"Wayne.B" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:21:22 -0400, HK wrote:

Yeah, obviously. Wayne apparently hasn't bought a new computer since he
retired.

Darn right, I buy new computers when I need them, not until. I built
a "Super PC" once similar to what you do. It was nifty at the time
but obsolete in a year or so. Why bother unless it is just a hobby to
do that sort of thing.

I have never been obsessed with a need to have the "latest and
greatest". That's all Detroit marketing BS as far as I'm concerned,
designed to separate the gullible from their money.

And I can buy more computer already built and tested for less money than a
DIY project.

On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:46:22 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

And I can buy more computer already built and tested for less money than a
DIY project.

Yes, and less risk also.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:46:22 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

And I can buy more computer already built and tested for less money than a
DIY project.

Yes, and less risk also.


To buy a ready-made PC with the high end specs of the last one I built
would have cost nearly twice as much from one of the only one or two
vendors that actually builds such machines. Most of the "high end" PCs
from the big name vendors incorporate some really annoying hardware
shortcuts, or have padded out prices because of silly features, such as
tricked out cases with lighting effects.

HK wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:46:22 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

And I can buy more computer already built and tested for less money
than a DIY project.

Yes, and less risk also.


To buy a ready-made PC with the high end specs of the last one I built
would have cost nearly twice as much from one of the only one or two
vendors that actually builds such machines. Most of the "high end" PCs
from the big name vendors incorporate some really annoying hardware
shortcuts, or have padded out prices because of silly features, such as
tricked out cases with lighting effects.

One of those silly features is factoring the cost of support, how would
you like to talk to idiots like yourself every day whining about their
computer.

BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:46:22 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

And I can buy more computer already built and tested for less money
than a DIY project.

Yes, and less risk also.


To buy a ready-made PC with the high end specs of the last one I built
would have cost nearly twice as much from one of the only one or two
vendors that actually builds such machines. Most of the "high end" PCs
from the big name vendors incorporate some really annoying hardware
shortcuts, or have padded out prices because of silly features, such
as tricked out cases with lighting effects.

One of those silly features is factoring the cost of support,

The problem is NONE of the large computer companies really provide good
support. The best is mediocre. It is quicker to solve the problem
yourself than to use customer none-service. I had a blue screen of
death problems with my brand new Dell (less than a week old). The
screen said my hard drive was corrupted and to contact the mfg'ers. The
service tech had me disconnecting every single item in the box (DVD,
Hard Drive, CPU etc.) After we did all of this, and the problem
continued, I asked him about my 3 year in home service program. His
reply was "Yes you have a 3 year in home service agreement, but right
now we are diagnosing the problem, once we have figured out what the
problem is, then we will send out a technician. When I told him the
Blue Screen told me it was a computed hard drive, he said we still
needed to continue with the diagnostics. After 4 hrs of pulling each
hardware item out, reinstalling the item, plugging all wires into the
system, and repeating the same procedure over again, it still would not
boot up.

I finally said, "look you really need to send someone out to replace the
hard drive or I will have to return this computer", he asked me if I
would like to have an RTV number. Dell finds it cheaper to return the
product and lose the sale, than to actually send out a tech to repair
the product. Don't plan on having GOOD customer support from any of the
big guys. If you buy from one of the smaller guys, you will pay for the
Good support.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:46:22 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

And I can buy more computer already built and tested for less money than a
DIY project.

Yes, and less risk also.


What risk? I buy better quality products for my DIYs than the "name"
system integrators. I'd rather deal directly with ATI or NVIDIA or one
of the major league hard drive manufacturers than one of the non-English
speaking idiots in customer support at your average "name" computer
computer.

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:36:07 -0400, HK wrote:

What risk?

Have all of your self assembled PCs worked right out of the box? I've
built more than a few myself, the vast majority of which worked just
fine. When they don't though, you are on your own for troubleshooting
and problem isolation. If you buy pre-assembled and it doesn't work
all you have to do is call up and get a RMA number.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:36:07 -0400, HK wrote:

What risk?

Have all of your self assembled PCs worked right out of the box? I've
built more than a few myself, the vast majority of which worked just
fine. When they don't though, you are on your own for troubleshooting
and problem isolation. If you buy pre-assembled and it doesn't work
all you have to do is call up and get a RMA number.


I've built at least two dozen PCs over the years. All but one worked
perfectly right out of the box. The one that did not had a bad power
supply. As soon as I swapped it out, it came to life.

I don't buy Brand X components, and I try to deal with reputable
vendors, both at point of sale and further back, at point of manufacture.

As an example, on my current desktop, I was not satisfied with the
performance of the HP DVD writer/Lightscribe printer. I called HP, got
an RMA *and* HP agreed to a hot swap. I've encountered "hot swaps" with
Seagate and other drive manufacturers.

I appreciate what you are saying, though. I don't "build" my laptops.
But I don't try to stay on the edge with those, since my use of them is
really limited to on the road use and what I am looking for there is
durability.