[medved]

I recommend build your own :)

It's not even hard to do. In fact, if the average consumer ever figured out how simple it was, Dell would go under within a week.

[HAL9000]

In fact, if the average consumer ever figured out how simple it was, Dell would go under within a week.

This sounds like an interesting project for Anna Nichole Smith.

[absalom01]

"In fact, if the average consumer ever figured out how simple it was, Dell would go under within a week."

Or maybe not. I've been using Dell for a couple of years now, and have found that Dell often can provide fully assembled boxen for almost exactly the same price I would have to pay for the parts. Add in the cost of the labor, and it's a no-brainer.

For a small business, Dell is a terrific resource (no I don't have any other business relationship with them.)

As for the anti-gun issue, I sent an e-mail to their marketing department when the story broke (you know, the guys who call every few months seeing if there's anything else you need to buy...) , and got a very rapid response quoting Michael Dell's apology, and stating clearly that a low-level employee had made a mistake. If they were trending that way before, I think that their thinking has been fully corrected. (For whatever reason, IT folks tend to let people know their opinions on just about every issue, and also tend to be, shall we say, libertarian in their approach to the second amendment. I reckon that Dell got a real earful over that gaff and that they'll be extra-careful in the future.)

[ECM]

And what a beautiful site that would be ;)

[gore3000]

It's not even hard to do. In fact, if the average consumer ever figured out how simple it was, Dell would go under within a week.

My way a lot of places sell 'upgrade bundles' which give you everything except the hard drive, monitor and keyboard and you can get it all for a pretty high powered system for about $300 bucks.

[BruceS]

It's not even hard to do. In fact, if the average consumer ever figured out how simple it was, Dell would go under within a week.

I think this is a rather simplistic answer, especially for a business application. I just left a job where I did computer support, in addition to my regular duties. I found that it was easier to order a Dell configured the way I wanted it, rather then spend the time to order the parts and build it. Actually, it was simple economics - I billed out at $80 per hour. I used to work at another company where I did the same things and I built the computers. The time wasted was not worth while-even though it was fun.

Since I have left, I am setting up an income tax preparation service out of my home and I ordered a Dell. I just don't have the time to fiddle with building my own (even though I enjoy doing that).