Select Dell Notebooks Now Cheaper With Ubuntu + Retail Vista Than Vista Pre-Installed
In cases where computers are available pre-installed with either Linux or Windows, it is almost always the case that either (a) the Linux one is slightly less expensive or (b) the Windows one is actually less expensive, so you might as well just buy the Windows version and install Linux. Apparently, this is not always the case. While comparing the prices for some Dell computers, I discovered that on some Dell notebooks, it is cheaper to buy the Ubuntu version and a retail copy of Vista than to buy Vista pre-installed.
Since Dell has recently added several new models to the Ubuntu line, I decided to do price comparisons between the Linux and Windows models. I tried to get the systems as close as possible, but in a few cases there are very minor differences. All prices listed below are how much cheaper the Ubuntu model is:
- Inspiron 530 (Desktop) – Ubuntu is $80 cheaper.
- Inspiron 1525 (Notebook) – Ubuntu and Windows are equal price.
- Studio 15 (Notebook) – Ubuntu is $100 cheaper.
- XPS M1330 (Notebook) – Ubuntu is $350 cheaper.
- XPS M1530 (Notebook) – Ubuntu is $350 cheaper.
That means that on the two XPS models listed there, it is cheaper to buy the Ubuntu version and pick up a retail copy of Vista Home Premium (or, better yet, don’t) for $220 from Newegg. Wow.
Update 1 – It seems that Dell has pulled the XPS M1530 from the Ubuntu page.
Update 2 – For anyone who wants to confirm the numbers, here is what you need to know:
- You have to go to dell.com/ubuntu to find the Ubuntu machines. Then, you can search for the Windows counterparts.
- The default configuration of the Windows and Ubuntu machines is not the same, so you have to click on “customize” and go through each option, making sure that the machines have equal specs. If there are multiple choices that work, I choose the less expensive option. If you cannot match the specs exactly, get as close as you can.
Yes, there are a few cases where you cannot match the hardware exactly. The wireless cards seem to be the biggest issue. In one case I could not match the exact model of wireless card, in another one card was N and the other was G. There was also one case where both machines had the same amount of RAM, but one machine had it spread across two chips, while the other only had one chip. Finally, in one case, the clock speeds of the processors was off by about .1 GHz. So, yes there were a couple of issues, but all of them are really small and highly unlikely to cause any difference in performance.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Why on earth would you buy the retail Vista when you already have Ubuntu installed?
It won’t run Windows programs, but AFAIK you can do pretty much anything you can do in Vista, using less resources and with little worry of viruses, malware or defragging…
August 12th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I’d buy one and replace Ubuntu Linux with Mandriva Linux, if I could get those Dell machines, pre installed with Linux here in Australia.
August 13th, 2008 at 4:07 am
I’d keep Ubuntu on it since everything will be guaranteed to work properly with it, not install Vista. Thereby saving $350 and some hassle.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:26 am
Are you sure the two have identical hardware? I was just looking at the m1330, and noticed that the processor listed on the ubuntu machine was different from any of the choices from the windows machine.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Someone should tell Dell — The OS choice I get is Windows only for the XPS M1330
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DYDWTR2&s=dhs
August 13th, 2008 at 8:44 am
@tracyanne:
I have tried to contact Dell Australia and tell them exactly what you said … that there is a demand for Ubuntu on Dell machines in Australia and that I was disappointed that Dell did not sell such machines.
I doubt that Dell received my comment. They were not at all easy to find contact details for.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Well .. post what kind of specs you selected otherwise this is pretty pointless. I can claim that Ubuntu is 600 US$ if I use different specs.
When I looked the 999$ Ubuntu M1330 was 1124$ with Vista.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:16 am
aristos_achaion – You cannot just look at the initial price, since, as you said, the machines are not configured equally. I explained more in update 2 on this post.
machiner – You have to go to dell.com/ubuntu to find the Ubuntu machines.
Tom – I am not going to post all the specs for all the machines, because that would take pages and pages. I can tell you that I attempted to get the machines as close as possible to equal. See update 2 if you want to go check my numbers.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Curious. My experience with Dell is just the opposite. While I get your point that base models with Ubuntu are considerably cheaper than with Vista (I won’t dare to doubt your prices since in Dell these oscillate substantially), this doesn’t hold for higher end machines.
If you want to configure an XPS M1330 with a high-end processor (T8000 or higher), with 2Gb of RAM and a large HD and with the LED screen, buying it with Vista will *save* you money. At least in spain it does. The trick to get half-deccent pricing from Dell is starting from the highest pre-configured model possible.
Additionally, you can’t get Centrino 2 in the XPS M1330 with Ubuntu, or at least you couldn’t get it yesterday.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:48 am
The bottom line is OEMs are still NOT serious about supporting Linux and totally dishonest in their offering computers with Linux pre-installed .
To be truly honest and taken seriously by customers, they should offer hardware configured exactly the same for both Linux & Windows, or at least allow customers to configure their hardware and add the OS they desire. Anything other than that is just playing the shell game.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
@markN, I’ve also tried to get some sense out of Dell Australia, but got either no response, or, because I’ve gone through sales, and spoken to the highest sales person, been told
“Dell is a customer focused company, therefore we only sell what the customer wants”
Which gave me pause to wonder, what then am I?
August 13th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Actually, obviously not a customer, as I didn’t, in the end, buy anything.
August 17th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Ah,… but you forget to mention – leave that Ubuntu installed on the machine (keeping the $350 savings) and it will run faster than Vista and you will have more Ram to work with your spreadsheets etc.
Do note that some of the hardware differences (notably the wifi radios) are issues from the sub-suppliers not having “drivers” for Linux (or Vista!). Ram in one-stick or two-sticks is just a Dell inventory thing – it’s what they have at the moment. Overall, I’d say the hardware offerings are more similar than different between the machine options you looked at.
However, you need to work out a software benchmark between Ubuntu and Vista (not just trying to compare hardware) and then compare computer specs to get the same end results… Example: Ubuntu will run fine with 2GB of Ram where Vista needs 4GB to function well. You’ll need twice the machine hardware with Vista to get “wobbly windows” or other fancy “aero” effects as you will with Ubuntu.
Considering the use and end performance you’ll see in software, you can easily buy a $500 laptop for Ubuntu or a $1500 laptop for Vista and get the same work done.
Or this as a practical real indicator… I have a 1999 Pentium-2 @ 500Mhz laptop with 256MB of ram I use for travel, email, and client presentations that runs Xubuntu 8.04 (newer than Vista release), primarily Firefox 3 and Open Office 2.4. I doubt Windows XP will even run on it (it shipped with Win98) and certainly not Vista. “Real work”, like making those presentations, gets done on a 2002 desktop Pentium-4@2.4Ghz and 1GB ram (though it’s running on the “much older” Xubuntu 7.10 that launched November 2007). Anything faster than these options and it’s all gravy.
So don’t limit comparisons to just hardware specs.
(OS Publication note: Windows “Vista” launched in January 2007, Mac “Leopard” launched October 2007, Ubuntu “Gutsy Gibbon” 7.10 launched November 2007, and Ubuntu “Hardy Heron” 8.04 launched April 2008.)