I noticed lots of people "tinkering" inside thier pcs. Why?

Question

Granted, computers are made to add or remove software and hardware to and from. But, I noticed on these questions a lot of seeming younger pc users start messing around with sound cards, external drives, burning software, links to click on, all sorts of problems. Wouldn't it be better to search around on something like PCWorld Magazine, CNET, or read reviews of what's availible, and just buy a good pc with everything allready in the pc? I don't understand the need to experiment. I guess I am self-taught about pc performance. I simply don't tinker like these younsters do. Maybe my advice is to do research what's in stores. Many stores are good ones for advice. A lot of stores sell a lot of lousy pc stuff. Is anyone with me on this? Isn't it true there are pcs made with just about everything in it, that we don't have to install anything else these days?

Answer 1

Well say you have a completely good system that you bought a year or two ago, but now you want to have a DVD burner. You are suggesting that instead of just buying a $40 DVD burner and installing it, they should chuck the whole computer and buy a new one for around $1000. Or if they run out of hard drive space, they should again chuck the whole computer instead of putting an $80 hard drive in. Honestly I am really not seeing what the point of your question is, are you saying evertime someone wants to make a change to their system, they should just go out and buy a new one? I would be really interested in discussing this with you, if you want, my email is in my profile.

Answer 2

I'd say part of the reasons these people come here are to get answers from informed individuals most of the time. And as such, we tend to offer more in depth person 2 person feedback.

The reason most people are "tinkering" inside of their computers is for multiple reasons.

#1 Hands on trianing is better than textbook any day.

#2 Technology is ever changing. You asked why don;t they just buy a PC with all that stuff already in there. Well the did but then next week something new comes out, and then something else. It keeps on so either you buy a new PC or you buy the upgrades.

#3 PC's are not always sold as a complete assembled set and if they are, odds are they are garbage that Dell, Compaq, HP, and Gateway put out. And then they are in their machines in a years time to replace bad parts.

#4 The best pc is a custom built PC. So odds are that higher end parts are used which costs a bit more so the PC is not always built to spec on the first day. Instead additions and upgrades are done one by one by the consumer to make it easier on the wallet.

#5 Common replacement or upgrading of parts always requires you to go into the machine. Either YOU can do it or you can pay a tech like me to do it. Some folks can't afford a tech, hence the reason you see them posting stuff in here.

Hope that shed some light

Answer 3

Most pre-packaged (built) systems that you buy always skimp on something. Usually the graphics card just isn't up to par with what a power user would need (or a gamer). Also they seldom have enough RAM memory. Those are the two major upgrades a casual PC 'tinkerer' will do.

Often it's a lot cheaper to buy a basic system and toss in a better video card / memory than it is to buy a 'power' system. They're always priced at a premium.

You'll almost never find a 'perfect' computer, pre-built, unless you buy from a company where you can tell them what parts you want (selecting from a list of compatible parts), where they build it and will guarantee the whole system. For something like that, I'd go with gentechpc.com

I don't buy systems, anymore. I build them. Usually it's because the 'deals' always come with substandard parts... or they might be decent but just don't have enough oomph. And they never tell you what the brand of the Power supply is, and seldom tell you the wattage. The PSU is one of the most important components in your computer.