Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Custom Built PC: Keywords
computer, tool, build, screw driver, ant-static, systemax, midwest micro, AGP, PCI, PCIE, PATA, SATA, RAM, CPU, processor, hard drive, memory, motherboard, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, ATI, Asus, DBA, business, customer, HD, media center
Custom Built PC: Personal Experience
In my experience with building custom computers, I have had both good experiences and bad experiences. Usually the person that wants to buy the computer has an idea of what the computer will be used for, and then they come to me and tell me what they need. I try to find parts that will meet their needs, and that are within their budget. Then, I give them a price quote, and they will either agree to build it, or deny it. If they agree, then I usually purchase all of the parts, and when they arrive, I put it all together. If they request it, I will put software on it as well. That is an example of how things usually go.
One time, my uncle asked my cousin and myself to help him build a High Definition Media Center. So first we researched HD tuners, since HD in a media center is still sort of experimental. We decided to go with an ATI HD tuner. When we were putting the parts together, everything was going fine. There was one thing we were not sure of, because the pin-outs were not listed in the manual; it was the audio cable for SPDIF to work. Well, we hooked it up and when we turned on the computer, it started pouring out smoke. This is definitely not what you want to see happen, especially considering how expensive the parts were. So, we pulled the plug on it as quickly as possible. My uncle had very little hope that anything would work, but we removed the fried audio cable, and everything else was just fine. The Media Center was up and running that night, without any problems.
I decided about a year ago that I was going to build myself a new computer. I wanted a computer that had a lot of storage for music and video editing, and it had to have a dual core 64 bit CPU. I also wanted to use it for some gaming, so it had to have a decent graphics card. So I ended up with a 2.8GHz Pentium D CPU, 1GB of RAM, 2 250GB SATA hard drives, and an ATI x1650 graphics card. When all of the parts arrived, I built the computer and turned it on, and it worked just as expected. The computer is still being used every day, and it cost about $350.00 for all of the parts.
So, I have built computers that worked the first time I turned them on, and I have had others that do not work so well. If something goes wrong, I just try to diagnose the problem and fix it as best I can. In the end, things usually work out, and some issues that may seem bad are only minor.
One time, my uncle asked my cousin and myself to help him build a High Definition Media Center. So first we researched HD tuners, since HD in a media center is still sort of experimental. We decided to go with an ATI HD tuner. When we were putting the parts together, everything was going fine. There was one thing we were not sure of, because the pin-outs were not listed in the manual; it was the audio cable for SPDIF to work. Well, we hooked it up and when we turned on the computer, it started pouring out smoke. This is definitely not what you want to see happen, especially considering how expensive the parts were. So, we pulled the plug on it as quickly as possible. My uncle had very little hope that anything would work, but we removed the fried audio cable, and everything else was just fine. The Media Center was up and running that night, without any problems.
I decided about a year ago that I was going to build myself a new computer. I wanted a computer that had a lot of storage for music and video editing, and it had to have a dual core 64 bit CPU. I also wanted to use it for some gaming, so it had to have a decent graphics card. So I ended up with a 2.8GHz Pentium D CPU, 1GB of RAM, 2 250GB SATA hard drives, and an ATI x1650 graphics card. When all of the parts arrived, I built the computer and turned it on, and it worked just as expected. The computer is still being used every day, and it cost about $350.00 for all of the parts.
So, I have built computers that worked the first time I turned them on, and I have had others that do not work so well. If something goes wrong, I just try to diagnose the problem and fix it as best I can. In the end, things usually work out, and some issues that may seem bad are only minor.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Custom Built PC: Business Profile
Systemax Inc., while not as popular as Dell or HP, is one of the biggest computer manufacturing companies in America. One Systemax facility is located in Fletcher, Ohio, and was formerly known as Midwest Micro. Midwest Micro was started with the idea that customers would want name brand parts, service and a warranty, without paying the extra cost of advertising. Obviously that idea worked, and Systemax is based on the same premise.
Today, Systemax is one of America’s biggest companies, with a World Headquarters in New York, and manufacturing and tech support based in Ohio. Systemax ranked in the Fortune 1000, and has subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Finland, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland. Systemax markets computers to mid range and major corporations as well as resellers and small home office users, and they rake in about two billion dollars annually. Systemax stock is traded under the New York Stock Exchange as SYX.
Today, Systemax is one of America’s biggest companies, with a World Headquarters in New York, and manufacturing and tech support based in Ohio. Systemax ranked in the Fortune 1000, and has subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Finland, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland. Systemax markets computers to mid range and major corporations as well as resellers and small home office users, and they rake in about two billion dollars annually. Systemax stock is traded under the New York Stock Exchange as SYX.
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