A bit of history and encouragement Part 3
Previously: What is my Budget Range? Part 2
A bit of history and encouragement
In the mid-80's a entry level computer would cost $5,000. Entry
level. There were high end Compaq's going for $10,000. Now it is hard
to imagine a $10,000 computer, and a $5,000 one comes with very fancy
cooling designed for extreme overclocking the incredible capacity
machine that kind of money produces. And today those $300 Netbooks
exponentially outperform the $10,000 boxes of the mid-80's. That is
progress. In the 80's it was ads in the backs of computer magazines
like Computer Shopper and PC Buyer that led you into the bargain world of Asian importers
residing on both coasts who were bringing in computer components from
Taiwan and Japan, and later other Asian nations whose components started to make
building your own computer affordable.
Some people quickly realized how easy it was to assemble these
computers and started putting them together in their houses for profit
(eventually becoming local Mom and Pop Shops). Computers from the few companies that
existed were overpriced. At first is was easy to undercut the big boys
and make a tidy profit on a sale. Mom & Pops could often offer not
only a lower price, but higher end specifications (we didn't call it
overclocking back then) on computers. They also started reselling the
parts to computers at good prices. All of this forced prices down to
rock bottom where it remains today.
Computers are some of the greatest
buys available. They entertain, inform, allow multiple avenues for
instantaneous and artistic communication and data preservation. They
last for years. When you amortize the cost over several years you can
realize you get years of pleasure from this box for only an investment
that amounts to a few hundred dollars a year. And for you radical
extremist gamers out there who upgrade and build an el Supremo
box every six months to a year and push the market to ever greater
heights of performance and capacity -- Thank you! And computers have
led to eBay where you can recoup some of that investment to pay off
your latest creation, by selling your previous project to someone else
who has lesser requirements but appreciates a fast powerful build.
So how hard is it to build your own computer? Easy and hard. A
computer generally consists of less than a dozen parts that push, snap
and screw together in less than an hour's time. The first time is
intimidating. But there is a fair chance that when you flip that power
button for the first time ("the smoke test") the computer will come to
life.
Hard in that there is a lot of terminology out there, and a lot
of varied components some with advantages or differing functionality over the other. Some
obscure and arcane. People argue all the time about variants and this
is healthy. 3Gb of RAM versus 4Gb? Intel versus AMD CPUs?
Overclocking? NVIDIA versus ATI versus onboard video? MB manufacturers?
Yes nerds and geeks are full of opinions and all are right and many
misconceptions fly around. After many years I still learn something
new almost daily. When you first start out it seems overwhelming. But for the most part it is rather simple. You just need a few parts and they need to be compatible with one another.
Many people do not want to know much about their computer's inner
workings. That is fine. They are in the majority. They should stick
to buying supported retail computers. Pay someone else to maintain
their computer.
But if you are here reading this you are someone
else. Either interested in building your own, or so poor you are
forced to consider building your own to have a computer. If this
latter applies to you I would suggest trying to buy a clearance,
refurbished or special sale computer that comes with a known
manufacturer warranty. eMachines offers good bargain buys. Building
your own is likely to be a frustrating experience. Buying is a better
option for you. Or paying someone to build it for you.
But if you always found computers to be intriguingly mysterious, and
you wanted to know more, then there is no better way to understand
computers than to build your own. And that means doing some groundwork
to decide upon and assemble your parts. What is it you want your
computer to do?
Next: Why build your own? What is needed?