Hey Guys, A friend of mine at work builds computers on the side and he wanted to know if anyone was looking for/interested in a custom built computer. If you are, leave the specs/price range here in this thread, I will talk to him and see what he has or can get for that price/spec range. Let me know though!
there's probably about 2 dozen people who "build custom computers on the side" here already... we just don't see it as a business most likely. if he's working some place where parts are cheaper than newegg, then that's something to post about though.
Yea I'd love to find someone that knows where to get pieces real cheap.. Love to get a quad core eventually and upgrade from my Nvidia 6800 card! LOL I know old as balls.
He doesn't do it for business, but more as a hobby. He just wanted to know if I knew any people, that's why I posted.
Good luck to your friend. I used to build custom computers, but there just wasn't any profit in it once prices dropped so much.
Sadly I agree with EF2 and thogun, it's the sad state of affairs with the custom built market, or I would get into it myself. -KM
I think its tough because its not hard to do. If you've seen the inside of a puter its not hard to see where everything goes =P and manuals come in real handy. oh and with the internet at hand.. even easier.
Anyone can throw a bunch of parts into a case - but that doesn't necessarily mean it will work. Someone that knows what they are doing can build one in a fraction of the time it would take someone who doesn't, even if said person uses the internet as a reference
the reason it's hard to break into is that building a PC yourself tends to cost more then a generic HP type... back in the day it was cheaper to build one yourself and you got to pick the items you put into it As someone says, unless you can beat the prices on parts from mail orders it's hard to make any $
I definately do not disagree. Though I've owned two PREFABBED computers, and overall, both were major piece of junk. 90% of the parts are refurbs, and will likely fail within a year of owning it - and typically by the time they do inevitably fail finding a replacement will be near-impossible thanks to the rate at which PC components become outdated/obsolete.
you're right, it doesn't mean it will always work. I built my first comp from spare IBM parts at 16.. not saying much but it did actually work heh. and that was when I really didn't understand the power of the internet. again you're right, someone that knows what they are doing can put one together much faster. But that wasn't my point.. since that's kind of obvious and applies to just about anything else. I'm just saying anyone with some time and patience on their hands can build one relatively easily. You don't need a computer science degree to do it. (but I'm sure it will help! Also with getting a job too, if that's in your long term plans lol)
i can buy a "decent" computer for $400-500 sure... but integrated video is sure to be a part of that price tag. i typically spend around $1-1.2k on a new setup every couple of years keeping many of the functional pieces such as drives. and most of the price is top end video and cpu that goes far above the $500 dell, hp, etc. the problem is that making your own takes some balls if you are BOTH new to it and don't have someone to help you... i know i built my first with a buddy there to make sure i didn't screw up. he basically was building his own at the same time and just having another person to hypothetically watch my back was more than enough... but the original point still applies: there's probably 100 of us that can build a machine ourselves without going to a friend of a guild dude and REshipping of a built machine to some other area is silly on the price tag too.
I built my current rig on my own. I just printed out a few pages about RAID setup and read the manuals that came with the equipment. The only thing that was "hard" was the RAID drivers needed to be installed from floppy and I wasn't planning on putting a floppy drive in my rig. I ended up going to the local computer shop and picking up an longer cable for the install (50 cents). I consider building a computer very simple, RAM goes where RAM goes, the CPU goes where the CPU goes, the video card goes where it goes. Plug in the PSU and cables. Hit the power button, insert the OS CD. Then, WTF PWN NEWBS!
I use floppy drives from time to time as well. A few things I need em for are RAID drivers, BIOS updates, and Xbox360 modding... all of which are done outside the OS. Handy to have around