
Show HN: Pangoly – Build your shiny new PC - ejjpi
http://pangoly.com
======
jjcm
Your obvious rival here is PCPartPicker. Having used that extensively, here's
some things I don't like about yours:

Expert mode removes compatibility checks. This shouldn't be the case - as soon
as I select an item, it should cull the results and show me only the
intersection of items that are now compatible with my chosen piece of
hardware.

The lack of an ability to filter. Maybe I want to splurge more on a graphics
card, but I need one that has at least 4 mini-display port outputs to drive my
monitors. Right now there doesn't seem to be a way to say "show me only gpus
that are nvidia, above $500, and can drive at least 4 monitors".

One of the biggest things for me: lack of reviews. You have a pangoly score.
That's great and all, but you're a brand I don't (yet) trust. If I'm buying a
component that costs multiple hundreds of dollars, I want more than a single
score from a company I haven't heard of. I want to know what the reliability
is like, and I want to hear it from people who have had hands on experience
with it. I want to know how loud the fans are, what temperature it runs at
passively and actively, etc.

Visually your site is really nice, but your expert mode leaves a lot to be
desired, and I think you have a ways to go before you catch up with the
competition. If I were you I would try and find your niche - either target
users who are switching over from console gaming, and want to build their
first computer, or build out a bunch of more expert features and target
regular hobbyists.

~~~
yaeger
Speaking of compatibility:

Does nobody care to check the mainboards support site for compatibility lists?

This one, for example:
[http://uk.pangoly.com/en/build/configure/pro](http://uk.pangoly.com/en/build/configure/pro)

When you select the asrock mainboard, you are presented with these three
choices of RAM: [http://uk.pangoly.com/en/review/corsair-
vengeance-16gb-2x8gb...](http://uk.pangoly.com/en/review/corsair-
vengeance-16gb-2x8gb-1866mhz-ddr3-non-ecc-cl10-xmp-
cmz16gx3m2a1866c10/8f7e007f-e656-e311-9403-00155d0f1805)

[http://uk.pangoly.com/en/review/patriot-
viper-3-16gb-2x8gb-2...](http://uk.pangoly.com/en/review/patriot-
viper-3-16gb-2x8gb-2133mhz-ddr3-non-ecc-
cl11-pv316g213c1k/b1156c19-8d57-e311-9403-00155d0f1805)

[http://uk.pangoly.com/en/review/corsair-vengeance-
pro-16gb-2...](http://uk.pangoly.com/en/review/corsair-vengeance-
pro-16gb-2x8gb-1866-mhz-ddr3-non-ecc-
cl9-cmy16gx3m2a1866c9/ef50e71e-8c57-e311-9403-00155d0f1805)

And if you venture to that mainboards support site, it shows you a list of
compatible RAM:
[http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z97%20Professional...](http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z97%20Professional/index.us.asp?cat=Memory)

End Result: Not one of the mentioned RAM options is on that list.

Why would that be important? Well, for one thing, it it weren't, there
wouldn't be the need for the asrock people to maintain such a list, right?
And, speaking from personal experience, I have had brand new builds bluescreen
like nobody's business. Was the RAM faulty? Nope, send it back and got
replacement of same make/model. Still bluescreens. It was only after I checked
the mainboards compatibility lists and chose a RAM from that list when the
bluescreens stopped! Nothing else was changed. And both types of RAM were "the
same" as far as part pickers like this one is concerned. So, same Type, Speed,
Dual Channel etc. The "only" difference here was that the one that caused
bluescreens was not on the mainboards compatibility list.

~~~
sspiff
I've had this issue as well, but that was over a decade ago, when using a
smaller brand (ECS) mainboard for an Athlon XP. Eventually it was discovered
that the mainboard didn't support Corsair memory, and the shop traded me some
Kingston modules.

I have built many systems for myself, friends and family since, and never
encountered this issue again.

------
randomdrake
Beautiful execution and a well-done site. Nice visual choices and a good
responsive layout. Great example of waiting until a product has some polish
before a Show HN.

Yesterday, Forbes did an article[1] about how console gamers are moving
towards PC.

I think you could really knock it out of the park if you capitalized on that
trend and added a portion of your site for folks looking to migrate. Something
that shows how specs from different sets of cheaper hardware could mimic and
beat the console they may be trying to migrate from. Perhaps something with a
bit more of an educational front to it.

You could even go as far as video demonstrations showing how the performance
of a $400.00 PC from your service could rival or beat a console.

There's a big trend/meme on the Internet right now regarding the "PC Master
Race"[2] that I think you could explore for some inspiration, if you haven't.
The trend started a few years ago[3] but has started to pick up more and more.

You may even find some great success with a section specifically for building
customized, beautiful "Steam Boxes"[4] that are starting to appear more and
more in living rooms in place of consoles.

[1] -
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcochiappetta/2014/07/14/the-c...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcochiappetta/2014/07/14/the-
console-war-is-over-the-pc-already-won/)

[2] -
[http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/](http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/)

[3] - [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-glorious-pc-gaming-
master-...](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-glorious-pc-gaming-master-race)

[4] - [http://gizmodo.com/13-steam-boxes-
ranked-1496078448](http://gizmodo.com/13-steam-boxes-ranked-1496078448)

~~~
sosborn
> PC Master Race

Please don't perpetuate this inane meme. It is needlessly inflammatory and
would probably alienate a healthy portion of your target market.

~~~
jpgvm
Perpetuating the meme is perhaps unwise (and alienating as you pointed out).

That aside it is worth pointing out the advantages of a proper computer over
cut down entertainment devices. Especially in a format that lets you customize
and meet a certain price point.

Shame it's not easy to have comparative benchmarks against console hardware at
this time, despite the newest generation being effectively x86 hardware we
have no means of comparison due to the platforms being too locked down.

~~~
sosborn
>That aside it is worth pointing out the advantages of a proper computer over
cut down entertainment devices.

Sure, but calling console players 'plebes' probably isn't the best way to do
it.

~~~
jpgvm
Agree, hence why I said drop the meme but keep the finer points. :)

------
ejjpi
Thanks! I'm the owner, so here's a brief overview of the available features:

    
    
        - Build configuration starting from user's preferred budget. The suggested components are always safe to be used in the same build and it's also possible to add optional parts like peripherals.
        - Automatic build creation starting from user's preferred component.
        - Sharing: once the build is completed it's possible to share it on the most popular social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit), on forums (BBCode) o by Email.
        - Build guidelines: for every component type we provide general guidelines and best practices for the picking, also suggesting the highest rated products currently available on the market.
        - Product reviews: our rating, pros and cons, q&a, price history, suggested PC builds for the selected component and compatibility.
        - Price analysis and trends.
        - Multilanguage and multicurrency.
        - Responsive design: the website provides an optimal viewing experience on all devices (desktops, tablets and smartphones).

~~~
sswezey
One thing that I noticed was the lack of Xeon processors for Intel. When I
built my current rig, I could get an i7 level chip for an i5 price, but
without integrated video. This is totally fine for gaming rigs and something
that isn't uncommon. Was that a specific decision?

------
lifeformed
Cool! Some humble UI suggestions:

\- I don't really need to see big pictures of everything (except the case and
peripherals). It's kind of visually noisy, and it doesn't help me make any
decisions. Maybe just a small thumbnail would suffice.

\- It'd be nice to be able to instantly visually compare the most important
traits of each component. For example, for SSDs, I'd like to see Price, Size,
and Speed. If you just had a bar for each of those things, I'd be able to
instantly see the tradeoffs I'm making. The hover-over info is nice too, it's
good to see if I'm trading price for durability, or some other less common
metric. Maybe this kind of info could replace the big images?

~~~
reqres
To add to the tradeoffs point - it would be great it you could generate a
pareto efficient frontier given the users "desired traits".

This may just be my own personal gripe but I get serious information overload
from component buying. A nice frontier could filter the dozens of options to
just a handful with meaningful tradeoffs worth considering.

------
drewg123
When I build a PC, the number one feature I want is ECC memory. It can be
tricky to find a non-server configuration that supports it (you historically
need a "good" bios that is smart enough to enable it for AMD, and you
typically need a Xeon flavor CPU + workstation level board for Intel; caveat,
it has been 2.5 years since my last build).

I was hoping that this tool might make finding non-server parts that support
ECC easier, but alas, that does not seem to be the case.

~~~
adl
I'm genuinely curious, why is it your number one feature? I know that ECC
provides error correction, but aside from server use, is it really that
critical?

~~~
joosters
Memory errors are a significant cause [citation needed!] of system
instability. If you want a reliable machine, even a desktop, that is going to
keep working, then ECC is very useful.

If you've decided upon ECC as a must, then it would be great for a system
builder tool to then show you options based upon that choice.

~~~
walshemj
And for some high end use case you might want to be looking at xenon's or even
dual xenon's.

I could see a big data or HPC developer wanting to have a desktop that used
the same processor as the cluster they are writing for - mainly in the case
where your tuning for max performance and want to able to develop using the
same complier flags.

------
nathanb
Here's some advice:

I can never remember any details regarding the Intel chipsets. Is a given CPU
a Haswell processor? Ivy bridge? Should I wait for Broadwell? Am I
misremembering code words entirely? I would love it if this site helped me
figure out which chipset I'll be getting, in case I care.

~~~
sirodoht
For the record, the naming scheme is something like this: e.g. i7 4770K

i[digit] is the series, i3 means starter, i5 mainstream and i7 performance
(that's not entirely accurate but it is accurate enough).

Then the four digit number is of no obvious logic across the generations. But,
the first digit shows the generation, so 4 means haswell, which is the fourth
Core iX generation. 3 is ivy bridge, 2 is sandy bridge and the lack of it
means nehalem. And beyond that, the higher the number, the more powerful it
is.

The last letter is optional. K means unlocked, S or T mean low power
consumption.

~~~
elktea
K also means virtualization features are missing. Hugely important, these
days.

~~~
boobsbr
I thought 'K' meant unlocked multipliers.

You're right about virtualization, though. Some features are missing.

[http://ark.intel.com/compare/75123,75122](http://ark.intel.com/compare/75123,75122)

------
SandB0x
I really like it but I think it can be simplified. At least the original
presentation of options. e.g.

* The names Advanced and Pro are too similar.

* "For AMD lovers, a cheaper alternative of the Gamer configuration" OK, but then this could be folded into the Gamer configuration as an alternate flavour.

Can you get this down to three or four options and move the rest to the expert
users section?

~~~
warfangle
Agreed.

It would be nice if for each tier there were an Intel option and an AMD option
... and an ATi and nVidia option.

------
falcolas
Seems like there's a good mid-ground between pre-configured systems and expert
mode. A mode which offers some alerts for silly mistakes (or prevents them
from being made in the first place) would be nice. i.e. an Intel chip paired
with an AMD socketed motherboard.

~~~
kubiiii
Indeed. But alerts would be a nice addition to expert mode anyway. You can't
build a PC with a processor that does not fit in the socket, expert or not.
Pre filtered list of motherboards or cpu based on selected cpu or motherboards
would be nice. Anyway, great website.

~~~
asdasd123dd
Can someone tell me what he used to code that website? Javascript and
bootstrap or something else?

~~~
buckbova
[http://builtwith.com/?http%3a%2f%2fpangoly.com%2fen%2f](http://builtwith.com/?http%3a%2f%2fpangoly.com%2fen%2f)

Have you used BuiltWith? Looks like asp.net, jquery, bootstrap, and what not.

There's a chrome extension too.

------
chton
Why can't you perform compatibility checks on hardware in free build mode?
That would take so much headache out of the composing, and be an awesome
middle ground between the prebuilt ones and the completely free builder.

------
sthatipamala
I like how polished this site is. It would be a good companion to this parts
recommendation guide:
[http://www.logicalincrements.com/](http://www.logicalincrements.com/)

However, I disagree that a "Pro" build is necessary for software development,
as suggested by the description. I've gotten by writing software on a netbook.

~~~
groovy2shoes
Likewise, I've gotten by writing software with a pen and paper.

There's an unfortunate consequence of the tendency for developers to have
"Pro" hardware: their software often doesn't get tested on older hardware.
Some examples:

About 8 years ago, I tried to install a KDE-based Linux distribution on a PC
that was then only 2 years old. The screen resolution defaulted to 800x600. I
opened the settings panel to try and adjust it to 1280x1024 (the maximum for
that monitor), but the settings window was larger than my screen, and the icon
for screen resolution was off the bottom of my screen! I couldn't get to it.

About 4 years ago, I was taking a Software Engineering course where our
assignments were doled out with Eclipse project files. No problem, I installed
Eclipse on my Macbook (which at the time was only one year old), and fired it
up. It was using over a gig of RAM, and OS X using another half a gig. I
couldn't open a web browser without swapping.

Today the problem is even worse. Modern software gobbles so much memory --
it's ridiculous. Web browsers and desktop environments are especially bad, and
systemd uses loads of RAM, too. I realize it's not all bloat, but this memory
explosion is leaving users with older computers in the dust. Not everyone can
afford to upgrade to the latest and greatest every year.

I urge developers to keep their end users (even other developers) and their
potentially meager hardware in mind.

~~~
makomk
> Web browsers and desktop environments are especially bad

Most web browsers are actually pretty memory efficient these days.
Unfortunately, the websites they're viewing aren't because they're designed
and coded by people with "pro" hardware too.

------
jbert
Nice. One comment - I think it's not always showing the 'best' options in the
initial 3.

e.g.

1 - Select Advanced

2 - the two processor options shown are (+11% cost, +13% perf) and (+7% cost,
+3%perf). If I expand "more options", I can see a (+9 %cost, +16%perf) in
there which is preumably superior to either of the two shown.

But this _is_ awesome - please keep it going and improving it :-)

~~~
jedahan
Maybe the algorithm scores based on more than just cost and performance -
perhaps review scores as well?

------
ianpri
Although i'm unsure of the legality, you might want to add hackintosh/OSX86
setups in there as well, matching the right hardware combos is a big part of
getting it all setup and the latest configs change often

~~~
mmastrac
I'd (figuratively) kill for that feature as well. If you aren't following
Hackintosh guides regularly, you fall behind far too quickly.

------
rmah
While it's pretty, the site doesn't allow for much in the way of customizing
one's criteria. Or it's very non-obvious on how to do so. For example, I might
want a gaming system with a apx $150 video card rather than a $200 to $300
one. Perhaps I have hard drives already and don't need a new one. Why the
rather pricey power supplies? The CPU choices are limited and don't reflect
current options. What about cooling options? Why the limited case choices?
etc, etc, etc.

~~~
silverbax88
I agree - since I'm in the middle of building a machine, I would think that I
would be the target market. One of the first things I noticed was that the
power supplies were overpriced but the mobo combinations were entirely based
on price as opposed to features. The site looks good but I think it needs more
tweakability.

------
acomjean
Reminds me of Ars System Guides

I haven't read in a while but they're still doing them:

[http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/ars-technica-
system-g...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/ars-technica-system-guide-
bargain-box-april-2014/)

they have decent forums too

[http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewforum.php?f=8](http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewforum.php?f=8)

A hackintosh section would be good. The one I used to build mine years ago is
gone..

------
kayoone
So the business model is based on piping customers to amazon ? thats neat,
however i found that amazon germany lacks the diversity that many of the big
online hardware retailers have around here. Is it only stuff that amazon sells
or also marketplace ?

~~~
ejjpi
How can you suggest builds for the budget if you don't have a real store
providing updated components prices? Amazon is by far the most popular online
store so I think it's a safe bet using it as a de facto standard.

~~~
AustinScript
Did you read the question?

------
genericuser
It seems like a beautiful tool, however not having options to pick components
I have a strong preference for such as Hitachi hard drives, and Silverstone
cases for instance means I can't use it to build systems I might actually want
to build ever.

I agree with other comments that if you want it to appeal to hobbyists you
need a pretty massive build out of options.

------
maxsilver
Looks great so far!

Any thoughts into a comparison tool?

I have a PC that was pretty powerful when I built it, but has aged (5-6 years
old now).

I'd love to find a way to easily compare my current system to these ones. For
instance, the 'AMDicted' sounds good, but I can't easily tell if it's an
upgrade from my current rig or not.

------
vacri
It really needs a section for "Operating System". Windows isn't free, and most
build-your-owns will be a Windows machine. Other appropriate options should be
available (linux/bsd/etc) along with a 'no OS' options, for people who might
already have a free license.

------
joosters
This tool looks fantastic.

I recently put together a couple of machines from parts, and having not done
so for many years, found it extremely difficult to do so. A tool like this,
that could highlight compatible CPUs, motherboards and so on, would have been
very helpful!

A few (highly specific) features that would be useful:

* For the cheaper machines, there are some very good value case/PSU combos on Amazon (and elsewhere). It would be great to include these in the list of components. I know bargain-basement PSUs have a reputation for being poor quality, but there are reliabile ones out there (I ended up buying three different cheap case+CPUs and they have all been perfect under high load)

* I found it extremely hard to discover which CPUs came with their own heatsink+fan. Any way to clarify this would be very useful.

~~~
ethbro
Agreed! It's extremely impressive in terms of design + functionality.

If you're not worried about spilling secret sauce, I'd be interested in a post
(or link if you've already got the information there) about what data sources
you have hooked up to various metrics.

------
prawks
One thing that bugs me at first glance is that after I pick a preset denoted
with a "starting price", when it gets to the next page with the component
breakdown the starting price is $100-300 higher.

------
opendais
May I suggest including linux compatibility for hardware? [e.g. graphics cards
tends to not always support it]

------
clarry
I really really hate browsing shops and reviews and manufacturer sites and all
that, trying to find the build I want.. so a website to help with that would
be nice. Unfortunately this is not it. The selection is not there, and it
doesn't really allow me to set any criteria (without which I could buy
anything and there'd be no problem to solve). The site also fails to provide
an easy-to-glance overview of the differences between alternatives.

------
buckbova
I pretty much bounce between newegg and tigerdirect when building a machine.
Once you have a case and motherboard, everything falls into place based on my
budget.

I'm looking to start a new build soon. This case is speaking to me.

[http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-
det...](http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-
details.asp?EdpNo=9113957&Sku=C69-0008)

~~~
doorhammer
Have you tried [http://pcpartpicker.com/](http://pcpartpicker.com/) ?

I used it for my last build. You can select a variety of different vendors,
browse parts compare prices, etc. It does a pretty good job doing the
compatibility checks for you as well (I can do them myself, but my heart just
wasn't in it this time, so it was handy).

I basically assembled my build with pcpartpicker, selected newegg, amazon and
microcenter, then bundled it all up and ordered it. The microcenter one was
neat because they actually found the processor I wanted at a local
microcenter, for in store pickup, at a hundred bucks cheaper than anywhere
else (not a technically crazy hurdle, but really convenient and pleasantly
surprising).

Wondering how it compares to the site linked (I haven't looked through it yet;
they could be totally different, but I'm going to check it out in a sec)

~~~
pc86
Seems like PCPP makes it much easier to filter on specific criteria (say, you
only want to see 7200RPM HDDs) but the linked site seems much more user
friendly, particularly for beginners.

Edit: Also, the first several builds I made to test the site out all appear to
be shipping from Amazon. Not sure if this supports multiple vendors or not.

------
dumbfounder
The hardest part for me about building a pc is making sure I get the proper
RAM config, and this doesn't seem to help much. I want LOTS of ram (32gb), so
let me pick a motherboard with 4 slots easily, and then make sure the
selections have to be compatible. Same sort of issue with a video card. I want
dual DVI for output to 2 monitors, that is more important than speed for me.

------
cottonseed
A HTPC option would be nice.

------
kbart
I wish somebody would make a similar web tool for the power users. I spend at
least few days every few years browsing countless sites and forums trying to
choose an optimal build when upgrading my desktop. It should satisfy at least
these requirements:

1) include most of available parts, not just few trendy ones (in this site I
got only 8 motherboards and 6 CPU's for AMD)

2) do price/performance analysis on fly (with referenced to sources) and
unobtrusively show better candidates on this aspect in the same price range

3) show small summary on parts when clicked: exhaustive specifications,
release date, current price (depending on region), available newer versions or
successors (if any)

4) no ugly tablet orientated design with big pictures (and why would I care
how my RAM looks like anyway?), but clean, slim list with advanced details.
This site looks super ugly on my 22", full HD monitor.

I understand that the biggest problem is to maintain up-to-date database, but
I would even pay few bucks to use such tool to save my time.

------
chatmasta
This is awesome. I remember building my first computer at 12 years old. :) A
nice fat gaming rig with dual boot to Linux. My parents bought it for me after
I got all "E's for effort!"

At the time all I had to go by was a "how to build your own computer" book. I
would have loved something like this.

~~~
balls187
Did your mobo have soft-jumpers?

~~~
walshemj
Kids today :-) I remember upgrading a IBM compatible using DIP chips on the
mother board.

------
hoektoe
Hello

I haven't used pcpartpicker, but went to have a quick look compared to yours.
I can see a lot of work has gone into it. I like that you don't have to
navigate away from the page.

1) Images are bit big 2) At first I struggled finding the divisions of parts.
Maybe close all accordions except the first. This way it might feel more like
steps. Currently all "steps" are open and options seem endless as its a page
full of objects. Remember when scanning over a page, we basically first see a
sillhoutte of major objects. 3) Maybe number accordions, so seems more like
steps 1) Motherboard 2) CPU 4) Show important information without any action
require by the user. Example some of the CPU's cannot immediately identify the
Speed without reading the whole title.

Well done. Hopefully you see comments not as negative but constructive.

All of the best forwards

------
ad_hominem
I like it a lot, but it would be cool to hear some of the technical details.
Such as:

\- Technology stack?

\- How do you keep product pricing up-to-date? Do you have a persistent
process that iterates over your known product list, querying Amazon's Product
Advertising API (staying within rate limits)? If that's the case would love to
hear more details on language and libraries used as I'm working on something
similar.

\- How do you discover new products to list?

\- What storage backend do you use to store historic pricing data? Regular
relational database or something more exotic like InfluxDB?

\- Any plans on introducing new retailers besides Amazon? If so, how will you
correlate products into canonical listings if the product does not have UPC
information?

Things like that.

------
JustinAiken
I found myself looking for a 'upgrade your shiny old PC' section...

Site is appealing, but would be more useful if you could put in everything you
already have, then look at which piece/pieces could be upgraded, with
$/wattage/performance changes...

------
incision
Very nice.

I'm sure I'm not alone in having kicked around ideas for something like this
for a long time.

Comparing PC builds has been an informal competition / game on various forums
for many years.

I expect having more in the way of features to share, compare and
feature/track builds could be very popular.

There are people who take great pride in meticulous builds. Giving them a
platform to share their work would be great.

Likewise, have a look at any 'Lets Play' vid on YouTube or whatever and you'll
see dozens of questions about the configuration that produced the video.

Hooking up with a popular 'caster such that they link to 'their' builds on
Pangoly could be a great source of traffic.

Looking forward to seeing how this pans out.

~~~
joeyspn
> Comparing PC builds has been an informal competition / game on various
> forums for many years.

Exactly... the good ol' days at XtremeSystems forums come to my mind...
:rolleyes:

------
hardwaresofton
This is really cool -- now when people ask me how hard it is to build their
own PC I can show them this site... Usually my answer is "it's just as easy as
picking the right things, and putting round pegs into round holes"

~~~
dublinben
This doesn't seem very different from PcPartPicker.com or the
LogicalIncrements.com guide. Nearly every hardware review site will also have
a running list of recommended builds.[0]

[0][http://www.pcper.com/hwlb](http://www.pcper.com/hwlb)

~~~
ejjpi
Of course, you mentioned similar websites but I think they have different
purposes compared to Pangoly. PCPartPicker offers a huge set of components
with different stores so you can find the best price available for almost
anything, but it struggle with users having little building experience that
are trying to find what's the current best build options for their budget. On
the other hand logicalincrements offers a nice viewing experience of
components tiers but it lacks building customizations. I think having another
option and point of view is not harmful at all :)

~~~
sergiotapia
Exactly, competition is great don't let anybody discourage you. I already
shared your site with some friends and they all like it a lot.

~~~
hardwaresofton
+1 -- I made that comment after sending it out to a friend of mine at work

------
josefresco
Does anyone else remember Geek.com's value/mid/high end gaming PC build
articles? Each month they'd revise each setup and I always used it as a guide
when building or costing machines.

I tried to find them this morning, but didn't have luck. Did they ditch this
feature?

Edit: What I liked about the feature is that despite being a "tech" and having
built several PC's in the past, I can no longer keep current with hardware
developments. The Geek.com guides allowed me to jump right in, without a
weekend of research to get up to speed on the latest CPU's, GPU's and various
hardware components.

~~~
dublinben
If you're looking for something similar that's always kept up to date, check
out the PcPer hardware leader board. They have a low/mid/high/dream system
suggestion.

[http://www.pcper.com/hwlb](http://www.pcper.com/hwlb)

~~~
Thrymr
They don't update as often, but I've always liked the Ars Technica system
guides, e.g.: [http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/ars-technica-
system-g...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/ars-technica-system-guide-
bargain-box-april-2014)

------
owenversteeg
First of all, what is that shiny gold motherboard [0] on the front page?
Secondly, I recommend that you add Amazon reviews as another feature - just
like price and performance. Also, I think you should add in some kind of
metric for mice and keyboards - # of buttons, DPI, activation weight, etc.
Finally, I really like the UI of your site. Although it may not be as feature-
rich as some competitors, it seems many HNers have forgotten the importance of
a good design.

[0] [http://pangoly.com/images/main-mb1.png](http://pangoly.com/images/main-
mb1.png)

~~~
yellowapple
> First of all, what is that shiny gold motherboard [0] on the front page?

It's the ASUS Z87 Deluxe
([http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87DELUXE/](http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87DELUXE/))

~~~
owenversteeg
THANK YOU! That was driving me insane.

------
rcthompson
Suggestion: on the starting page, the "Highlights" for each starting
configuration include both technical details ("AMD APU A6/A8 Series Dual/Quad
Core") and a blurb describing what this configuration is good for ("Ideal for
browsing the Internet, watching movies and chatting"). Furthermore, the latter
always comes last on the list. I think that the blurb should come first, and
that it shouldn't be part of the "checklist", but should rather be in
highlighted near the top somewhere (maybe above or below the price).

------
ionforce
Love the idea. A maybe tangential question for you or sites like yours...

So this might be all "tyranny of choice". But what is the difference between
certain parts? Like if there are two motherboards and both of them cost
ballpark $200 and support the same mainstream inputs/components, how do I know
which one to choose?

It's moments like those that paralyze me from taking advantage of these
services. Or why I like buying Apple where I don't really have a choice
(implicit to the fact that I don't care which motherboard I'm getting other
than Apple-curated).

------
gprasanth
This teaches a very good lesson I'll never forget. I have to invest more of my
idle time on my side projects. I bought a domain to do this but never got
around to finish it. Wonderful execution. Kudos.

------
dgorges
Maybe it's just me, but I don't really care how my motherboard looks like.
Means: I don't need to see those product photos, they could make space for
more important information.

------
carlmcqueen
This is perfectly timed (for me) as I plan to build a gaming computer soon.
I've lived off a laptop and an older desktop for a bunch of years but have
money sitting saved for a new desktop.

Overall, I really like the site rating and the rational pros/cons between the
different options.

The description of the AMD gamer computer made me realize there were more
options than three, I didn't intuitively realize I could scroll down for more
computer builds at first. That is probably more a me problem than a mass
problem, however.

------
maxds
I would like to offer some critical feedback. I just took a look at
PcPartPicker and it seems so much better.

On my monitor I can see at most 9 components at a time on your site. On
PcPartPicker its about 28. I don't see the images serving any purpose. Why
should I look at an image of the processor's box? What information does it
give me?

I also recommend the book Visual Display of Quantitative Information. It's in
the YC library and its fantastic.

------
avmich
I'd prefer to be able to have motherboards suggestions based on requested
features. Like, so many USB ports, SATA ports and this socket for AMD CPU.

------
silverbax88
I first hit this on mobile and it was just about unusable. I couldn't find out
how to switch over to the desktop version and had to wait until I was at a
desktop to take a look.

Other than the mobile issues, it's a nice idea and pretty clean looking site.
I'd reduce the images in size, especially the gigantic brand logos scrolling
across the bottom. Make it more of a dashboard and less like a slideshow.

------
bsenftner
I'd be interested in a service such as this for building custom servers. I
currently custom design and pay to have them built for my company.

~~~
smacktoward
Serious question: why? I would think that for servers, the lower cost and
easier replaceability of buying standardized machines from an OEM would
outweigh any benefits you could get from hand-selecting components.

------
tekacs
In the UK there has existed for several years something almost exactly like
this in the form of [PC Specialist][0]. Well worth checking out and in my
experience more pleasant to interact with than this website (a simpler
interface, without all the unnecessarily huge images and so on).

[0]: [http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/](http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/)

------
click170
It would be nice if after configuring a pc, I could just copy the URL and send
it to someone and have it display the pc I had configured.

Still, cool site!

------
cloudwalking
Ditch the notices/warnings. Eg:

    
    
      > Don't worry about hardware compatibility, the following components are safe to be used in the same PC build.
    

It looks like an error, which it isn't. Instead, convey this in the UI--eg a
small "100% compatible" / "compatibility guarantee" badge next to each
product.

------
aresant
The most daunting part of building a custom computer is usually validation of
the component quality and, more importantly, how they'll wind up working
together.

A rating / review of component selection by power-users is all that's missing
here for me.

Beyond that this is brilliant and simple - I'm surprised that NewEgg doesn't
offer something like this.

------
grapeshot
I find it unfortunate that I can't completely remove the graphics card from
the mid-range system, and I'm not allowed to select a SSD for it either. If I
could do those things I would be able to compare this site directly to the PC
I built yesterday.

Also I notice that you're missing estimated tax, shipping, and a Windows
license from the price.

------
xkiwi
#1 Almost all games are created by PC, and port to console, not the other way
around.

#2 Almost all games can play on PC, maybe just with lower setting.

#3 PC games are for people who like to discover => example how someone found
out how to enable watch dog's E3 graph setting. But you have no control over
console.

#4 Almost all console games are created by Pc, oh wait.

------
danwiding
Feature request: I want to buy a new gaming machine but the sticker shock is a
little much right now. Is it possible to save my configuration and get price
alerts when a component goes on sale? Bonus points: could I configure multiple
acceptable components and get an alert when any of those products goes on
sale?

------
rk0567
It's cool :-) I've also been working on a similar project [0]. A side project,
started around an year ago. Initially it was focused primarily on Indian
users, now, I'm adding support for other currencies as well.

[0] [http://assembleyourpc.net](http://assembleyourpc.net)

------
hendersoon
Missing the new devils' canyon intel CPUs. If I were building a PC right now,
it would use an i5-4690K.

------
jburwell
A well-executed and beautiful site, but it would be nice to have Xeon options
for the professional builds.

------
Ambrosia
Having two extra configurations for Linux gamers (open source and proprietary)
would be pretty cool!

------
dartonw
The site looks great, but the "Learn" section is badly in need of some copy
editing. Subject/verb pluralization disagreement and odd grammatical structure
(to a native English speaker, many of the sentences sound awkward) are the
biggest issues.

------
pgrote
I've been looking for a site like this for a while. The only issue I had was
picking the $605 configuration and wanting 16 gig of memory and blue ray. What
you initially choose sometimes limits capacity later, though not with hard
drives.

~~~
flurpitude
Are you familiar with [http://pcpartpicker.com](http://pcpartpicker.com)?

------
xienze
Really neat! I'd like to see something where I could say "I want 32GB of RAM"
and that would constrain my motherboard choices, for example. I could also see
the same kind of thing working with power supplies and video cards.

------
swatthatfly
Accessories should be part of the options. You need cables for example to
connect the HDs to the MB, DVI adapters for older monitors, etc. Some people
may have a spare one, while others will have to make an additional trip to the
store.

~~~
dublinben
SATA cables are included with the motherboard, and DVI adapters are included
with the video card. Neither of those should be an expected purchase when
building a new machine.

------
sspiff
Nice site! Some suggestions:

* Allow users to specify a form factor (like HTPC, μATX, mini ATX, ATX, ...) and filter components like mainboard and case by this.

* Allow users to use a different Amazon site for pricing info (.de/.fr would be nice for me personally)

~~~
mrkipling
Agreed on the form factor filter. I'm currently planning out a high-powered
mATX gaming/dev machine, but this site as it currently functions wouldn't let
me do this.

------
tokenizerrr
How does this compare to pcpartpicker? I don't see any option to use euros as
the currency without getting an italian user interface. Are the prices at all
localized, if so, do you have plans to support any other countries?

~~~
ejjpi
yes, more countries and localizations are on their way.

~~~
tokenizerrr
Great. Looking forward for Dutch prices, that would be great. FYI an entire
translation seems unnecessary, and in my experience (at least with dutch
peole) most will prefer an english interface though that is usually because
translations are so bad.

------
ep103
Incase you were unaware, these guys
([http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc](http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc)) _are_
your target audience. And your main competitor is pcpartpicker

------
mjgoeke
Looks great, but I spent forever trying to figure out why clicking the tiles
didn't do anything. I finally found that _touching_ the tiles works.

I'm on a windows 8 touchscreen laptop, running the latest version of chrome.

------
greggman
Why no info on multi-processor systems? Google provides their chrome engineers
with 16 core, 64gig systems. Dreamworks provides even larger machines. So
anything labeled "Expert" seems to need better options

~~~
buckbova
I don't work for google, but I wouldn't build specific machines but instead
spin up a VM as needed.

------
1ris
I would really like to to tweak the price. I.E. get a suggestion what i could
get for 50 pounds more. Also I can't figure out how to select "none" for
components. I.e. Most people already have a case.

------
elktea
I like the design, but I would like a better overview when picking
motherboards. Perhaps include number of PCI-E slots, number of USB slots, type
of audio built in, type of video built in, that sort of thing.

------
nelmaven
I think the only thing missing here are the CPU coolers. Edit: Nevermind,
found them. :)

Otherwise it looks like a cool way to pick a build, especially since it's been
so long since I have looked into building a desktop.

------
mrfusion
Tangential offshoot topic: So for my soon to arrive Oculus Rift, what's the
cheapest PC I can build with this site? Could i start with the cheapest option
and just add a beefy graphics card?

------
izzydata
Not enough choices in my opinion. If it were to implement close to the amount
of hardware choices as PCPartPicker then it would be very practical. The site
layout and design is very nice though.

------
coldpie
This is really cool. Two things I find vital when I'm shopping for components
are reviews and brands. It'd be nice to filter based on Newegg reviews or
select a certain set of brands.

------
ErikRogneby
Wow, it's been so long since I've built a desktop I had to look up APU. (a CPU
that does more than just central processing, possible a GPU on the same chip)

------
baby
This is really really awesome and I'm gonna need something like this in the
coming months. Only bad thing is that I need the price in € as I live in
France.

------
zkar
Not sure if it would be possible to add the price for a similar configured PC
from the major pc vendor sites like HP, Lenovo,Dell etc for comparison
purposes.

------
ziol6546
This is a really cool tool for beginners or just shopping around to get the
best deal. I def would have appreciated this when I first started out.

------
alexcroox
Buying a new PC these week, started with the custom selection and went to
choose the motherboard (Asus Maximus VI) it wasn't there, gave up.

------
jcastro
Nice work, really like the UI, much simpler to use than other tools.

It'd be nice if you could add some mini-itx options for HPTC and/or Steam
Machine.

------
jeena
Bummer, I already have the stuff they have under "Pro" in my desktop and my
laptop, and I think it is still too slow :-/

------
thearn4
Looks good, I'll be putting together a lab computer pretty soon, and will give
this a shot for comparing possible configurations.

------
slipwalker
failed for my first attempt: how can't i customize my dual-socket opteron 64Gb
RAM workstation ?... ( mobo ASUS KGPE-d16 )

------
devd
Cool project - Wish I could remove some of the mandatory components - I could
not figure out a way to remove the hard drive.

~~~
njsubedi
no need to. remove it from Amazon cart.

------
orwhat
Really cool. How do you browse shared builds?

~~~
ejjpi
Here: [http://pangoly.com/en/build/list](http://pangoly.com/en/build/list)

------
danbee
I'd really like to see some Mini-ITX/Micro-ATX choices on there for people
that want to build smaller systems.

------
sbt
Always dreamed of a site like this when I was a kid, still do, but now it
looks like it's finally here! Nice work.

------
niico
Very well built. Kudos to the founders. Also should add other options like
home media centers and other stuff.

------
supsep
Nice service for those of us who find it hard to follow the ever changing
hardware landscape. Thanks!

------
Siecje
For Power Supplies what is "80Plus Bronze"?

Why isn't the Power listed in the on hover dropdown?

~~~
dublinben
80+ Bronze is a certification of power efficiency. It's really the minimum
quality you should be buying. Some people might prefer 80+ Silver, Gold, and
Platinum rated PSUs, but they are not generally worth the slightly improved
efficiency.

------
johndoze
With any mild usage these guys are looking to make a killing in Amazon
affiliate earnings.

------
rbanffy
I can't assemble an i3 with 16 GB of RAM and no graphics card. Some work is
needed.

------
sirwolfgang
Thats a really nice way tool to generate income from amazon referrals. :)

------
pling
This looks really cool.

I haven't built my own PC for a number of years and probably wouldn't consider
it any more to be honest (MacBook FTW). I will however recommend this to
anyone who does ask me about self-builds :)

~~~
mindslight
Modern laptops have been adequate for most tasks for quite some time (T61 ftw,
personally). On the other hand, if you are CPU/GPU/RAM limited (eg
rendering..), then you will still greatly benefit from the additional power a
desktop build will bring. And it's refreshing to see the continuing progress
of stats, while laptops have seemingly stagnated (6 cores and 64GiB RAM?
Nifty!).

OP, I think you have a ways to go to match the utility of pcpartpicker. But if
you want a possible leg-up on them, then look into supporting workstation
builds with Xeon/Cxxx/ECC (they don't really cost more than comparable
"consumer" builds, and if you value stability more than overclocking, they
make a lot of sense). Niches can be powerful.

------
LaikaF
What does this do that PC Part Picker can't?

------
desktophound
DesktopHound.com circa 2008 did the same thing.

------
jamieb
Am about to buy/build PC right now. It will be a six-core socket 2011 CPU with
a couple of 780s. All the CPUs are little 1150s. Guess I'm not your target
audience?

------
lazyant
Works automagically for Canada, awesome

------
snambi
very nice site. operating system options are limited to windows though.

------
obsession
Wow, this is really neat!

------
alexchamberlain
s/Wattage/Power Usage/?

------
hqhakcer
completely rip off!

------
ShirsenduK
Does anyone use a PC? Most use a Macbook.

