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If the processors (or RAM) are easily overclockable, then Tiawancorp Computers may buy 3 gigafoo parts, overclock them to 4 gigafoo, and sell them in computers "with 4 gigafoo parts!" to unsuspecting consumers.

Uh...dude...they already do that. This guy even likes telling his customers about it...

>Keyboard, speakers and mouse with a wholesale cost of 66 cents each?

Yup. My college has had small scale wholesale deals on 3 button mice... they were 66 cents CDN a button. It wouldn't surprise me if in very large quantities you couldn't buy the entire mouse at 66 cents US, and I know you can buy speakers for $1 wholesale (qty 1 pricing) and keyboards, feh, not difficult to get for that price either in large quantities.

>A very cheap wholesale mouse might be $1-2, a cheap keyboard maybe $3, and incredibly crappy unamplified speakers maybe $2.

Hmmm. Well, if you don't believe me, phone up Comtronic Canada and ask them what their wholesale cost for 1 million of their cheapest mice would be. You'll be very surprised at the answer, I think. And they appear to be a second tier distributor of those. Learn Chinese, ask the Chinese sweat shop to make them for cargo shipment... even cheaper.

Plastic is a lot cheaper than you think... and the mouse doesn't actually have to work for more than an hour. No sane user will pay to ship a $1 mouse back to the company for warranty replacement.

Yes, most price lists from distributors are heavily inflated for small potatoes buyers. As soon as you buy in bulk, though, you can do neat things like sell 17" brand-name monitors new for $150 CDN.

>On the other hand, you may have overestimated the cost of the case and power supply, I've bought cases and power supplies retail for about $12 that came with what they claimed was a 300watt PS (although judging by the weight, it was probably more like 100-150 watts).

You're probably right... but being as this seems to be an american company, they'd be smart to invest a few dollars in getting them UL approved for lawsuit protection. Most cheap chinese power supplies, despite the fact they usually carry the UL sticker, really aren't approved (I stuck some of the stickers on myself... and then there's the mispelled stickers... ;-)

Last bust not least... $199 US doesn't sound like such a good deal compared against this for $299 CDN.

That's an XP 1800+ system, sound, video, LAN, etc included. 256 MB RAM. 30 Gig HDD. FDD. 52x CD-ROM. Keyboard, mouse, etc. 20 programs + Office Suite included.

And that's just a small local shop. Anywhere decent should be able to do this for you... (and people still buy Dells made with the same parts... wow)

Really, I'd almost say anyone buying this is getting ripped off. Almost...

>Intel chips are no longer extremely overpriced.

They aren't?

Could have fooled me.

Barton XP3000+ 512M L2 Cache, 333Mhz (2.17 Ghz ) $509.00
P4 3.06G 478 Pin 533MHz FSB (Retail box) $949.00

So, an 86% difference in price means nothing, right? I mean, $440 is just pocket change!

You're very, very, VERY wrong. You want more comparisons to show how people buying intel are wasting their money?

How about the $139 all-in-one Athlon 1.3 Ghz motherboard (CPU soldered on with fan, with Video, LAN, sound, etc) I bought the other day? Can you find me the intel equivalent?

Oh wait, intel's CHIPSET almost costs that much. I forgot.

Locally, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, the folks at N.E.W.S. Consulting at http://www.best4money.com are able to carry them, as well as Bestek PC at http://www.bestekpc.ca. Both are small local computer stores in the area.

Other sources are available elsewhere. I will talk to my suppliers and post them as I am able to find them.

You just need to get to know the right people -- ie: people who know where the stores are (computer stores are notorious for pathetic/non-existant marketing).

For example, if you're in the K-W area, here's where you can shop:

N.E.W.S Consulting
MaxiMillion
SellTek
Burnt Circuits (Well, they once were in K-W)
PC Waterloo

There's more I can't think of right now, and one wholesale place that (IMHO) baits 'n switches (well, considering my anger on the phone, no switch, but lots of bait) that I won't mention. All these guys specialize in different stuff.

Or walk up and down College St. in TO -- there's about 20 shops side-by-side there.

Or, save a whole lot of money and go here (My guess is they'll have 80 Gig HDDs for $130 CDN this time).

Not bad prices at all, but try News Consulting if you are in the Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Canada area... Slightly better prices than even some Toronto stores. :-) And their English isn't perfect, either! :-)

This could end up being one awesome thread!