From: Terry Kennedy [terry@gate.tmk.com] Sent: Friday, June 30, 2000 3:15 AM To: Info-VAX@Mvb.Saic.Com Subject: Re: Sub-DS10 Alpha Larry Kilgallen writes: > Ok, so what features of the DS10L would the assembled experts > suggest Compaq omit to make a more affordable sub-DS10 Alpha ? Margin. The basic components of the DS10 are fine as they are (with the exception of the sluggish ELSA GLoria, but if there isn't any other entry- level board even for people who don't mind paying the current price, then it's not reasonable to expect Compaq to do one for people who want a lower price). It was possible to buy well-loaded DS10's from top-tier distributors at really good prices. I bought 2 DS10's and a friend bought another, which had 512MB, 2 9GB Compaq SCSI drives, a Compaq SCSI controller, and the ELSA graphics card, for under $4000 each. Now, to be honest, there was a parts availability issue here - the distributor said "we don't have the 256MB memory config in stock - would you like 512MB for the same price?" but they (and Compaq) were obviously making money on the deal or they would have declined the sale. Today, a distributor has DS10's as low as $3814 - see: http://www.screamsonalpha.avnetdirect.com/custom/bundles/index.asp But their "Package C" (now $4982) used to be $3799. You can compare their prices to Compaq's: "Package B": Avnet, $4259; Compaq, $5832 "Package C": Avnet, $4982; Compaq, $6818 Now, compare the Compaq "Package C" price of $6818 to the original Avnet price of $3799. Never mind the extra 256MB of memory that the distributor threw in that raises the Compaq price to $10069 (2 256MB SIMMs) These are for systems with Linux, so there are the assorted VMS licenses (if you don't qualify for Hobbyist, CSLG, or developer status). But the above shows the obscene margins on the hardware. Terry Kennedy http://www.tmk.com terry@tmk.com Jersey City, NJ USA