Pretty warm... Dell Powerconnect 2608 8-port Gigabit switch, $30 off and free shipping ($149 + tax)

[JerkyChew]

I just bought one of these: link for around $155 with tax, shipped. Seems like a really good deal, considering they normally go for $179 plus shipping. I saw a thread on these a while back, but nothing recent.

 

[wiredspider]

Why not put the final cost of the switch in the title, it will save people from clicking to find what it's $30 off of, just a suggestion...

 

[JerkyChew]

Thanks. I don't post new topics too often...

 

[oaaltone]

There's also a $25 off $100 coupon that Dell emailed out today that would sweeten the deal. It's a one-time only code, so check your email!

EDIT: Nevermind, the $25 won't stack with the $30 instant that already exists...

 

[psxjunky]

Is this really a good price ? I see 8-port Gigabit switches from about about $112 upwards at Newegg ...

BTW, this is a genuine question and I am not trying to thread crap ! I have been thinking of finally upgrading my home network to Gigabit and this thread caught my attention. I was almost going to buy this from Dell, but then at the last moment went on to do some price checks, and now I am not so sure if I should get this or a LinkSys.

I see LinkSys 8-port Gigabit switches for as low as $137 elsewhere. Is the Dell PowerConnect series any better than LinkSys ?

Also, while we are on the topic I see LinkSys has two different 8-port Gigabit switches -- EG008W and SD2008. I can't seem to find any difference between the two (except that they look different). Anyone know which one is better and why ?

 

[JerkyChew]

I was shopping at newegg first, before I came across the Dell deal.

I don't have any proof or tests to back it up, but the Dell switches are designed to be used in corporate networks, while the linksys switches are more for the homeowners. I would think that anything intended for corp use would be of a higher quality. We're using Powerconnect 10/100 managed switches at my company, and have had no problems with them. Also, read the reviews of some of those Newegg switches. I believe they have loud cooling fans, while the Dells (so I'm told) have no fans. No noise is good noise, IMHO.

Just my 2 cents though, nothing to back it up other than seat-of-my-pants experience.

 

[linuxthinker]

Linksys and Dell switches are on the same level sa far as performance and quality goes. It's definately not a Cisco or even a 3Com.

 

[cmetz]

JerkyChew, I think you're highly overvaluing the Dell switches. Both Dell & Linksys are cheap. Cheap in cost reflects cheap in quality, and that's just the way that goes. A sub-$200 gigabit switch is going to be based on a commodity chipset and nearly the reference design, and it's going to be built in one of the usual offshore locations (China, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc.). Remember, the Dell business model is just like Wal-Mart - buy it from manufacturers as cheap as they possibly can and pass the savings on to you. This is not the way you get the highest-quality product, it's the way you get the cost optimal product, and as long as you set your expectations accordingly you can be happy with the result.

The Dell & Linksys products in this space are comparable commodities unless there's some feature that one has that the other doesn't. Jumbo frame support would be one such feature; I've been trying to find out whether either switch supports those and so far have not gotten any useful answer. That would easily be worth $20 to me, because jumbo frames makes it easier to get good local gigabit network performance (assuming, of course, you can overcome the hurdle of getting all your systems to support it).

I use the Dell PC 3324 and 3348 managed switches a lot and they're great switches for the price. I would not pay more money for them if a similarly featured product were sold by someone else. I buy them as a commodity.

All, Dell had a deal when they introduced the 26xx switches where you could get the 2616 (16 port) for the $179 price of the 2608. That was a much better deal than this one unless you really don't need more than 8 ports. Now, I don't know if that deal's going to come around again, but it leads me to believe that Dell can do better than this deal. $30 off? Come now, this is Hot Deals, we want better