Just outta curiosity, approx. how many people build their own computers/ mod etc in the UK like the people here on bit-tech? approx 99% of the people I know don't know jack about computers. They just know how to use windows and IE
In my GF and my family, and work colleauges the ratio is 5 knowledgable to 20 n00bs. ratio could be a bit off though
I'm in university for IT management and a lot of people around me know a lot more windows tweaks as I see them with all the flashy windows stuff and hacked and modded desktops but the few I've talked to about hardware don't seem to be too knowledgeable.
I think the only way to roughly see how big it is, would be to contact some etailors, and see how many orders get processed a day. I think this could only be done on certain ones, like OCUK, and possibly SCAN, aces such as DABS are used for too many ' non custom computer' things. Would be interesting to see what percentage of the computer market is made up of folk like us.
I have maybe 5 close friends and know of another 10 or so guys who you could say are into "custom computers" but as far as actual PC modding goes, I'm the only local person I know of who "dabbles in the dark art" Out of all the guys and girls in my university lectures, who range from Junior Electronic Engineers to Junior Software Engineers & Biomedical Engineers, I'd say 1 in 5 of them knows anything about computer hardware. A handful know a bit about software (obviously the SW Engineers have to) but most of them are just basic computer users. One or two are sound engineers, one is a railway engineer, there's a guy who's a very skilled fab engineer and even one who used to be a CNC operator and programmer, but to be honest most of them are what we might call average PC users - students with part time jobs who surprisingly couldn't care less about how computers actually work never mind how to go about building one for themselves.
Same here! I am the only one in my family/circle of friends who is capable of building a pc. Good in some ways but a major pain in the arse in others.
A few of my friends are capable of performing upgrades and I know a couple who've pretty much built their own. I'd say a good 10% of avid PC-gamers will know a reasonable amount about hardware..
Out of all the people I know I am the only one that even knows how to take the side panel off let alone build one, I think most people are capable they are just to scared to try which is what most computer shops and so called IT people want, It would do then out of a job wouldn't it and show just how incompetent they actually are. Can be a right pain they come to me to build them for them and I get no thanks for it so I stopped doing it now. Intrestingly a friend that I built a computer for couple of years ago who is a college lecturer and does online courses had one of their IT staff try to sort out a problem she had, And he uninstalled her antivirus program and didn't fix the problem and left it like that.
I'd say there's plenty out there who will build a computer but not many of that number will actually mod 1
When I was at PC World there was about 10% or less of people who know how to fix one, about 50% who thought they know how to fix one, and about 40% who had 'friends' who could do it. As far as building one is concerned, well, nobody goes to PC World to build a computer, so I'm going to say near enough 100% of the consumer base doesn't know the first thing. Funnily enough, I know at least 5 people that work for McDonald's with me who know how to build a PC, myself included. Shows what the average person knows about us.
Im also surrounded by 100% noobs. Although some like to think they know everything there is to know about computers, and imo they're the worst kind of noob
I stopped telling people that i have anything to do with computers whatsoever. I had SO much fixing to do it's ridiculous.
currently: 2x others who are as interested in hardware as me 1x who builds his own PCs but no longer that bothered by it 1x who used to be interested but now fully assimilated by the cult of Apple a few who can pretty much keep their PCs in order but not much more and a few who are genuinely hopeless
There are mixed breeds out there too: My brother-in-law modded his case. Cut a window, repainted, put in cold-cathode lights. And games a lot-goes to LAN's, the works. At the same time he doesn't know what a fermi is, what it does, or how to select ANY of his kit.
you can't escape it. Those who know will always tell every one that "they know a guy" and you will have to fix computers until you die
