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

1 points by adlep ↗ HN
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

60 comments

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creativeSlumber
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
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
BatFastard
Great site! Nicely laid out, clear results.

I was disappointed to see Costco selling high margin PCs.

adlep
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
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.
yathern
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
Trlog
Are there plans to support prices in other places like Europe?
adlep
right now we are limited with daily api calls. One way to support additional markets is to add data sources but that requires a monthly fee. This will be our next step.
SirFatty
Very cool... appreciate the work put into this!
adlep
Thank you, feel free to bookmark and use as at least some point of reference.
robinpie
I really appreciate the lightweight website!
adlep
Thank you please bookmark and use. Drop us a line in case of any issues!
chrisgarand
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.

fhn
I thought about building this a long time ago. Can you add used prices as well - perhaps source from ebay, craigslist, facebook marketplace.
onceandfuture
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
B&H support added
adlep
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.
adamkumpf
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
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!
rgbrgb
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
[delayed]
adlep
Thank you. I have been around tech/IT for quite some time.
adlep
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.
blue_green_maps
Is this similar to https://pcpartpicker.com ?
hk1337
I was actually wondering this. Is it the same as pc part picker or used in addition to it?
adlep
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.
xnx
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
I think the report ran fine but some of the components thee were not in our db - you can suggest them to be added btw.
adlep
I think it works now. I am upping my daily usage quotas and will give it a shot in a bit.
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tamimio
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
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.
adlep
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.
adlep
Apologies in advance for any usage quota messages. I have set a daily $$$ limit.
gianlucaromano2
i think you have the potential
adlep
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.
sama004
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
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
jeswin
> New checks currently require a US connection.

I can't seem to get any further. You're requiring my ip address itself to be based in the US?

freediddy
Respectfully, taking a URL and pasting that into chatgpt and asking it whether this is a good deal gives an excellent response and much faster. It also works in multiple regions. If this is a just a fun side project, then very cool but if you are looking to monetize this, I don't think you should be investing in it.
adlep
Great point to make. The difference I’m aiming for is an answer backed by concrete, current market data, especially when your wallet is involved. PDC checks component prices daily, uses AI to read the listing, then applies consistent pricing rules to produce the grade. You can see the component estimates, when they were checked, and verify them yourself.

AI combined with current market data is a powerful combination. That’s what we’re building into a quick, repeatable service. The estimates aren’t perfect, but every issue we identify and fix helps us improve it.

adlep
Quick update on the “why not just ask a chatbot” point: alerts are now live. The first one went out today: A verified B+ deal with the part-by-part breakdown and a link to the retailer. That’s the part a chat can’t do for you while you’re not asking.
adlep
Site open internationally. Check supported US retailer links from anywhere. Photos and pasted text require a US connection. Estimates use US market prices.
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vivzkestrel
- make a product that is global and not USA centric and you ll win half the planet