I need to know why is NAS box is so OVERPRICED ???

[azev]

Well I just check on dell website to get 1TB ( four 250GB drives) and it cost a little over $5k.
Let see;
- It has Xeon 2.6
- 1GB (1 module)
- 2 Gigabit nic
- Windows 2000 ADV
I can build a computer for with the same spect for lest than half the cost.
Anyone here have any ideas why do they cost so much when the call a computer a NAS box ??

 

[Lonyo]

Maybe some service options, warranty etc,
Any other software that might cost a bit?
How much is Win 2k advance?

And on the Dell site, adding extra RAM/HDD's etc is very expensive, they charge more than it should be.

 

[DaveSimmons]

NAS is low-volume sales / high-end purchasers so you pay a premium over the PCs they build in million-unit lots.

So go ahead and build it yourself -- intel i865 / 875 mobo, P4 2.6C, pair of nics, Antec SLK3700AMB case, etc.

 

[azev]

I kinda like their web based administration though !!!
But Half the cost will not justify that !!

 

[JackBurton]

Ok, so you pay $4000 for Windows 2000 Advanced Server (25 clients), now you have $1000 for parts. Have fun.

 

[azev]

So you're saying that most of the cost is for software. Explain the linux based NAS box then ??
They cost roughly about the same !

 

[EeyoreX]

- Xeon 2.6 = $265.00 (PriceWatch price, not 533MHz FSB)
- 1GB (1 module) = $124.00 (PriceWatch, PC2100 DDR)
- 2 Gigabit nic = $20.00 each (PriceWatch, PCI NIC)
- Windows 2000 ADV = $3999.00 (25 CAL)
- Subtotal = $4428.00

- 4 Maxtor 250GB EIDE 5400 RPM Hard Drives - $227.75 each (PriceWatch)
- Hard Drive subtotal = $911.00

Total so far = $5339.00

Seems to me like the Dell deal isn't so bad after all. PriceWatch prices were taken as the first (therefore least expensive) listing for each item. I made no consessions for how reliable the retailer is. Windows 2000 Adv Server pricing is from Microsoft's website. Keep in mind my total doesn't include other hardware (motherboard, enclousure, etc) or other software.

\Dan

 

[azev]

Well according to pricewatch you can get Win2kADV with 25 cal for less than $1k.
which will then be:
- Xeon 2.6 = $265.00 (PriceWatch price, not 533MHz FSB)
- 1GB (1 module) = $124.00 (PriceWatch, PC2100 DDR)
- 2 Gigabit nic = $20.00 each (PriceWatch, PCI NIC)
- Windows 2000 ADV = $1000.00 (25 CAL), Pricewatch
- Motherboard (SUPER X5SSE-GM = $215 (pricewatch)
-1U case supermicro=$306 SC812i-400C (pricewatch)
- 4 Maxtor 250GB EIDE 5400 RPM Hard Drives - $227.75 each (PriceWatch)

- Subtotal = $2861.00

Which mean they are pulling at least $1500 profit.
Not too metion that they can get all those part above at a much lower price because they buy bulk in thousands.

Well as I asked in my previous post, how about those UNIX NAS BOX ?? they cost about the same arent they?? Why wont it be $3999.00 less ??

 

[dexvx]

1) Discriminative pricing. Usually businesses buy these things. Businesses can fork over more money, and usually they demand top tier support (no calls routed to India). The default warranty is 3 years.

2) You're listing the cheapest prices on pricewatch. I hardly doubt the built in Gigabit NICs are crappy quality. Also they have an extremely large premium for the best technology.

3) Your configuration.

The base configuration is about 1800. Now you know why a lot of companies consider the high end to be "high profit margin".

 

[BoberFett]

Why would it use advanced server instead of regular server? The number of processors and amount of RAM is nothing spectacular. We use advanced server at work because we have an 8 way Xeon, 8GB server that requires it.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
we have an 8 way Xeon, 8GB server that requires it.

Drool!!!!!!!!!

 

[EeyoreX]

Well according to pricewatch you can get Win2kADV with 25 cal for less than $1k

That's very true. But, something tells me Dell is not shopping around on PriceWatch. So, I used Microsoft's price for the software.

2) You're listing the cheapest prices on pricewatch. I hardly doubt the built in Gigabit NICs are crappy quality. Also they have an extremely large premium for the best technology.

Right, I also doubt Dell is using the $20 Gigabit NIC from Wal-Mart. I simply picked the cheapest I saw for the hardware to make a point. Even the cheapest hardware ran your total up above $5000 (keeping in mind my reason for using Microsoft's Windows pricing).

1) Discriminative pricing. Usually businesses buy these things. Businesses can fork over more money, and usually they demand top tier support (no calls routed to India). The default warranty is 3 years.

Agreed here as well. Dell is not marketing these to "Average Joe User" they are marketed for big business who can afford to pay these prices. If Dell wasn't making money, they'd lower the price.

So you're saying that most of the cost is for software. Explain the linux based NAS box then ??
They cost roughly about the same !

I don't know much about Linux in terms of pricing (yes, I am aware you can get many distros for free) etc, but my guess (based on the fact they are using Windows 2000 Advanced Server) is that they are not using some free downloadable variant of Linux. They are probably using some Enterprise-level variant which, if I am not mistaken, still can cost significant amounts of money. Also considering that support prices might be higher for Linux than for Windows boxes (I could be wrong here).

I really think the bottom line here is that they cost so much because the target purchaser can afford, and is willing, to pay the price. Dell very likely provides premium services with these boxes as well, which also costs. If Dell wanted to sell these to us "Average" computer users, they'd lower the price. (Along with the specs and support options).

\Dan

 

[azev]

Well if you think about it though, the "average joe" these days needs storage like never before. How many post here said that they use multiple 200GB drives on their computer ??
Most of them falls back on getting/building a computer and slap multiple huge drives in it.
I have alittle over 1TB of storage in my house and I am looking for more storage. (I burned most of my data to a cd and I have like over 1000cd's but still my storage is almost full). If network storage can be had for cheap/resonably priced I am sure that most of us will get that, than going to the trouble of getting a computer etc etc. Especially with gigabit ethernet being cheaply available, file transfer are pretty fast now days.
Well, just my .02

 

[buleyb]

Because if it breaks, Dell's support has to fix/replace it. If you build it, its your a s s on the line if something goes wrong and $$$ is at stake...

I agree, if its nothing mission critical, build it yourself. If it is something that needs to have some level of assurance, buy something that is tested and supported.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: azev
Well if you think about it though, the "average joe" these days needs storage like never before. How many post here said that they use multiple 200GB drives on their computer ??
Most of them falls back on getting/building a computer and slap multiple huge drives in it.
I have alittle over 1TB of storage in my house and I am looking for more storage. (I burned most of my data to a cd and I have like over 1000cd's but still my storage is almost full). If network storage can be had for cheap/resonably priced I am sure that most of us will get that, than going to the trouble of getting a computer etc etc. Especially with gigabit ethernet being cheaply available, file transfer are pretty fast now days.
Well, just my .02

Avarge Joe's don't hang out here, people here are enthusists, and our needs differ greatly from those of the avarge Joe's.
At the most, your avarge non-enthusiast will buy a Firewire HD or something like that, but offering a cheap NAS box for home users would likely be a very bad deal for Dell.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: azev
Well if you think about it though, the "average joe" these days needs storage like never before. How many post here said that they use multiple 200GB drives on their computer ??
Most of them falls back on getting/building a computer and slap multiple huge drives in it.
I have alittle over 1TB of storage in my house and I am looking for more storage. (I burned most of my data to a cd and I have like over 1000cd's but still my storage is almost full). If network storage can be had for cheap/resonably priced I am sure that most of us will get that, than going to the trouble of getting a computer etc etc. Especially with gigabit ethernet being cheaply available, file transfer are pretty fast now days.
Well, just my .02

As sunner said you dont' know what the average joe is apparently. I work with quite a few of them and they have DIFFICULTY filling more than 10gb on a hard disk. The average user does NOT download media off the internet. You are the freak, the upper end of the spectrum that is aquiring media and data needs far beyond what the average person needs. You undoubtably spend most of your time downloading videos, movies, songs and software off the internet and this is what is driving your need for storage space. The average computer user uses their computer to check email.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: rahvin

Originally posted by: azev
Well if you think about it though, the "average joe" these days needs storage like never before. I have alittle over 1TB of storage in my house and I am looking for more storage. (I burned most of my data to a cd and I have like over 1000cd's but still my storage is almost full). If network storage can be had for cheap/resonably priced I am sure that most of us will get that, than going to the trouble of getting a computer etc etc.
Well, just my .02

As sunner said you dont' know what the average joe is apparently. I work with quite a few of them and they have DIFFICULTY filling more than 10gb on a hard disk. The average user does NOT download media off the internet. You are the freak, the upper end of the spectrum that is aquiring media and data needs far beyond what the average person needs. You undoubtably spend most of your time downloading videos, movies, songs and software off the internet and this is what is driving your need for storage space. The average computer user uses their computer to check email.

Which brings us the question, if people cannot obtain every piece of software/music/games/movies illegally, how would people really use the storage? You are the abnormality. Most medium businesses less than 1000 employees do not have more than 1TB of readily available dynamic storage available (which means excluding tape backup).

Seriously, 1000 CDs and a nearly full 1TB space. That amounts to approximately 1.7TB of space. I'm not going to poke at how you go about your life, but in the old days, people actually used the "delete" command and sort out whats needed and whats not needed. Of course there are packrats amoung all of us.

 

[EeyoreX]

To save space:

above post

I agree, the "average" user here is way beyond what the "average" "average user" is. My sister is an "average user". I built her a computer with a 10GB hard drive. She installs a few games and creates her documents and checks her email. And never will use 10GB much less nearly 2TB. I have about 600GB of storage between my two computers. I have all my CDs ripped to MP3 so I can more easily access and listen to them. I also have some concert videos I was interested in, and some "TiVo-style" recordings I tried for seting up a HTPC box. I also have some data stored that I should back up, but I keep waiting for a DVD burner (when everything goes *poof* I'll have a lot of re-ripping to do ). I still have plenty of space for more music, "TiVoing" and data. In short, you are well above "average joe computer user" (and, I dare say, well above many medium sized companies - my business has 5 local locations with about 800 employees total, and we have 300GB of server storage space, in addition to PCs with 15GB hard drives) in terms of storage needs, whatever they are.

\Dan