know what they are and for possible warranty issues

He had several problems locating parts in stock and getting them. He was able to do some work-rounds , but it did take over 6 weeks for some parts to come in.

Good luck

FYI, if you ever need to do something like this again, it might be worth trying to reach out for some help on here, and/or drop me a line. I've been at it for a good 40 years now, including a stint working for IBM rebuilding laptops. I'm quite sure it's within your capabilities, if you can operate a screwdriver. It's a LOT easier to do and harder to screw up than back in the old days!

that almost instantly makes a ton of problems from the old days go away.

he configured and reconfigured it literally hundreds of times while he was saving up for all the parts over the course of more than a year (he did lots of extra chores and got some help from his grandparents).

every time he reconfigured something, he priced everything out on amazon or any of a number of computer part supplier websites. and he always checked availability, which i said was a waste of time until he had enough saved up to actually buy it, but he just loved doing every step of the process except actually buying, until he actually could afford it all.

he frequently saw things become unavailable, but 5 minutes later he had the whole thing reconfigured with a slightly different part.

so unless your configuration is completely inflexible and requires one exact, specific part, and it's unavailable and there's no reasonable substitute possible, then i think your guy is being extraordinarily slow for some reason.

I used to build my own. But that was during the Windows 3.1 to the Win XP days. Now I find it's easier to buy a Win 10 machine ready made and clean out the bloatware. You can get a good deal from NewEgg if you look around. I have even had good luck with some of their factory reconditioned machines. If you want Office or accounting software you'll have to install it yourself. I have never had to wait for the availability of an item. They would always have it at my door within about a week after I ordered it.

3 weeks to think it over, shop for the parts and then wait for delivery may not be out of the question but I would call and ask what's up. You never know he might be waiting on one thing, been there. 95% done waiting on the cpu cooler to show up.

Yes, I could do it on my own (with some help) but I would really like to help this guy a bit. Things are tough down here for most and I am fortunate that my job has not been affected much.
I appreciate all your suggestions and answers. DU is da bomb!!