Exactly, and if they have enough volume, they can really nail down any lingering bugs or problems in the chipsets or firmware and it turns into a rock-solid sys

Exactly, and if they have enough volume, they can really nail down any lingering bugs or problems in the chipsets or firmware and it turns into a rock-solid system. Anything else and the manufacturer (Lenovo, Dell, HP) lose money on their support costs. If I was responsible for buying workstations for an office, I would definitely choose a standard business configuration over building it myself. If I expected those workstations to be running Linux, I would definitely attempt to buy one that was designed to work well with Linux for the same reasons. Note: This is also why some companies buy Dell/Lenovo/HP servers even though they cost more. Support. The components are all very well tested together, and any bug you encounter you can expect other people to have encountered and complained about as well, and hopefully should have a fix on the way (or already available through a firmware upgrade). I've also heard this is why Dell drives cost so much. They make sure to have stock around for you years later in case you need replacements, so you can replace with the exact same drive model.