XPS M1530 Manufacturer? (Yeah I know Dell sells it, but...)

Hi everyone - noobie here =)

So I've convinced myself to get an XPS 1530 - I'm just curious though, does Dell buy the laptops and then slap their logo on it? Or is it made in their factory?

I read in an old thread that Dell contracted Asus and other manufacturers to build their Latitude, Inspiron, and XPS lines, and was wondering if this was the case with the 1530.

Thanks!

 

its made in their factory.if your worries about build quality then dont as the xps is a very stongly built system

 

Dell gets all their parts from various vendors, just as most manufacturers do. The units are then built in their manufacturing facilities.

 

Dells put it togeather... No company in the world makes laptop from A to Z...
small example the Vedio card is made by??? that's right .... Nvida ...ets

 

I am also under the impression that the actual manufacturer is not DELL. From what I’ve read, most big notebook brands including DELL (HP, Lenovo etc..) are just rebranding notebooks made/assembled by ODM manufacturers like Compal, Quanta, Asus etc.. Therefore I think the actual factories or assembly plants are not owned by DELL, rather by those ODM manufacturers. Or maybe it’s a joint operation, partial ownership, subcontracting or whatever. I don’t really know. In any case, quality standards are maintained by DELL, so it really doesn’t matter who makes it, they are made for DELL’s requirements and standards.

BTW I'm not talking about manufacturing individual parts like RAM, VGA card, LCD etc.. I'm mainly talking about assembling the final product.

 

As far as Dell's laptops are concerned, they are built in THEIR manufacturing facilities. Mainly in Malaysia. If you go there, you will see Dell employees on Dell payrolls in a building financed by Dell.

It is true many notebooks are built in the same manufacturing facilities and then rebranded by different manufacturers. I'm not sure which manufactures though. If you like though, they do allow tourists to look around the Malaysian complexes. And you can wander into the building if you are crafty!

 

Most vendors engineer, design, the put the machine together.

As far as making the parts, like ram, mobo, lcd, gpu, cpu, chassis - that's all built by other companies.

Basically, Dell draws a picture of what they want, everyone makes the parts, and then Dell puts it together and sells it.

That's how most typical manufactures do there thing.

 

Here ya go...

Hewlett-Packard and many other notebook makers leave just about all of the laptop manufacturing process up to partners like Quanta, Compal, Wistron or Asustek. HP designs its own systems and supervises the production, but a partner builds its notebooks from start to finish for about 97 percent of all units, Bhalla said.

That's not the case at Dell. The company does all the final assembly of its laptops at its own facilities in Malaysia and Ireland, said Glenn Neland, senior vice president for procurement at the PC maker. It takes partially assembled systems from its manufacturing partners--the "carcass," as Neland puts it--and sends them to its own facilities to add the finishing touches, such as the installation of the processor, hard drive, memory and other system components.

This approach allows Dell to keep its customized, build-to-order strategy in place for the notebook market, Neland said. The company is unique in its reluctance to use indirect channels, such as retail stores, to reach customers.

If Dell was to leave the final assembly in the hands of its manufacturing partners, it would have to predict what types of configurations its customers are likely to order, and therefore carry more inventory than it would prefer, he said.

So in order to deliver a notebook to a buyer, Dell has to ship the partially assembled notebooks to its assembly facilities, coordinate the delivery of the key components from suppliers' warehouses, assemble the notebook and then ship it off to its destination. In a twist for a historically low-cost manufacturer like Dell, this actually increases its manufacturing costs to a certain degree, Neland said.

Now, if you read into this and follow it directly in the routing of say...the M1330, the 'partially assembled systems' or 'carcasses' are coming from Compal, to their plant in Malaysia and then to Roundrock, Texas for OS Imaging, software, final boxing and then shipment.

 

Laptop Manufacturers (Who really makes Laptops?)

Basically none of the "Name Brand" manufacture their own laptops. The few notable exceptions are Sony, Acer and Apple. Yet, they even do not manufacture all of their own laptops. All of the so called manufacturers buy their laptops from what is called an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM).
ODM - Original Design Manufacturers

ODMs are the true manufacturers who actually design, cast, and assemble the main unit which includes the motherboard, outside casing, and display. A few examples of ODMs are Quanta, Compal, Clevo, Mitac, Asus, Acer, Arima, Uniwill (now ECS/Uniwill) -- perhaps you have never heard of these companies before. But you have definitely seen their systems under other well known brand names. ODMs are usually located somewhere in Asia, and may have distribution centers in the US. ODMs distribute their product to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Each ODM sells its computers to many different OEMs.

OEM's - Original Equipment Manufacturers

OEMs add the Memory, Processor, Hard Drive, Optical Drives and software to the systems. The OEMs perform final assembly and stick their label (Brand) to it, and call themselves manufacturers. Their products are then sold directly to dealers/resellers or directly to the public (i.e. DELL). However most companies such as Dell and HP etc. have their laptops assembled in Asia. Our OEMs are in the USA, assembled in the USA and our 24 hour 7 days a week Toll Free Tech Support is 100% USA. Once these companies add in these components, they have a complete laptop. They then put their label on it and market it.

For example:

Clevo makes the Sager NP9262, the Alienware Area 51, the Voodoo Envy, the Hypersonic Aero ...they are all the same computer.
An ODM named Compal makes some of the the DELL, Hewlett Packard and Compa

Quanta makes many of the Dell Latitude, Lenovo (IBM), and Sony Vaio laptops.

Clevo is usually first and on the cutting edge when it comes to gaming laptops.

So, what does this mean to you? It means don't get hung up on the brand name when looking to buy, because the company who owns that name probably didn't build your dream-machine laptop. Instead, focus on these three things:

The Warranty: Compare warranties among different vendors. Definitely get a 3 year warranty if your budget allows it. Also be wary of those that offer too much. For example most of the OEM builders offer free shipping to and from on all repairs during the initial warranty.

Features: Does it do all you need? Don't go overboard, but don't sacrifice.

Price: Are you paying for a name, or for features and warranty? Remember, the name does not differentiate the machine from any other.

 

Wow - thanks for the detailed responses =D

To follow in flamenko's vein, and to make the question even more specific, any idea on which one of these companies initiates production of the M1530?

 

Wow...since I received appreciation for that last post, I can add some timings that may also help. When Dell wants to create a priority, it can be as quick as this.

15 Aug - 3xM1330 reodered
16 Aug - production in Malaysia
17 Aug - flight - Malaysia to RoundRock, Texas
18 Aug - arrives RoundRock OS Imaging/software/final testing/boxing
19 Aug - leaves RoundRock
21 Aug - in sorting Facility Toronto
22 Aug - at my door (Niagara Falls)