Is building a computer a dying art?

[Lord Tony®]

No one wants to build stuff anymore, radioshack use to have all these parts you could buy then they stopped doing it.

Can't buy parts for phones, laptops, etc.

Computers are too much. You have to do a lot of research before you just go out and buy a part, you can't just cram it in there.

If computer companies had more universal parts I could see building a computer lasting for a long time in the future. Say a company out there made sure their computers are 100% compatible for new parts from 10-50 years from now. Just plug it the part and play it like a USB style universal system. None of that bullstuff wires and whatever.

[Ad Bot]

[Darryl McKoy]

Is building a computer a dying art?

No, it's not

[gr8dayseth]

i very much doubt it

[Lord Tony®]

No, it's not

I'd expect this from a PC gaming forum.

But can you step out of being in denial for a sec? Even windows is trying to prevent PC building so they can maximize profits by forcing people to buy a whole new system every few years.

[Satan From Wreck-It-Ralph]

hey thats actually a pretty neat idea tony
make it way easier for the average joe to build, upgrade, and maintain a pc

[Darryl McKoy]

Even windows is trying to prevent PC building

No, they're not

[WaterOre]

I wouldn't call it dying, but it's definitely niche.

From a business standpoint, it's more profitable to sell prebuilt computers than it is to sell the individual parts and have the customer build it themselves. Radioshack probably ended the service because it wasn't profitable or important enough to keep while the company was in its death throws.

As far as I know, there are still services that will build custom computers for you, then mail them to your house.

If computer construction was entirely modular and simple as plugging in a few wires, it would be great for the industry and would create a much more personal connection between the user and his or her computer.

[Lord Tony®]

hey thats actually a pretty neat idea tony
make it way easier for the average joe to build, upgrade, and maintain a pc

I do think it would make PC building much more universal and broaden the demographic.

As long as you meet the minimum power supply all you do is just pop it in.



You got all this loving bullstuff you need to look out for. If a computer company designed a system with a universal slot that works for any computer from now till the future that could revolutionize how we build computers.

It could force other companies to change or put them out of business and end this bullstuff practice of making so many different slots forcing customers to buy new stuff all the time.

[Darryl McKoy]

If a computer company designed a system with a universal slot that works for any computer from now till the future that could revolutionize how we build computers.

What's the point though? The people who can't build computers now buy pre-built computers. The people who can build computers do so. There are physical constraints that prevent the use of universal slots for all components. Components can have very different requirements and hence need different inputs/outputs.

I don't really think there's anything to gain by making computer building a gimmick for the masses.

[Rednakin]

I'd expect this from a PC gaming forum.

But can you step out of being in denial for a sec? Even windows is trying to prevent PC building so they can maximize profits by forcing people to buy a whole new system every few years.

I wonder what the Sony is doing with the whole locked down hardware of the Playstation thing.

[Lord Tony®]

If the technology improved and a new slot was needed there is always adapters that can be fitted into the universal slots.

[Darryl McKoy]

If the technology improved and a new slot was needed there is always adapters that can be fitted into the universal slots.

And suddenly the simple design becomes more complicated. Pretty soon you'd be in the same situation we have now because of the very different requirements of each component.

It's a dumb idea, really

[Rally]

I like the universal slot idea. Kinda reminds me of that Phonebloks concept that was talked about a while ago.

[Pah1023]

The only thing nowadays that requires updating is the CPU sockets, due to previous designs being too slow among other reasons.
And that is just a matter of replacing your motherboard.
I don't believe that the PCIe slot has changed at all recently, and RAM slots are just now upgrading from DDR3 to DDR4.
It's not like older hardware would even support the newer without having to replace everything.
Besides, building computers is really simple.

The image you've linked contains a lot of outdated stuff that isn't even used anymore.

[Damp]

tony probably posted this because he didn't have the ability to sit and study through to build a computer