Help me, I have an expensive hobby!

[KarlKarrlander]

Hey there,

I'm not going to sugar-coat it folks, I have an expensive hobby which is computers and building computers.

It's not like I spend all of my paychecks on computer parts and so on, but I find myself always feeling the urge to upgrade my PC and build new ones (I've built 2 so far in 2015). Even though I have a decent income and can technically afford this hobby, I still get anxiety over the fact that I'm spending a lot of money of computers.

But then again, I love it. I love upgrading computers, researching for new parts, comparing components and so on. And I don't consider myself an expert, I don't have any kind of IT education or experience in the computers and IT business. I've just grown up with a father who is a computer geek, which means I became one too. So I guess I'm just a happy camper who loves building and handling computers, who is by all means not an expert of any kind.

Kind of meaningless post come to think of it...

Just needed to vent some thoughts here and see if there's anyone else out there with the same expensive hobby themselves! 😉

Cheers!

 

[MU_Engineer]

You're welcome.

There are essentially three types of people out there when it comes to giving advice. The first one is the schadenfreude type person who finds enjoyment at others suffering, so they of course do not point out any pitfalls that they themselves may have encountered along their path. They laugh at others who have no way of knowing that they are going straight into a bad situation- they feel superior because they know what is going on, but the others do not and suffer for it.. The second is the person who has had a bad experience and tries to use what they learned to help others avoid as much of the hardship they had endured as possible. The third is the lazy malingerer who simply tries to game the system by fraud and graft in order to get something for nothing, or as much as possible out of as little as possible. I am very much the second type as being a rational-minded engineer, I learned a lesson and there is thus no need for others to have to re-learn it.

That's really the point of these forums, right? Those of us who have figured out something or know something share their knowledge with those seeking that knowledge in order to help them out.

 

[BadActor]

I guess I'm the second type, also. I hate to see people make the same mistakes I've made. I do have a selfish motive for helping others, though. I learn a lot along the way. Plus, it's a cheap way to indulge my "hobby".

 

[MU_Engineer]

My current job is best described as a human relations consulting job where I try my best to inform and convince people to avoid known pitfalls to in an effort to try to help themselves. (That's a real stretch of a job for a trained engineer but I'll be honest, dealing with people really IS what nearly all jobs are about, from entry-level retail on up to CEO.) I'd be really, really crappy at my job unless I was a #2 type of person. Plus in being the "good person" I can look at myself in the mirror and look at my family and feel good, rather than feel like a sleazebag.

Going back to computers, helping somebody to enter and enjoy the hobby makes it less obscure and helps us all by widening the audience, and increasing demand for good parts and good information. It also prevents the powers that be that want to completely control the field from doing so ("no user serviceable parts inside" Apple-esque computers with locked bootloaders, signed binaries, and vandal screws, anybody?)

 

[cst1992]

I'd very much love the day when all computers go standard - all parts are replaceable with the user easily being able to do so if and when he wishes. I just built my own high-end gaming system for the first time on Saturday, and believe me: if you know what you're doing, it's pretty easy to do and enjoyable. It takes a while, but it's enjoyable.

 

[Karsten75]

Wow, I'm a johnny-come-lately to this thread.

I too like to build computers more than I can afford - and it looks weird to have a household with a >2 computers/capita ratio.

Right now I'm about at "peak computers" - 3 desktops, 2 servers, 3 laptops plus media streaming PC.

So I build for family. Or I renovate old PCs and donate them.

What is ruinous is to sell on eBay/Craigslist. On eBay I usually find I get around 20-30% of the retail for parts within 2 years of "current". And then I have to deal with dumb buyers, shipping hassles, damage in shipping (parts can shake loose), and negative ratings on eBay.

So I opt for eBay "Local pickup only) or I try to sell in my area through Craigslist. In general I get a little more for direct selling through Craigslist - but I have to be patient and deal with a lot of nutcases. The biggest issue on that for me is to have these people come to my house where I show them the PC, power it on and walk them through the specifications.

So I found another good solution. I advertise locally in a few small, local community websites for building custom computers at cost + a small fee. That gets me a few computers a year and it doesn't ultimately cost me anything. It takes me about 2 weeks to work through specifications, then I ask for a 2/3 deposit on the component cost, order the parts on my business account, build, test, and have the buyer pick it up with final payment. Pay the bills and I make pocket change.

I've had a few referrals and a few repeat customers. Can't make a living from it, but it helps to defray the cost of my compulsive computer building.

Incidentally, over the past week I upgraded the hard drive in one of the family PCs and moved my first Desktop to Windows 10. I now have one notebook and one desktop on Windows 10. The servers will stay on Windows Server or Linux, One laptop I'll have to figure out, it's running Mint, and I may have to re-install Windows to sell it, the other will always be Windows 7 - until someone pries it from the owner's cold, dead hands. That leaves a few that I'll have to make a decision on. Windows 10 doesn't seem to be so bad, so maybe I'll manage to adjust myself to become used to it. Just hate the Microsoft account and the crappy Skype and the weird startup messages... but that's for another thread.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Wow, I'm a johnny-come-lately to this thread.

I too like to build computers more than I can afford - and it looks weird to have a household with a >2 computers/capita ratio.

Right now I'm about at "peak computers" - 3 desktops, 2 servers, 3 laptops plus media streaming PC.

So I build for family. Or I renovate old PCs and donate them.

I peaked at a computers-per-capita ratio of 4 computers per person, when it was just me and I had a desktop, a file server, an HTPC, and a laptop. The current ratio is 1.66 computers/person as I have a combination file server/HTPC, a desktop, a router (based on an AMD AM1 platform, so actually a computer- by far the best router I ever had!), my laptop, and my wife's laptop.

If you want to have a bunch of machines for cheap, go buy used server parts on eBay or another surplus site. The stuff lasts forever and if it's a previous-gen platform (e.g. LGA1366, Socket F) it goes for a pittance.

What is ruinous is to sell on eBay/Craigslist. On eBay I usually find I get around 20-30% of the retail for parts within 2 years of "current". And then I have to deal with dumb buyers, shipping hassles, damage in shipping (parts can shake loose), and negative ratings on eBay.

So I opt for eBay "Local pickup only) or I try to sell in my area through Craigslist. In general I get a little more for direct selling through Craigslist - but I have to be patient and deal with a lot of nutcases. The biggest issue on that for me is to have these people come to my house where I show them the PC, power it on and walk them through the specifications.

I buy a bunch through eBay simply because what you said is true- you can get two-generations-old parts that are 90% as good as current-gen parts for a pittance. I have sold a little through eBay but most of the stuff I have leaves when it is so obsolete to be unusable or it simply dies.

I never sell anything through Craigslist due to the creepers out there that you speak of. I do not like people I don't know out at my house, period.

Incidentally, over the past week I upgraded the hard drive in one of the family PCs and moved my first Desktop to Windows 10. I now have one notebook and one desktop on Windows 10. The servers will stay on Windows Server or Linux, One laptop I'll have to figure out, it's running Mint, and I may have to re-install Windows to sell it, the other will always be Windows 7 - until someone pries it from the owner's cold, dead hands. That leaves a few that I'll have to make a decision on. Windows 10 doesn't seem to be so bad, so maybe I'll manage to adjust myself to become used to it. Just hate the Microsoft account and the crappy Skype and the weird startup messages... but that's for another thread.

My wife's laptop runs Windows 10 which she hates but all of my gear runs Linux. It would be impractical to run my equipment on Windows due to the cost of having several licenses and my desktop would also require a version of Windows Server that can run on a four-socket server ($$$$!!!)

 

[KarlKarrlander]

try turning it into a profitable hobby...

Just did, actually made a company of it. I started my own computer support company in the city I live in (Stockholm) and I've had a few customers already, all of who have been satisfied with my services. One of them actually requested that I build a computer for work!

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Glad you found a way to do it Karl. I'd just like to add something here, know its a pretty old thread and all, but might be relevant to tinkerers, people who enjoy troubleshooting/building things.

I found my self in a similar position when i was younger, found the market just not there anymore for custom builds and PC repairs, saturated market etc. I stumbled into a job where there was 20% PC/IT work and the other 80% fixing printers. I would encourage people struggling to find a job in the PC area to go into printer servicing.

It has a lot of similarities, troubleshooting electronics, software, network and PC controllers, but involves a bit more mechanical knowledge. Not many people do it, so the jobs are available, and the bigger companies, your Canon, Konica, Xerox, Ricoh etc pay well, as much as an IT expert type job. The other difference is you don't have to pay for certification, although basic networking and pc knowledge is required for the job, but the company will normally pay for all your product and ongoing training. This way you can tinker all day at work, and go home and have money to support your hobby. Unless you have a family, then most your money goes to that.... I still get to build and upgrade my PC, just less often now.

 

[4Ryan6]

You can always scrap together a machine from your leftover upgrade parts and give the machine to a less fortunate family.

You won't get rich from doing that at least not with money!

If however your internal greed for the recouping of the money invested is too strong for you to just give it away free and clear, then give it to a church, or United Way, or some organization that you can claim the monetary loss on your taxes.