Dell DDR for XPS - Why buy?

[AgentRedlum]

I've been looking at adding some memory to an XPS M1530 notebook. Dell asks ~150.00 for a 2BG DIMM. Corsair and Kingston can be found for 50.00. Why the difference? Is there any reason to shell out the additional money for the Dell-branded memory?

Thanks for the help.

 

[delluser1]

Dell is simply overpriced.
I've used Kingston in 4 different Dell laptops without any problems.

 

[AgentRedlum]

That was my hunch. Thanks for the reply.

 

[einstein4pres]

Overpriced -- they make lots of money selling upgrades.

Also, they may (or may not) be able to claim that you void your warranty replacing the RAM. Of course, you can always revert it if you need to return the laptop.

 

[LoneEagle]

Its like buying a tv, they do not make a lot of profit but selling cables, power bar, ... are a lot more profitable. Dell upgrade increase quite fast. Upgrading a processor, when buying, is often more expensive than just buying it elsewhere and that exclude the one that come with it.

 

[AgentRedlum]

Just to update...I ordered the XPS from Dell with the minimun amount of RAM and purchased 4GB of Crucial from Newegg. I think that I came out about $300 ahead. Unfortunately, Dell doesn't ship 64bit Vista. So I'll have to upgrade if I want to take advantage of the memory (yeah, I searched the forum before asking THAT question). On the plus side, the school bookstore sells Vista for CHEAP!

Thanks again for the help.

 

[leo2kp]

Good choice. I think a lot of people, when buying laptops, forget that they have the option of picking the cheapest possible option as far as upgradeable parts go, and upgrading them yourself coming out hundreds of dollars ahead like you did. In fact when I price laptops on Dell.com, I usually end up adding the RAM on the site without even thinking. Good job! =D

 

[LoneEagle]

To check:

1) You wil have to order the 64bits CD from Microsoft. That valid for Retail, not sure about OEM like your case.
2) You will have to reinstall Vista 64, no upgrade from Vista32. That valid from XP, not sure about Vista32.

 

[LoneEagle]

1) Need a 64 bits to upgrade to Vista64
2) Talk about only retail, no mention about OEM

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx

 

[babybudha]

Dell brand RAM has a special feature of making Micheal Dell more money.

 

[quantumsheep]

Dell brand RAM has a special feature of making Micheal Dell more money.

I always thought it was so expensive because it was gold plated and that Dell lost money on each module.