Many people may not realize this, but computer memory is considered a commodity similar to oil or orange juice concentrate. As a result, the prices for memory modules can fluctuate daily. Prices have stabilized over the years but this is still one of the largest variables in the cost of a computer for both the manufacturer and consumer. Because of this, some smart shopping on the part of the consumer can actually end up saving you money when buying a notebook or desktop PC systems.
Buying Less Can Save More
This concept might sound a bit weird, but it is possible to play the PC memory price market and actually purchase a PC and memory separately and end up spending less than buying the PC with the same memory installed at time of purchase. All this has to do with what the manufacturers are charging for the memory in the system compared to the memory upgrade markets. Manufacturers tend to use memory as one of their key ways to generate profit, so the more memory you want in a computer, the faster the price will go up on the system. So, if the PC manufacturers are charging more than the retailers for memory modules, then the consumer can end up saving money with two separate purchases.
How Does it Work?
Basically this method requires a bit of effort on the consumer. When purchasing a PC system, you will need to price the system with the desired amount of RAM and then with the minimum amount of memory that you can buy installed in the same PC. This lets you see how much the manufacturer is charging you for those memory modules. With this price difference in mind, you then need to price memory modules to upgrade the system to the desired amount of memory.
For example, if you are looking to purchase a PC system and you want 1GB of memory you first price the system with this amount of RAM. Then you would see what the minimum amount of RAM that can be ordered with the system, likely either 256MB of 512MB. Once the difference between the two is determined, you then would figure out how much memory you would need to purchase to get to the desired amount, likely either 1GB or 512MB. With that determined, you then price the cost of either a 1GB or 512MB module. If it is less than the difference between the two systems, you would purchase the PC with the minimum plus the upgrade.
Caveats
The biggest caveat with this method is that it only works for manufacturers that let you customize a computer system. You will not be able to walk into a retail store and purchase a preconfigured system with a smaller amount of memory. The method is best used with direct orders from companies such as Dell, Gateway, HP and others that let you select the amount of RAM to install in the PC.
The other problem is how the memory is configured in the purchased system and how the upgrade memory can be installed. For example, a notebook typically has two memory slots. Purchasing it with 512MB generally uses two 256MB modules. To upgrade the memory to 1GB, it would require purchasing two 512MB modules and removing the 256MB modules. If purchased with the 1GB from the manufacturer, they just install two 512MB modules instead of the 256MB ones.
Finally, this method generally works best when the difference between the minimum amount of RAM you can order and the amount desired is quite big. So if the desired PC will have 2GB and the minimum is 512MB, this method will likely be more effective than say the difference between a desired of 512MB and a minimum of 256MB.
Summary of Steps
- Price PC with Desired Amount of RAM
- Price PC with Minimum RAM Allowed
- Calculate Difference Between Two Options
- Look Up Prices for Memory Upgrades for Desired RAM
- If Upgrade + Minimum PC < PC with Desired, Purchase Separately
Conclusions
So, is this method worth using? It really depends upon what you are looking for in a computer and how much time you are willing to invest in searching for it. If you are trying to buy a fairly expensive system, this method may help you to reduce the cost, but those already looking at low cost budget PCs are best to just buy the computer in a bundle then spending their time looking for maybe saving only a few dollars.
