Yeah right!
They neglect to tell you that card A will not work in Motherboard B if card C is in there too. And what�s this crap about drivers? What the heck is a driver? It seems that some cards don�t include the software necessary for them to work so you have to go to a web site and download the appropriate drivers. Of course there is 10,000 drivers to choose from and they all look alike. Even if you are lucky enough to know the number of the driver you need, rest assured, that one will not be there.
After a week of downloading drivers, plugging and up-plugging cards and wires, I now have a $3000.00 monstrosity with no sound, every time I click on a file with my mouse, the darn thing reboots and the computer never heard of a Hewlett Packard printer.
I finally have to call in reinforcements. The local computer guy comes over and spends the next four hours trying to straighten out the mess I have made. After paying him $40.00 per hour to fix everything, I finally have a computer that does what it is supposed to do. Wait a minute! What are those black blotches on the monitor screen? I make a quick call to the guy I bought it from and he tells me to put it back in the box and send it back. Then he will send me a new replacement for no charge. No charge my foot. Do you know what it cost to ship a hundred pounds of monitor? Not only that, but I have to go dig the box and packing foam out of the dumpster so I can ship it. Now I am setting here looking at a computer with no monitor that cost over $3000.00. It will take over a week to get the new one back. It�s a good thing I haven�t given my old Compaq away yet or I wouldn�t even be able to write this.
Just for grins I went to a local computer store the other day to see just how much I have saved by my little venture and I discover they will build a computer to your own specifications and don�t even charge you for putting it together. After doing a little math I find that not only did I not save any money but I have $500.00 more in mine than they would have charged for exactly the same thing and it is guaranteed to work.
If you have ever had the desire to build your own computer, forget it. Unless you know a lot more than I do about it, there is a better way.
Posted- Nov. 1, 1999