Yes, $200 is fine. But the key to this is, after you have everything working perfect and tweaked, make a bootable ghost image for that PC. Now whenever he has a serious problem, go over, pop in the CD and have his machine up and running in 10mins. 
If you build it for a friend make sure you mention that if they take one screw off there is no warranty on anything.
Gamers are the hardest people to build computers for. They cant resist listening to a neighbor or a friend about some stupid advice that will not work. Then they do something stupid and call you after they burned up a CPU after changing the settings in the BIOS or something.
Tell him you will teach him where he can order the parts from and help him to build it, but he has to do it all himself.
I think DELL makes some gamer versions now. 2500 is about average to high for a game system from an online shop or a retail computer. A local Custom Computer shop could make a pretty good system for $2,500.00-$3,000.00. Dell does pretty well. A couple guys at work ordered Dell P4's but they are not gamers.
Gamers are the hardest people to build computers for. They cant resist listening to a neighbor or a friend about some stupid advice that will not work. Then they do something stupid and call you after they burned up a CPU after changing the settings in the BIOS or something.
Tell him you will teach him where he can order the parts from and help him to build it, but he has to do it all himself.
I think DELL makes some gamer versions now. 2500 is about average to high for a game system from an online shop or a retail computer. A local Custom Computer shop could make a pretty good system for $2,500.00-$3,000.00. Dell does pretty well. A couple guys at work ordered Dell P4's but they are not gamers.
i usually charge 10% of whatever the parts cost . higher end stuff tends to be newer and more on the edge (less mature drivers ect.) lower end stuff doesn't get setup so aggressivly and tends to be more stable if it's not messed with .(slower memory timings , no over clocking ,ect).
i also understand i WILL be getting calls at home at any time . they understand i don't charge later for diagnostics but if something is really hosed i'm going to do whatever takes less time to fix it .wipe it restore it , whatever.
just get all these things clear upfront.
this is a buisiness deal after all.
AndyHui - AT FAQ Man
good luck
i also understand i WILL be getting calls at home at any time . they understand i don't charge later for diagnostics but if something is really hosed i'm going to do whatever takes less time to fix it .wipe it restore it , whatever.
just get all these things clear upfront.
this is a buisiness deal after all.
AndyHui - AT FAQ Man
that should be in the FAQ's he he
good luck
DO IT!!
hehehe
honestly, maybe because i need the money (and id just love to play around with a 2500 buck rig while im "setting it up") but in my first year at uni here i was like a local tech guy for my lounge in res... sure it sucks to have ppl always getting you to fix their comps but like in the end its a cool way to meet ppl and you get a lot of free beer and a good rep...
hehehe
honestly, maybe because i need the money (and id just love to play around with a 2500 buck rig while im "setting it up") but in my first year at uni here i was like a local tech guy for my lounge in res... sure it sucks to have ppl always getting you to fix their comps but like in the end its a cool way to meet ppl and you get a lot of free beer and a good rep...
I had exactly that same problem; I'm never building a system again. Especially as I was charging £50 to build & install (hey, I was about 19 at the time lol).
I just found that the list of problems dumbass end-users would come up with was too much to bear, and being on-call in my free time was the straw that broke the donkey's back. Now I just point people in the direction of a major OEM
Dopefiend
Schadenfroh
Elite Member
- Mar 8, 2003
- 38,416
- 4
- 0
Like a lot of people here suggested, it might be better if you point your neighbor to Dell. But if you really want to do it, make sure to foolproof your PC as much as you can. If you go the Intel route, get an Intel motherboard or something similar that has a long warranty and ZERO chances of screwing up the BIOS options( in other words, no OC). Also get tried and tested parts like Crucial memory, Creative sound cards and Nvidia video cards. Although some here may argue that ATI has improved drivers, Nvidia is still more trouble-free IMO. And get a case that has good airflow and a quality PSU like Antec.
Echoing the sentiments of others here, from experience:
DO NOT BUILD for somebody else unless you are prepared to tell them, as others have mentioned, that if the thing hoses you're just going to wipe and restore and bye bye to all the precious files they messed up.
DO NOT BUILD for somebody else if you're going to buy all your parts from Fry's, they'll get a better deal from a sale from an OEM.
DO NOT BUILD for somebody if it's a money issue, if you do then they will think you are tech support. Do it for beer and a pizza, as well as some favors, and he won't be all over you as much when he breaks it. [I assume you're not taking off 2 days of work to build this dude's computer; that's way too much time.]
If these dissuade you: Point him towards Dell, Alienware, et al, and when something breaks he can yell at some poor tech guy in India.
Last alternative: If he's a hardcore, and wants a great rig, why not point him in the right direction for some education (AT, Newegg), help him out a little bit along the way and just assist once he's ready to put it together himself. You'll still get the beer, pizza, and he'll know where to go (Forums instead of your door) when stuff breaks.
DO NOT BUILD for somebody else unless you are prepared to tell them, as others have mentioned, that if the thing hoses you're just going to wipe and restore and bye bye to all the precious files they messed up.
DO NOT BUILD for somebody else if you're going to buy all your parts from Fry's, they'll get a better deal from a sale from an OEM.
DO NOT BUILD for somebody if it's a money issue, if you do then they will think you are tech support. Do it for beer and a pizza, as well as some favors, and he won't be all over you as much when he breaks it. [I assume you're not taking off 2 days of work to build this dude's computer; that's way too much time.]
If these dissuade you: Point him towards Dell, Alienware, et al, and when something breaks he can yell at some poor tech guy in India.
Last alternative: If he's a hardcore, and wants a great rig, why not point him in the right direction for some education (AT, Newegg), help him out a little bit along the way and just assist once he's ready to put it together himself. You'll still get the beer, pizza, and he'll know where to go (Forums instead of your door) when stuff breaks.
I do not charge anybody for my services ... that is with building computers But like a lot of people have said if you build someone a computer ... YOU are tech support ... if you charge that only gets worse ... people that can't build their own comp can generally not troubleshoot it either, watch out for that
But like a lot of people have said if you build someone a computer ... YOU are tech support ... if you charge that only gets worse ... people that can't build their own comp can generally not troubleshoot it either, watch out for that
Ketchup
Elite Member
- Sep 1, 2002
- 14,559
- 248
- 106
$10/hr is a good deal for doing that sort of thing, and I think 10% would be a pretty safe way to keep from selling yourself short.
As far as building it/ not building it, since so many have offered their opinions here, lemme just say that I think this is a lot safer than it used to be. I had the "tech support" nightmares in years past, but as of lately, the computers I have built have been pretty trouble-free. Computers are getting much more stable, and some of that can be attributed to Windows XP, which is the only OS I install anymore, and I have never had it crash by any fault of it's own.
And as far as charging him at all, I would say it depends. If you are friends, I would say he owes you a favor, as there is no reason to risk letting money ruin a friendship. If he is not a friend, I'd say go ahead and charge him, since it is doubtful you would get anything else in return.
Oh, and one more thing. Even though some have suggested laying down ground rules about tech support, that really goes against how I feel a computer enthusiast should respond. I enjoy hunting down that weird problem that can keep you up at night as much as I do building the system. Why? Because, I usually learn something either way. If you are unwilling to give him that support, do as others have suggested, and show him the way to Dell's website.
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