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Litmus test for an amateur - Still insists that whitebox is better for business. You're stepping over a dollar to earn another dime if you believe that white box is better. Need that custom touch? getting reamed on upgrades? or can't quite get that configuration you're looking for from the Major brand?... Just use the Major as the barebone and add the additional components to meet the specifications your client needs and still enjoy the better materials and uniformity of look and feel the Majors offer.
The major brands have engineered their computers. They have tested their components for performance, integration, compatibility and reliability. Drivers and firmware are far easier to find which eases upkeep, maintenance, and serviceability. They stock the parts, putting them a phone call away when a warranty issue arises. If your whitebox fails, that POS reflects poorly upon you and your consultancy... meanwhile it's your un-billable time going down the toilet to troubleshoot it inside of your warranty period. If you sold them a Major, you can charge the client to troubleshoot it and leave it to the Major to dispatch the parts and even a tech to replace the part. Your whitebox junkyard hodgepodge computer parts require a time consuming and painful 2 to 8 week RMA process or searching for a part off the shelf to fix the issue (what an unproductive waste of time) Did somebody voice a concern that another contracted company by the Major will be visiting your customer to service the computer under warranty? Fine by me - a good consultant is akin to a Surgeon and swapping parts is like cleaning bedpans. No technician has ever threatened to take my clients because my clients know and can FEEL that I have their best business interests in mind. Did somebody say you can charge them to service your whitebox? As previously suggested, what a sleeze. Clients would often prefer to spend that same money with you doing something creative and productive instead of wasting time money and productivity on your break/fix profiteering.
Consulting to a business is more than just turning a buck on reselling hardware. The money is not in the hardware, it's in the service. You waste your time building and servicing whiteboxes. Selling high quality Major hardware is a value added service you provide to your clients while also giving you a vehicle in which to deliver even more SERVICE. Offering competitive prices on hardware is a rat race best left to the Majors who have the buying power to compete - focus on SERVICE, and not eeking a few more dollars out of hodgepodge junkyard collages of sunday special parts which will ultimately cost you and your client in wasted time, money, and productivity down the road.