drkohler said:
I'm pretty sure these breakdowns are made calculating backwards, meaning they start with the $499/$399 sales price, assuming the total manufacturing costs a few $ less than those values, and then go on internet sites to see what parts they could get that make up the price. It's been a (long) while since I had actual insights into manufacturing costs but some parts of this quoted breakdown are simply hilarious. Like the $60 MS is supposed to pay for 16 dram chips - they went for under $2 at the time ms reserved millions of them (which probably was around 2009). Or the $9 or $14 manufacturing costs (they likely mean this is what the plant manufacturer gets for each finished unit). Last time ms lowered the manufacturing price down to $14 (instead of somewhat over $20 another plant offered) - the result ended in the infamous rrod fiasco. Then there is the $37 they think a hd would cost. Or the mainboard cost which doesn't really appear in the teardown... I could go on but the point is: These simple breakdowns are most likely calculated "backwards". |
doesn't change the fact those are estimates that anyone could have put together
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