On 2015-06-14, Dave Smith > wrote:

> I have to wonder about some of the claims I have heard. I know the big
> stores are selling cheap products for the benefit of those who find
> value in buying cheap and replacing the stuff way too soon. I find it
> hard to believe that they would cheapen some of the parts of any
> particular model since, being a model, there are certain replacement
> parts, so they have to be standard. A more likely scenario is that the
> manufacturers make a special model for those guys.

Howzabout this scenario: HP subs out mobos to another co. To save
$$$$ for their bean counters, the sub-contracted company uses cheaper
components unbeknownst to HP. When this sub-standard substitution is
finally discovered, HP must either go along with the subcontractor or
create new must-follow specs for any subcontracted company. This
takes time and manpower for HP to go back and create these build
specs.

Happened all the time with the mega-corp I usata work for. My company
began by making their own PCBs. When they subbed PCBs out --the
greatest boondoggle of all time!-- the subbed companies all provided
cheaper PCBs than my company originally made, in-house. A real
headache, all around.

nb