Branded or Assembled Desktop?

At WellOiledPC we believe that purchasing a PC is a thoroughly personal decision. What you purchase could be quite different from what your neighbor purchases; what you purchase today would be completely different from what you purchased 3 years ago too!

We look at PC Purchases (excluding purchase of Software - check out our Software section by clicking the Software Menu at the top of the page, for essential software you MUST have) as a multi-stage decision process consisting of the following decisions - each one of them to be arrived at by YOU, since YOU will be using the PC!

Should you go in for a Notebook (Laptop) or a Desktop model?
If you have decided on a Desktop, should you go in for a branded desktop or a locally-assembled desktop? If you have decided to go in for a Notebook, you need to still look at 3. below:
Whether you have decided to purchase a Desktop (branded or assembled) or a Notebook, what are the specifications that you should go in for? What are the 'MUST HAVE' specifications, as opposed to the 'NICE TO HAVE' specifications? (Click these links for our recommended PC Specifications)
Whatever be your choice (Assembled/ Branded Desktop or Notebook), you would then need to get quotations from reliable vendors, for PCs that fit your specifications. This is when you need to take the final decision on which one of these brands/ models you should purchase.

(Click the above links for answers. To return, click Go Top links)

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This section presents you with information that will help you decide whether to buy a branded Desktop PC or a locally-assembled one.

At the very outset, our experience is that a Branded Desktop PC isn't always the better choice. Especially if you are purchasing a Desktop for your home. Consider the following facts:

A Branded PC will always cost more than an Assembled PC, as assembled PC manufacturers incur much lesser overheads on their products. The difference in pricing (for the same specifications) is at least 20%
It is common knowledge that upgrading a Branded PC is costlier than purchasing an Assembled PC with the same specifications. Many times, you can add more RAM (Memory), purchase a bigger hard Disk or even throw in a 3D Graphics Accelerator card and yet, pay less for a 'souped-up' assembled desktop than a desktop from a well-known PC manufacturer!
What isn't common knowledge is that you may forfeit your Branded PC's warranty, if you upgrade it after its purchase, while it is still under warranty! We have had instances where the manufacturer refused to replace a faulty motherboard because the Branded PC's RAM had been upgraded with a local (yet, respected) RAM chip! This despite the fact that the local RAM chip worked just fine! The logic given was that the RAM wasn't designed to run with their motherboard and therefore could have crashed it...!
With an Assembled PC, you can be a lot more flexible with your configuration. Not all Branded PC manufacturers will let you install a newer OS (say Windows Vista), instead of their stock offering (which may be Windows XP)
With an Assembled PC, you can purchase and install exactly the software you want - you do not pay for software you do not like or do not want to use. Branded PC manufacturers would go with the best OEM offer they receive from software manufacturers, not what you need for your PC! For example, they may bundle a relatively unknown and ineffective Antivirus Solution with their PC. Similarly, Microsoft Works is commonly bundled with branded OEM Desktops. Now if you already use Microsoft Office, you wouldn't want to touch Microsoft Works even with a barge pole! Thus you could end up paying for software that isn't the best, paying for software that isn't the one you want to use!
Not all branded PC manufacturers have the option for trading in the standard PC part for an enhanced part. For example, you might want to go in for a 17" LCD Monitor, while the Branded PC manufacturer may be offering a 15" CRT Monitor on the standard branded product. Even where the manufacturer is willing to let you trade in the standard 15" CRT for a 17" LCD, believe us, you would be paying a lot more money for the trade-in, in comparison with the cost of a 17" LCD Monitor!
If you believe that Branded PC manufacturers are prompt and efficient about after-sales service, you are quite wrong! If you were the CIO of a large organization purchasing a thousand new PCs every three months or so, major PC manufacturers would be at your beck and call. For your single Home PC purchase, do not be surprised by the tediousness of getting through their Voice Response Systems, the lengthy response times and the lengthy repair times! On the other hand, if your Assembled PC vendor is the "friendly neighborhood" kind of vendor, he would be a lot more receptive to your requirements, as good, continued relationship with you means a lot more to him and his business!

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The bottom line for a home PC buyer is that you - a single Home PC buyer - are far more important to an Assembled PC vendor, compared to a Branded PC vendor. Your 1 PC constitutes perhaps 5% of the Assembled PC vendor's monthly sales (he may be selling just 20 PCs a month), whereas your single PC purchase does not even blip the radar screen of the large Branded PC manufacturer (or his distributor/ retailer), who sell thousands of PCs every month! However if you are a CIO or IT Manager purchasing PCs for your organization, Branded PCs would make a lot more sense, as it comes with comprehensive warranties and the assurance of prompt after-sales service.

So far, we have discussed some of the general issues you would face, while purchasing a Computer - Branded/ Assembled Desktop or Notebook, presented as the four corners of your PC purchase decision.

However, the specific factors you will need to confront would be factors such as Price, Service Standards of the vendor, whether the specifications you have finalized are reasonably future-proof (you would not want your PC to be incapable of running applications within 6 months of purchase!!), etc. Each of these ties in with your decision as well, thus making it a complex decision!

Here is a specific listing of such factors, with a brief explanation for each of the factors:

Subjective Factors Table:

Factor	Description
Initial Budget	Everyone has a budget in mind, while purchasing anything important. In the case of PCs too, prices vary a great deal from place to place and time to time. Again, Notebooks cost significantly more than Desktops with the same specifications
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)	Initial price is one thing, the cost of maintaining a PC would vary a lot too, depending on whether it is a Notebook or a Desktop. Notebooks not only cost more initially, they cost more to maintain as well. You need to change its Battery once every 2 years or so and repairs will cost you more too - all of it adding to a higher total cost of ownership (TCO)
Future-proof	You may be planning to upgrade your PC (add more Memory, Hard Disk space, etc.) from time to time. On the other hand, you may be planning to use the same PC for a few years, without adding new components or enhancing existing components to it too. If you plan to upgrade (even if you don't, it makes good sense to look closely at upgradation options!), since Notebook upgrades cost significantly more than Desktop upgrades
Mobility	You could be planning to use your PC extensively, while you are on the move. On the other hand, you may be planning to use it mostly at the same spot in your home or office. In the first instance, you ought to consider Notebook more closely, while a Desktop may be better value-for-money if you do not plan to work while on the move
Power Supply	You may have clean power supply at your primary place of work, be it your home or your office. On the other hand, your primary place of work may have frequent power problems (Spikes, Surges, Black-outs, Brown-outs, Low Voltage, etc.). If you have clean power supply, you could be looking closely at a Desktop, while an irregular power supply would mean you look closely at a Notebook
Space	You might have a whole room at your disposal for your new PC. On the other hand, you might have to squeeze out space out of a crowded desk, for your new PC. If space is no constraint, a Desktop may be the better choice, while a Notebook may be the better choice if space is a constraint
Service Standards	You will definitely require professional service for your PC. Therefore, it is a good investment to ascertain the vendor/ supplier's service standards. Reputed suppliers are usually eager to provide you with a list of their customers, so that you may talk to some of them yourself. Pick up a few of these customers at random and talk to them - it would definitely go a long way towards understanding a suppliers service standards
Specs-Usage	The specifications (specs) of models vary - sometimes quite significantly. What really matters though is what you plan to use your PC for. You may be planning to use your PC primarily for simple stuff like e-Mail, Browsing, writing letters, keeping track of your personal finances, etc. On the other hand, you may be planning to use the PC for complex work like Video Editing, Engineering Design and Drawing, specialized scientific applications, etc. You could also be planning to play high-end Computer Games in your spare time. Your PC purchase decision will therefore depend heavily on what you plan to use it for
Warranty Terms	Check out the warranty terms offered by the suppliers - you never know, you may have to avail it… Notebooks come with 1 year as well as 3 years warranties, usually global. You need to clearly ascertain this, though. Desktops too come with 1 or 3 year warranties, usually local, since a desktop is not carried around on inter-continental flights. Notebook warranties do not cover the Batteries. Nor do they cover electric or physical damages. This is true of Desktops too Again, you have the option of availing on-site warranty or off-site warranty. If you go in for on-site warranty, the vendor's technicians will visit you, in case you face PC Problems. However if you have availed of off-site warranty, you will need to take the crashed PC to the vendor's service center

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Obviously, all these factors may not be important to you. For example, you may not be concerned about Space requirements at all. Your neighbor, who is planning to gift a PC, may not be concerned about Specs-Usage, Warranty Terms or Service Standards as much as you would be, had you been choosing a PC for your own use. Again, while the power supply at your place of work may be excellent, it may not be so at someone else's place of work. Such factors are subjective: what is most important to you could be least important to someone else, and vice-versa!

To add to the confusion, the specifications of many of these factors are subjective (non-quantifiable) too. Perhaps the only two truly quantifiable factors in the list above are Budget (in terms of the price) and Warranty Terms (in terms of number of years of warranty). You simply cannot quantify Service Standards or Specs-Usage!

With that being the case, the Brown-Gibson offers a simple, intuitive yet accurate method for arriving at a decision. It is based on paired comparisons, with a higher preference (between any 2 factors or 2 models) being given a 1 and a lower preference being given a 0. And if a pair of factors are equally important, both of them are assigned a preference of 1.

From the Preference Table that is thus formed, the Decision Weights and the Subjective Factor Weights are determined and in the final step, the Total Weight of each short-listed model of PC (Notebook or Desktop or a mixture of both) are arrived at. The higher the total weight, the more suitable the model is, to your specific set of preferences!

To assist you with the Brown-Gibson model, we have solved a case from scratch. It explains how to use the Brown-Gibson Model, in a step-by-step manner. You are welcome to download free, the example Excel file.

Click here to download free, the Brown-Gibson Example File.

Start by reading through the Tab "Legend", then go on to the other Tabs, understanding the working of the Model.

The final steps of the case are briefly reproduced below: we consider 7 Decision Factors and 5 PC models (including 2 Notebooks) in our illustrative example:

Importance of each Subjective Decision Factor, in the Decision Process
Decision Factor	Description of Importance	Decision Weights
Budget	Limited Budget, want for value-for-money. Budget is an extremely important factor (Most Important)	0.273
Future-proof	May want to add a second Hard Disk or more Memory later - not sure at the moment (3rd-most Important)	0.136
Mobility	Most of the times, the PC will be used at home. Occasional mobile computing is likely, though (4th-most Important)	0.091
Power Supply	Erratic power supplies during monsoon, Power consumption and power quality are important considerations (2nd-most Important)	0.182
Space	Ample space is available. Space is least in terms of importance	0.000
Specs-Usage	Quite unlikely that the PC will be used for complex computing, in the next 3 years.	0.045
Warranty Terms	Warranty Terms are extremely important in this decision (Most Important)	0.273

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Five models of PCs (including 2 Notebooks) have been short-listed. Their specs with respect to each of the 7 Subjective Decision Factors are presented in the Tables below:

Model Weights for each Subjective Factor

1. Budget
Models	Cost after final Negotiations	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	Cost = INR 35,000	3rd lowest price
Model 2	Cost = INR 30,000	2nd lowest price
Model 3	Cost = INR 90,000	Highest price
Model 4	Cost = INR 25,000	Lowest price
Model 5	Cost = INR 65,000	4th lowest price
2. Future-proof
Models	Upgradability of the Models	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	2nd HDD & RAM upgradable	Maximum Future-proof
Model 2	2nd HDD & RAM upgradable	Maximum Future-proof
Model 3	Only RAM upgradable	2nd worst Future-proof
Model 4	No upgradation possible	Least Future-proof
Model 5	HDD & RAM upgradable	3rd worst Future-proof
3. Mobility
Models	Mobility of the Models	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	Desktop Model	Not Mobile
Model 2	Desktop Model	Not Mobile
Model 3	Notebook Model	Mobile (Notebook)
Model 4	Desktop Model	Not Mobile
Model 5	Notebook Model	Mobile (Notebook)
4. Power Supply
Models	Power Supply requirements of the Models	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	PC with 15" CRT Monitor	Max. power required for CRT Monitor
Model 2	PC with 15" LCD Screen	Less power required for LCD Screen
Model 3	Notebook with 12" TFT Screen	Least power required for small TFT screen
Model 4	PC with 15" CRT Monitor	Max. power required for CRT Monitor
Model 5	Notebook with 15" TFT Screen	Less power required for TFT Screen
5. Space
Models	Footprint (Space requirement) of the Models	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	Full Tower Model Desktop	Maximum Space required
Model 2	Baby Tower Model Desktop	3rd most space required
Model 3	Small-sized Notebook	Least space required
Model 4	Baby Tower Model Desktop	3rd most space required
Model 5	Standard Notebook	2nd most space required
6. Specifications
Models	Technical Specifications of the Models	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	P4, 120 GB/ 1 GB RAM, 256 MB External Graphics Card	2nd best specs
Model 2	P4, 80 GB/ 512 MB RAM	3rd best specs
Model 3	Core Duo, 80 GB/ 1 GB RAM, Graphics Card	Best specs
Model 4	Celeron 40 GB/ 256 MB RAM	Bare-bones specs (Worst specs)
Model 5	Core Duo, 60 GB/ 1 GB RAM, No Graphics Card	3rd best specs
7. Warranty Terms
Models	Warranty Terms of the Models	Brown-Gibson Model Ranking
Model 1	Parts replacement only	3rd-best Warranty Terms
Model 2	Parts replacement only	3rd-best Warranty Terms
Model 3	3 years global warranty	Best Warranty Terms
Model 4	No warranty	Worst Warranty Terms
Model 5	1 year global warranty	2nd-best Warranty Terms

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For the above Decision Criteria and Model Specifications, application of the Brown-Gibson Model gives the following Decision - the link above contains the complete method of solving the problem.

**Final Rankings**
Total Weight of each Model and Your Final Decision
Model	Total Weight	Final Ranking of Models
Model 1	0.194	Fourth-best Model
Model 2	0.233	Best Model
Model 3	0.227	Second-best Model
Model 4	0.137	Fifth-best Model
Model 5	0.209	Third-best Model
Total of Total Weights	1.000

As per the Brown-Gibson Model therefore, the best PC and therefore the best decision is Model 2, which has the following specs:

Cost: INR 30,000/-
P4, 80 GB Hard Disk and 512 MB RAM
2nd HDD & RAM upgradable
Desktop PC with 15" LCD Screen
Baby Tower Model
Parts replacement only

This is very closely followed by Model 3, which has the following specs:

Cost: INR 90,000/-
Core Duo, 80 GB/ 1 GB RAM, Graphics Card
Only RAM upgradable
Notebook PC with 12" TFT Screen
Small-size Notebook
Parts replacement only

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Once you are familiar with the working of this model, you may create your own Spreadsheet, adding/ deleting other factors that have not been considered here - the solution process is the same, whatever be the number of decision factors or short-listed models. In fact, you may use the Brown-Gibson model for any purchase decision - automobiles, TVs, Home Theatre Systems, whatever! All that you need are;

A good grasp of how the Brown-Gibson Model works
Ability to convert your physical (subjective) factors and specifications into Brown-Gibson Preferences. In other words, you need to be able to fill in the Brown-Gibson Tables correctly

Now that you have downloaded the example Brown-Gibson Model and understood how to fill it in with your preferences and thereafter, to interpret the final solution, you are ready to apply it to your situation.

The working Brown-Gibson Decision Model Spreadsheet is priced at US$ 4.95. Click on the secure PayPal link below and download your password-protected, working Brown-Gibson Decision Model Spreadsheet! We will supply you the password, so that you are able to put it to use rightaway! All you need to do is put in your decision and subjective weights and let the spreadsheet give you your answer! Note, that this is a protected spreadsheet - the cells for inputting your priorities alone can be written on/ deleted! When prompted to, save the Microsoft Excel file "Brown-Gibson Decision Model.xls" to your Hard Disk.

Once you click Save and save the Spreadsheet to your PC, you need to fill in the Worksheet titled "Data Sheet" alone. Within Data Sheet too, you need to fill in the white-colored cells within the eight tables alone - since the remaining cells either have formulae or text descriptions in them, you should not overwrite them. In case you make a mistake filling the cells, you may change your preferences anytime by overwriting the concerned cell
To ensure that you do not inadvertently overwrite formulae or text descriptions, cells that need no inputs from your side have been protected
The Second Worksheet, titled "Decision Sheet", is where you will find the answer to your PC (Desktop or Notebook) purchase decision, once you complete filling in Data Sheet. An incomplete Data Sheet will NOT give you a complete or comprehensive answer!
The remaining two Worksheets titled "Weights Sheet" and "Legend" are not required for your calculations. The Weights Sheet is present for my benefit - all calculations are based on the values in the Weights Sheet, with the Weights Sheet filling in automatically, when you populate the Data Sheet. The Legend sheet is for your benefit - it explains each of the Decision Factors as well as how to fill in the Data Sheet, in detail.

NOTE: Do not delete any of the four Worksheets in the Excel file! If you do, you will have to download a fresh copy, to apply the Brown-Gibson model all over again to your decision-making exercise!

On the other hand, if you would like us to do the analysis for you, our charges are US$ 9.95. To complete the analysis on your behalf, we require the following information from you:

The models that you have short-listed and their specs.
All your Decision Weights parameters, so that the decision is tailor-made for your needs. For example, is Budget more important to you than the Warranty terms, and so on.

What we deliver are;

A clear ranking from Rank 1 to Rank N, for all your short-listed models.
The completed Brown Gibson Decision Model Spreadsheet containing the Ranking of your choices, within 3 days of receipt of all information and payment from your side.

Click the correct option in the secure PayPal Dropdown Menu below!

Click here to download the password-protected, working Brown Gibson Decision Model Spreadsheet

The Brown-Gibson Decision Model is a tried and tested model for decision-making. A number of universities and organizations have used it successfully in various situations and conditions. Besides this, a number of papers/ research projects have also applied it successfully. For further reading, check out the following select links:

The Rutgers Scholar

Title page for ETD

CAT.INIST

National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli - MBA Department

The Source Selection Evaluation Decision Support System

Purchase Modern Production/ Operations Management by Elwood S. Buffa (original publishers Wiley). It probably has the best coverage of the Brown-Gibson Model amongst text books.