NEED HELP ON CREATING A GAMING OEM

[techie787]

Myself and a few other of my close friends (ie programmers and fellow hardware experts) are thinking about starting an OEM company to construct PC's for the gaming enthusiasts and otherwise just people demand the best out of their thinking box and we need suggestions on what should be included to make the system even better. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Electric Amish]

*sigh*

I hate crushing dreams, but you'll never really make any money at it. With Falcon Northwest, Alienware, etc. on top of Dell and enthusiasts that build their own, you'll never really get off the ground.

Sorry.

amish

 

[GasX]

Don't use Voodoo graphics cards...

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Don't use Voodoo graphics cards...

USe trident. Gamers love trident.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
*sigh*

I hate crushing dreams, but you'll never really make any money at it. With Falcon Northwest, Alienware, etc. on top of Dell and enthusiasts that build their own, you'll never really get off the ground.

Sorry.

amish

What he said. I'm trying to be nice about this, but most true enthusiasts don't buy prebuilds.

- M4H

 

[djheater]

I wasn't aware that Alienware was posting a profit. Are they?

 

[Mr N8]

If you want to build OEM machines, the general market is what you need to target. The problem is, you have to try to convince them that you are better than Dell, Compaq, etc. You must offer excellent service, and most of your initial business would be from referals. As a local company, you could make it, but it would be a lot of work.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: djheater
I wasn't aware that Alienware was posting a profit. Are they?

I don't know if any of the "gaming" OEM's are posting a profit.

 

[notfred]

By "hardware experts" do you mean "Guys that read lots of video card reviews and know how to set the FSB in the bios"?

 

[beyonddc]

Originally posted by: techie787
Myself and a few other of my close friends (ie programmers and fellow hardware experts) are thinking about starting an OEM company to construct PC's for the gaming enthusiasts and otherwise just people demand the best out of their thinking box and we need suggestions on what should be included to make the system even better. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Price and the component are the biggest factor for me when I buy a computer. I careless about the brand of the computer itself, cause I know the parts are under manufactur warranty. I bought from NuTrend.com once. They're pretty good w/ decent price. You should take a look at the website and compare the price w/ your price.

I guess this is something you want to hear? heh!

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
*sigh*

I hate crushing dreams...
amish

and yet you appear to revel in it, that's ironic, don't ya think.

 

[Kevin]

Alienware, Dell, ABS PC, Voodoo PC, Falcon Northwest, Xoxide and loads of others.

Unless you can get below wholesale parts, you're going to have a hard time staying afloat...

 

[PoPPeR]

Alienware is a pretty big company now, there was an interview with someone from there in the latest Maximum PC or something. The company used to be tiny and now that its a big company a lot of the fanboys are kinda jumping off the bandwagon.

Anyways, if anyone on here had a revolutionary idea they probably would've tried it already. Good luck with ur company

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: djheater
I wasn't aware that Alienware was posting a profit. Are they?

God, with the prices they charge, how could they not make a profit.

techie,
I think you would have a hard time competing on the web because there are so many other well-known names out there.

But there's no reason you couldn't build up a succesful local business that custom builds PC's. But I think if you focus only on gaming machines, you will have a very small customer base.

Lots of people prefer buying from local companies instead of on the web because they can talk to you face to face and if they have problems, it's just a drive down to your shop. So the big thing would be to have great support, a good warranty on your builds, and very friendly customer service. Cost is a problem though. You will probably have to charge more than the online places if you want to make a profit. And many people are willing to pay a little more to get the benefits of local service. But most aren't willing to pay a lot more.

I live in a city of about 150,000 and there are probably 6 or 7 local shops that sell parts and do custom builds. I have bought parts from one of them because the cost was only about 10% higher than Newegg and I could get them right away instead of waiting for shipping.

So it certainly is possible, but making a profit will be a challenge.