I've followed the series of posts on this discusson of sub $1000 - sub $500 and more systems in this thread, and with all due respect to the participants, if anybody thinks that a motherboard and a microprocessor makes a computer, that person is - wrong. Moreover, the discussion is not realistic. Reality is that Cyrix and AMD are making microprocessors and in some cases, the motherboards on which they are fitted; and selling them for somewhat less than is Intel. AMD, for example, is committed to underselling AMD by 25%, but that does NOT mean that the fully integrated system will be 25% less than a system with "Intel Inside". Other components - video cards, sound cards, speakers, NICs, modems, memory, monitors, keyboards, mice, disk drives, CD-ROMS, tape backups, floppy drives, power supplies, cases, and even cables are procured from other vendors at a cost unaffected by the brand of microprocessor - and depending on the use to which the system will be put - are required to make a system useful for an end user. Today (IMHO), the price point for that kind of system probably starts at around no less than $1,800 - and goes up - without regard as to whether it is being acquired for home or for business use. Furthermore, in the near term future, I do NOT see NCs being deployed in business environments except in special circumstances where a dedicated thin client system is the complete requirement.
Now, at the risk of stirring this pot a little more..... I don't buy computers because Intel is inside. I buy computers with the components in them I need for them to be useful in the environment in which they will be deployed from vendors that are reputable for the lowest price I can achieve. I care that I can extend useful life by being able to upgrade them. I care about who the OEM is with some of the components; but not about the vast majority of them, because when a component fails, I'm going to look to the vendor of the integrated system for support.
If the major vendors who I consider credible for the systems I procure (GTW, DELL, CPQ) were to offer systems configured the way I want them and if those systems happened to have AMD or CYRIX microprocessors in them and if their performance was competitive with INTC processors and if the cost of the configured system were less than another that had an INTC microprocessor, I would buy those systems. Sorry, but that's the way it is. |
