Sunday's Wal-Mart ad confirms $698 Dell specs
By Paul Miller 
posted June 6th 2007 9:48PM
posted June 6th 2007 9:48PM
A couple commenters confirmed those leaked Dell specs we posted earlier, and now we've gotten our hands on this Sunday's Wal-Mart flier -- the first to feature Dell's new in-store action. The numbers on the $698 Dimension E521 pictured line up with everything we've heard -- dual-core Athlon, 1GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, Vista Home Premium, and a 19-inch monitor -- but there's nary a mention of the rumored $498 model. We suppose Dell and Wally have got to keep us guessing until the 10th somehow, right? A close-up of the ad after the break.
this is bad news for struggling retailers.HEADSHOT even.
every store has already received the 698 model as well as an ample supply of the 498 model
DELL SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS YEARS AGO.
The reason HP/Compaq, SONY, Toshiba and ACER have been outselling Dell's is simply because people can go to neighborhood shopping markets such as Costco, BJ's, Walmart etc and pick up a relatively low cost PC solution with almost ZERO hassle.
For DELL to entrust their future to small businesses and American Public schools was absolutely ludicrous.
DELL should have a $400 model, a $500 model, an $800 model and a $1000 model available in common shopping stores.
Many consumers shop for PC's based on price , many not understanding the features and upgrades available until the purchase is made.
Having the XPS systems slot was a nice option but they really need to cater to low-income Americans.
i don't know where you get your figures buddy but Dell is still the #2 seller of computers in America
Costco already Sells DELL and has been doing so for many many years now.
I used to work as Compaq tech support while they were still Compaq, when I was much younger, and before they got bought etc...etc.. One of the reasons why Compaq died was because Dell's direct selling of PCs slaughtered them, you can't keep up when you're pushing inventory. A new technology comes out, what happens to all those computers you have stocked that you were selling at 600 dollars that aren't worth 600 FMV anymore? With the shrinking margins on computer hardware, Compaq couldn't answer that question. The built to order model(and I don't mean you specifically say what you want, I mean they don't completely commit to building it without an order) is currently the best model for delivering computers. A good chunk of money is still in large corporations anyway, and a good majority of them primarily order their machines.
LOL - it has 1 GB of SDRAM. That's not nearly enough to run Windows Vista and IE7 properly.
You've gotta have memory with several letter Acronyms to get that done.
My question is what the system is exandable to.
Is there a PCI Express?
Is there a Memory expansion option?
The $498 model is the same, except no monitor and a 250GB hard drive
Hmm never knew "Fun" was a spec.
Wow. What a bunch of idiots. Just read the ad. It shows how its 'fast, powerful, huge, fun, smart, flexable, supported, complete'.
Complete: Monitor, speakers, keyboard
Something is missing..
I saw the $698 Dells (boxed) already on the floor of my Wal-Mart outside of Reading, PA this past Saturday. Seeing this, I guess I was wrong in assuming they were out there already??
Are they selling any notebooks?
Boy, if I thought this was news, I would have sent in pics a long time ago. I work for hte electronics department for wal-mart. and We have had these sitting in the back for the last 2 weeks....and we are not allowed to sell them till the 10th....the 498 model, is cheaper because there is no monitor, keyboard, or mouse....if anyone is interested, I can take a few snapshots from my cell phone...
yeah send me some of those pics i want to buy 1 but i want to see it first thank you
Wtf, 1 GB SDRAM? That may have been okay in 2002, but that won't fly for Vista as one person already stated.
DDR2 plz
Yes our walmart has the 498 dollar version.
The E521:
- has a PCI Express slot for upgradeable GPU
- is upgradeable to 4GB of RAM (4 DIMMs)
All in all, a great bang for the buck. The only problem is that the 19" flat panels included are screwing up Dell's supply chain for systems ordered with that monitor
DELL SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS YEARS AGO.
The reason HP/Compaq, SONY, Toshiba and ACER have been outselling Dell's is simply because people can go to neighborhood shopping markets
--
Dude, watch Dell goes down in flames with this identity crisis.
Sell to businesses like you always did.
I.. hope you understand that.. offering computers in a retail setting makes the price of the computers go up (or Dell's profits go down).
guys, it most likely is DDR2 RAM, which is a form of SDRAM...
Hey guys, the complete name of ddr ram is "ddr sdram" I'll bet money they aren't putting 168pin memory in those machines, get real.
Dell is a joke, the only reason they existed was when the "every house needs a computer" era came around, and they advertised "dude, your gettin a dell" and all the n00bs thought dell=home PC. any engadget reader should be building their own comp anyway right? (mac users ignore)
Its a good deal. Price competitive, if not a bit advantaged. Interesting pilot for Dell...
but - re: every engadget reader should build own pc comments. Just thought would be interesting to ask: What's your time worth?
Quick back of envelope: say that you can design box, source the components, buy components, unbox them all (assuming no driving, shopping, etc), put them all together, clean up cables, install OS, and test in lightning speed. And nothing goes wrong. Call it 10 hrs just for easy math. If you can do a one-off in 10... well - good on you.
Now - PC builders make razor thin margins (Acer = 2-3% net reported. max 15% gross), even the high end builders (cyberpower, etc) make thin margins. Lets play it safe and call Call it 20% gross margins...
On a retail $1,000 box that means about $835 worth of components, $165 bucks of margin going to the builder. (assuming shipping is free > $1,000, or your buying off the shelf)
$165 / margin. 10 hours. $16.50 / hr for someone to source and build a computer for you. Seems like pretty good deal if you're a warp speed designer, sourcer, buyer, builder who makes zero mistakes...
Add a few hours for mistakes... plus the fact you have someone to ship it to / bring it to if something breaks - worth it.
good point
Good that they have Dell,but Vista sucks.
Oh joy. Well my job is secure for the foreseeable future. That model on that ad is the bread and butter of the PC repair industry. I shit you not when I say we get 30+ pizza boxes in per half week for that series. Not just that model though. Dell Desktops are pretty good....When you climb out of the budget basement. I'm not saying there shouldn't be budget PC's for people who can't drop 4 figures on a PC. Just that in this case you REALLY get what you pay for. I foresee calls picking up by end of year at the latest. 6 months seems to be the honeymoon period before you get the bad soldiering joints on the mobos to appear.
I think this would be a great opportunity to expose normal non-tech savyy people to the wonder that is Feisty Fawn. Dell should sell the Linux and Windows versions both in Wal-Mart, and actually (oh no, no that) advertise the Linux systems! God forbid the average Joe realizes that there's a third major contender in the world of OS's. It doesn't have to be Mac or PC (but definitely shouldn't be PC), it can be Linux too. And Dell makes some pretty decent hardware too for the most part.
But will any of that happen?
No. The Wal Mart has spoken, and so it shall be.
If you or anyone else really thinks that putting a linux based os machine in a Wal-Mart is a good marketing move, you're sadly mistaken. Little Jimmy's Thomas the Train learning game wont run on any flavor of 'nix, windows only-- as well as 85% of all applications/games out there. the mass market will NOT abandon windows unless there is a clear cut advantage to switching to something else, and the programs they want are available to them. (note that MOST home users will NOT abandon microsoft's windows OS because of stability issues-- they'll deal with it.
add that to the fact that walmart has been down the linux road before, and it didnt seem to go so well-- the average home user just is not going to understand the incompatibility ramifications.
I agree! You know how funny it'd be if Wal-Mart did that just to slap M$ in the face? It'd offset some of the bad press they've been getting lately... Put up a side by side display... This is Aero, this is aqua, and, oh-hey, Beryl/Compiz! Have a mac running ubuntu just to fake people out... Heehee... I don't know. I guess the thought of Microsoft being axed by Dell and Wal-mart is kinda funny. We don't get enough drastic action like that. ;)
Only one thing to say, where can I buy the time machine you guys used? Sorry, had to joke about it. I think this is an important move for Dell to at least stop loosing market share to HP.
To all engadget readers,this PC is not aimed at you so stop bitching about its spec.It is aimed at everyone who don't care what PC they have as long as it has word processing and a web browser.
I can't barely wait for their $399 deal for next Black Friday. It'll be a nice (and cheap) low-end machine suitable for my kids' room.
its gonna suck if that 1GB memory is actually 2 512MB on 2 memory slots and no extra slot available
Does anyone know the speed of the processor? And what is the equivilant Pentium (for comparison purposes)?
Wow you guys have high expectations for a Sub $700 computer that has a everything including a 19in LCD.
This is a good move by Dell, now please quit your whinning about Vista or the system's specs and start comparing it with what other retailers sell today, anyone? Vista Home /1gb /250 hdd / and all for $699.00 after rebates, none likes rebates anyways. This move by Dell is aiming directly at HP, if you go to Wal-Mart you'll see HP everywhere. Wait and see, Dell will gain consumer market share against HP. But where are their laptops?
I bought a new Dell pc from their site a year ago and spent $375 total. Perfect for everday internet, email, itunes, photos. This is what it came with: 2.3 Ghz Celeron, 512MB Ram (which is plenty for XP Home Edition), 17" LCD screen, 160GB Hard drive, and satellite sub woofer speakers.
It may sound like a n00b machine, but at this rate I will have a brand new pc with all the latest bells and whistles every 3-4 years. I'll probably buy a new machine two years from now for $500. It will most likely come with a 21" lcd w/ built-in web cam, 4ghz processor, 4GB ram, 1TB Hard drive, and a more polished Vista.
By the way, no one should get a Vista machine unless it comes with at least 2GB Ram.
SDRAM? that is so p1!... i fail to see how this is news. i just built a mutch better comp for like 450
You are probably still using a p1 if you don't know that ddr, ddr2 and so on are all forms of sdram. The only modern ram that isn't sdram is rdram.
Only bad thing I really see for a decent budget system is the power supply is only 305 Watt. But thats about par for the field now days unless you build the machine yourself.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core
Windows Vista Home Premium
1Gb DDR2 SDRAM (Up to 4GB Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM)
320Gb hard drive
Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE graphic GPU
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
PCI: 2 Slots
PCIe x1: 1 Slot
PCIe x16 (Graphics): 1 Slots
3.5" Bays: 3 bays (one external; two internal)
5.25" Bays: 2 bays
Memory DIMM slots: 4 available
I think this is a horrible move by Dell. No pc manufacturer that does as much corporate business as Dell should try to associate their name with WalMart, which is another word for cheaply made garbage. Brand matters.
This is bad news for their brand. They would have been better off selling at Sears, Home Depot, or Target.