what PC component has the highest and lowest profit margin ?

[jimmyhaha]

I don't know

but I think CPU/video card = highest [basically, silcon] ?

hard drive/monitor = lowest ?

any inside source of comment

 

I'd say highest is definitely CPU or graphics card.

Lowest is probably RAM or optical drives.

Mike

 

[virtuamike]

Nah, highest is rounded cables, cold cathode, $10 case fans, and all the other mods that go into systems. Lowest is everything else.

 

[kgraeme]

If you're looking at percentage and not total profit, and you loosely define component, it's got to be the iMac. It's over $1000, but resellers only see $24.

 

[b0mbrman]

<< I don't know

but I think CPU/video card = highest [basically, silcon] ?

hard drive/monitor = lowest ?

any inside source of comment >>



You can't just call the CPU silicon ... as in, you might as well get a handful of sand and throw it inside a case...

CPU price = Sand + Labor + Machines + Research to develop it + Profit

 

[crypticlogin]

What about removable media, e.g. zip disks, tape cartridges, maybe even disposable media? It's a recurring purchase as long as the consumer needs more storage, it's massed produced (multiple units of the medium per one unit of the drive that uses that medium)... In terms of margin, you wouldn't expect them to be much but in proportion to total production cost, they might bring in a sizable chunk of the pie.

edit: this is guesswork

 

[kazeakuma]

CPUs don't have that much of a margin on them. Especially the budget CPUs. The margins on the high end ones are fair, but not the best. Video card margins are good. However if you were going for a percentage wise comparison I would have to say that monitors have the highest margins.