How do you guys afford you computer stuff?

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InorganicMatter

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A lot of people here I see with Athlon FX processors, 7800/x1800 series cards, high-end RAM, etc. How do you guys support such an expensive hobby?

Myself, I use a company computer, so usually I can get them to upgrade it if I work hard enough and ask nicely. If not, I usually save for a while so I can get quality parts (my video card, RAM, etc).

I realize that most of you guys here have pretty good jobs and can support it that way, but surely not all of you do it this way?

I ask because every day the temptation to just put a whole new PC on credit card worsens, and I could get a good interest rate since my financial records are spotless.


Mod Edit - Interesting, yes, but not really a "hardware question". For general discussion on income, life, and other "forbidden topics" you should get in on some General [M]ayhem action with a subscription. Five bucks a year or fifteen bucks for this lifetime. Here's the linkage..... Thanks - BlindedByScience
 
i do whatever i can to make money, I am in college, and my ig is nothing uber or anything, but it gets the job done. i sell everything i don't want any more on ebay or other forums, and i have a great paying job for summer/winter breaks (about $125-200 a day)
 
There are a lot of people here who work in technical fields, and I'd wager that the number of [H] members making six figure salaries is a lot higher than the percentage of the general population.

There have been a number of threads posted by members who are students and using student loan/scholarship money to pay for the rigs.

There are a good number of members still in HS who have parents who buy the stuff for them.

What it all comes down to though is that it is a hobby, and any hobby can eat up lots of time and cash depending how far you get into it and what you are willing to sacrifice for it. Whether it be cars, computers, cigars, wine, clothes, clubbing, home theater, travel, paintball, bodybuilding, sports, music, etc, there are tons of people looking to make a buck off of your interest, and if you enjoy the activity enough, you are more than happy to give them your money in exchange for whatever it is they offer. If building the ultimate rig is important enough to you, you cut back in other areas if you don't have unlimited funds.

My problem is I can't prioritize my interests like that, and I tend to switch focus a lot on what I am more interested in. Thus, no $3000 rig for me, I'd rather have the cash around because tomorrow, well, who knows what I'm going to be lusting after.
 
I have a savings account just for computer parts & upgrades. I will squirrell away money out of every paycheck and put it in there. Sometimes I just put smaller modding parts on the CC but I try not too do that to much.
 
sac_tagg said:
I ask because every day the temptation to just put a whole new PC on credit card worsens, and I could get a good interest rate since my financial records are spotless.
Click to expand...

Credit Cards do certainly have that siren song...

I very nearly bought a quad-core powermac G5 last weekend whilst playing around in my computer in a mind altered state...

Thankfully I couldn't find my wallet.
 
I work two jobs, one at a supermarket working in the produce department and another in a computer shop. I get paid without taxes from the computer job and get my health benefits from the other so Im in a good situation where I won't have to worry about paying for health insurance so much and I have a good amount of income, although I have 6 bills that I want to pay off (student loans and CC). My rig cost ~$1600 (still need to get a X-fi) and I believe I'm set for 1-2 years, until something better comes along and I'll upgrade then.
 
I work part-time running a college's public computer labs at my university, and get a buttload of money from my uni for scholarships, bursaries, etc. I spend money through the year on computer parts, rather than buying everything at once. Periodic upgrades are a lot easier on my budget than massive purchases.

 
By fixing rigs for friends and neighbors...and co-workers and people who heard of me from a coworker's friend.....you see how it goes.

BTW, even that way, I won't pay for the uber stuff-cost benefit says it's not for me. I buy lower end stuff and OC like crazy, hence my 2.6 GHz A64 for about $175 that's still going strong after a year and will probably hold on for another year or two when I need a vid card to replace my 6600GT. I'm all about price/performance ratio.
 
I had trouble affording the hobby until I graduted from college and got a steady job. I have enough money left over after paying the bills every month that I can easily afford to set aside enough money for computer parts. I also plan my upgrades far enough in advance that I have a rough estimate of how much it is going to cost me. Even though I have an X2 I am eyeing the AMD M2 and Intel Conroe processors. I know that if I set aside some money each month until they come out and have a little time to mature I will have more than enough to easily by whatever processor/ram/motherboard combo I want.

Although I know how you feel, I just got a new car and that seriously ate into how much I can save for computer parts.
 
I build high end computers for use on yachts as entertainment/navigation system. I work pretty much on my hours and get paid very well for what I do. So I can generally afford anything I need.
 
I have an above average job (Systems Admin) but after doing this for so long - I'm rarely putting together a whole system at once. I try and work my "upgrades" so that I am buying as little as possible. And every now and then I go a little overboard....
 
In college and I understand the credit line with my dad very well :D
 
Myself I just went over the 9 year mark in professional Fortune 500 type internal IT work. I've worked for 5 different companies over those years and have increased my salary as such. I try to keep the majority of my expenses low and every few years tend to drop about $1500 on a new rig for myself. In the mean time I part out like the other guys said to keep my month-to-month expenses on PC stuff low.

It's also my only hobby so outside of the usual expenses it's all about PC's part and accessories for me :)

Granted I just got married a month ago so things might change but I'm at a bank now and got a secret little savings account only I am going to be on while I dump 20-50 bucks into every paycheck she won't see :)
 
i have a decent job but i usually pay all my expenses/bills for the month first, then if i have anything left over i'll buy computer stuff if i can or save up till i do have enough for it.
 
i have my own computer reapir store and i work as a sys ad for a hospital...small store though-- repairs, upgrades, networking, inhouse repairs (software/hardwdare), custom builds that kinda stuff, your freindly mom and pops neighborhood computer store.
 
It definitely helps that I have a decent job as an architect, but I also upgrade/build new when I can find a buyer among friends/family for my current system.

If I have a good video card or hard drives I try to bring those over to my new system. This last time I went PCIe so I bought a new card for myself, sold the old card on ebay, and got a 6200 for the old pc that went to a coworker that just needed an e-mail/web browsing machine.

Thinking about it I have 4 computers now at home -

4200+ X2 Shuttle main rig.
3000+ PVR
2700+ wife computer
1.4ghz Tbird

It seems I always have 'inventory', the 1.4 is for sale cheap or might become an Xmas gift. The 2700+ will get upgraded if I can find a buyer for the internals, I have a 939 3200+ laying around. My wife might notice it's faster, I'll just tell her I defragged it or something.

I have to keep the actual cash outlay on the down-low or the wife starts freaking out. She's ok with me upgrading as long as I can pay for it with 'sales' of pc's or components. Still, the few bucks that I charge don't usually cover a new system for myself, so I get creative.

The PVR was a major coup getting it into the living room, told the wife it was taken in on trade (which is true) just using it here next to the TV until I can sell it.... She asked why it was loud...a few days later it had a new Seasonic PSU and fanless 6600. Why won't her shows fit on the computer? Oops, I dumped a terrabyte of storage into it, half from spare drives I had laying around.

The point is, I guess, that you work the deal and constantly upgrade.
 
I get mine upgraded the easy way...
the Key here is to always have your wifes machine one step slower then yours.

soooooooo

when she complains about slow puter. I tell her well I will have to spend some money at Newegg for her.

I order the parts for my next upgrade. then take my faster the hers parts from my current rig slap em in hers and bamm! she is upgraded.
Its never about me :D
 
in college for electrical eng. I work at a bank as data processor/IT support but im only making a measly $7.00/hr. I drive 30 miles a day to work in a V8 dodge dakota (thats where my money goes.. GAS!!!) and have afforded only 1 upgrade since I built my comp 2 years ago.( switching two sticks of pc2700 (2x256) to (2x512) of corsair XMS 2.2.2.5 . thankfully the bank I work for likes giving bonuses. My christmas bonus is a months pay and I should get salaried later this year (YAY!) Im going to upgrade right after christmas. One big thing to do is go to best buy the day after thanksgiving... you can get a 200gig drive for $50. look for deals and use what you have.

Abit IC7-G max2
p4 2.8c
1 gig Corsair XMS 2.2.2.5
2x 80gig WD SATA RAID 0
ATI Radeon 9800pro 128

future upgrades:
another gig of same ram
large heatsink and overclock for cpu
6800gt/gs
 
I'm a full time college student, working in the Air National Guard ( a weekend branch of the Air Force). Well I usually get bonuses near the end of each year that help me save some money to save up for upgrades. But the thing that got my foot in the door, to save up for the rig I bought in my sig 6 mo's. ago, was to go over seas for 1 1/2 months and you get all sorts of pay. I believe I brought home, in the end over $8k all tax free....gotta love the military! :D
 
Yea the Military is awesome.... Untill you get shipped to some country to fight a war... My neighboor was recruited to the Army after Senior year in Highschool.... Luckily he hasent been sent ti Iraq but he said that the recruiters will lie to you... But all in all he said its not bad... Not to mention how much more fit and strong he is now O_O!!!!!!!!!

But yea its awesome for free travel, education, money!
 
I'm a H.S./College student (taking college classes full time through washington state's Running Start program). The key here for me would have to be... birthdays. Not a viable option for a majority of the people out there, but it gets me a new system every 5 years. :D
 
Just be old, married to a woman who makes as much as you do, have a son who is going to a good state college and cars that are paid for. :D
 
Birthdays, Christmas, and selling stuff got me where I am today. And a 2 1/2 year sentence of paying $20/month on my first computer with an $8/week allowance. :rolleyes: I'm down to about $267 now, and most all of the original parts I sold and upgraded. It's great, I should become a banker..If you try the "please buy me this, I'll pay you back" thing, make sure you aim high, so you get the most cash for selling it later. ;)
 
[nCn]Preacher said:
Just be old, married to a woman who makes as much as you do, have a son who is going to a good state college and cars that are paid for. :D
Click to expand...

Even better: just be old, decently employed w/no wife, no kids, paid for house & cars. Seems like chump change.
 
I'm a HS student (buying my first rig very soon), and I get my $ by selling whatever I don't use on eBay. Also if I find a good deal in stores, I'll buy and resell (I bought 14 copies of an xbox game at media play for $9 per, they sold for nearly $20 per).
 
Easy enough: the money I make during the summer is just saved so I can splurge on stuff. Scholarships take care of my college tuition, so I have no worries there.

My rig is nothing special though, at the time probably cost me $1000 to build, and I've done maybe $400 worth of upgrades to it since (300 GB drive this week, added 2 GB of RAM this week, a DVD-RW drive 2 years ago, a 120 GB drive 2 years ago).

I don't spend more than I can afford though, since I do have other stuff (like eating) and hobbies like photography to tend to. ;)
 
I afford upgrades by planning my upgrades around holidays (i.e, christmas and my birthday). a lot of tech places slash prices immediately after christmas in order to liquidate excess stock. so, I normally do an annual upgrade during the first to second week of january. also, since my birthday is in february, i spend any money I get on the upgrades.
 
Not trying to be a dick, but how do you NOT afford it? Compared to a lot of hobbies, computers are very cheap. I race motorcycles (road) and that takes up wayyyy more money.

I make ok cash, but I save most of the money I make. I never buy anything on credit (besides my home). I manage my money well, invest where I think I can make a dime, etc.

Even with my modest income, I still have lots of cash in the bank. Maybe the cost of living is just lower in good ol Pensacola Florida. :confused:
 
Loose an arm to a Tiger.

The insurance money is good for paying for new computers.

Luck.............. :D
 
Just me and the lil woman no kids and we both make good money.
makes it not so hard to afford the PC stuff. Also the easiest way to build these expensive rigs is to do it in pieces. like the file server I'm building. I just paid dave for my Opty 148 thats going in it. Next paycheck I'll buy the motherboard and a hard drive. Then paycheck after that 2-3 more hard drives etc etc etc every 2 weeks add a few more parts and viola in not too much time I'll have the 1.9TB Raid 5 array in a standalone box without using credit.



Also a good thing to ask for as a christmas gift are newegg gift cards.....they're very easy for people to buy and come in very handy to me ;)
 
However I can get it. Whether that be bank account, holidays, finding money, selling stuff, trading things, saved money from winter/summer jobs (about $75 a day)....etc... Anyway I can get money, I save and buy comp stuff....when it doesnt go to my g/f :p
 
I work tons, however ALL the money that is made is going to school. College is expensive. The parents often offer to help out a little bit more, but they have already given me enough. So instead of paying for tuition, housing, food...ect...Somehow when I go home I come back with a bunch of money in my laundry basket.
 
NulloModo said:
Credit Cards do certainly have that siren song...

I very nearly bought a quad-core powermac G5 last weekend whilst playing around in my computer in a mind altered state...

Thankfully I couldn't find my wallet.
Click to expand...

Hahaha i know the feeling.....load up the shopping cart at the egg and then thank heaven you cant find your wallet :p
 
Me...

Good paying tech job, sell old parts to partly finance new parts, but never buy a new machine. I always do upgrades---motherboard here, CPU there, HDD, yadda, yadda, yadda
 
Look at my sig....and you'll see that I don't have any money....untill income taxes come out..
 
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