processor 2.00GHz, 400FSB, 512K CacheÂÂ

ÂMemory:ÂÂ 512MB DDR Non-ECC SDRAM (1 DIMM)

ÂKeyboard:ÂÂ Generic Quietkey PS/2 Gray Spacesaver KeyboardÂÂ PS2ÂÂ

ÂMonitor:ÂÂ No MonitorÂÂ

ÂGraphics Card:ÂÂ Integrated DVMT (Dynamic Video Memory Technology)ÂÂ

ÂHard Drive:ÂÂ 40GB EIDE 7200RPMÂÂ

ÂFloppy Drive:ÂÂ 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy DriveÂÂ

ÂOperating System: Windows® XP Home Version, Service Pack 1, with CD using FAT32ÂÂ

ÂMouse:ÂÂ Generic PS/2 2-Button Gray MouseÂÂ

ÂNetwork Adapter (NIC):ÂÂ Integrated NIC (10/100)ÂÂ

ÂModem:ÂÂ V.92 PCI Data/Fax Controllerless Modem for WindowsÂÂ

ÂCD ROM, DVD, and Read-Write Drives:ÂÂ 48X CD-ROMÂÂ

ÂSound Card:ÂÂ Integrated Sound Blaster CompatibleÂÂ

ÂSpeakers:ÂÂ No Speaker SelectedÂÂ

ÂChassis Stand:ÂÂ Light Gray Desktop Chassis StandÂÂ

ÂHardware Support Services:ÂÂ 1Yr Parts Delivery (Next Business Day)ÂÂ

Let me know what you think; questions etc.

Bruce

[abductor]

One important point..
Which is the motherboard? (on board or off board) ..for example one ASUS P4S8X is faster 2 times than any other onboard motherboard (and the price also). Reminding that the speed of a computer is not just in the processor..

[Phantom]

Seems like a good deal just be shure to check alternative sources like www.pricewatch.com (\"http://www.pricewatch.com\") which is undoubtedly the best out there, click on PC - Windows (under Systems) a Complete Pentium 4 2.0GHz system is $279 (without monitor of course) but one that compares to the computer package you listed is about $442.96 (thats with shipping). The price you gave is pretty reasonable and all Pc\'s are not created equal it all matters if quality computer parts were used and good warranty and customer service from the dealer are included.

[belgareth]

Anybody smart enough to be on this forum and buying mones from Bruce should be smarter than to buy one of those systems you listed. Look at it realistically. A low end but mainstream compatible motherboard, like ECS is going to run about $70. The P-4 2 GHz CPU is another $170, 512 meg of DDR is about $130, a 40 gig hard drive is another $100 and Windows XP retails for about $100 or so. Add a floppy drive, CD reader, cpu fan, keyboard, mouse etc, then assemble it. You get about $650 in parts, plus labor!

That\'s assuming you are buying decent, fully compatible hardware that is new, not rebuilt/refurbished factory seconds or some hole in the wall manufacturer that will be out of business in two months or second hand. In some cases, it\'s what you can afford, but I would rather save my money and get decent equipment that will work correctly.

An old family friend used to sell a major brand of TV through his retail shop and was always being undercut by KMart and such. Well, it turned out that the sets the competition was selling had the same brand name on it but not the same internal components. You couldn\'t even get it serviced because the repair manuals were not available and the parts were non-standard. We have the same situation here.

Bottom line is that you are going to get what you paid for. Pay for junk and you\'ll get junk. Frankly, most of the small shops like mine will not even bother with trying to fix one of those cheap boxes, they just tell you to go back to the manufacturer or throw it away. It\'s too much trouble and the liability is too high to work on them.

There are a half dozen other good reasons not to touch that stuff, but it is entirely up to you, of course.

[proteus]

Not a good deal Bruce - I can find the same system or better for much cheaper elsewhere as other folks here have already said.

[Watcher]

Im in australia so either way im out lol.

[belgareth]

I doubt that very seriously. You may find a cheaper system but not a high quality, factory assembled, fully warrantied system. You get what you pay for.

After doing many cost/benefit studies for numerous IT groups and having \'owned\' several thousand plus node networks and being responsible for a number of smaller networks now, I am in a position to know better than buy those cheap systems you say are just as good. Personally speaking, after looking at what you say are just as good, I would decline to support a network that used them. Don\'t need the liability or the headaches. The cheap systems may be fine for a techy, but not for the average person who does not have the time, knowledge or inclination to tinker with it.

There are very good reasons that major companies buy the more expensive systems, it is simple reliability and servicability. That is why smart buyers go to major dealers now, they don\'t want these machines built in somebody\'s back room, they want something that has been through rigorous quality control processes.

The offer is out there for forum members. These machines are comparable to ones sold at major dealers for about $150 more. They have full FACTORY warranties and come fully assemble, configured and ready to use.

[proteus]

Actually I never referenced any particular pc or website. I also work in the IT field and I\'m not knocking what you\'re selling as it\'s a great system. But I\'m simply saying from my perspective I don\'t think it\'s that great a deal as I can find a comparable system for less. But I do agree wth you that for the computer novice who doesn\'t know the intricacies of what they are buying, they\'re better off going off with a product that is certified fully tested and warrantied etc.

[CptKipling]

So we aren\'t doing overseas shipping? I might be interested otherwise.

Proteus, give us some examples please.

[bivonic]

Belgareth my only concern would be the dependencies on all of the \"on board\" integrated devices. If any of these devices fail you need to replace the motherboard. What is the turn around time on that? It would kind of suck to have to ship the motherboard, wait for the company to receive it check it, & wait for a replacement. If all of these devices were external to the MB & at the same price etc...it might be worth it. I\'d feel more comfortable getting a Dell 410. I\'m curious how much more it will cost, lemme check. Again not trying to discredit the offer I think it\'s great that you are willing to help us out.

[bivonic]

Price looks great compared to Dell\'s Refurbished, the only risk is what I mentioned before the all in one MB. Looks pretty feature rich, good work.

For point of reference the prices for the Refurbished Dell\'s were from $783 to $1,014 for 10 different units, filter of Dimension 2350, Processor P4-2000, RAM 512, HD\'s were from 30-120GB, variety of CD drives including DVD & CDRW/DVD drives.

[belgareth]

Unfortunately, federal law keeps me from shipping overseas. It can be done but it is cost probitive for a small company like mine.

[belgareth]

We can go with a non-integrated motherboard with a slight price increase. Also, remember that if you have an integrated part fail after the warranty period, you can always disable it in the bios and go to a plug and play component.

I didn\'t mention that these units can be fully customized to your specs, but they are. I am the factory warranty station and can do fast turn around tmes, as needed. Because these are built by a major manufacturer, there are a lot of other factory warranty stations around the US.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn\'t be nearly so enthusiastic about lesser units. I have to warranty and service them and am only reimbursed for parts, not labor. These are solid computers that need virtually nothing. I am getting a fantastic deal on them and am offering them only to forum members at very small margins. My regular customer base is paying a lot more for them.