Good time to buy a computer?

[Aspec5vz]

I need to get a new computer and was looking at buying an Alienware. Does Dell give Cyber Monday or Black Friday discounts or should I wait until around Christmas time or is there a better time to buy? I also heard that if you go to the Dell store you're more likely to get discounts than buying online or over the phone; any insight on that?

[den888]

Hard to say, for sure. Deals are usually on Black Friday. But, you know, once you buy one, you always find a better deal a week or month later.

[sergismaximus]

make sure you use some kind of price search sight like price grabber

[MA2]

Dell's deals: http://slickdeals.net/blackfriday/de...ome-office/441
Don't forget to take a look at Fry's, Staples and Costco.
Oh, newegg online as well.

I don't know if there are good deals on PC, I like building mine with the higher end hard drives and no bloat ware.

[NorCalXJ]

Build a computer that is much better than alienware and cheaper. Don't buy premade computers, they use the cheapest components and can't overclock or do other stuff.

[Aspec5vz]

I've been thinking about building one honestly, but if I can get a decent enough deal I'd go for it.

[NorCalXJ]

Newegg.com has sales all the time. That's where i get all my computer needs. Building a computer is easy. The major concerns is making sure you motherboard can support your RAM(ex: 1333 ram, 1600 RAM), socket type(CPU prongs and whether intel or AMD). Easier than building an AR.

[Aspec5vz]

Haha yea I've never built one before but I've modified existing computers in the past. I've been out of the computer scene for a long time now but my laptop is so slow I need to replace it.

[NorCalXJ]

I hear yah. I use to be into computers, until i turned 18 and bought my first rifle

[Fizz]

Build a computer that is much better than alienware and cheaper. Don't buy premade computers, they use the cheapest components and can't overclock or do other stuff.

Cheapest components? About the only thing large OEMs can cheap out on are PSUs. They really have no motivation to cheap out here; just means more RMA work for them (this holds true until you get into SUPER budget machines that carry little warranty). Most everything else is a standard model made by someone else.

Dell, HP, etc. aren't really manufacturers. They're integrators. They use Foxconn manufactured boards, Intel processors, Micron memory, nvidia/ATI video cards, western digital hard disks and lots of other stuff that you could get off the shelf. If not an exact replacement, a product of the same style with different features (ex, a lot of Dell consumer level motherboards are based on Retail counterparts with added/removed features, the manufacturing, parts and tooling are the same otherwise). About the only thing they really do is have custom cases/branding opportunities.

I've personally spec'ed and built -thousands- of custom machines and work for a company with Dell and other partnerships. Most of how large OEMs make the pricepoints they do is not due to selling junk, it's making kickbacks from bloatware, preinstalled 'optimizations,' volume and futures (HP machine = HP printer = HP Inks/Toner = HP branded Consummables etc.)

[Laythor]

If you, family member, friend work for a large-ish company, have them check their employee perks website. Most companies offer some kind of Dell discount.

[Fizz]

Newegg.com has sales all the time. That's where i get all my computer needs. Building a computer is easy. The major concerns is making sure you motherboard can support your RAM(ex: 1333 ram, 1600 RAM), socket type(CPU prongs and whether intel or AMD). Easier than building an AR.

Tiger Direct will you get you stuff 'Tax free.'

There are a lot more concerns with that. Not everyone is concerned with building their own machines and that's OK. (Especially since it's job security for me .... well technically I do more systems for Small Business>Enterprise clients)

[Atlantaboi2012]

For gaming, Ive had several geeks tell me itll be alot better if you build ur own computer.. Alienware laptops range from 2 to 4 Gs and still have a lot of tech issues. I

[Fizz]

If you, family member, friend work for a large-ish company, have them check their employee perks website. Most companies offer some kind of Dell discount.

This is true. However, generally the pricing schedule are minor 'discounts' since such businesses are the end-user instead of a reseller.

You don't get Dell's lowest tier pricing until you're a reseller.

So, sometimes you can get better pricing through a Dell Partner than you can through such discount programs for end-use business. It REALLY depends on the partner at that point, what margin they're willing to sell a machine for, etc.

When I resell Dell machines the margin I put on them on top of our cost depends really on how much effort it takes.

If you said, "I found this on Dell's website, basic model, I want to get it through you" I'd probably do something low like 10% margin; there's not a whole lot of effort on my part. I'm basically just a taker of payment. Me making 10% still undersells Dell direct; you get the same product either way.

If you said, I want you to quote me a high end dell machine with these features, this warranty package, these options, etc. I'll charge more margin because it involves more effort. You'll still get a better price than Dell direct.

Ex. some of their servers are 4500 retail. My cost is 3300. If I make 200 dollars on a server that requires little effort on my part I'm happy and you're happy because you saved 1000 bucks. Dell gets away with this since no one scrutinizes their pricing. They still make a nice profit selling at my cost, if you go direct, it's just a bonus for them!

[NorCalXJ]

I should have said high end components. I like to OC and boost my PC to its limits.