Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here, so be nice to me, treat me gentle...

So here is the problem, I am really confused about the different memory costs for cyberdecks, and other personal electronics,

I have found the Sr3 errata that says OMCs cost .5 x Mp nuyen,

and that seems to coincide with the Matrix book,

I will break it down for your ease of use:

1) Active Memory:
the parts cost: OMC @ (memory size x 2), plus 1.5 x memory size (matrix pg. 56)

i.e. if you are buying 100 Mp of active memory, the cost is for an OMC at 200 Mp, then 1.5 x Memory Size, or 100 x 2 = 200, 200 x .5 = 100, 100 + 1.5 x 100 = 250 nuyen for 100 Mp of active memory.

Installing this requires no design test, software test, or cook test, and just needs to be installed. So then why, when ordering a cyberterminal does active memory cost Mp x 7.5 nuyen. (Matrix pg. 67)

I realize you are ordering the component and that you are paying for labor and what not, but if you simplify the parts cost equation you get,
Memory Size x 2.5, (I believe my math is correct if it is wrong please tell me),
So why the huge difference between prices( my theory is that they used the old 5 nuyen per Mp rule that is in Sr3)

and considering the parts cost and the short amount of labor, what would be a more reasonable cost for ordering cyberdecks with active memory, or is the parts cost to cheap?

2) Storage Memory
parts cost: OMC at desired Mp plus .5 per Mp of memory, (Matrix pg. 60)
or has I read it, simply Memory Size,

so 100 Mp of Storage memory would cost 100 nuyen in parts.

Again, to order it it is Mp x 6 nuyen. or for our example 600 nuyen. (Matrix pg. 67)
same concerns here as for active memory...

3) Off-line storage
this one is simple: the costs read as 50 + (5 x Mp) (Matrtix pg. 63), it seems to me, (and my GM concurs) that this should simple be 50 + (.5 x Mp), to stay in line with the errata. To me it doesn't make sense to have off-line storage (which could be done with a chip reader and OMC chips) so expensive.

Tell me what you guys think, and thanks ahead of time for the help and advice

amadeus

It's basically labor costs. For the same reason mages will charge you thousands of nuyen to set up a ward, even though it costs them not a red cent. They're gouging you, because they can.

but that doesn't really make sense, because their is no cook test, software, or design tests, and it is just a Computer(B/R) 4 test, which any decker/rigger worth his salt should be able to make and it only takes a small number of hours to intsall.

Why would any one (other then mundanes) pay for that large a difference, I could understand if it was say 3.5, but not 7.5.

amadeus

Most computer hardware illiterate (as opposed to those who know how to use a computer) people don't know what each bit inside a computer is. Its like comparing the ram (active memory) to the CPU (MCPC) - both perform completely different functions. As a result, they're willing to pay lots of nuyen to have someone install it for them. And consider that most places charge a base fee for merely touching a computer, even before they do anything to it ...

What bothers me far more is how much more it costs a decker to install, say, a new MPCP chip himself as opposed to having someone do it for him. For some reason the software costs when you're having the chip installed by someone else are vastly cheaper--nearly one-tenth the price!--than if you want to buy and install the software yourself, which makes no sense whatsoever.

@Eyeless Blond

agreed, that doesn't make much sense when you are looking at the software costs. But, you probably could not find the software for MPCP's on the street very much. They are large and complex, (128 days base time to program for a rating 4 MPCP) which would result in only in home users with lots of downtime, or corporations making these programs. Thus the parts the deckmeister has come from one of three sources

1) he has the part laying around salvaged from some where else,

2) he has programed that part and makes a fucking killing selling these parts at a much cheaper price then a decker could make it himself. He gets his payback from volume, he has made it his living (job) to make this stuff, it's what he does.

3) it was a part programed by a corp, and thus they mass produce it and that makes it real cheap to make.

This is why I can see the price difference in the parts that require software and what not. Those that spend the time to program the software put a lot of effort and time into it.

But for parts that do not require software, ie Active memory, power cords, and what not, which most parts do not require software (thank goodness ) should be 1) on hand because most of these parts are legal, 2) are fairly easy to install

this is what I was really driving at, but I also think you have a valid point Eyeless, it is a lot (maybe too much) cheaper to just buy say a MPCP then to buy it, and much easier then programming it yourself.

However, (i was up looking at the numbers really late last night) if you want to program things like the Bod or other attributes, then those are fairly easy because of the small multiplier. Anything with a high multiplier would be rather tough (and time consuming) to program.

but, thanks for the thoughts, and any future ideas would be greatly appreciated from everyone, (i feel a little left out, only two replies , I kinda expected more, but then again I am new to the forum thing, so I am not sure how many replies the general posts get. )

@ Westiex,

I totally see your point, for any mundane (I mean a layman, someone who knows jack crap about the insides of a computer) would get shafted by the prices, because they can not do it themselves, and thus need to pay an expert to do it. That is partially why home computer tech help can cost something like 60 $ a hour. Ouch, (emoticons are fun ( am really playing around here...),

but when ordering any deck with a Masking, evasion, or a MPCP rating above 4, (nonlegal that is, I am assuming the decker is not going to get a permit) then you need to be dealing with a deckmeister, someone on the down low so to speak. Also I believe if you are ordering a high power deck then you are (most likely) a decker, and probably have at least some Computer B/R, thus, I am back to my original point, why would a deckmeister (someone who works with deckers really often (ie other professionals) would charge so much for so mundane tasks. Given maybe it is because of labor and what not, but the price difference is such that this seems like it is way out of propotion..

and thanks yall for bearing through my long rant-like posts, I really do appreciate all of your insights, (and excuse my poor spelling or english, never my strong suit, computers and math are mine)

amadeus