John's Computer Treasure Hunt
Go straight to the bottom line.
I read a shopper-type newspaper called PROCESSOR which has page after page of computer components for sale by companies from coast to coast. When I open this paper, I feel like a kid in a candy store.
I have purchased several computer systems and have cobbled together several others, but I have never built a complete system from the motherboard on up.
Due to the fact that none of my five home computers is fast enough for me today, I decided to build another computer.
Reading the PROCESSOR gave me an idea of how to go about it so that I would have fun in the process.
Here are the rules of the game.
Each piece/component of the computer must come from a different source.
A component may be a spare part.
Purchases must be made on the Internet with no voice exchanges.
Each purchased component must come from a different vendor.
Each purchased component must be relatively inexpensive.
The resulting computer must be better than any computer I already have.
The following table chronicles the process.
| Component | Vendor | Ordered | Received | Paid | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | MotherboardsDirect | 9/20/97 | 9/29/97 | $89 | I ordered an "Ocean" Rhino 12+ model. I received an "Octek" Rhino 12+ model. (Ocean Office Automation is the corporate name. Octek must be a brand name.) |
| Mid-tower case | . | . | . | . | Spare parts |
| P-120 CPU | . | . | . | . | Spare parts |
| Cd drive 10x | DirtCheapDrives | 9/24/97 | 9/29/97 | $69 | The company name says it all. |
| Memory 4mb x 2 | . | . | . | . | Spare parts |
| Video adapter | SurplusDirect | 9/24/97 | 10/24/97 | $39 | These people have a good spare parts flyer, but delivery was SLOW |
| Memory 16mb Dimm | UsaSuperMall | 10/1/97 | 10/9/97 | $70 | This shopping site is well designed and very efficient. They have all kinds of stuff besides computers. |
| CPU fan | UsaSuperMall | 10/1/97 | 10/9/97 | $7 | OK, I cheated, but the freight was going to be more than the part. |
| 3.5GB disk | SpartanTech | 10/3/97 | 10/8/97 | $187 | Another efficient site, but so much for "2 day" UPS. |
| 1.0GB disk | . | . | . | . | Spare parts |
| Sound card | . | . | . | . | From my 'old' computer |
| Modem | . | . | . | . | From my 'old' computer |
| Monitor | . | . | . | . | From my 'old' computer |
| Keyboard | . | . | . | . | From my 'old' computer |
| Mouse | . | . | . | . | From my 'old' computer |
| TOTAL | . | 9/20/97 | 10/24/97 | $461 | . |
For $461 I have a significant upgrade to my old Pentium-75 which had only a 1GB disk.
It was slow and I was pinched for disk space.
My Pentium-120 with 24MB of memory is significantly faster, and with a total of 4.5GB of disk I can really start having some internet-type of downloading fun.
Hear me tell myself to shut up.