Does Dell want to exit the business-class market?

Not everyone is comfortable removing the lid, and reinstalling the OS and all the drivers is a time-consuming PITA for those of us who are not hobbyists.

Why not buy a laptop (from Lenovo or HP) which comes with the SSD already installed?

 

It took 7 screws and five minutes to swap my SSD in. Maybe an hour to install the drivers?

I personally did it more for the savings than any other reason. I too bought my computer to get (engineering) work done, rather than to play games.

 

And the warranty is not compromised?

Perhaps if were just the SSD I might consider trying it myself... or if it is that easy then perhaps the computer shop could do it for a reasonable cost. (The machine will be owned by my company, so at least any necessary mods could be made with pre-tax dollars). But the reality is that in the absence of the customary 30% discount I feel that most Dell machines afford poor value compared to the competition, and unfortunately Dell Canada only offers two choices... one a discounted model which in addition to an SSD would need an upgraded processor, upgraded screen, upgraded (9 cell) battery, etc... and the other a mid-level configuration which is 50% more costly the an equivalent Thinkpad. So the SSD is not the deal-breaker.

In any case, my concern was not so much the SSD, but the fact that Dell is almost certainly driving customers to Lenovo and HP in its efforts to reduce costs.

But thanks for posting. And I agree that DIY drive installation would be a good option for many users, given that the premiums charged for factory-installed SSDs seem to be a significant obstacle.

 

No, it does not affect the warranty at all. Obviously Dell will not replace a failed drive if it has been installed by the user. Same goes for adding more RAM.

I hear you on the discount (this machine is mine rather than the companies).

Does your company have a large account with Dell? I believe several people on this forum have mentioned full customization when ordering through their work specific Dell portal or from their sales rep.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I cannot agree more on how much time I wasted doing those unnecessary work.

 

I agree with you 100%. As a fellow Canadian, I am tired of us getting the short end of the stick when it comes to retail goods sold online. Dell has always been at the bottom of my list because the customization options are limited, and the prices are always higher than in the US. Lenovo seems to have revamped their Canadian site to be comparable to the US, and their new machines are pretty good, regardless of what the true die-hard Thinkpad enthusiasts say, and their prices are very reasonable like you have seen.

I've never owned a Dell, and don't plan to ever purchase one from their website. The only way I will get a Dell laptop is through 3rd party channels such as through forum classified sections or through eBay. For example, their high end Latitude and Precision workstations can be had on eBay (from a Canadian seller) for at least 50% cheaper than retail. Granted, these units are refurbished but from what I have read Dell's refurbished units aren't all that bad. In any case, since your company will be owning it, buying from a 3rd party probably won't be ideal.

I think you should call Dell, get some sort of agent on the line and express your needs and your disappointment with the website, etc., and that if you don't get the options you want you will be buying from Lenovo.

 

A very small market. The real money is with the masses who will buy what you convince them to buy.

Dell has not been an innovator for a very long time, that distinction goes to Apple, who charts the path that Dell and every other computer manufacture follow and plays catchup.

 

Why in the world would you do that? Just image the old drive, install the new one, and restore the image. Five minutes for the installation, the computer does the rest.

 

I think Dell wants to nudge all of the power-users into the Precision laptops. Not like the days of the D830 and the Precision equivalent, or even the E6400/E6500 and the Precisions, which were effectively identical.

Having said that, enterprise and "personal" feature sets are significantly converging, with differentiation being more difficult than in the past. You can thank Apple for driving a lot of this.

As for pricing, its well known that nobody pays Dell list -- discounts of 50% are typical.

 

funny enough I got a better price for my Inspiron 15 7000 series at best buy,

I also picked up my M3800 from eBay as a refurb, for under $ 1200.00, I added the SSD and msata drives afterwards.
as mentioned the bottom cover comes off easily and you have access to msata hard drive, wifi and memory.