PC Building Master Class

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by SimonD, May 11, 2010.

  1. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Way more difficult to charge for online courses though.
     
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  2. Len

    Len Byte Poster

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    Sure.

    Anyways, I think some of the older generation would be interested. When I was doing volunteer work at my local pc shop, there was this one customer who visited often, and expressed interest in learning how to build computers, but the store owner didn't really want to let him loose so I'm not sure if he ever got round to it.. but yeah.. Good idea.. Without the A+(its optional right?) maybe, because most people I know from all age groups would rather build a computer and be done with it as they work in other sectors and are not really all that interested in IT.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2010
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  3. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Thats the idea, build up a PC with me being there, prior to starting we talk about all of the hardware and the correct way of building up, then it's the hands on with me being there to answer questions and to assist.
     
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  4. Len

    Len Byte Poster

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    As long as you explain the different processors fit different sockets etc and show them how to match up such things as processors and RAM to a particular motherboard, I think this could really work for you.
     
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  5. ThomasMc

    ThomasMc Gigabyte Poster

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    Is it? I normally just whack them on the credit card :D
     
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  6. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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    Dependant on price then i would be defo interested, prob not so much with the software deployment as i have just turned down a promotion as a packager and the topic is rather dry (no offence). I am looking to learn exchange (MCSA: Messaging) but there is no outlining courses (i have found) out there that will give me an insite before i set this up in a lab environment. I have always thought it would be great to do a boot camp for 2 weeks outlinining a variety of common 'Sys admin' jobs and im sure if the price was right then employers would be more interested in increasing skills rather than getting certified employees, right? As per your question on 'How much i would pay'? erm not sure, weekend prob £200, full week £400?? Althought you would have to make these figures work for you in respect to: class frequency, attendance and tuition! I think Commsupport have hit the nail on the head with their prices and training in respect to the CCNA, I wish they would expand to cover additional topics (outside Cisco).
     
  7. Phoenix
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    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    No way, I have done this successfully in the past with Paypal payment and my GotoMeeting account
    if you have a decent lab you can even do stuff that requires remote access to equipment and give students lab accounts etc
     
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  8. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    I think there are two markets for an idea like this: People who want to learn the practical aspects of the A+ and people who want to learn to save some cash on future repairs.
    Perhaps think about different packages for the hardware. Some people might want to upgrade from their existing set up and some might just be happy with the cheaper option and getting a bog standard PC to use as a back up.
    Having different hardware would throw up different challenges during the builds as well, which would be more instructive.
    I suppose it's getting a balance between flexibility and the ability to bulk buy.
     
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  9. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Why don't you look at something along the lines of this, then modify it to your needs? Eg that course then slap on whatever to cover class time and room hire...

    -Ken
     
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  10. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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    So Simon, Im interested to hear your plan, Are you still going for your original setup or has this post inspired any new ideas?
     
  11. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Actually the main plan is still there.

    A 1 or 2 day course designed to show people who want to build their own systems how to do so.
    The cost of the course will include the PC that you build during the course along with any required software (including the OS), a basic toolkit and the knowledge that you have built the pc rather than someone else.

    All I need to do now is price up the base pc (in bundles of 10 for cheapness), the OS (OEM), toolkits, monitors and the hiring of a classroom with internet access (to allow for updates and activation of the OS).

    I may also look at doing a deployment classroom (including App Deployment which incidently isn't about packaging but about Collections and targeting machines correctly), I agree with you about Packaging being dry, I seem to recall I answered a thread here when someone (you?) asked about it and I said it was boring as hell.
     
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  12. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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    Thats correct, I took the promotion to desktop support on that advice and turned down the software packaging role, which i now feel was the right choice. Thank you again :p

    Would this be targeted at enterprises or individuals interested in progressing themselves? This idea will be harder to market as it has a smaller and more speciallist user base than the 'PC building' course, although i would imagine that if this was focused on corporate training and marketed well this would bring in a greater amount of 'Beer tokens' and help you establise your training school.
     
  13. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    De nada.

    I would probably be more inclined to do the second part, individuals wanting to improve themselves. Doing it at the Enterprise level would require me to have a lot more in the way of backing and recognition, companies would prefer to do this with a larger more established company than a one man band, but individuals wanting to improve themselves aren't going to require me to be an MS Gold Partner etc. At the moment this is more aimed at weekend work to try and get up a portfolio of courses and customers I think (I still want to start up my own training company at some point, not just Computer based either but something covering a whole spectrum of topics).
     
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  14. Boycie
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    Boycie Senior Beer Tester

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    Si,

    I attended a course very similar to what you propose back in 2004 and loved it! So much in fact i travelled up to Banbury (from Cardiff). If you are interested (and i still have it) i will send you the objectives, although from memory it was something like this:

    Day one
    Intro to BIOS and hardware required to boot a machine pre OS.
    Best building practices and safety, including ESD.
    Where to shop.
    Building the desktop unit from the bare case upwards (parts in relevant original boxes) one build per student.
    Powering up the machine for the first time and going through the BIOS.
    Installing the OS

    Day two

    Basic intro to XP (it was 6 years ago)
    Tutorial on device manager and msinfo32 to get everything the student had installed working on the machine.
    Troubleshooting - when the OS wont start, problematic hardware, software, windows recovery.

    From memory, the costs were:

    £350 for two days classroom training.
    Option to buy the classroom course on CD ROM - it was filmed for, i think £80 (which I and many others did because it was so good)
    Option to buy the machine you built - can't remember cost, but relevant at the time
    Plus a discount on the 5 day classroom A+ course.

    Not only was it a cracking bit of training, but a taster for the A+

    hope that helps. What's the plan for advertising Si?
     
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  15. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Boycie,

    Nice find there. My thoughts on content are as follows.

    Day one
    Intro to computer hardware (AMD, Intel, Nvidia, ATI and other vendors) Nothing too deep.
    PC Building best practices and safety, including ESD.
    Building the desktop unit from the bare case upwards (parts in relevant original boxes) one build per student.
    Powering up the machine for the first time and going through the BIOS.
    Installing the OS
    Updates
    Anti-virus (Eset Nod32)

    Day two

    Basic intro to Microsoft OS's (Including Windows Vista and Windows 7)
    Tutorial on device manager, event viewer and msinfo32 to get everything the student had installed working on the machine.
    Troubleshooting - when the OS wont start, problematic hardware, software, windows recovery, memtest86
    Where to shop.

    Course would also include

    Upgrading and Repairing PC's by Scott Mueller or Build Your Own Computer by Gary Marshall.
    Belkin PC Toolkit and an Anti Static Strap.

    Course costs would depend on how much it would cost to hire a venue and I would need to speak to some office\hotels to find out how much they charge.

    Course size would ideally be between 6 - 8 people, I don't want it too large because then it stands a chance of over running and I don't want it too small for the opposite reasons.

    I have priced up hardware, software, books and tools and so far I reckon I can do this for about £800. that includes everything already mentioned, it may go up to £850 but that's the top end of it.

    Also included during both days would be drinks and snacks.

    Thoughts and ideas? I would look at getting the course content written out and practiced before actually advertising the course (after all I don't want to find I have way too much info and not enough time).

    Hardware wise I would be looking at something like this.

    Asus P5QPL-AM iG41 Socket 775 mATX Motherboard
    Intel Dual Core E5300 2.6GHz
    Antec 300 Three Hundred Case
    ATI 4670
    WD 500GB SATA
    Arctic Power 700W
    LiteOn 24x DVD±RW SATA
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit - English
    Samsung SM933SN 18.5"
    Crucial 1GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 (2x1gb)
    Microsoft Wired Desktop USB Keyboard and USB Optical Mouse
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2010
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  16. Bluerinse
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    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    Careful there.. drinks and snacks i.e coffee and sandwiches etc, in hotels can cost a LOT of money.
     
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  17. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    I know, which is why I am also looking into rented offices.
     
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  18. Josiahb

    Josiahb Gigabyte Poster

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    The course content all look pretty good to me, a lot like one of the modules for the BTEC I did a few years ago (which was a bit boring for me having been ripping apart and rebuilding machines for many years by then, but good stuff for others on the course).

    I would say though, there's a few things to know about your chosen toolkit. The flashlight is fairly pants and the UK version doesn't end up as neat as the US one thanks to the 3 pin plug on the soldering iron. Other than that its a useful little kit!
     
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  19. DrHogg

    DrHogg Bit Poster

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    It's a good concept, especially if you tie it in as you say with the A+ or similar.

    I would suggest that class sizes should be between 10 and 20 people, with the cost being Parts + £100.

    £100 * 10 is £1000, minus the cost of hiring a location (let's say £250 for the day,) and 1/3rd for the gummint, leaving you with £500 per day. If the course is 9:30am to 5pm, with an hour for lunch, that's 7 hours, or £71 per hour.. Nice money if you can get it and reasonable too.

    A few gotchas I foresee though are:
    * It would be very difficult to sell this to companies / corporations, the majority of which have no desire to build their own PC's, so you would mainly be relying on individuals wanting to be trained, and the cost might put many people off.

    * It would be very location dependent. A city would be best, a capital city better. London, Cardiff, Edinburgh.

    * Warranty / tech support, how is it handled? Obviously parts come with RTM warranties, most of which are 3 - 5 year but some are only 12 month. Would part of your course teach how to get replacement parts if something goes faulty? How about diagnosis? These things would extend the course in to 2 - 3 days, which reduces your profit!
     
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  20. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    I personally would change that psu to a corsair or seasonic, however these brands are good too:-OCz extreme, VWT, PC power and cooling and Thermaltake (tough power units only).
     
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