Home end PC vs Business end PC

[Zxian]

Yes, they are useful sometimes, but for the most part, they just sit there unused. I never said that you were stupid, but most consumers are. They buy things because sales reps tell them that they "need" it, or it's "better".

I know a woman that bought a Dell XPS because the sales rep told her that it was faster... and she needed something for the internet and word processing.... absolutely rediculous. I could have built her something that would have done everything she could ever want for 1/3 of the price.

[Jeremy]

"OMFG there's a desktop icon missing on my computer!!!! Well, time to rant to tech support and buy a new system!!! The new one will surely have the desktop icon I'm looking for!!! yes, I feel so much better now!!!"

And bells and whistles have nothing to do with whether it's a business PC or home PC, it depends on the user. I removed 450 MBs of XP Home with nLite so of course I don't need annoying bells and whistles.

We have two PCs at home, very simple networking would be involved there. No use for XP Pro. If you're an average joe, you do not need XP Pro.

"Ohh you want to network 5 computers and plan to do total system backups??? Then please purchase XP Ultra Mega Super Duper Godlike Corporate Insane 1337 SP10!"

Even if I owned a business, I would not buy Dells. I think it's an insult to the PC itself not to have an AGP slot on the mobo. Also, prescotts get insanely hot so I'd use a really good thermaltake or Zalman heatsink, ramsinks, chipset fan, harddrive cooler, 120mm rear fan, 80mm front fan and a nice PSU. Good airflow is essential. Well, all that may not be financially possible if you're starting a business, then again, fans don't cost very much. "Dirt cheap" actually.

Just a reminder, anyone who is looking for intelligent facts, please refer to Zxian. He's not an id***.

[FthrJACK]

wake up on lan is just down to your network card. get a decent one with the required chip on board and voila. hell, pull the old NIC's out of your redundant works PC,s and save some money.

Edited September 22, 2005 by FthrJACK

[InTheWayBoy]

Hey RedCloud...thought I chased you away...too bad.

A "business" class machine will generally:

1. Offer better quality components...quality, not quantity.

2. Offer better support options...if you decide to pay for them

3. Offer better management...many can even have their BIOS altered from a remote location if you have the right tools.

4. Typically come preloaded with WinXP Pro...Home is generally not offered.

5. Not change too much...they try to stay as similar as possible, to make future upgrades easier.

A "consumer" class machine will:

1. Come With WinXP Home...but offer Pro for $$$.

2. Will have stickers all over it with catch-phrases )

3. Includes extra features that are not cost effective for "business" machines...dual optical drives, memory readers, modems, extra software, free cheap-o printers.

4. Have horrible support.

Now those aren't all the differences by any means, but it's a good list to add to the rest that have been mentioned.

Other things to take into account is the computer support at the place of use. If you have an IT staff, then some of the features of a "business" machine are lost. A cheaper, more powerful "consumer" model will be attractive to places where they have their own IT staff, since they won't have to worry about talking to India all the time.

Also, financing plays into this as well...certain leasing options may only be offered on an OEM's "business" class models.

Features like Wake On LAN are easy enough to impliment in any PC...just drop the appropriate NIC into it. But on a "business" PC these are often standard, making it a bit easier to ensure a uniform computer environment. Same goes for SCSI, gigabit, and ECC RAM. For many IT people, paying a slight premium to take all that headache out of the picture is worth it. At0mic provided some great examples as to why it's not always a good idea to mass produce your own machines.

[Redcloud]

IntheWayBoy, you are obviously a boy as you admit, and I guess you haven't quite grasped that point, too bad.

You'r last post was comprised of simple opinions. Stick to the facts.

[prathapml]

Now please stay on topic without having to provoke anyone....

[Zxian]

IntheWayBoy, you are obviously a boy as you admit, and I guess you haven't quite grasped that point, too bad.

You'r last post was comprised of simple opinions.  Stick to the facts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll agree with the first bit.

@InTheWayBoy - Just prove him wrong and people will figure things out for themselves.

@Redcould - What are the facts then? The list that InTheWayBoy pointed out are generally what you see in in market.

I remember having to deal with Dell Tech support (not meaning to bash Dell in this topic, but...) for 45 minutes because the spindle motor in my CD-ROM drive had died. You know... put in the CD, CD "whirrs" as it spins up... I didn't have that. I tried explaining to the guy that I had tried everything (reinstalling drivers, booting from Knoppix, etc etc), but I still had to deal with them for an hour and a half.

My friend bought a LCD display from Dell under his business contract, and there was a little bit of leaking at the bottom right corner (You really had to be picky to notice it). He called them up and they instantly offered to replace it. INSTANT!!! No pictures, no questions. Just a 3 minute call. *grumble*

That's the difference in terms of Tech Support between PCs bought for the consumer and PCs bought for corporations/businesses.

[InTheWayBoy]

Exactly...if you call Dell for a consumer PC you still get routed to India. If you are a business customer, then all their support is back to being in the US. They were getting too many angry business customers...too bad more consumers don't take it to the top, as they would probably switch everything back if there was enough reason to.

As for opinions and facts...it's all blurred here. There is no clear-cut distinction between a consumer or business machine, as the OEM gets to decide. There are common formulas that are shared, but no specification. So most of this info will be opinions, as everyone looks at the two in different ways.

[TheFlash428]

Another big thing I think that has not been mentioned is customization.

With Dell (and others), the consumer line is very open to customization. When you place an order you can specify and upgrade each component to get the computer you are looking for, the actual model of computer seems to serve as not much more than a guide. I have found that with the business line however, you pretty much buy the model that has the specifications you are looking for and get bulk quantities of identical machines.

In my opinion though, a cheap system is a cheap system. If a company is that concerned about spending money, they should realize that they are doomed to work at slow computers that will probably be obsolete with in a period time to short to offset the cost savings. Just my own opinion.

[Redcloud]

I agree too. Just phishing, trying to get that goat to come out from behind the tree.