Building Desktops the Frugal Way: Part 1

Last week, my friend Eric and I got into a little bit of a discussion on buying/building a desktop computer. When all was said and done, I had written quite a bit on the topic and he asked me if it was from a blog post that hadn't been published yet. The answer was no, but as I think about it more, I guess it's a topic that bears some further examination if for no other reason than to explain to my readers why some of my decisions seem a little odd.

Although this wasn't the very first computer that I owned (that would be a TI99/4A), it was the first that I used to actually do real computer work on. The year was 1986 or so and I was back in school to get my teaching certification after deciding that I had no interest in working in the cotton business for the foreseeable future. I needed a computer and my brother had recently taken a job in Silicon Valley with Mitsubishi Electronics, so of course I turned to him to see what I could get an honest to gosh working PC for that I could get papers and what-not done on. The answer that came back was $600, which as ridiculously low at the time, since this was still the era of the $2000+ PC. So, I sent him money and after a bit, a couple of big boxes arrived from California. One held an Amdek monochrome (amber) monitor that he didn't have any use for, and the other had a generic 386SX-16 PC from one of the many faceless "mom-and-pop" stores all over Silicon Valley of that time. The only reason it was that cheap was that he had put in the a hard drive AND the RAM for me for free! 

Within a couple of years, it was evident that the 386 needed to be replaced, which of course meant a 486. This time, I was going to be out in California (on my way to Oregon) and my brother took me to the Mecca of computing; the original Fry's store. Yes, the one that was converted from the Fry's family grocery business to sell electronics which today is a juggernaught. This time, we walked around an found a motherboard that I could afford, and he did the rest while I was up in Oregon looking at grad schools and spectacular scenery. When I got back, he pulled out the MB with one of his old processors installed (486DX33), about 40Mb of RAM (which as kind of a ridiculously high amount at that time), and a 120Mb hard drive already loaded with Windows 3.11 on it. Then he said that all I needed to do was go home and buy a case and put the whole thing together! I spent the whole flight home wondering just how exactly I was going to do this since I'd never done anything like that before and neither had anyone that I knew at the time! So in the next few weeks after I got home, I spent days pouring over the tome size "Computer Shopper" (remember those?) trying to find just the right case and drives. This is the beginning of one of my abiding computer obsessions; that of the black case. At that time, black cases were few and far between. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, there were only two companies selling them in Computer Shopper at that time. So, after scrounging around, I came up with enough money to order, a case, the monitor and the floppy and CD-ROM drive from one of those companies. When that case finally arrived, I set myself on the path that I'm still on today.....with a slight detour.

I'd like to be able to say that; from that time on, I never bought another pre-built computer, but unfortunately, I had to learn a few lessons. The first occurred when I became that which I abhor....a Best Buy customer! I bought a Toshiba Infinia which came with a really cool monitor that had a lot of controls on it for all the multi-media functions. I remember at the time, it came down to either the IBM Aptiva S9c "Stealth" or the Toshiba. I decided on the "sensible" option since it was cheaper. First lesson....buy what you really want or you'll end up replicating that later and waste time and money. About two years later, I bought a later version of the Aptiva, but at least this time, I bought it used, saved a LOT of money and was able to upgrade (with great effort) it enough to use for several years.

All was not wasted during this period. I learned a lot about computers in general as well as machines made by large manufacturers specifically. 

• Large manufacturers don't tend to go by a standard. So, they are hard to upgrade. 
• Relating to the first item. If you don't get all the parts; they tend to be hard to find, meaning expensive if you can find them. I never did find the correct stand for my Aptiva monitor!
• In many cases, secondary components (like power supplies) are often skimped on. Dell and HP are notorious for this. Nobody's as bad as Acer or Packard Bell....remember them?
• If the manufacturer decides to abandon the series or concept (in my case, both IBM and Toshiba dropped out of the consumer market), you are left high-and-dry!

Don't get me wrong. I loved my IBM Aptiva "Stealth", but when it was obsolete for my purposes, I had to let it go completely. Thus I was about to enter the second period of my desktop PC life....so stay tuned.......to the same Blog-time, same Blog-channel, when I put the Frugal, in the propellerhead!