PC penetration in India has drastically increased manifold since the late 90’s when it was still considered a “luxury good”. The growing influence of computers in our daily life, be it at home or office has led to a consistently increasing demand for these goods from the non-commercial sector. The Indian marketplace is highly cost and quality conscious by nature, strictly in that order. The last 3-4 years have seen the growing emergence of the “Assembled PC” segment which is today estimated to enjoy more than 50% market share.
What’s the difference between a Branded and an Assembled PC?
Contrary to perceptions, a branded PC does not drop down in fancy carton boxes from the skies. A branded PC is an assembled unit too. The main components in a PC are the Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Hard Disk, CD/DVD drive, Floppy drive and the Monitor. No company makes all these in-house. Instead, they out-source them from OEM’s like Seagate, Samsung, Creative Labs, etc. The only difference is that while branded PCs are manufactured en masse by big companies and sold under a particular brand name, assembled PCs are made by smaller outfits and are commonly referred to as the “grey market”.
What should I go in for?
Each individual has his/her own needs and would therefore like customised PCs that fit their requirements and budgets. The two most important criteria are, of course, price and quality. I have a dakota, assembled PC at home which I’ve been using for the last 5 years. Apart from upgrading the RAM and Hard Disk(act of Man) and changing the CD-ROM drive(act of God), I’m yet to face any other problem so far. I’d however suggest considering the following points before making a suitable buying decision:
1. Configuration
This is dependent on the budget that one has and the purpose for which the PC is intended. If it is meant for children(homework, surfing), there is no need of a huge hard disk and massive RAM resources. If it is meant for playing games, its better to spend more on the Hard Disk, RAM and graphics and sound cards. High-end users like self-employed people and small businessmen would mostly use Office applications like work, excel and the odd financial package for which no hi-fi config is needed.
2. Hunting for a bargain
Assembled PC’s come in varying sizes, shapes and budgets. Branded PCs give some comfort by virtue of their brand name and are therefore preferred by those who want quality above all else. If one wants to go for an assembled one, it’s always better to scout around the market and get some basic knowledge of the reigning prices for different components and then draw a price v/s performance matrix against which the various components may be benchmarked. Then begins the tedious session of locating a nerd who can assemble the components according to your requirements. An important point to be kept in mind here is to make sure that the assembler is trustworthy and has an impeccable reputation. It’s therefore better to enquire among friends and relatives to suggest someone ultra dependable.
3. After-sales service
Most branded PCs carry a standard promise of warranty but fall short when it actually comes to delivering on that front. Not that they do it intentionally though, its just that they have such a huge client base that it often takes them a long time even to attend to the customers telephone call. The local assembler, on the other hand, would definitely be able to respond faster to any problem than a large, multi-layered and “branded” organization. Some might even charge a nominal service charge of about 3-5% for delivering this service in the house itself which is fully worth every penny. Where branded PCs score is the wide availability of branches across the country. If you happen to get transferred from Chennai to Delhi and your PC gets “homesick”, there is no way your friendly assembler is going to grace you by traveling to Delhi to cure the PC.
4. Upgradation
Again, assemblers score over their more accomplished brothers here. The branded PC makers often wait for International and National launches to slither down before they finally offer it to their customers. An assemblers has no such constraints and can offer these new launches almost immediately as soon as they are released in the market. Its also a known fact that it is painfully difficult to upgrade branded machines because of their pre-set specifications and compatibility issues with the other components.
5. Consumer Financing
A lot of branded PC makers these days are tying up with Finance companies to offer customised financing solutions. This is not possible with an assembler but then again, we wouldn’t need a financing option it was an assembler, right? Its only the marketing and advertising costs of the branded PC’s that force us to shell out all those extra bucks.
Thus spake TIC…
My frank opinion is that there is no difference in quality between the two because both use the components made by the same OEM’s. Branded PC makers have realised that the public does not fall for the “branded means assured quality” line anymore and are now slashing their prices to make them competitive vis-à-vis assembled PCs. The major problem with branded PCs is that they lack the single factor that any discerning middle class individual looks for – “Value for Money”. However, HCL and HP are striving to change that opinion in the minds of the public, if the success of “Busybee” and “Brio”(their respective “value for money” models) are anything to go by.
Ultimately, each individual has a different set of views/opinions depending on which he/she might give preference to either an assembled or a branded PC. Think of it, since it involves a fairly large investment(by conservative middle class standards), it’s infinitely better to have the PC custom made to your specific requirements rather than buying something that is incompatible with your requirements off the shelf and preferring to go to the local cyber café. As for me, since I have a decent amount of “gyan” when it comes to hardware, I’d happily pump for an assembled PC anyday!