By Look at the machine you’re using. In most instances, it’s a few years old. What does it really cost you to buy a new machine, or better yet, build a new machine with the latest components?
By that, I’m talking about using one of the new processors available to put together a machine with a terabyte drive and blue-ray optical drive. You should be able to do a loaded system for $600—a hot system, not one that doesn’t deliver any real power.
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I’ve advocated building machines for years or at least going to custom shops like endpcnoise.com in the Pacific Northwest to have a totally custom system built for you. (They also sell many do-it-yourself components.) The opportunity to build a hand-made machine is opportune now, since Intel has packed most of its newest components together for complete computer along with its processors for a low price. Right now, I’m putting together a new Core i5 “Sandybridge” PC together for almost nothing. Well, almost.
Intel sells the newest DH67BL motherboard with the processor for around $300 street price. This board includes everything from graphics to sound to USB 3 to Ethernet, everything including an HDMI connector. All that is missing from the kit is main memory – which runs around $25 a 2 gig stick and a hard drive and optical drive. Look for the newer versions of the board which fix a SATA bug. You also need a case and power supply.
And then there is the OS. If you want to get a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, you are going to pay $199. This is more than a 2 terabyte hard disk; it’s more than an optical drive. It’s almost as much as a motherboard, sound subsystem, Ethernet connection, and brand new CPU all combined. Oh, then there’s the labor that’s involved. I may take an hour or more to put a machine together and maybe another hour to install the OS. What is your time worth, anyway?
Does anyone think this is priced too high?
Microsoft’s pricing discourages home machine building. After extolling the virtues of do-it-yourself as I did above, I can’t recommend the process if there isn’t some leeway on the OS pricing. It’s ridiculous. Yes, Linux is free, but I use so many Adobe products that I am stuck with Windows or Mac OS X.
So my $600 home made machine is now $800. I can buy a Dell or HP machine for a better price. I’d get pretty much the same components with a box, power supply, and probably a keyboard and Windows thrown for less money.
This has been the irony of handmade machine for years. It probably began in earnest with Windows XP. By combining the cheap deals, the big makers get on components (which you can never get) and the volume pricing on Windows, the guy putting together a homebrew kit can’t compete.
When all is said and done, you’ll be pushing $1000 to put your own machine together that equals a machine Dell might sell for $499.
By bastardizing and scrounging old cases and optical drives from dead machines, you can sometimes get the price way down. Hard disks are dirt cheap, too. But truth be told, you can never beat the brands. You can tie, but not beat. That said, you’ll know a lot more about a machine you built, and you’ll feel a lot better about it. You’ll be able to really know the components (if you want) are the latest and greatest.
You just paid too much is all.
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