The Underscore Archives

Hi Steve,

Sunday, February 3, 2008, 2:17:01 PM, you wrote:

> Really, generally I have to spend a few hours researching what
> components to buy (e.g. I was thinking of an SN10000 and it takes a
> bit of effort to figure out which is best).

If I was buying a pre-built I'd spend the same amount of time
comparing deals from various vendors, checking out the specs of the
parts they've included, etc, to see if they'll fit my needs.

> Then you've got to spend a while ordering components, unless you buy
> only from one outfit, still it's more than 20 minutes, then it all

True, I rarely order PC parts from more than 4 different sites,
and mostly if I'm doing a full build I'll get everything from OcUK in
one hit.

> arrives (spending time to stay in again), then I have to build the

I work from home several days a week ;)

> thing and if it was to run Windows or something I'd then have to spend
> another couple of hours installing it.

Yes, the build is time consuming. But it's (a) fun and (b) less time
consuming than installing Windows ;) You also know for a fact that
you've got exactly what you want, routed the way you want it, for
minimum noise and maximum airflow.

The Windows install can be left to its own devices, I don't see
why you can't be sat there "earning some money" while it does its
thing :)

That's for XP anyway, Vista install extremely quickly. There is of
course the time you'll need to install drivers and all the software
you enjoy using - but you'd need to do that regardless where you get
the PC.

> Damn... I just can't see it being as profitable, even performance
> wise, as compared to doing some techie work for the same amount of
> time!

It depends what you want and how much you're going to spend. If you're
talking a cheap-ass Dell/Tesco box then you are right. But I like
researching things such as heat sink fan noise, ram speeds/timings,
PSU outputs, RAID chipsets and the like.

The PC I have now I know I could only really have bought from a
handful of PC vendors and Dell certainly isn't one of them - Scan,
Vadim, or Alienware at a push perhaps - because I trust them to do a
superb build job on it. Net result - you pay for that skill.

Hence, I might as well do it myself.

Cheers,

Rich
-- 
Zend Certified Engineer
http://www.corephp.co.uk

"Never trust a computer you can't throw out of a window"