Show HN: I built a tool that prices a prebuilt PC part by part (pcdealcheck.com)

84 pointsby adlep8 hours ago59 comments

I've missed out on an awesome computer that I could use for a project because figuring out value took too long. Users paste a listing and receive a value grade, dated component estimates and a shareable report. AI reads the listing but my custom built price engine determines the grade (updated every day). Self financed and working now. Looking for feedback re: scoring, interface, and if its helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpft--x3WlI

blue_green_maps 5 hours ago

Is this similar to https://pcpartpicker.com ?

hk1337 4 hours ago

I was actually wondering this. Is it the same as pc part picker or used in addition to it?

vonneumannstan 4 hours ago

Seems like the inverse? Select a prebuilt PC from Origin, Alienware, Cyberpower, etc and it independently prices each part of the build so you can see if you are getting ripped off(you are).

adlep 4 hours ago

Exactly. Thank you! 100% the intent to come across

blue_green_maps 3 hours ago

Thanks, that makes sense.

limagnolia an hour ago

Well, whether or not its a "good deal" depends on how much you value the OEMs efforts to select, test, assemble, and support the parts. I say this as some one who has been building computers for myself and others since I was like 17, and working on them longer- and I have charged a fair amount of money for these services. I think what I charged was fair, too.

adlep an hour ago

there is a difference between a "gourmet" service and mass assembled PCs for sure. We now focus on scoring the run of the mill computers sold by big e-tailers.

adlep 4 hours ago

PCPartPicker is awesome but more manual work, at least for me, and that takes time. This is a quick “paste the link” that then gets read to identify the components. Those get priced, and the deal also gets a score. So it’s almost like them but in reverse, and designed for a quick decision reference.

adlep 6 hours ago

Thank you for nice comments. This is just a self financed prototype that will get better with use! I appreciate your time with testing/using the site. Lets not get ripped off! I expect the supply to get even tighter and prices going higher unfortunately. Local AI models, GIS/digital twins uses, robot training, VR, of course gamers, content creators, casual users, and of course people overseas all will be competing for similar hardware.

nukanse 4 hours ago

I suggest to add mini PCs. You can buy motherboards and other parts, but some have soldered cpus. They are cheaper, so it may be a good deal anyways.

adlep 4 hours ago

noted!

ttytty 4 hours ago

if you add mini PCs, this will blow up on r/homelab and become a bookmark link, i would use it a bunch too!

last i checked, there was a google doc that inventoried the mini PCs available but it’s difficult to read tbh

adlep 4 hours ago

Noted!

burnt_toast 41 minutes ago

Not OP but I've been working on something similar to that: https://minihomelabs.com/hwdb

I use mini pcs for homelabbing and was getting frustrated trying to figure out how they all compare.

yathern 2 hours ago

Self-promo plug - I've been working on https://MiniPCs.zip for the last few months, which is a kinda inverse concept - build a price model for Mini PCs based on their parts, and find the best possible deals - since these are like commodity items and prices change every day

chrisgarand 6 hours ago

I like the idea, I tried using it, however it gave me the following error: New photo and listing checks are currently available in the United States. More regions coming soon. You can still view saved reports.

At first I tried with a Canadian website, so I tried with a US url (the message confused me), but it still gave me the error, I checked the response and got the following:

{ "error": "New photo and listing checks are currently available in the United States. More regions coming soon. You can still view saved reports.", "code": "read_region_unavailable", "recovery": "region" }

I figur it checks the requester's ip location.

adlep 6 hours ago

Forgot to specify: US market only: Canadian market will come next. Basically up to 20 biggest retailers will be supported - the usual suspects.

contingencies 6 hours ago

Laptop support would be nice, even if it's just a desktop comparison. Australia support too please! I would like to send this to a school who are about to waste a lot of money buying garbage.

adlep 5 hours ago

It would be nice but it will be difficult to figure out the value of components other than RAM and SSD - CPU and GPU if present are "built in". Also: what is the value of RTX 5070 mobile vs desktop? I know that there is a big diff in performance due to physics (cooling/wattage). Canada and Australia coming next. I will need to get some traction going first and other markets will be opened for sure. Thank you for your thoughts.

contingencies an hour ago

Rather than just purchase cost you could project total lifetime value based on average lifespan plus replace-ability per component.

adlep an hour ago

this is possible but with data points. I'd have to have access to internal metrics of PC manufactures since they track those.

adlep 6 hours ago

I have to be stingy on usage/bots. But we will open it up to Canada and Euro markets next. But it will require some traction and use and feedback. I am limited with api calls for pricing data.

embedding-shape 5 hours ago

> I am limited with api calls for pricing data.

You'd only need to make one request per component per week or something, how limited are you here? Sounds like a harsh limit.

adlep 5 hours ago

Harsh limit. And other api sources are like $299.00 plus a month so we have to work around what access we have. Results are noisy and have to be filtered the right way.

xnx 4 hours ago

Cool idea. Promising, but failed for me on https://www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-8950-Desktop-i7-1TB/dp/B0BR9...

I got pretty good results when I asked an agent to put components to build an equivalent PC in a cart for me.

adlep 4 hours ago

I think it works now. I am upping my daily usage quotas and will give it a shot in a bit.

adlep 3 hours ago

I think for that money you can do better. https://app.pcdealcheck.com/r/2a594e9b-dbf5-4b19-939d-140c6f... and add $50.00 for the hdd. not very good deal and the included parts are getting old.

creativeSlumber 7 hours ago

Hey, cool project. Whenever I've seen a deal on a pre-built PC I've always wondered, hey, how much would this cost if I built it myself from parts.

Some feedback on your website. I would suggest moving the "try it" from the bottom of the page towards the top of the page so that visitors don't have to look for it.

adlep 7 hours ago

Cool beans! Thanks for your comment and pointers. Ill move it down a bit to make it easier to "try"... And btw: please, try it yourself and keep on checking deals! Let me know what you think. The price engine/scoring will change most likely as this is just a prototype that I want to have discussion about. And I hope the service will be helpful! Lets not get ripped off! I check prices every day at around 8:00am

adlep 2 hours ago

We’ve added a note on the homepage clarifying that new checks are currently available to US visitors and use US retailer listings and market prices

onceandfuture 5 hours ago

would love to see support for B&H as a store, integrated graphics as a gpu option, and the intel wildcat lake series of chips

adlep 5 hours ago

Great suggestion. We will test today!

onceandfuture 5 hours ago

amazing! edited parent comment with chip and gpu requests too :)

adlep 5 hours ago

I've scooped domain: gpudealcheck.com and cpudealcheck.com as well. it will be coming with use and user support.

adlep an hour ago

B&H support added

adlep an hour ago

i now fully understand your comment lmao. I think integrated gpu based PC support will be easy to add. I will give it a shot and test this week.

adlep 4 hours ago

Btw, some components will not be in the database on occasion but you can suggest them to be added. First priority for us was to add "current" PC hardware classes.

adamkumpf 5 hours ago

Super useful. I think everyone is swimming in the overpriced PC era due to the memory shortages and desire to run local AI when possible. Is this something you want to support long-term?

adlep 5 hours ago

This is the intent. I have a plan for this project to become a viable business. Discord plus additional features coming soon. If you like the project, stick around and refer others. Thank you very much for such nice comments!

adlep 4 hours ago

Apologies in advance for any usage quota messages. I have set a daily $$$ limit.

fhn 6 hours ago

I thought about building this a long time ago. Can you add used prices as well - perhaps source from ebay, craigslist, facebook marketplace.

adlep 6 hours ago

Would love to add FB marketplace but it won't happen without serious discussions about api access. Price checks have to stay automated. I'd love to reach out someone at Meta about access.

rgbrgb 5 hours ago

is there a way to find good deals other people have checked? seems like a nice data play if so and you could do affiliate links to monetize on some. I don't think people would mind you sharing the deals they found (could be a "share with community" checkbox too).

esseph 5 hours ago

Your bio looks exactly as I imagined.

adlep 4 hours ago

Thank you. I have been around tech/IT for quite some time.

adlep 5 hours ago

People can share individual reports today; there isn’t a searchable community feed yet. We are are considering a feed of recent good-value listings, with dates and availability checks so it stays useful (so a next step). Affiliate links are our next step possible revenue source. The thing is that I'll have to see use and start working with more data in order to plan next steps. We will have discord soon.

SirFatty 6 hours ago

Very cool... appreciate the work put into this!

adlep 6 hours ago

Thank you, feel free to bookmark and use as at least some point of reference.

robinpie 6 hours ago

I really appreciate the lightweight website!

adlep 5 hours ago

Thank you please bookmark and use. Drop us a line in case of any issues!

tamimio 4 hours ago

It doesn’t work, I put some specs and a price and I get error

> New photo and listing checks are currently available in the United States.

adlep 4 hours ago

Sorry - if you're outside US: we will get to you soon. Where are you located at? The pricing api has limits - for now. With use I will be able to afford in more credits.

sama004 2 hours ago

lmaoo good work fuck the people who will overcharge their clients without any reason, i agree labour cost is there but add that straight up rather than ripping off money via parts too

adlep 2 hours ago

I think it will get worst. The demand is insane and regular people tend to be not educated on the value proposition so this is our little niche. Even tech users can use pricing reference because who has time to track ever changing prices...

gianlucaromano2 3 hours ago

i think you have the potential

adlep 3 hours ago

Thank you very much. The site can get better with use. I can only check for so many things and now its up to users to tell me what needs improvement. I hope the service will be useful for your applications.

BatFastard 7 hours ago

Great site! Nicely laid out, clear results.

I was disappointed to see Costco selling high margin PCs.

BatFastard 7 hours ago

One more thought, as you build up links and get an idea of who is selling lower margin PCs, you could recommend those sites. Perhaps even earning a small commission. Doing a service and making a little cash, win win.

adlep 6 hours ago

that is the intent as well as paid for deal alerts for B and A rated offers. Please use the site and let me know if youll get any problems! We will get much better with use and feedback! Lets not get ripped off! I expect more demand as local llm users buy out more.