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Doing a low budget PC build for someone

S

speedy2

Golden Member
Haven't done one in awhile. Business has been SLOW except for repairs.

Local Auto shop in town wants a desktop for their shop. Gonna be running ALL DATA and have internet for looking up parts. Nothing really more demanding than that.

Was gonna jump on todays shellshocker over at newegg, but I wanted to look through each piece but don't have the time.

Athlon II X4, 4GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, Case, cooler, for $279.99. Savings of $56, so I'm not too bummed about missing it.

Anyway, Budget will be around $400 with a monitor. Just thought I would get some of your ideas.

I've also been thinking about buying used parts from here. I would still offer a warranty and tech support for a year like I do on all my builds, but I'm thinking I could stretch the customers dollar and maybe make some more on my end. Since, I'm usually building PC's at cost of parts + $100 labor.

Any suggestions guys?

Thanks
 
Miscthree said:
Why not just get something off the shelf, like a cheap c2d hp or Dell?
Click to expand...

Meh, I see too many of them with problems. He came to me and I would not want to make a profit off a box deal. Nor would I offer any type of warranty obviously. I feel more comfortable with a build using parts I know are good quality.

Also, I'd like to make something on it instead of just telling him to go to walmart or dell.com and buying something.
 
http://www.alldata.com/repair/system_requirements/

The "best" requirements are a 2GHz CPU (none specified so I'll assume Pentium 4) with 2GB RAM and 500GB HDD. The absolute minimum depends on the package, but gets as low as 600MHz with 512MB RAM and 2GB HDD. This is hardly demanding software. I'd say anything better than an Atom would suffice. Heck, an Atom would probably work just fine.

BTW that $400 "including monitor..." Is it also "including OS?" If so, you're down to around $200 for just the system.
 
Another vote for a Dell...
It's going to be hard for you to pull it all together with an OS for $400...

Vostro 230
Windows® 7 Home Premium
Pentium Dual-Core® E5800
3GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
16X (DVD+/-RW)
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell USB Optical Mouse
Dell 22 inch Widescreen E2211H
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
 
Yeah Dell prices are killing me. I may have to consider it. I didn't mention this, but the customer wants to stay with XP. I can get it pretty cheap. But, even if I get the Dell I could possibly wipe 7 and keep the key for another build. And then put XP on the dell. Choices..hmmm.
 
Meh. Of course. lol. Well, I'm gonna piece a few builds together from newegg and see what I come up with. Show him both that and the Dell. And we'll see. Maybe I've just seen too many crappy Dells and I'm scared of them.
 
Ok no Dell, I don't like dells either but why not a different off the shelf? Like lenovo thinkcenters..a cheap one goes for like $299.

I almost think it's unethical to lead the customer down a road that may cost him more headache and money. Car mechanics have that reputation, ironically.
 
Miscthree said:
Ok no Dell, I don't like dells either but why not a different off the shelf? Like lenovo thinkcenters..a cheap one goes for like $299.

I almost think it's unethical to lead the customer down a road that may cost him more headache and money. Car mechanics have that reputation, ironically.
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That's the problem. I want to help them get what they want within their budget. But, when I have so many issues with Dells...HP's also....I feel guilty if I suggest one. I may give them another chance since this is so new. Offer a good warranty and tech support on top of Dells. Mostly because it's a lot more convenient for me to run over there than for him to call and deal with Dell.
 
Think I'm gonna go with that Dell and an Acer 18.5" monitor.

$465.97 all together with the Monitor. I just can't match that with a build and make any profit. Plus the time I would have in it. We'll see how this goes.
 
If your real priority is the good of the customer, you should convince them that you can build a high quality PC with high quality components, that will stand behind 100%...
:colbert: But for a higher budget than $400.

Out on your salesman hat and work your magic.
 
Blain said:
If your real priority is the good of the customer, you should convince them that you can build a high quality PC with high quality components, that will stand behind 100%...
:colbert: But for a higher budget than $400.

Out on your salesman hat and work your magic.
Click to expand...

Yep. That's the problem. Getting people to spend more. I have talked to him all week. And $550 is about the extreme top. Although, ALLDATA is obviously a valuable tool for him as well.
 
Well, I didn't check before but Dell.com is still cheaper. upgraded to the E7500 and 3GB vs Newegg's 2gb and it's the same price. Plus it's a 22" monitor instead of the 18.5" on newgg.
 
speedy2 said:
Yep. That's the problem. Getting people to spend more. I have talked to him all week. And $550 is about the extreme top. Although, ALLDATA is obviously a valuable tool for him as well.
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He's seen quality built cars as well as crap. He should understand the concept of "build quality".
If he's cheaping out on the PC for his business, he'd probably be too demanding on the other end with tech support.
Think about it... then send him straight to Dell. 😉

What I would do...
1. Design a system with some redundancy (including a good AVR UPS). For a non-gaming rig that shouldn't be too expensive even with high quality components.
Give him a quote for the system, whatever the price ends up being. Not waver from that quote, considering you're providing tech support for who knows how long.
2. Give him the $400 Dell print out, which includes DELL supporting the PC for the first year.

Honestly discuss with him the differences in price, quality and support, then let him decide and live with his choice.
 
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I'll probably get this. And charge for the setup and moving his files. He also has a 500GB drive that his son bought. It's been sitting for awhile. He wants that too, so I'll make something putting that in as well. If anything, I'll get future repair jobs from him, as well as referrals. Which is my main source of advertisement. Might be painful at first, but it's usually worth it to put up with the crap around here. Also, this town has about 5,000-8,000 people. It's hard to just send a customer away.
 
speedy2 said:
Yep. That's the problem. Getting people to spend more. I have talked to him all week. And $550 is about the extreme top. Although, ALLDATA is obviously a valuable tool for him as well.
Click to expand...

You gotta approach it with quality as the selling point. Ask him if he would trust his mechanics to do quality work with cheap tools purchased from Big Lots.

You've got the other part of it right, which is making money on service. Keep your client happy (even if it means losing a hardware sale) and he'll be coming back to you for years because he knows you're not just out to make a quick buck off him, but to cultivate a long term business relationship.
 
Just a hypothetical..say you built a rig from scratch, maybe a newegg bundle(which does not guarantee compatibility) and the machine dies. What do you do?

Diagnose it, but priority one is to get the machine back up and running..HDD blew up? You'll need to provide a replacement out of pocket while you deal with a manufacturer warranty. Or maybe the ram is bad..whatever it is, replacement is up to you.

I would say quote him for a lenovo thinkcentre c2d and mark it up by say 5-10%, include your own troubleshooting/support for 1 month, 11 more months costs $xx.xx.

This serves the customer well and keeps your work at a minimum.
 
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