what was your most expensive mod?

[lynn's engraving]

sorry if this has been asked before (i'm sure it has and i just missed it), but out of curiosity, what's the most you've ever spent on a mod? i won't even ask how many hours, days, weeks, months and/or years, lol.

[slaveofconvention]

I honestly doubt anyone can actually answer this question. Any mod of any real complexity done over a serious period of time escalates beyond simple calculation because you're always getting this one bit right, or adding to something - needless to say, I know of mods which have cost thousands if not 10's of thousands - as for my own stuff, I've easily spent in excess of 3-400 bucks just on parts BEFORE you take into account the cost of the actual hardware and labour....

[Fuganater]

Ya that is a tough question. So far on Project: Rage, I've spend roughly $2500. That includes hardware. On the scratch build server, the plexi alone will run me between $150-200.

[lynn's engraving]

i figured it would be impossible for most people to say exactly how much they've put into a mod. it was just a curiosity i had. i have no idea how much hardware would run, not even sure what kind of components i want beyond it being very good to handle art programmes for my wife (i'm assuming i'd need a higher end processor and better cooling), so i need to get on the stick and investigate those things. we have a trophy shop, so i know how expensive plexi and such things can get. :)

[DynamoNED]

i figured it would be impossible for most people to say exactly how much they've put into a mod. it was just a curiosity i had. i have no idea how much hardware would run, not even sure what kind of components i want beyond it being very good to handle art programmes for my wife (i'm assuming i'd need a higher end processor and better cooling), so i need to get on the stick and investigate those things. we have a trophy shop, so i know how expensive plexi and such things can get. :)

As far as hardware goes, one of the easiest and best ways to figure out what you need is to look Do-It-Yourself Bundles and barebones kits from sites like TigerDirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com) and NewEgg.com (http://www.newegg.com). These will give you an idea of what is compatible and the price you can expect to pay for the performance you want. Of course, it is possible to build machines with similar specs for a lot less than these bundles, but they make nice ballpark figures.

You mentioned that you wanted your computer to run art programs for your wife. A higher-end processor and better cooling help, but the best things for boosting performance in art programs are 1) a quality graphics card and 2) plenty of RAM. Depending on how graphics intensive the art programs she uses are and how much you are willing to spend, you might be able to justify getting a low to mid-range workstation card, like the nVidia Quadro series or the AMD FirePro series. Otherwise, just go with a mid-to-high-end consumer card, like the nVidia 500 series or AMD 6000 series. As for RAM, personally I'd never go with less than 4GB, especially if it is intended for art/graphics work, but 8GB of quality DDR3 RAM should be sufficient for all but the most intensive CAD work. (*Disclaimer: this is purely my opinion, based on my experience. As such, your mileage may vary.)

[AmEv]

Haven't spent even $100 on anything!

[pcclan]

well right about now would be my only project black magic. i am going to try to get it done soon i hope just need some need some spare cash. and some tools.

[dr.walrus]

Haven't spent even $100 on anything!
We know, we've seen your system specs! ;)

[AmEv]

We know, we've seen your system specs! ;)
Ya, I usually get by on 10-year-old freebies.


What's strange, though, is my 10-year-old tower is faster than my 4-year-old lappy...........

[lynn's engraving]

thanks, NED. :)

last year she burned up her toshiba laptop. it was probably four or five years old to begin with, then she began doing more artwork (coreldraw and photoshop) and did a lot of it on the laptop. apparently, those toshibas have a tendency to run on the warm side to begin with and she fried the mobo, or so my buddy who took it apart told me. lesson learned.

so, for an early x-mas present last year, i got her a samsung laptop. i ordered it from best buy, and had to wait on it because it supposedly has an upgraded graphics card (which, i guess the idea goes, won't tax the processor, creating heat). i can't remember the details other than it's got an i5 in it. it was more expensive than the off-the-shelf deals and i had to wait for it, but so far so good. she's not a gamer and doesn't download tons of vids and music.

our desktop is maybe three years old, but i always spent a couple of bucks more getting a nicer computer than i needed, so it's doing okay for now. it's just an HP pavilion. the comp next to that is an old HP media center (i think i lost the remote control for it, lol), gotta be six or seven years old at least, which is dedicated to nothing more than running the engraving programme for her engraver. between the three, she's able to get it done.

i'd love to be able to build her something that's not going to be an issue for a long, long time. something with some style to it, though. and something that's going to be able to run everything plus the programmes i'm going to eventually have to install when i get a vinyl cutter, which i believe is some kind of CAD thing, but i'm not sure. as it is, i want to condense everything into one set-up, instead of always having to switch wires for three computers running an engraver, two monitors and three separate printers, not to mention additional future equipment. the joint is long past looking like the old starship enterprise bridge after the kobayashi maru excercise... just slightly less smoke and sparks.

hey, maybe that'd make a good mod: spock hunched over the desk? lol.

anyhoo, i'll figure it out (with y'all's help). i do tend to overdo these things, though. :)

did i just hijack my own thread?

yeah, pcclan, spare cash (what's that?) and some tools are holding me back, too. i have most of the basics, i think, and what i don't have i'm sure i can borrow from someone that does until i get my own. i can't get these things any cheaper than anyone else, but if i say it's for my business then at least i can save on sales tax (if i attempt to sell these things, i'm not the end user, so i should be okay). between my wife's stepdad and my mom's b/f, i think i have 2/3rds of every kind of power tool ever created. but, it's always that 1/3rd no one has that i need! lol.

i wish someone would have taken my advice and set up a chrome shop, though. that, i think, would really help me out....

[AmEv]

If you got 20k, we can design a uber-nice machine that won't go obsolete for, say, 15 years. Other than size......

[TheGreatSatan]

Mine was R2-D2. About:

$1200 in components
$500 on the barrel, BBQ head and other supplies and
$600 on the Phase Change cooling system

[Kayin]

Mithril, with $2500 in parts, $3500 in wood (donated, but cost would have been amazing) and probably over $1k in simple paints, epoxies and papier-mache.

[dr.walrus]

If you got 20k, we can design a uber-nice machine that won't go obsolete for, say, 15 years. Other than size......

Nope. You could build a server for about that much that could crunch raw numbers, say, up to ten years ahead for that much money, but who would want a 1996 computer (pre-AGP, let alone PCI-express!). Simply wouldn't have ANY comparable graphics power, would use probably about 3KW, the RAM would become obselete, as would your horribly expensive 12 CPU motherboard stack, parts would simply cease to be available for when they eventually died.

What you really need is about 500USD a year to keep you up to date with high middle range/low top end stuff - spend that every two years in well planned bursts, with enough thought to forward compatibility, and you'll be fine. Why would I want a giant server rack from over ten years ago to chug along sounding like a harrier in VTOL mode next to my desk?

[lynn's engraving]

dr., i'm sure someone out there would pay for it, that's why, lol. you bring up a good point, though, that part of the reason i'd like to learn how to do this is so that i *could* easily upgrade/stay current.

kaylin, i'd like to see that if you've got a link to it.

tgs, i'm still checking out your worklog on that r2.

i'm thinking that this may be a good excuse to get into vacuum forming, which i've always wanted to do anyway. something like r2 i'm thinking about plan B, which would be fibreglass. if you really nailed it, shoo, you could sell those things, lol.

man, i almost forgot ~ a giant lego stormtrooper. i'll have to check that out and see if it's been done.

am i wrong in thinking that modders, and in my case wannabe modders, are just big kids at heart? do you walk by a window air conditioner and think, 'man, that thing needs a side window and some LEDs'? do you try to convince grandma to let you trick out her wall-mounted rotary phone with the fifty foot stretched out cord? do you look at a box of girl scout cookies and say to yourself, 'that thing needs a cooling unit'? do people make you a birthday cake resembling a motherboard? :)

[xr4man]

am i wrong in thinking that modders, and in my case wannabe modders, are just big kids at heart? do you walk by a window air conditioner and think, 'man, that thing needs a side window and some LEDs'? do you try to convince grandma to let you trick out her wall-mounted rotary phone with the fifty foot stretched out cord? do you look at a box of girl scout cookies and say to yourself, 'that thing needs a cooling unit'? do people make you a birthday cake resembling a motherboard?

no, i think we all are like that. i used to just be like that with cars, but this whole computer modding thing has made look at everything as being mod-able.

a far as cost goes, my merkur was my most expensive mod. but that's a car. i bought it for $1200 and i now have over $24,000 in it and it's worth just about $1200.

for a computer, my new htpc has been the most expensive just because i bought all the parts at once basically. everything else has just been upgraded over the years. i'd say that however ever much you expect to spend on a mod, you might as well double it and that's what it'll be in the end, lol.

[lynn's engraving]

xr, that's excellent advice, doubling your estimate!

[simon275]

My most expensive mod is pouring a glass of milk in the top of my desktop. Killing the motherboard and gpu.

[AmEv]

Yeah, I guess it was a case of liquid cooling gone bad and pale.