Idea: TechEnclave PC Builder - Your Thoughts Needed!

Welcome & Info Introductions, Rules & Feedback
1

Hey TechEnclave community!

I’ve been thinking about a potential project that could make our PC building discussions more streamlined and helpful. Before I invest time into development, I’d love to get your honest feedback and gauge interest.

The Problem

We’ve all been there - helping someone with a build, manually checking socket compatibility, searching multiple Indian retailers for current prices, and formatting everything into readable forum posts. It works, but it’s time-consuming and error-prone.

The Solution: TechEnclave PC Builder

A purpose-built tool designed specifically for our community’s needs and the Indian PC building market.

Core Features (Initial Version)

  • Smart component selection: Browse and select parts across all major categories
  • Instant compatibility checking: Real-time validation of socket types, RAM compatibility, and other critical matches
  • Indian market pricing: Integrated pricing from major Indian retailers (Amazon.in, Flipkart, MDComputers, Vedant, etc.)
  • Forum-ready sharing: One-click generation of properly formatted build tables for forum posts
  • Build saving: Save your configurations and share them with unique links

Other Advantages?

  1. Indian retailer focus: Direct integration with retailers that matter to us, not just US-based stores
  2. INR pricing and availability: Real pricing in rupees with actual Indian stock status
  3. TechEnclave integration: Built specifically for our forum workflow and community needs
  4. Local market knowledge: Component availability and pricing patterns that reflect the Indian market reality

Questions for the Community

  1. Would you actually use this? Be brutally honest - would this improve your build planning and help-giving, or would you stick with current methods?
  2. Pain point validation: What’s the most annoying part of your current build planning process? Would this address it?
  3. Forum workflow: How often do you help others with builds? Would easier build sharing and compatibility checking be valuable?
  4. Mobile usage: Do you research builds on mobile? How important is mobile-friendly design?
  5. Retailer priorities: Which Indian retailers would be most valuable to track? Any local stores you frequent that we should consider?
  6. Trust factor: Would you trust automated compatibility checking, or prefer manual verification?

Technical Approach

  • Clean, fast web interface that works on all devices
  • Real-time compatibility validation
  • Integration with Indian retailer APIs and pricing data
  • Export builds in forum-friendly formats
  • Direct integration with our Discourse forum

The Reality Check

This would require significant development time and ongoing maintenance. I’m only moving forward if there’s genuine community interest and it would meaningfully improve how we help each other build PCs.

I need your honest feedback. Don’t just say “sounds good” - tell me:

  • Would you actually change your current workflow to use this?
  • What specific problems would it solve for you?
  • What might prevent you from using it?
  • Is there enough value here to justify the development effort?

The goal is to make TechEnclave an even better place for PC building discussions. If this doesn’t serve that purpose, I’d rather know now.

Your thoughts?

12 Likes
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Doesn’t PcPriceTracker already solve a lot of these issues? The only feature it doesn’t have are the compatibility checks and of course TechEnclave integration.

Other than that, it can generate a markdown format of the build or a shareable link.

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No, it does not. Most of the parts that comes into the market to the website/vendor is not updated on the pricetracker and also there are multiple other Indian wesites that are not listed on the pricetracker like amazon(sometimes amazon and fk give out good deals if the product ever come to you as legit, but it can be used for a good comparison). And also we could add an inbuilt PSU calculator and parts compatibility(like cpu/mobo mismatches).I guess mods could make a bettter version of the pricetracker and keep updating over time.

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This could also act as way to offset the forum upkeep cost as affiliate links could be used for the products. Afaik, Amazon and Flipkart only provides api access to affiliate partners.

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This PC Builder will be helpful not only for new comers but also for oldtimers as well. And stock availability for all PC parts e-commerce sites while updation of stocks should be kept as important consideration.
Amazon and Flipkart sometimes give deals which should be integrated. There are some other e-commerce shops which are just coming up and these should also be integrated.

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Oh, i didn’t know that.
PSU calculator would definitely be nice to have!

7

TE resellers selling new components could also be incorporated into the trackers.

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  1. Not everyone knows the best combination for performance everyone has to go watch YT videos for that. Can target specific combinations for each use case and can recommend around that. MVP has a decent auto PC builder based on needs.
  2. Most websites already feature competitively priced pre-builts. So what ever we suggest needs to have a edge on those.
  3. Need to figure out what the shortcomings of PC Price tracker and then build around that. It already has Price APIs and a aggregate builder. Doesnt update regularly but gets the job done.
  4. PSU calculators, Parts compatibility not limited to CPU/Mobo Compatibility but also Case GPU Combatibility, RAM QVL Consolidation, Fan headers requirements, etc. can be added in order to boost QoL features of this builder.
  5. Could maybe do something like those amazon and flipkart “deal zone” telegram channels where we update all PC related deals on there.
  6. Create a survey that helps you to understand what exactly is missing from the market. Asking open ended questions will only take you halfway.
  7. Gathering the data itself is going to be a huge task, need to find ways to make money off of affiliate links or other ways in order to maintain the builder.
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Price tracking is probably gonna be a PITA https://pcpartpicker.com/forums/topic/397308-removing-india-support

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https://pcpricetracker.in/ why this working then

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Also you just might be making Indian version of PC Part Picker’s Builder. Just check that out once.

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This one scrapes the pricing data from the site they have onboarded. So it will work and they added sponsored section and ads for revenue this way they are getting paid for fixing/maintenance of scripts.

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  1. Would you actually use this? Be brutally honest - would this improve your build planning and help-giving, or would you stick with current methods?
    This will reduce the time invested for sure. I’d likely still stick with current method. A tool can help beginners or intermediate users, as @SamuraiGaming suggested, but for someone with deep knowledge, real-world performance factors matter more than what a basic automated builder can capture. Subtle differences in VRM design, PCIe lane allocation, BIOS behavior, and thermal headroom can dramatically affect CPU, GPU, and RAM performance. Price, socket, and generic specs are insufficient for serious build optimization.

  2. Pain point validation: What’s the most annoying part of your current build planning process? Would this address it?
    The most time-consuming part is analyzing and comparing nuanced specs across OEMs and models. Things like VRM quality under load, PCIe lane distribution for multi-NVMe or GPU setups, case-specific airflow and thermal limitations, RAM timing compatibility, and fan header availability all require careful evaluation. A tool could reduce repetitive data gathering, but it cannot replace the critical thinking needed for optimal, reliable builds—all while also checking for the lowest product price.

  3. Forum workflow: How often do you help others with builds? Would easier build sharing and compatibility checking be valuable?
    I help others occasionally, mostly when someone asks for a build in a field I have knowledge of. Easier build sharing could save time on basic spec verification, but compatibility checking needs to extend beyond CPU-Mobo matching to include case-specific considerations. @SamuraiGaming mentioned PSU calculators and case-GPU compatibility; these features are useful, but only if the underlying data is detailed enough to guide real-world decisions.

  4. Mobile usage: Do you research builds on mobile? How important is mobile-friendly design?
    I do research builds on mobile only when I’m away from my system or multitasking. A mobile-friendly design would be most helpful for someone building for the first time or for users who don’t have access to a system at a given time.

  5. Retailer priorities: Which Indian retailers would be most valuable to track? Any local stores you frequent that we should consider?
    For online retailers, many sites already provide data. Adding price and stock information from local stores would be a completely different ballgame—it could be unique and very helpful. However, executing it would be challenging due to trust and reliability issues. Retailers often struggle to manage stock accurately on their own sites, so sharing that data may not be reliable. Local store pricing also varies a lot, so it would likely end up as a price range rather than a specific price. Still, if it can be done, it would make this unique to this forum.

  6. Trust factor: Would you trust automated compatibility checking, or prefer manual verification?
    Automated compatibility checking could be useful, but I’d be cautious about fully trusting it. Gathering accurate, up-to-date data for all parts is a huge task, and maintaining it would likely require some form of monetization.

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