Customization as a way of life
Dell says its OptiPlex line is targeted at corporate customers, whereas its Dimension brand is its mainstream consumer line. Aside from them saying that, though, there's no easy, consistent way to distinguish between them. To some degree, the highest-end OptiPlex systems can be specified with more capacity and more power than the highest-end Dimensions. But there's lots of overlap. And, basically, a Dimension is going to cost less than an OptiPlex configured identically.
Let's take a look at some "starting at" prices, and what they cost when configured our way. We first considered the entry-level 170L line.
The OptiPlex 170L Celeron "Base" is the "Entry-Level Solution" in the OptiPlex line and is listed "from $378"--but this is the Celeron model, and we want to go with a Pentium system. As it turns out, this is one of the few Dell models where you can't just upgrade the chip.
So we move move briskly on to the Dell OptiPlex 170L "Enhanced." The first enhancement is a Intel Pentium 4 running at 3.0GHz, which is just what we need (and the slowest chip they are offering in this model).
Let's upgrade it to our desired standard business desktop system. We change the OS to Microsoft XP Professional (much more manageable in a multi-system office), fill to 512MB of RAM, add a CD-ROM, a 17-inch tube monitor, and an Office suite. Everything else is good. The final price is now $1,056. (The previous week it added up to $1,094.)
Plus shipping, of course.
AllBusiness.com Standard Business Desktop Computer — Dell
*As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
The Dell OptiPlex 170L "Advanced" starts at $711 with the same fast Pentium, installs Windows XP Pro instead of Home, still shorts you on the same ridiculous 256MB of RAM, though they must have gotten a good deal on hard drives because this comes with a nice fat 160GB one, and this time a CD-ROM is included. All we have to upgrade is the RAM and add a monitor and Office and--bingo!-- we're at $1,174. The extra $118 gets you the bigger hard drive. Interestingly, Dell charges only $40 to do the same upgrade to the Enhanced model, above. Hmmm.
No wonder we're going crazy.
AllBusiness.com Standard Business Desktop Computer — Dell
*As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
Now we come to the Dell OptiPlex GX520 — "for corporate customers seeking next-generation design, advanced performance and choice of form factors." (Form factor means that the GX comes in big, medium, and small box sizes. Different sizes mainly affect how many slots are available inside the box for future expansion, and how much desk space you give up.) Final price is $1,317. That's the highest price of the Standard systems we looked at from all vendors, by the way.
AllBusiness.com Standard Business Desktop Computer — Dell
*As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
The Dell Dimension Line is the middle-of-the-road Dell lineup. We looked at the Dell Dimension 3100 (Entry-Level), described as good for "budget buyers seeking a basic solution--Great for: Word processing, Internet, E-mail, Spreadsheets, Other basic daily tasks." (They like random capitalization.) The base model starts at $449 with an Intel Pentium 4 at 2.8GHz, XP Home, the usual ridiculous 256MB RAM, plus Symantec PC Restore software, and a one-year on-site "Economy support plan." It also has a nice 80GB hard drive and CD drive, but of course no monitor.
AllBusiness.com Standard Business Desktop Computer — Dell
Dell Dimension 3100 "Entry-Level/Base" *As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
Let's upgrade this puppy to our standard business configuration, by upgrading the processor to 3.0GHz, adding a 17-inch CRT monitor, XP Professional, and Microsoft Office Small Business Edition, and we get $957 as our final price (plus shipping). This is the cheapest PC in our roundup. So Dell sells both the priciest and the least pricey configurations in the Standard configuration!
Note some oddities here: For the Dimension, Dell offers a cheaper monitor: Only $50 instead of $149 for the same-size CRT on the OptiPlex. On the other hand, Windows XP Professional is priced at $149 for this machine, but only $99 for the OptiPlexes.
Summary Table — Standard Business Desktop Computer
*As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
So for the same basic configuration we get from one vendor multiple prices: $957, $1,056, $1,174, and $1,317. Why?
We weren't able to get a good answer from Dell — or from any of the other vendors who had the same kinds of minor pricing discrepancies. We think there are just too many components flying by to keep it all completely consistent — Dell is famed for running inventory through its warehouses in a matter of hours — and we can also imagine the product managers juggling component pricing continually to drive sales in this model and that product line in order to meet sales goals, balanced across the whole company.
Dell — Power-User Desktop
As you recall, the Power User's Office Desktop ups the processor to a 3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD; a full 1GB RAM; a 120GB hard drive; a writable CD/DVD; a slightly larger 19-inch LCD monitor; and everything else the same. It should cost more, but not a huge amount more. Or are we wrong?
AllBusiness.com Power-User Business Desktop Computer — Dell
Dell Dimension 3100 "Advanced" *As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
The Dimension 3100 upgraded to Power User costs nearly $500 more than it does in the Standard configuration, though only $250 more than the OptiPlii in Standard config. Let's take a look at the Dimension 9150, which Dell says targets power performers.
AllBusiness.com Power-User Business Desktop Computer — Dell
Dell Dimension 9150 *As of January 23, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
Good grief, what's this? Cheaper than the midrange Dimension 3100? About the same price as an OptiPlex in Standard configuration? And this baby comes with a dual-core processor — which should more than make up for its 2.8GHz clock speed (in some applications at least). And it comes with upgraded graphics, too. What a deal!
OK, time to fire up an OptiPlex to the same configuration. We'll push the envelope a little here, so don't expect budget pricing on this one: an OptiPlex GX620 "Performance" model. We'll go for the larger "mini-tower" chassis — so our Power User has room to breathe — with a starting price of $786 for this base configuration.
AllBusiness.com Power-User Business Desktop Computer — Dell
Dell OptiPlex GX620 "Performance As of January 24, 2006. Totals based on vendor configurator.
Let's go with a dual-core chip on this one too--the Pentium D here is even faster than the Pentium 4 in the Dimension we just configured above. They only charge $99 for the XP Professional upgrade on this model this week. We'll put a full two gigabytes of RAM on this too. A 160GB drive is only a $25 upgrade--nice! Total: A breathtaking $2,259!
Our Conclusion: The box it comes in sure seems to make a big difference in the price of a PC!
