::sigh:: my poor friend

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nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
My buddy here at college (senior) was interested in getting a new computer for his uses in his professional career after college. He came to me because he knew i was good with computers and had made computers for several other guys on the team (they all work great). I told him that i COULD make him one, but it would probably be a better idea to get a Dell, or some other pre-built, because no one will be around to help maintain it when he is gone (i dont mind the occasional reinstall or tweaking for the other computers i have made, its kind of fun to do with friends). But i told him that if he absolutely is dead set against a prebuilt, to tell me and i will help him.

fast forward to today...

Today at lunch he informs me that he spent nearly $1300 on newegg. I asked who picked out the parts and he tells me someone else on the team did for him. the guy who helped him has never before assembled a computer and really does not know a lot about hardware. i think because the guy is a CS major, my buddy thought he knew a lot about hardware. it turns out that after the guy assembled it for him, the thing didnt work. they are not sure what is wrong with it, it wont even turn on. nothing.

Now, what do i do here?

The guy that he got to order his stuff for him is not my friend. In fact, i would say that we mutually do not like eachother. he is cocky and thinks he knows everything about computers. remember, he is a big bad CS major and i am just a lonely history major. so, should i offer my buddy to help him? i mean, i am kind of dissapointed that he did not get me before he ordered, and plus i do not like the guy who he went to. i am thinking i should just stay out of it and not get involved. its not my problem

thoughts on what i should do?
 
F

FreshFish

Golden Member
May 16, 2004
1,180
0
0
help him, he is your friend. It will also give you a chance to show that cocky guy who's boss
 
J

jose

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 1999
2,079
2
81
Simple, if he's your friend then help him. People do make mistakes.

BTW What are the components that he purchased ? Maybe he can rma some of the stuff.

Regards,
Jose
 
E

ExpertNovice

Senior member
Mar 4, 2005
939
0
0
Don't let others affect your actions.

If you allow the big bad CS major to alter how you would normally treat a "friend" then you are not in control of your own actions.

Want to help your "friend" to show up the CS major? Is that the way you really want others to perceive you? If so, go for it.

Not sure what to do? What would you do if the person who has the dead computer purchased the items on their own because they respected your time and did not want to bother you? When you know this answer you will have the proper answer.

Whatever you do, DON't say... you idiot! or grumble or.... Well, if you are perfect then you could... wait, a perfect person wouldn't! :)

PS. This is a do as I say not as I do piece of wisdom taught to my children. Who are much better than I am.
 
A

AristoV300

Golden Member
May 29, 2004
1,380
0
0
Yeah you should help your friend out. Also he'll figure who he needs to go to in the future when he needs "real" computer advice.
 
W

w00t

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2004
5,545
0
0
i would tell the guy to return the hardware and you will build and pick out hardware if he has problems with comp he should go to a computer place to get it fixed still he should be able to fix his own comp if he has a comp that cost 1300.
 
K

Ken90630

Golden Member
Mar 6, 2004
1,571
2
81
Originally posted by: jose
Simple, if he's your friend then help him. People do make mistakes.

BTW What are the components that he purchased ? Maybe he can rma some of the stuff.

Regards,
Jose
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

 
G

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
0
I'd give him advice about fixing it, but make him do it on his own rather than do it for him. It's friendly, but will also set a precedent telling him you're not his 24/7 tech support and serve as a reminder of his mistake.
 
gsellis

gsellis

Diamond Member
Dec 4, 2003
6,061
0
0
My biggest battles have always been with software engineers and pilots. I understand.

Your response should be, "Hey, if you guys need any help, let me know."

It is not your monkey and is not on your back. If they start having issues, they can choose to ask for assistance or ignore it. By offering and stepping back, you have politely done as much as they will allow. Hey, at least you now have something to bring up at your 20 year reunion... :D
 
biostud

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
19,741
6,823
136
reminds me that one of my friends (who knows how to build computers but isn't that much aware of the newest hardware) recommended another friend of ours to buy a 9800pro as it was the best videocard for that price ATM. I told them both that a 6600GT at the same price would have been better, but with his current setup p4 1.8Ghz 512Mb RDRAM it wouldn't matter too much. Also I adviced to ask me before buying new hardware next time :)
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
well, my friend didnt specifically ask me for help, he just told me they were having problems with it. i pretty much just said "that stinks" and not much more came out of it. i think i am just going to not say anything about it and if he comes to me fine, if not, thats fine too. just kind of sucks that he didnt ask me before he ordered...i think i might cringe if i saw the parts that were ordered...::shiver::
 
ixelion

ixelion

Senior member
Feb 5, 2005
984
1
0
LOL, wouldnt it be funny if the CS guy forgot to hook up the power button to the motherboard?

"Oh no the PSU is dead!"

lol
 
Texun

Texun

Platinum Member
Oct 21, 2001
2,058
1
81
It's his mess, but since he is a friend you can politely extend a hand and if he accepts the offer then go ahead and sort out the mess, but don't be too critical of the parts. Odds are that he is fully aware of the mess he is in and hammering the parts selection won't help the situation. Also, it could be that he is somewhat embarrassed that he did not go with your original plan, which would explain why he did not come right out and ask you to fix it for him. He knows you are there so I would say the next move is his.
 
F

firefaux

Banned
May 5, 2005
105
0
0
LOL, if you help him, and actually give him a computer that works, you'll be simultaneously be a: making your friend appreciate you more and b: giving that cocky cs guy a big FU by pwning him with your l33t hardware nolej!
 
P

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
14,993
1
0
Originally posted by: Texun
It's his mess, but since he is a friend you can politely extend a hand and if he accepts the offer then go ahead and sort out the mess, but don't be too critical of the parts. Odds are that he is fully aware of the mess he is in and hammering the parts selection won't help the situation. Also, it could be that he is somewhat embarrassed that he did not go with your original plan, which would explain why he did not come right out and ask you to fix it for him. He knows you are there so I would say the next move is his.
Click to expand...
Well said... er, typed. :thumbsup:
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
Originally posted by: Texun
It's his mess, but since he is a friend you can politely extend a hand and if he accepts the offer then go ahead and sort out the mess, but don't be too critical of the parts. Odds are that he is fully aware of the mess he is in and hammering the parts selection won't help the situation. Also, it could be that he is somewhat embarrassed that he did not go with your original plan, which would explain why he did not come right out and ask you to fix it for him. He knows you are there so I would say the next move is his.
Click to expand...

im thinking that this will be my plan...

half of me feels sorry for him, but the other half is dissapointed he went ahead and did all this without consulting me.
 
D

Dyloot

Senior member
Dec 4, 2004
302
0
76
Originally posted by: nick1985
My buddy here at college (senior) was interested in getting a new computer for his uses in his professional career after college. He came to me because he knew i was good with computers and had made computers for several other guys on the team (they all work great). I told him that i COULD make him one, but it would probably be a better idea to get a Dell, or some other pre-built, because no one will be around to help maintain it when he is gone (i dont mind the occasional reinstall or tweaking for the other computers i have made, its kind of fun to do with friends). But i told him that if he absolutely is dead set against a prebuilt, to tell me and i will help him.

fast forward to today...

Today at lunch he informs me that he spent nearly $1300 on newegg. I asked who picked out the parts and he tells me someone else on the team did for him. the guy who helped him has never before assembled a computer and really does not know a lot about hardware. i think because the guy is a CS major, my buddy thought he knew a lot about hardware. it turns out that after the guy assembled it for him, the thing didnt work. they are not sure what is wrong with it, it wont even turn on. nothing.

Now, what do i do here?

The guy that he got to order his stuff for him is not my friend. In fact, i would say that we mutually do not like eachother. he is cocky and thinks he knows everything about computers. remember, he is a big bad CS major and i am just a lonely history major. so, should i offer my buddy to help him? i mean, i am kind of dissapointed that he did not get me before he ordered, and plus i do not like the guy who he went to. i am thinking i should just stay out of it and not get involved. its not my problem

thoughts on what i should do?
Click to expand...

Go check it out, man. Let him know up front that this is not your project, but you're willing to take a quick look. "Not being able to turn on" may be very simple to fix (as in, the guy doesn't know how to correctly plug in the power switch), or something might be defective (PSU, mobo, cpu, memory, video card).

Your apprehension in becoming this guy's personal PC builder is 100% understandable. If everything goes right and the computer lasts 5 years, it's expected and rather thankless. If something goes wrong, or a piece of hardware goes out in a few months, you look like an ass and have a major headache to deal with.

I made the decision to build my best friend's computer anyway after sending him to Dell and cringing at what he was going to spend without getting the "elite" parts. So, I talked him into spending $1700 and built something really cool. With that being said, everytime I talk to him I can't help but ask, "how's the system doing?"

Taking ownership of this potential problem sucks.

Dyloot
 
T

T9D

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2001
5,320
6
0
Telling him to buy a dell was your first mistake. Yeah they are decent computers. But man all of us here hate when people we know dont consult us first about computers. But he came to you and you totally dissapointed him. I wouldn't have bothered with you after that as far as computers go. And now look what happened because you let him down. He's got a jacked up computer.

So set things right and GO FIX IT!
 
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