How do you/we afford such extravagant computer systems?

[lxskllr]

Very informative posts, thanks everyone! Lets keep it going!

Personally, I see why I can't justify it, with a mortgage, wife, plans to have kids, vehicles that need repairs, landscaping, home renovations, dreaded CC debt (slightly caused by my computers), I just can't feel good about spending more than a little bit on my computers!

Which is too bad considering how much I love building and modifying them!!

I'm just glad I found my Antec P182SE case, it helps me feel like an enthusiast without spending too much $$$

Switch to GNU/Linux. You get limitless customization potential at no cost to you.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Well for one thing people have jobs and they give us money to do things.

Also, learn to say fuck debt.


As for what we need it for? Eyefinity. For one 1080p screen all anyone really needs is a 6950.

 

[CurseTheSky]

It's a hobby. Some people spend a lot on cars. Some people spend a lot on house renovations. Some people spend a lot on vacations. Some people spend a lot on high-end audio or expensive TVs. Some people spend a lot on jewelry or nice gadgets. The list goes on.

 

[timosyy]

Like everyone's been saying, it's a hobby.

My hobby is watches. Now that's an expensive hobby...

 

[Fenixgoon]

priorities.

 

[djnsmith7]

Everyone has a different story & reason for spending their money the way they do. Some have inexpensive hobbies, some have very expensive hobbies.

Think building a $2k PC is expensive? Try dropping $120k into a twin turbo kit (1500 hp) for a Lambo.

 

[Gillbot]

Oh, and I'm building a duct tape and cardboard case computer for a friend. It's built around a P4 CPU with 1GB RAM, but it's going to serve as a oldschool console emulator/arcade machine. It's good enough for web browsing and word processing, as well. Total cost: $30

Nothing wrong with a cardboard PC at all...

Some people just have different hobbies.

This ^

I used to spend more time and money on PC's than I care to admit, but after kids.... No more.

 

[AmdEmAll]

idk, never understood it either, my 6870 plays BF3 and MW3 seamlessly... never understood why you need 2 or 3 of those darn things...

Yeah it plays it fine at shitty settings and mw3's graphics are so outdated. Try playing bf3 at 1920x1200 ultra with your card.. even high and you'll lag.

I just had to upgrade from 2 5870's to 1 7950 cause of the lag.. but thats cause crossfire sucks balls not cause I didnt have enough power.

 

[JoeKing]

I always buy mid-tier gear that have upgrade potential


but that said my wife and I have come to an agreement. Only 1 hobby at a time. And working on a computer is loads cheaper than working on a car...

 

[MathMan]

My $2000 PC is way cheaper than each one of my bicycles (road bike and a couple of mountain bikes), yet I use the PC more, it breaks down less often (well, almost never), and I don't need to pay a technician to fix it.

1 kid, double high incomes, otherwise pretty frugal. The PC is a blip on the radar.

 

[coloumb]

Credit Cards..or having little to no debt/other expenditures.