My Build and Sell Computer Project - Introduction

Introduction

This is an experiment I am conducting to see how viable building a computer strictly for the purpose of reselling it will be. My objective is to build a complete computer system from scratch and then sell it at cost using a classified ad. The only profit I will receive will be the enjoyment of the entire computer building process. I will catalog the experience in this article.

Statement of Purpose

As mentioned above, I glean a certain amount of enjoyment from building computers. Unfortunately, I do not have the means to buy a new computer every 6 months, and I already have plenty of computers, so I cannot build computers on a consistent basis. When brainstorming for ways to overcome this hurdle, I came up with the idea to work on a single system at a time, sell it, and repeat the cycle again, and thus this experiment was born. If I have a hard time selling the computer upon its completion, then I will have to come up with some new ideas. Either way, this experiment gives me an excuse to build (yet) another computer.

Another reason for conducting this experiment is just plain old competition. Now, I know that I will not become the next Dell, but that doesn't mean that I can't try to build a better computer than they can. For once, someone will know exactly what they are getting in their computer. I will specify each and every piece of hardware and software in the upcoming pages. I will also describe the process I went through to build the computer. I believe honesty is the best policy and in my experience, computer vendors do not adhere to the same policy. It is my intention to show these vendors how it's supposed to be done.

Starting Out

A computer is made up of many subsystems. In the next few pages I will describe the parts used in the system, the rationale for using each part, and the pricing for each part.