fastpakr
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V8 Engine Swap
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- Joined
- Aug 6, 2007
- Messages
- 8,030
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- 2,845
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- Location
- Roanoke, VA
- Vehicle Year
- 1999
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- V8
- Engine Size
- 5.0
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
- Tire Size
- 285/75-16
By your own numbers on Lil_Blue_Ford's pc, your estimate of 2-4x just went to about 20%. And while the OEM's do occasionally lock you out of non-proprietary upgrades, it's not that common. At my current and previous jobs, we've used Dell as the supplier for desktop and laptop PC's (usually HP/Compaq for server class gear). Other than power supplies, they all use standard parts you can purchase at any store like Newegg. What upgrades are you referring to that require OEM parts?4x as much, probably not; that was an exaggeration. 2-3x is a definate probability. See the example below.
I have right at $1,000 in my case and hardware at home. A comparable unit from Dell is $2,650 from Dell (I just built a comparable PC on Dell's website) and that is with a few less options that mine has but wasn't an option on Dell's website (extra hard drives, extra fans, fan speed controller, larger modular power supply, custom case).
A PC like lil_Blue_Ford's parents need, I could build for $800 with either XP Pro, XP Pro 64-bit, or Vista Ultimate. For $800 it would also include Office Professional 2007. For the exact same PC on Dell's website, it was over $1,000 including Office Professional 2007.
Not to mention that if you build or have someone build a PC, you can upgrade it in the future as your needs grow. Have you ever tried upgrading a factory build PC (Dell, HP, etc)? It is impossible unless you buy largely marked up parts from the original manufacture (Dell, HP, etc).
I do occasionally PC's for myself or other people if needed. Most of the time, though, I can purchase something manufactured with a warranty for about the same cost.
Post the equipment you're installing on yours vs Dell's site that was $1000 vs $2650.
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