We just received an anonymous tip regarding the two new
Dell desktops Wal-Mart will be carrying starting Sunday. We have no way to verify the claim but the specs -- which were apparently read directly off the packaging -- certainly seem reasonable and are in line with Michael Dell's own admissions on the models. The first system is said to be a $698 Windows Vista Home Premium model E521B-001W sporting a 19-inch "E197FPB" LCD monitor, dual-core Athlon 64 X2 3600+ processor, 2x 512MB (1GB total) DDR2 667MHz memory, 320GB SATA disk, Integrated GeForce 6150LE graphics, a 16x DVD +/-RW optical drive, USB keyboard and mouse, 13-in-1 media card reader, 10/100 Ethernet, integrated 7.1 channel sound, and 56k PCI Data Fax Modem. For comparison sake, that's about $50 cheaper than a
Dell Dimension E521 (pictured) configured on-line with the "exact" (you never know with Dell) same components only with a 19-inch widescreen SE198WFP LCD which is faster, brighter, and features a higher contrast ratio than the Wal-Mart E197FPB (which we presume to be the SE197FP listed on Dell's site). The second system is a $498 E521SA-001W offered sans monitor and a 250GB disk -- exactly $1 cheaper than a similarly spec'd E521. So, if the specs are to be believed, then it's a wash in terms of pricing. Really though, what did you expect from the razor thin margins of the home PC market? Again, these are unconfirmed so you'll have to check for yourself on the 10th when Dell's systems find their way into the godless hellscape called Wal-Mart.
posted June 6th 2007 4:56AM
These don't sound like a terrible deal, considering the time and money you save not having it shipped.
wow, that will make you look twice
and then I think back to the price and specs of my first pc... haha I feel so old :)
The specs on the first one is correct. I can't confirm the second one.
I got a Wal-Mart Ad today and it confirms it at $698 which includes everything already mentioned above.
It's a pretty good deal if your looking for a cheap or starter PC.
This 'starter' PC is already looking 100% better than my ageing PC, which was considered pretty high tech a few years ago. Man, the amount of stuff you can get these days...
I'm interested in what the first box arts from Dell look like lol
heh, I say brown cardboard
I guess its a pretty good deal if you were going to buy a dell online, I say build you own PC though, much more fun, and really isn't as hard as it sounds.
does Wal Mart have an advantage, if'n customers can come back with malfunctioning machines and dump them at the entrance and start screaming? Beats shouting at the phone help...
Another advantage to wal-mart is they can slash the price every once and a while as they see fit, and or put things on clearance when Dell gives them a newly spec'd machine to sell. Dell doesn't cut price they just take that machine off their site. Wal-mart has to move the merchandise that they have. So it opens opportunities at least to get a decent computer for well below the norm.
Also I like the idea of a previous poster saying you can just drop this sucker back on Wal-mart if it doesn't work right, no waiting for mail order.
I think it would behoove dell to put their own kiosks IN WalMart rather than letting WalMart do all the selling. That way you can have someone knowledgeable about the product selling it and making recommendations, offer basic upgrades (RAM, HD, etc) right there in store while the customer waits, and then WalMart AND Dell won't have to do with support due to someone ignorantly buying something they don't know about.
I WORK FOR WAL-MART AND I WAS LOOKING AT THE ON 6-1-07 AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE YOUR SPECS ARE CORRECT. LAST NIGHT I CHECK OUT THE $498 DELL AND IT IS A LITTLE LESS THEN THE $698 DELL, YOU ARE RIGHT ON THE HARD DRIVE. WAY TO GO ENGADGET. "IAN" I DO AGREE WITH YOU. WAL-MART HIRES PEOPLE THAT GO WITH THE FLOW AND ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS OR COMPUTERS, LUCKLY I AM. (JUST WORKING AS PART TIME). I WISH AND HOPE THAT WAL-MART OPENS UP A COMPUTER CENTER WITH PEOPLE THAT CAN UPGRADE YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT IN THE STORE LIKE BEST BUY.
Thanks for the confirmation. Hint: caps = yelling.
Lucky for the States, over the pond we have no such luck. Its the web or nothing if we want to get our hands on a Dell. I wonder if they will hook up with Tesco? (The UK equivalent of Wal-Mart) It would be nice to get my mitts on cheap 1st hand Dell hardware.
Then again, as Jack says, building your own is a hell of a lot more fun.
Maybe he is angry...
He is a Walmart employee.
LOL
Junk computers sold at a big junk store. Sounds like a marriage made in Heaven.
At the Wal-Mart here (in Canada), the Dell computers are already out on display.
Wal-mart here in Saskatoon,Sk Canada has the system without a monitor for $599 cdn.
They have had them on display since yesterday.
Even if the pricing is no different than buying direct from the Dell website, you do get the added bonus of getting it right then and there -- meaning no shipping charges, and no waiting. A lot of people prefer to see/touch an item they're going to buy, so Wal-Mart is putting them at ease too.
I think Dell should've stuck with website-only. In my mind, and many others', being associated with Wal-Mart is a bad thing.
My local Wal*Mart in Westchester County, NY had these on the floor and purchasable last Sunday.
I walked past them... did a double take and said to myself, "Huh? Since when was Dell selling in Wal*Mart?"
When I was pulling out of the parking lot, someone was rolling one out of the store in their cart, so they're buyable.
My Local Wal-Mart had the $498 model on shelves today (6-6) and it had the specs you have in above article. I did not see the model with the monitor and speakers and there were no Dell branded computer parts (mice, keboards, speakers, etc) on sale outside of the box system.
So previously Dell would only charge sales tax for shipping to a state where they had a physical presence as required by law (so basically if they had a Dell store in a mall). Now that they are selling desktops in Wal-Mart are they going to have to start charging sales tax to all states that have a Wal-Mart (all 50 I think)?
No more shipping the computer to the relatives in Georgia and then having them ship it to me :(
Lenovo has a similar bundle on sale about every other week at Office Depot for $500 to $650 after rebate (price varies week to week). Rebates are a pain but it's a better deal in the end and I think a better system. I tried to get my mother to buy one but she insisted on Dell and paid about the same for a lesser configuration. They actually charge $20 for the memory card reader! I got the Lenovo bundle and I think it was a better deal.
Being they will be in Wal-Mart stores... they will be made in China and will kill you some how, some way. Peter Pan peanut butter anyone?
At the end of may i already saw the dell pc's on sale.
Hopefully, they'll open a computer repair section, then I'll be able to transfer to that.
I am an Electronics Department manager at a Walmart in Iowa and I can also confirm those specs. The systems are, however, not able to be sold until 12:01 6/10/07. There is a restriction placed on the register that will deny any sales before that date.