Protecting its price leadership position among the major corporate and institutional desktop personal computer vendors, direct computer company Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, TX, cut the price on its OptiPlex line of desktop PCs by as much as 11 percent.
The price cuts came as Dell has reduced the operating expenses related to the OptiPlex line by 13 percent over the last year. Explaining the lower operating costs, the company pointed to cost reductions on computer components and within its direct model, as well as growing Internet sales and online technical support delivery.
At the low end of the product line, an OptiPlex G1 with Intel Corp.'s Celeron processor and Microsoft Windows 95 now costs $1,048 with a 15-inch monitor or $849 without a monitor. Minus the monitor, the G1 formerly cost $959. On the more expensive side, the OptiPlex GX1p with an Intel Pentium II processor, MicroSoft Windows NT and a 15.9-inch monitor runs $1,999, down 9 percent from a previous $2,199. Dell offers a three-year limited warranty and on-site service for the product line.
The OptiPlex product line is built for business and institutional buyers, a healthy market for Dell. In the third quarter this year, the company accounted for almost 30 percent of the PC sales to U.S. businesses with more than 500 employees.
