OT: Any online hardware Vendors take PO's?

[Vader]

This is slightly OT, but don't know where to ask this question. Since this has to do with Purchasing equip, i figured I can ask here.

If this is inappropriate MODS..please point me in the right direction?

Anyway, I was given the task to come up with specs for new Systems for our IT dep't and I got the ok to build our own systems, based on Price/Perfomance. Dell workstations are extremely expensive and we are saving close to $10k and getting much better machines going this route. I already have the specs I want, however, becuase we're such a large CORP, we have to go through the PURCHASE ORDER process. I called Newegg and they don't take PO's.

Are there any comparable Vendors that take Purchase Orders, that we can get an account setup..etc? Again, I apologize in advance if this is not the place to ask this question.

Thanks!

[Jinx_player]

The problem you will run into is the fact that these computers will break down.. If you order from dell with warranty, thats less bullshit your going to need to deal with.

[Gambrinus]

The problem you will run into is the fact that these computers will break down.. If you order from dell with warranty, thats less bullshit your going to need to deal with.

QFT. Call Dell and tell them you need X systems for your company. You'll get assigned a rep who can get you way better prices than what you're seeing on their website, and when they break, you don't have to deal with scrambling to find replacement parts - they do.

[feigned]

Directron, Amherst, Insight.

[LoneWolf]

If you didn't call Dell, you didn't get the true price. Shopping for Dell as a corp. is like buying in a market in Mexico: if you pay the first price listed no-questions-asked, you're getting the shaft.

I work in education. I spec out systems at Dell's website, and then I call them. Our rep saves us $100-200 per system over the price on the web. Orders above a certain quantity get better pricing too.

Building systems in quantity for a large corp. is a bad idea (and I was a system builder for nearly 4 years). Support is lousy if something breaks, as opposed to calling Dell, where once diagnosed, you'll get the replacement part next-day. A three-year warranty (up to 4 years if you need it) where you don't have to track every one of your receipts, or deal with a motherboard manufacturer whose support hails from Taiwan when you're 3,000 miles away. No middleman (in case said mobo manufacturer tells you all RMA's must be through the vendor).

Trust me, any money you save building systems yourself will be needed when you go to the pharmacy for that Motrin prescription.

[augiee]

I would also agree with LoneWolf, I am a Director of IT, and I has a policy that if I dont build it, it doesn't get put on my network. But In the last couple of years we have gotten to big for me and my whole dept to manage building pc's, it's frankly not cost effective. Case in Point, we were going to use shuttle frag boxes to run some hd tvs in our lobby, and I order the parts and built the system, One went together fine, still working. But the other has been a ****ing nightmare. I have rma'ed almost all of the parts and it's still not working. and I had spent almost 2 weeks on just one system. granted it was not every hour of the day but a couple of hours a day for 2 weeks adds up, I think I totaled my hours spent as almost 50-60 hours, went I count my salary, I had spent on the low side almost 3 grand just on my time, when I could of just bought a dell. with the good gold Warranty and spent only a couple of hundred bucks more for a dell. I did buy Dell after that and I have not had any problems since. Now dont get me wrong on Building systems my computer I use for myself in my office I built has not had any problems yet, but thats on box not 10 or more you would have to deal with. Take this, I will say you spend 3 grand on parts another grand on software, You would still have to build it thats min 2-3 hours+ 10-20 hours for installing and Configuring an OS. And lets say your tech makes 20 bucks an hour. I'll go for the max on hours because thats what will happen in the real world. Your looking at 500 bucks extra for the build for each computer, yes I know you could ghost the other boxes but that will save sometime, but in the big picture its not a big of a time saving. Vader this is from a uppermanagement view spend the extra money now and not later.

Augiee
aka Tom