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Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

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11–20 of 108 posts

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#11
post #5
post #2

More than likely, because switching to Linux also drops all the "paid pre-installed windows software" (companies paying Dell to pre-install their software) then this jump in price would give a hint as to how much Dell receives in payment for pre-installing all those windows extras.

What is the software that gets installed and what does it do? Do they actually show ads ?

Everything from antivirus to cloud backups to photo editors. Basically just trial editions of various software.

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#12
One thing to note is that using Arch I haven't had any issues with hardware on any computer I've tried, and usually you can find a comparable Acer or MSI with much better specs for significantly less. I usually don't see much benefit with purchasing overpriced hardware.

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#13

Linux might be rare enough that they only make Windows machines and then have someone pull one out of the box put Linux on it if requested.

It’s like why alcohol free beer costs almost same in NZ - because they have to take out alcohol!

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#14
post #7

Just ran into this buying a laptop! I bought the Windows one, nuked it, and had Ubuntu installed in like 15 minutes :D

Yeah I was kinda wondering, what's their game plan here? Hope that people don't notice the price difference and DIY it? Might just be what someone else said, this is what Dell is not being paid to pre-install whatever

Precisely, Dell does not care and knows that people using Linux mostly likely know how to install it, so why not get the $200 from McAfee?

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#15
post #7

Just ran into this buying a laptop! I bought the Windows one, nuked it, and had Ubuntu installed in like 15 minutes :D

Yeah I was kinda wondering, what's their game plan here? Hope that people don't notice the price difference and DIY it? Might just be what someone else said, this is what Dell is not being paid to pre-install whatever

If you install it yourself then presumably Dell is not responsible for any compatibility/quality issues.

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#16

One thing to note is that using Arch I haven't had any issues with hardware on any computer I've tried, and usually you can find a comparable Acer or MSI with much better specs for significantly less. I usually don't see much benefit with purchasing overpriced hardware.

Every laptop is a linux laptop if you stay away from nvidia and get last year's hardware.

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#17
post #10
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the software that gets installed and what does it do? Do they actually show ads ?

Norton 360, which if memory serves has been a stalwart of the preinstall game now installs an opt-in Cryptominer. https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/01/norton-360-now-comes-wit...

Further evidence that crypto is truly a cancer on software.

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#18
post #5
post #2

More than likely, because switching to Linux also drops all the "paid pre-installed windows software" (companies paying Dell to pre-install their software) then this jump in price would give a hint as to how much Dell receives in payment for pre-installing all those windows extras.

What is the software that gets installed and what does it do? Do they actually show ads ?

Lenovo actually used to ship adware/malware that actually broke TLS in order to inject ads onto webpages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish#Lenovo_security_inci...

Re: Ask HN: Why the $200 Overhead on Dell XPS Laptops with Linux?

#20
It is possible that it is strategic, to discourage customers from purchasing a Linux laptop. This could be for various reasons, such as:

1) Their production pipeline is optimized for windows, so Linux is a deviation requiring some manual intervention that costs extra.

2) Deals with Microsoft, wherein MS incentivizes them Dell based on some criteria, including but not limited to units sold. This is similar to car dealerships with quotas.

3) As others have noted, 3rd Party crapware deals for putting preinstalled crapware on Windows laptops. Fewer such opportunities exist for Linux laptops

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