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Which Vendors Do You Trust For PC Parts?
CaryTheSane writes "After six years, it's finally time for my old Pentium 4 to retire to web browsing duties, and I want a new gaming PC. I'd like to build my own this time, and I've scoped out most of the parts I want for a moderately high-end system. Which online vendors have you used before that you trust for parts? I've dealt with NewEgg, and I like them, but I live in Tennessee, a state in which they have a presence. Unfortunately, this means they have to hit me up for 9.5% sales tax. That really eats into my system build budget, so I'm looking for alternatives. I'd like to use the fewest number of vendors (preferably only one), so that all the parts arrive at the same time and I don't have one part's 30-day return policy run out while I'm waiting for parts from another vendor to show up. So, which reliable and economical parts vendors do you recommend?"
Conversely, are there any you'd recommend avoiding?
I like mwave.com myself I have been buying from them for over ten years now and never any problems.
"Oh, my God. I'm sitting on a pile of low bids!"
I'm not sure about the US, but I know that here the best prices (and often good service) are to be had at small, privately-run places... you'd have to look around and find one with decent prices that don't seem dodgy, but if there's one near by, you can just walk in and buy the parts rather than waiting for the shipment to arrive.
I like NewEgg, but then, I don't have that state sales tax to deal with. I occasionally look at ZipZoomFly.com and TigerDirect.com for similar pricing and trustworthiness.
Stay away from Tigerdirect. If they don't screw up your order, then they are as good as any other merchant who does not screw up your order. But, if anything goes wrong, they suck to deal with.
Furthermore, a couple of years ago they engaged in a ridiculously blatant 'carpet-bombing' of reseller-ratings - a site where they had an appropriate bad rating over a number of years of being rated. In like 6 months, the number of people who rated Tigerdirect increased more than 10x of all the previous years of rating, and all of these new 'people' gave the company uncharacteristically high marks.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Try http://www.resellerratings.com/
I have dealt with Mwave before, always without any problems..... Can only recommend (they are out of CA last time I checked)
I got my bare bones Shuttle and associated parts from these guys: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/. I've also bought various part from: http://www.komplett.com/
I'll tell you, their store is easy to access, don't even need a car to get there. Just take tram 1, 3, 9 or 11 to JÃrntorget.
They have low prices, nice personnel, and they have the same sales tax for everyone.
Go go go!
http://itpower.se/
You can avoid the sales tax, but Tennessee has a use tax for which you're liable: Tennessee Sales and Use Tax.
HTH. HAND.
Looking for the best parts is not something futile, some may tell you "hey just go to Monkey-puters.com they sell everything packed you won't have any problem with winwisbutu 12.x" but it's not the case here.
The reality is that you are going to pay more for a low end system than if you buy OEM, but I suspect that you really don't care about that difference. You first have to check out thoroughly the different components, I myself have a system that is running since...well it's a PIV still running an AGP video card (was a good NVIDIA card so it's still useful for some casual gaming).
So check out the components, it's more important to put more in the Motherboard, less in the video card as you are going to change it in a one year time, so don't buy high end. CPU's are important too, check out the announces from the vendors (Intel, Amd) as usually new lines of processors send the prices down on existing CPU's.
and well otherwise I don't know about online vendors because I always went in a shop...when you custom build you always run into the risk of having components who are instable when packed together. It's a marginal risk nowadays but still...and it's easier to just get back in that small'ish shop (semi-pro shops in warehouses are best as they usually have the lowest prices and the highest geek ratio running them for the sake of spreading good systems out there) to get an exchange is easier than with online vendors who have that 30 days return policies/no scratch/...
Can you ship it to someone out of state and pick it up there?
I love Newegg, you may also want to look at pricewatch.com
it may not be all from one vendor, but you may find a vendor who has everything you need.
sig?
I know Newegg is popular, but I've always felt their restocking fees were basically insulting.
Which makes me wonder how competitive a shopping list you could get using another company which has a much better return policy (something I find I appreciate a bit more for my components).
Quack, quack.
It's the only place you need to go.
Seriously. I know the guys that run the local shops fairly well. The prices are good, and if you have problems and you're not an arse about it, quite often you'll get even better value on the returns. For example, I bought a 200G drive a few years ago, which failed after six months. "Sorry", they said, "We can't replace that. We don't do them any more. You'll have to take this 250G instead." I suppose they have to keep their customers sweet if they want to keep their windows intact.
Just so long as you're not bothered about what else might be getting shipped over from India in big heavy boxes full of little light computers, it's probably the best way to do it.
Many system vendors have put up eBay stores to compete with the likes of NewEgg.
A quick search for: "gaming computer system" yielded some interesting finds. There was one that caught my attention as it lets you custom build your gaming system right from the bidding page. It had some rather decent selection of system boards (or motherboards for us non-PC [politically correct] older folk) and other components to choose from. Not bad at all as it falls in line with what you're looking for -- one vendor without nailing you with sales tax as they're not in your home state. The 3-year warranty is always a good thing.
Good luck!
Oblig. Disclaimer: I don't have an eBay store or know anyone that does for that matter, so this post is not a shameless plug. I'm also not associated with any computer hardware vendors.
MWave and ZipZoomFly are both very good alternatives to NewEgg.
As a fellow Tennessean, I'd first like to point out that Neweeg is still a great choice. I order from them regularly because:
1) They are usually still nearly the cheapest
2) They ship quick
3) If it ships from their TN center, I have it the next day
4) Their customer service ROCKS
5) Their website is the best of any I've used.
If I don't use them, I will use either mwave, ZipZoomFly, or (if you don't mind open-box items) Tech For Less (just remember to leave a comment when ordering that you know wtf you are doing, else they will hold your order until they get ahold of you).
I've also used ProVantage a time or two, but really only when they had a good deal.
Rather than "build myself" from parts, I wanted someone else to build & test with quality parts I specified. It was surprisingly hard to find a site to build what I really wanted at a good price.
Eventually I went with http://www.cyberpowerpc.com and ended up with the PC I really wanted.
I got an nForce with 8800 GT and power supply wattage I specified. Since I run Linux on the box, they nicely let you buy sans Windows.
I took the system apart enough to make sure all the components were really what I ordered and they were. The system just worked. I got Ubuntu installed without too much hassle.
I built a Shuttle box before with parts from newegg and it was stressful when something doesn't go right (fortunately for me it was just difficulties getting every cable plugged in given the small form factor--and not bad parts).
I love you - you posted what i was going to post in a very concise manner. Soulskill == kdawson?
Slashdot isn't just for news - it's more for discussion but imho, this is a fucking stupid topic. Suck it up and pay the tax.
I've had too many poor experiences with other hardware vendors to even consider not going with newegg. I hate to not really give you an answer you're looking for, but trust me on this one. After ordering from a few other peeps online you'll go back to newegg. Everyone goes to it for a reason.
There is this guy I know who delevers everything I ask. Prices are good. It is just a bitch to drive down to the docks and for some odd reason he only takes cash in small bills in a brown paperbag.
He is a wise guy and explained that an insurance also would be great and he is right. I haven't been beaten up since I took that insurance. A good fellow, always talking about his family and such.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
I usually buy most of my parts from Trading Forums, such as Anandtech.com or Hardforum.com.
The prices offered are almost always below what a store offers. Plus, if you decide to go with people selling used instead of new (both are available), you can get it at only a fraction of the cost.
I've been dealing with people from those forums for a couple years now, and they've saved me hundreds of dollars.
Security is the only real issue, since people can rip each other off... but as long as you trade with people that have a good (high) reputation, then you're normally safe. Moreover, a lot of products are sold with transferable manufacturers warranties on them, so you can buy safely, knowing that you're covered for a bit. I have yet to be ripped off after quite a number of full computer builds.
- John
I use pricewatch.com to find the cheapest vendor for one or two of the higher ticket items. If I'm trying to keep my vendor list short, I then investigate the prices of those winning vendors for the other items on my shopping list and compare those prices against pricewatch's best. For big price hikes, I use separate vendors; if it's only a few bucks, I keep the vendor list low.
Did you notice the ASK SLASHDOT part of the title? It's not supposed to be news, it's supposed to be a question! I am not even asking you to RTFA, just read the damn title before you post!
Don't bitch, if you had something else to do other than reading this thread you would be doing it :-)
Besides, this kind of 'news' are to slashdot what a bad referee is to football: You hate him, but he gives you a (socially accepted) reason to yell.
But for Newegg's service, honestly, I'd still be ordering from there. Building a new computer is almost always expensive - but it's hard to put a price on service. Sure, you could go with Tiger, but when that one part is three days late, or that one HDD clicks when you put it in, do you really want to deal with Tiger?
It's quite a premium to pay, but service is something that is really important to me. If I order a $200 video card, I want to feel safe knowing I'll be able to return it. Again, that's just me, but you should definitely be asking yourself how much service is worth to you. At the very least, keep that question in the back of your mind - it could definitely come back to bite you in the ass if you don't.
Every city has at least one or two. The best are the crack in the wall places with a guy in the back surrounded by parts.
Some of the items you'll buy will be a great deal, others maybe not, and yeah, you'll have to pay tax. --But you won't pay for shipping, (which, if you're buying lots of goodies, will probably cost a fair bit, though probably not 10% of the cost of a well-equipped new machine).
But nothing is nicer than being able to run out on a gut-feeling of inspiration and pick up a stack of parts that same afternoon. Speaking as a geek, I have to say that walking out of a shop with an OEM hard drive packaged in nothing but an anti-static bag is one of the best feelings in the world. --I realized on one of those occasions why my girlfriend loved shopping for clothes so much, and it was with a bit of wistfulness that I recognized I only shopped for computer bits once every few years, whereas for her cruising the used-clothing stores was a weekly fix. Comfort shopping is silly, but it's also human, so when you do end up spending a whack of money, it's nice to jump in and get right into it.
There are other advantages when you buy from a local, private vendor. If you change your mind about a part, or if a stick of memory is faulty or whatever, you can always go back and hash it out with the owner. Either he'll tell you what you did wrong, or replace the part, and he'll nearly always remember you. A human connection is great; you don't have to fill out impersonal forms and take a number or stay on hold or any of that lousy nonsense. You've got a guy right there who wants to help you, partly because he doesn't want to have to give your money back and partly because he's also a geek who instinctively wants stuff to work right. And sometimes you'll meet a really cool person where it's fun just to chat and trade opinions and such; more than once I've gone into a shop with a well-considered shopping list only to have the guy behind the counter say, "Oh, we don't have that mother board, but check it out! We do have this one; it works great and it costs less than the one on your list, plus it has this extra feature which is really cool! The manufacturer just put out the next model, so they're trying to sell off their previous one, which is why it's such a great deal." I've picked up some awesome hardware that way. So I'd say it's well worth the extra expense (if it even adds up to that much when you take shipping into account, and any unexpected in-house deals or whatever), to buy from small vendors.
I will say, however, that buying on-line does generate a sort of Christmas day feeling, where you get to wait in eager anticipation for stuff to arrive, plus you get to build exactly the system you want because you can be really specific about the parts. But I prefer the more adventurous side of going out to find parts yourself. I think it might satisfy some kind of latent hunter/gatherer gene inside us all.
By far, however, the absolute worst way to spend money on computer parts is to go to a big, corporate, well-lit box store where the guys have little name tags and same-color shirts. Ugh! --I mean, that's fine for laptops and big screens and such, but for hard drives and mother boards and video cards and bags of little screws? What a waste of an experience! I'd rather use an abacus than build a computer from parts obtained in a damned box store. Not to mention that it's nearly always a LOT more expensive that way. Nobody can beat them on price for big items which they order by the shipping palate, but for smaller parts. . , there's simply too many to choose from, so they stream-line their stock and charge you up the wazoo for them. And anyway box stores, you know, have no soul.
Anyway, I hope everything works out for. Enjoy!
-FL
Especially if you're an un-hinged Linux "weirdo".
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/15/2031231
In Massachusetts, we have an annual tax-free weekend during the summer. A quick google search suggests that Tennessee does the same thing (perhaps even one in the spring as well?)
You've missed the one for this year, but you might want to keep it in mind if you ever want to buy something expensive from Newegg in the future... or if you're really in no rush to get a new computer.
If something doesn't work out* you can go over there and deal with it personally. Isn't that worth 10% extra?
[*] And there's a fair chance it won't, no matter who you buy from.
No sig today...
I've used Cables for Less several times, and they were prompt, and inexpensive. I was leary, at first, of using an online vendor, but would recommend then unhesitatingly.
Newegg and CDW. I have bought at least $100K from Newegg for myself and others (business and personal).
We are one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. Back to you with the weather, Bob!
...especially considering that Slashdot is read world-wide, and (for example) us Europeans usually do not order from the US onliners (not just the different voltage, but postage and, especially, border taxes).
Me? I found a street dealer I trust. Pay about 10% more than online, but he's really worth it.
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
... once you know, you newegg.
Start with items with lots of reviews, read the most critical first. 4. profit.
Imagine if you weren't allowed to use roads because a bus company complained about your driving 3 times. --skunkpussy
I, like many people, have bought from both of these. However, I buy just about everything from newegg as their customer service makes their prices nearly secondary. I would pay a couple dollars more per item to buy from them. I doubt there's another company in the U.S. with customer service anywhere near as good. T
I got a cheapy MB by gigabyte that cost no more than a case of good beer $49, and a E1200 cpu , together with a Nvidia 9600 and 3gig ram ddr2-800, new games still run well, and it was cheap, cheaper than a Wii.
Anyones price cap should be PS3 price, else just get a ps3.
Go for the cheapest CPU, and upgrade in 6months to something twice as fast.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
. I'd like to use the fewest number of vendors (preferably only one), so that all the parts arrive at the same time
This isn't necessarily true. the vendor may have some of the parts you want, but be waiting delivery on others. You could end up in one of two situations:
Niether is satisfactory IMHO. Go with several suppliers, either check their online stock from their website, or ask "can you ship these parts today?"
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
...anymore. Something has changed in the last couple of years, both the Seagate and Western Digital drives they sell are getting abnormally high failure rates reported back in the product reviews.
After getting a few drives that were packed with just crumpled paper around them, I believe that the responsibility for the higher failure rate may lie more with Newegg's handling and packaging than with the manufacturer's quality control. I still order almost all of my parts from Newegg for all of the reasons that others have mentioned, but I've started getting my drives from CDW instead. Each OEM drive I've ordered from CDW has come packaged in it's own plain brown cardboard box, held suspended in plastic shock absorbers like retail boxed drives do.
I could be wrong, of course, and it was only a few months ago I decided this, so time will tell.
I recently used these guys:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/
I "discovered" the brand when shopping on Newegg, but didn't see the exact config I wanted. So I went directly to the vendor's website and found that their gaming systems were EXTREMELY mod friendly with a wide variety of choices for components. So I mixed and matched and had them test it prior to delivery. The end result was a pretty tricked out quad-core core2duo box with lots of RAM and fast video for WELL under US$1K.
Cheers,
sounds like market research in disguise if you ask me
I love UMART - umart.net.au (now ijk.com.au after a recent rebrand).
Their site is a tad ordinary, but they are everything you want in a vendor, they are CHEAP (not necessarily the super cheapest, but close enough to the mark not to matter), they will NEVER fork you over on refunds, go the extra distance to find that weird douverlacky and are prompt with their service.
I've used them extensively (about $100k for heaps of orders) both personally and professionally. They will sell you the bits, make suggestions if they don't quite work (like the mobo or ram is off), make the box for you if you're tight on time/skills - and do tidy work on it too (cables all neat, things tucked away, stickers put on, little touches)......
What I like is that they don't mind overclockers. I've pushed gear a bit too hard occasionally and they don't give you any shit about it.
They do a great job and I recommend them very highly. I'm not an employee or shill if you're thinking that, just a very highly satisfied multi time customer (and work admin/buyer/CTO)
Just bought a new quantum computer, but I'm uncertain how it works.
As far as I know, the memory business is a giant scam. The high priced stuff like Kingston and some others have the least defects- thus are prime binned for a higher price, and the cheap stuff causes problems as soon as it is installed as it was sorted into bins that were under-spec. Memtest86 has consistently proven this to me.
newegg, or thinkgeek...what little product related to hardware they do sell.
big caveat: a $14 power supply isnt going to be worth a damn, and you cant fault the seller for trying their best to bring cheap product to market. the customer demanded it, after all.
Good people go to bed earlier.
You still have to pay Use Tax even if you buy something out of state.
http://www.tennessee.gov/revenue/tntaxes/usetax.htm
So, just buy from Newegg and make your life easier..
I'm building myself a quad-core AMD machine, and I'm wondering whether or not to go with the 64-bit version of Vista. I know I "should avoid windows like the plague" and all that crap. I'm running ubuntu on my laptop, htcp and routers, but this PC has to be Windows. So... is the 64-bit version of Vista "good enough", or do I have to stick with the 32-bit version? I tried 64-bit XP a few years, but nothing really worked. Has this improved?
Pointers on experiences and such is welcome, pro-linux rants are wasted.
If USA sold usa food to outside usa at 76% markups , rather than global single pricings on markets in US$, then it would be illegal.
Its like selling raw oil for $180 outside usa.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
http://www.pricewatch.com and http://www.resellerratings.com are your friends.
The first one to find the best price, the second to make sure that the guy with the best price isn't a crook.
Hope that helps,
-Mark
There are 10 types of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.
I usually shop around, then end up at NewEgg.
I avoid TigerDirect. I've had bad experience with defective merchandise more than once, they give the illusion of cheapness with rebates, and the customer service is poor.
When I lived in Silicon Valley, I found that Central Computers was very good: integrity and prices.
In 2007 I retired a 1997 vintage P3/500 machine. I shopped the local build-to-order shops and could NOT find one that seemed to know what they were doing at a "reasonable" price. So, I bought a new built-to-order Q6600 based machine from Centra Computers (http://www.centralcomputers.com). The transaction was conducted almost entirely via email with payment data exchanged via telephone. I am very happy with the outcome.
I have no interest in Central Computers other than as a satisfied customer.
Thanks. That's an interesting idea. I really wanted to geek out a little this time and build my own machine (I'm a software guy, and don't get down to the hardware level much). I'm even planning on getting an ASUS motherboard that lets you easily OC your system. . . but depending on how busy I get, it may be worthwhile to let someone else get the thing up and running, then let me play with the voltages and timings. . .
Most cities, or even states, have a local vendor they can recommend. Local, where you can walk in and lay your hands on parts and ask solid advice, is wonderful and beats the best web vendors hands down, and these shops need your support. If you don't know of one, talk to your local Linux user groups. They are likely to have the best knowledge and experience of odd issues to give you good references.
If you don't have such a local resource, I believe you that NewEgg is good. I've also done OK with www.pcwarehouse.com, but that's for commodity level components, not server components where I actually do need specific parts with very specific specifications.
You should be lucky, I live in Belgium and just bought my laptop (with parts that I chose) for about â1285 of which â223 tax. That's 21%. If I bought it registered on my fathers business that would've been 6% but I have a father who doesn't really trust doing that. â is euro if you're encoding is different from the one I use
Kinda tough to find ONE online vendor with good prices that has ALL the parts you need for building your own computer. Only a few around, really, and I think Newegg is probably the best of them overall, but ZipZoomFLy (as stated before) is pretty good as long as they have the parts you want.
Amazon can be be pretty good but the pc hardware selection is far smaller than a big, pc-centric etailer.
Directron is good for many things, and on some parts may have the lowest prices you can find- yet on others be among the most costly.
Jab-Tech has a more limited selection than some of the more well known places, but the pricing on what they do have is usually pretty damn good.
It seems to me that you will need to look around at a few places to see if the parts they carry will meet your goal- price out the full system and see which one ends up the cheapest.
Alternatively, if you are willing to deal with at least a couple of vendors, you can probably save a couple of bucks (even counting shipping) and avoid tax.
Newegg is the easiest, fastest and most simple option though, and may still be worth it, even with tax depending on how you value your time.
The prices are not usually the LOWEST available, but they ARE usually within a few dollars-
on everything you'll want or need.
From just one vendor.
If I was doing a complete. ground-up system, I'd probably go with a few vendors myself: stick with 3 or less and you maximize savings and minimize hassles.
Linux computers, watercooled, photography
This is a sore subject for me right now. I bought a new 750 GB Seagate hard drive from Newegg about 2.5 weeks ago. I put it into my system, took about a day to install OS and all applications on it. Four days later, it died. I needed a replacement hard drive right away, so I was just going to RMA it as a return and buy one local but then I get hit with the 15% restocking fee. Newegg says they're not responsible for failures because they don't manufacture it. Well they're more responsible than I am, yet I'm the one that has to pay $10 to ship it back to them and I'm the one that has to pay 15% restocking fee on top of that?
I ended up doing a replacement RMA and was without a hard drive for 11 days while they dickered around with the paperwork and shipping back and forth.
I know they have to do it to keep their costs low, but honestly I'll be paying extra to buy locally in the future. The little bit of money you might save is not worth the risk or hassle.
Once you know about the restocking fee, you don't Newegg.
I'm a big tall mofo.
So I now have ebuyer in my hosts file pointing to localhost with a rewrite rule pointing to this statement
WARNING
Everytime you buy from Ebuyer you end up regretting it !
You do realise that since 2001, you have had to fight for refunds with a total value of over £1000 !
On your head be it !
I habe been purchasing from Newegg for about 10 years now. They have been the best. Prices are low even compared to the same items local with shipping. They beat most local stores by about 20 to 30 percent, with shipping. There return policy is great.
If you have a real problem with an item and you want to return it, it is easy to do, just go online and in your account request a return and an RMA is created there, No hassles.
I have spent in the last 10 years over 100 grand with these people and I would say I have had maybe one or to problems with equipment or shipping, but they have always made good on there products.
I really never go any place else to look. Not worth the effort.
One thing they do not do is tech support. But they do have a tech website where you can ask questions in the forums before and after purchasing a product.
These guys offer everything in computers and technology. If you need/want it they have it.
Trust Newegg, I do.
They're in my bad books after a 80 wire IDE cable I bought from them died after about 6 months.
I agree - RMA for return for defective items should NOT have a restocking fee.
Sure - if the return is because "I don't like it" I'm fine with restocking fees. It helps a company like newegg keep costs down.
Also - returns should be parallel-ship - you ask for an RMA and the replacement item goes out immediately. If the return doesn't show up in x days charge the customer for a second item. None of that waiting around for mail to go back and forth.
And postage-paid returns are perfectly reasonable. It drives me nuts to have to pay to ship an item back if it is defective. I'm sorry - if a merchant gets defective junk they should tell their supplier to eat the costs - or threaten to drop the product. I'm Seagate would care if Newegg threatened to drop their product line. Sure, maybe it isn't cost-effective to test every item, but they can at least pay for the ones that leak through.
I run my own mailserver, and I make unique aliases for everyone I deal with, so (1) I can tell who actually caused me to receive an email, and (2) so I can just delete the alias if they get annoying.
I've received spam via some of the most surprising sources, including Ford, so I trust no one. Newegg got their own address when I placed my order.
I started receiving spam addressed to the provided "order status" address. Exactly one week after placing the order, on average 2 per day, for mainly viagra and watches. Repeated contact with newegg repeatedly insisted that it must be someone else that caused the spam. They insisted they have never heard of this happening before.
So I got out my google and surprise surprise, multiple people complaining about sudden spikes in spam after ordering newegg. I also ran into two others that are playing the same mail alias game as me, that also positively ID'd newegg as the source.
Every one of them contacted newegg, and every one of them was told they'd never heard of such a thing before and it couldn't possibly be them.
Now it's doubtful that they are deliberately selling those addresses, and that leaves only one possibility. A machine or two inside their order processing facility is botnetted by a spammer.
Do YOU want to give your credit card details to someone that has a botnetted computer hooked to their order processing network? I sure don't.
Tangent: the "Ford" issue. I submitted my contact email on ford.com for "have dealers in your area contact you" because I was shopping for an Escape. Got responses from four dealers in my area. Four days later, about one spam a day started landing in my ford contact address. I'm fairly certain that one of the "dealers in my area" that ford sent my address to was also botnetted. Morons.
I left the addresses in service to see how persistent they were. It took about a month for the Ford spam to stop. It took close to three months for NewEgg spam to give up.
If you insist on ordering from NewEgg, be smart. Use a disposable email address for order status, and at least use a visa card or something you can dispute charges on should they happen. (though id theft is still an unavoidable risk)
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I've been pretty happy with Directron. I generally buy Lian Li cases there, and other stuff. I got a nice computer badge there that has the Chinese character for "silence" on it.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
I use http://www.cclonline.com/
They're fast and always helpful and their prices are decent. I like the fact they're not big timers like Scan. That combined with their helpfulness means you can get shit sorted, imo.
I've bought from many major online retailers (and some off the wall). I regard TigerDirect and NewEgg as my two suppliers of choice. Though having lived in the midwest, TD always arrived next day (Illinois > Indiana), so I almost always chose them. Now that I live in Florida, I have the same dilema in that TD has a presence here and charges sales taxes.
Since TigerDirect bought out CompUSA (a place I'd never shop before that), they have surprisingly good prices for a retail chain, inline with what you'd find online. I'd say check them out first, plus you get instant gratification.
And for the love of [insert deity here], I think we can all agree Best Buy is the worst place ever.
I tried to buy a memory card from NewEgg within the last month, and their shopping cart did not let me check out. When I spoke to a customer service rep, I was told I needed to run Windows and Internet Explorer to use their store.
I have never had a store anywhere tell me I couldn't shop there because I showed up in the wrong vehicle.
That pretty much ended my relationship with NewEgg. MWave seems willing to accept orders from anyone, regardless of what OS and Browser they are using.
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away" -- "Step Right Up", Tom Waits
I had to ship it back at my own cost ($18) and they made me pay the %15 restocking fee. The CC company wouldn't do a charge back because "I knew of the terms".
So, no scanner and I'm out $46.
No more Newegg for me.
I just received a hard drive from newegg that appears to be DOA (I have only tried it with 1 interface which is also brand new, so it could be the interface...). It was reasonably well packaged, wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in peanuts. The box has some slight deformation, but it looks more like it was wedged into a space or crushed than it looks like it was dropped.
I don't go through enough drives to have an opinion, but if the replacement doesn't work, things don't look so good.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
If you're in Minnesota, General Nano Systems is nestled on University avenue between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Great service, good prices - quote these guys a price and what you want to do, and they'll put together a great machine for you.
I talked my 21-year-old son out of going to that store that starts with "Best" (Best for who?), and he ended up with a system that is the envy of his friends for a third of the price he expected.
They also bench-check the hardware when they sell it, so returns for bad product are extremely rare (never happened to me or anyone I know).
http://www.nanosys1.com/
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away" -- "Step Right Up", Tom Waits
I have the distinctive feeling Slashdot has become a free consultancy forum for entrepreneurs.
In the earlier days of Slashdot, hardware was way more expensive and way more difficult to come by. Never heard any questions like this.
If you don't know how to build a custom rig on a budget, Slashdot is the place.
Mod me troll, time to move on.
...and I feel your pain when it comes to paying tax on items ordered online. I have built several systems through the years, and I, like you, am building another one now to replace my old P4. After you have done your research and decided what you want, here are some places to compare prices which will not charge you tax when shipped to TN:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Home.jsp
http://www.directron.com/
http://www.ewiz.com/index.php
For specialty items, like heat sinks, I sometimes buy here:
http://www.frozencpu.com/index.html?id=wdw9Exum
Above all though, compare prices using these useful sites, for you may find the same part elsewhere even cheaper:
http://www.pricewatch.com/
http://www.google.com/products
Newegg is great for comparing parts and reading detailed specs/reviews, but the tax and shipping generally lead to the parts being more expensive than if they were ordered elsewhere.
"This is America... where the will of the few outweigh the outrage of the many..." - Unknown
I only buy local. If I have a problem, I walk or drive to the store and talk to a human. That, and I support my local economy.
I don't respond to AC's.
Overstock.com is poorly ran by idiots. Most of their items have wrong descriptions or titles so you aren't even buying what you want.
You could make a pilgrimage to Frys. There is one just north of Indianapolis, and two in Georgia just north of Atlanta. Frys often has some awesome deals. And, come on, it's like Geek Mecca.
I regularly watch for deals on SD and check the print ads. Another good alternative might be Pricegrabber.com to compare various online retailers. You can view product by user rating too.
Unfortunately, this means they have to hit me up for 9.5% sales tax.
9.5 in TN? Holy crap you need to start voting democrat.
The best online vendors i go and shop are newegg, pricewatch, mwave, theres one that starts with F but i forgot. theres alot more though. good luck.
Also, i would advise you to use pricewatch becuase when you click on a product you are purchasing, it will list the stores that sell the lowest prices.
If are buying a lot of parts, you are better off to establish yourself as business that can buy from direct channels/wholesalers.
This opens the door to a lot of wholesale companies that will not only get you good deals, but have better return policies, dealing directly with the hardware channel.
I have been buying computer parts online for as long as I can remember, though at my age my memory is getting less sharp. I follow a simple but time consuming process that takes me several days to complete.
1. I make a preliminary list of the parts I want
2. I search though PriceGrabber, PriceRunner, ResellerRatngs, and shopping.com
3. I select the vendor that has the lowest price for as many of the parts as I can find and then a vendor that has the remaining parts.
4. I read the reviews on those sites for the parts, which sometimes leads me to alternative parts.
5. I make another run with my final list of parts.
I then, invariably purchase from NewEgg, MWave, or ZipZoomFly. However, I just did a search of all my purchases made in the last five years and NewEgg is BY FAR the place I have ordered from most. I have found their ordering process to be exceptionally fast, the prices extremely competitive, and their historic data convenient for manufacturer warranties.
So good luck in the process. I read the comment several users wrote about buying locally. Though I agree, if you end up buying $2,000 worth of parts, that is nearly $400 you have spent on taxes and profit to the local establishment. I found that excessive for me.
Again, good luck and tell us what you did.
Al
tiger direct is good and I go to there warehouse store and there customer service is good there and it is real easy to return stuff.
Just because you buy something out of state doesn't mean you don't pay sales tax.
http://www.tennessee.gov/revenue/tntaxes/usetax.htm
Here in Ga, Microcenter (local stores) compete well with Newegg especially considering their exchange policy if you get a bad part.. Mail order, Zipzoomfly is an alternative to Newegg. I would assume they don't charge tax in Tn.
I agree - RMA for return for defective items should NOT have a restocking fee.
So in other words if someone wants to RMA a perfectly working piece of equipment, they should just take a hammer to it prior to returning it?
I really cannot say enough good things about newegg.com.
I have been using them since 2001; my order history with newegg.com is over 20 pages long (at least) and I have ordered well over 200k worth of items from them. In all that time I have never had a problem. We're talking hundreds of orders. I have been through every conceivable situation - I have had to return things for refund or exchange, I have had to call them once and that call was handled very well.
Here are the general reasons why i think newegg.com is awesome:
1. Price (their prices will be as good or better than most other vendors, online or brick and mortar).
2. Shipping cost and shipping time: They have a lot of free shipping, and even when you are paying the prices are excellent - they generally ship things the same day you order, if not then then by the next days, always.
3. Stock, selection, and the technology behind their store and website - They have their own super high tech system for processing orders. I have seen video of how it works and it is very impressive - THey generally never make errors, their website is always up to date with what is and isn't in stock. I have never ordered something from them only to get a notice that it isn't in stock. It just doesn't happen becuse their site seems to be updated in real time.
4. Customer product reviews - you can get a great idea about particular products you may not know anything about by reading the customer reviews.
All in all I just can't think of any other retailer which I have dealt with that has their act more together than newegg and that has consistently flawless. I order personal stuff, I order stuff for the IT dept that I run, I order gifts and things for family and friends.
Don't just take my word for it - check out www.resellerratings.com for unbiased ratings of newegg.com and most other online stores. You will find that newegg consistently is on the top of their list of tens of thousands of stores. Generally with a score just below a perfect 10.
I I don't purchase from newegg, most my purchases are then through mwave, http://www.mwave.com/
I've used them before I found newegg for years. I find it is hard to beat newegg on overall price when ordering several parts, but mwave is really close, and some things are actually cheaper.
There are few other places I get stuff through, but not high end computer parts like geeks.com
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive
For the sake of completeness I'll recommend some vendors in Germany - there might be some Slashdotters who can use this info.
First the good ones:
Alternate (alternate.de) is a nice vendor. Not the cheapest, but they're trustworthy and I haven't yet had any support issues with them. They also have a nice, if limited, PC builder.
DSP Memory Distribution (dsp-memory.de) is a good source for memory, FireWire HDDs and similar things. Somewhat cheap, but they sell quality stuff. No problems so far. Definite recommendation if you're looking for MacBook (Pro) memory.
If you're a student you might find a good deal at Unimall (unimall.de). Nice prices and they partner with Apple so you can even get BTO Macs with a big rebate. Only for students, teachers and the like.
Now for a problem case:
Norsk IT (norskit.com) is usually one of the cheaper vendors, but their support is abysmal. I had lots of "fun" returning an ASUS mainboard that came DOA. Avoid.
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
A related question to the OP's:
For years I've bought most of my parts from Newegg. But historically, I've bought CPU/heatsink/fan/motherboard/one stick as part of a bundle from Monarch Computer. I did this for two reasons:
1. they stress-tested the setup for 48 hours before packing and shipping;
2. (the main reason) I'm perfectly comfortable building my own machine, except for one thing that terrifies me -- attaching the heatsink/fan to the CPU. I've not only never done it, I've never even seen it done. I have visions of trying to do it, screwing it up, and Bad Stuff (tm) happening -- I'm not exactly rich. And I know no one locally who builds their own machine and can look over my shoulder while I do it.
It's been long enough since I built my last machine that I'm shopping again. But since that last machine, Monarch apparently went from good to bad customer service, then went bust. So is there anyone else reliable out there that does this? With good current mobo/processor options? Or am I overestimating how easy it is to screw this up?
I have be building for over 10 years now and have been burned several times after using pricewatch.com to find the lowest. I have had really good luck with NewEgg and Buy.com. As for the parts themselves. I will NOT buy EVGA (Nvidia) again. 3 out the last 4 video cards went bust. I run ATI now, it is slower but at least it works.
I prefer to buy parts from Antares Digital. I've always received excellent service and they are relatively local (New Jersey) so my orders arrive quickly.
In the past week I've had to deal with items that I had to return to both Tiger direct and Geeks.com and found a big difference.
Geeks and a bunch of nincompoops whos story changes when you get different people on the phone. When my new hard drive failed after 3 days I requested a new case and a new drive. They sent me an IDE drive with a sata case. Then when I complained they said I could either pay to return the case or purchase a new case. Could not convince them that it was their responsibility to make sure the case and the drive were compatible! They take days to respond to e-mail. Sometimes not at all.
Tiger direct, had ahuman answer the phone quickly. Help me pick the right part. Volunteered free shipping both to return and send out the new part. Very positive experience. THeir site however is weirdly indexed so when searching for things, not all the items seem to be in logical categories. SOmehow the best deals tend to be slightly hidden and actually easier to find on google than their own site.
Monarch has very low prices. Never had to deal with customer service so can't rate them.
I've bought a number of computers and parts from Mwave over the years. I've never had a single problem or defective item. Their prices are not always the absolute lowest but generally are close to the lowest.
If you want to buy from just one vendor and you are averse to the massive hassles that can occur when you get bad or wrong parts then Mwave might be the best overall place to shop.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
If you ship to an address that is outside of your home state. Tennessee isn't very big - Maybe you have some relatives an hour away who you have been meaning to visit?
Pricewatch is a good way to find inexpensive vendors. I have always had good luck with them. You may be able to find a vendor near you, too, for same day service.
NewEgg is pretty good, though I am extremely annoyed that they charge extra to "rush" process your order in less than 3 days.
CPU Solutions is a large WhiteBox builder in Wisconsin...Great quality and pricing
Somehow I doubt that will work with any frequency - you'd think newegg would wise up after the 3rd return with tool marks on it. If it did brick and mortar stores (which commonly have this policy) would be completely out of business.
If the item didn't have damage upon shipment, and it has a big bash in it when it is returned, then I'd claim for shipping insurance. If the insurer notices a trend in activity from a certain address then they're going to prosecute for insurance fraud.
There are lots of solutions to this problem. You don't need to stick it to your perfectly honest customers (the vast majority) just to get rid of a few abusers.
I prefer zipzoomfly.com
I have built many a pc with parts purchased here with excellent results...all the best parts at good prices and free shipping on many items and always in a timely fashion.
They have alot of liquid cooling stuff, which I am not sure the OP is interested in, but there is where I picked up my power supply and case for my SLI rig.
I came, I conquered, I coredumped
I live in TN and while I still use Newegg for a small hardware purchase, usually for a whole system build I will go with ZipZoomFly
The real test of a vendor is what happens when you have trouble. I had a DOA hard drive from ZZF and their RMA process was pretty straighforward.
right?
I'm sort of suprised that this was allowed. By saying that you don't like paying the 9.5% tax, you're almost admitting that you are trying to cheat the tax system. FYI, you're *supposed* to pay that tax either at the POS or at the end of the year on your taxes if you order from out of state. And I don't believe you if you come back with the "oh but I'll pay at the end of the year," because there's no reason not to pay it now if you have such a great vendor.
Stick with Newegg and pay your taxes.
I've been dealing with tigerdirect, newegg, zipzoomfly and mwave for years. If I need a part I check them all and lowest price including shipping wins.I have had to return parts to all of them and have never had a problem. I don't care what vendor you deal with eventually something will get screwed up and you will butt heads with them. With that said, I'd worry more about how the manufacturer of the part actually deals with RMA's and support. Chances are if you are going to get screwed by someone, it will be the manufacturer.
www.avadirect.com
That would be my choice, as you can build a custom PC using a component selection tool. They also sell a wide selection of parts not only for gaming rigs, but also for notebooks, workstations and servers.
Also, they are shipping from Ohio, just north of Tennessee, so you avoid that tax without ordering from too far.
Living in Europe I usually get my things from one of the shops listed on www.rue-montgallet.com in Paris, from ATELCO in Germany. Some online-retailers are good as well but I dont really know which one. Definitely don't trust the thieves from FNAC, Surcouf, Saturn or Mediamarkt in any case! And I am currently looking for good shops in Austria, any recommendations will be appreciated
AltSlashdot. Because f'k the beta
stay away from buy.com ..ive had good luck with microcenter and provantage tho.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Just a clarification to all my American friends out there: In English English, fag means cigarette. The previous poster is probably not involved in human trafficking.
Tennessee doesn't have state income tax.
I finally realized I should start building my own PC's after my Dell home server motherboard went out on a Friday night and I found the power connector was proprietary do so I couldn't run down to Fry's. :(
I ordered all new parts to build a system on my door step by Wednesday with standard shipping. Everything was as it should be and I had no problems.
You have a system now. It works. So why are you worried about parts arriving at different times? This makes sense in a business sense, but doesn't make sense from a personal/gaming machine sense. If you're worried about parts not working before you have all of them, heaven forbid you test them in the machine you do have before their 30-day return date passes. I also don't understand that logic. The parts are all warranted through their respective manufacturers. If something doesn't work, get it replaced. If you are returning things for other reasons, then you really need to do more homework before you buy.
Getting back to the topic, if you want parts to arrive in a certain amount of time then you're going to have to hunt for the resellers that have them in-stock and ready to ship. It's called due diligence. You will probably not find a single vendor to get all the parts from. Yes, some have more influence over distributors and can get parts sooner, but if the manufacturer is having supply problems, then so will the rest of the chain all the way down to the consumer. No way around that unless you go straight to the manufacturer. For a single, personal gaming system I think you'd be out of luck trying to get preferential treatment on supply direct from a vendor, but you might have the pull, don't know you.
I used to buy from MWave a lot until I bought one of their supposedly pre-assembled and tested mobo/cpu/memory bundles and was shipped only the mobo and processor with no memory. They refused to make it right and accused me of trying to scam them for the memory. It didn't matter that I had bought over $3000 worth of stuff from them in the prior few weeks. I paid them the extra $10 fee for the "assembly and testing" as hope of some kind of insurance against getting shipped a DOA mobo but it would seem from my experience that is only a scam too since the cpu was still sealed in its original Intel retail box and had never been opened.
No more MWave for me. I'm done with them.
I was a long time computergiants.com customer. They have really great prices on high-end hard drives and storage equipment, but their service has quite a few problems. I ordered two WD HDD's and paid for 2-day shipping. The items were in stock, but it took two weeks for me to get the drives. Then I found out that my credit card had not been charged for the purchase. I waited a week, and after not being charged or sent an invoice, I called the RMA department to return the unopened drives I had.
They sent me a DHL box to send them back with, and I put the drives in the drop box, happy that I had done the Right Thing(TM). Well the day after, I was billed for my order, fully a month after I had originally authorized the credit card transaction, and two weeks after I received the products. Over the next few months I went between various customer support agents trying to get my money back that had been improperly charged. I had all the paperwork to file a dispute on my CC ready. I called a manager there, and he gave me the name of an owner.
After telling that owner about my situation, the next day, I received my money back minus the shipping costs. This started in May and ended in September. I still had to pay for their shipping mistake, though, and I will never shop there again.
You can get the best deals shopping with different vendors. They all ship.
I always start with Google Shopping for product searches. I then check the Newegg reviews to make my choice. I usually buy from Newegg, which is usually cheapest, but can sometimes get a better deal.
I just built my gaming rig:
Intel Core2 Extreme Q6850 Quad core 3.0GHz CPU Overclocked to 3.6Ghz
System Bus 1333 Mhz overclocked to 1600 Mhz
ZALMAN CNPS9700 110mm CPU Cooler
Gigabyte GA-Ex38T-DQ6 Intel X38 motherboard
4.0 GB Kingston DDR3 1333 Mhz RAM
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit OS
NVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra 768 MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI-E Video card
Samsung 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HD RAID 1 (2)
Logitch G7 mouse
Nostromo N52 Gamepad
CD ROM 52x
BenQ DVD/CD RW 24x
RealTek HD Digital Audio (onboard)
Speed Link Medusa 5.1 headphones w/mic
1 Gb Ethernet NIC
700W Modular PSU
Antec 900 gaming case
Logitech QuickCam Pro w/mic
Cost: ~$3,000
I love newegg. I concur with all the comments here. One more empirical case was newegg shipping me a new cpu, no questions asked, when the one I purchased fried on start-up. They even shipped the new cpu before I returned the bad one. Now that's what I call customer service. Also, in my dealings with them, they have never failed to beat their delivery estimates.
So if your system costs $2,000, you are quibbling about $190 in taxes vs. possible bad service. I'd take the $190 insurance policy anytime.
I'm more than willing to pay taxes in any state. But then I get a vote in that state as well.
My guess is if they did this, the nuisance taxes on out-of-state people would disappear.
Somehow I doubt that will work with any frequency - you'd think newegg would wise up after the 3rd return with tool marks on it.
I don't think Newegg's profit margins are such that they can absorb that much cost. And I think you'd be surprised how many people see nothing wrong with doing this sort of thing.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000905.html/
The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power. -- Daniel Webster
I've done business several times with Directron down in Houston, TX. Prices are decent (not always at Newegg levels, but not too different) and the customer service is fantastic. AFAIK, they are only located in Texas, so sales tax in TN shouldn't be an issue. http://www.directron.com/
I've dealt pretty much exclusively with ncix.com for the last 4 years. Very happy with them... easy price match engine, good service, quick shipping.
I ended up doing a replacement RMA and was without a hard drive for 11 days while they dickered around with the paperwork and shipping back and forth.
If it's really so vital, do the RMA, and then buy another drive from a local store that allows returns without a restocking fee. Us that hard drive for 11 days, and when your replacement from NewEgg comes, copy the drive over and return the second drive to the store that doesn't have a restocking fee.
It's not rocket science.
http://www.pricewatch.com/
There is no better place.
Honestly if you plan on getting everything all at one place be prepared to end up probably paying more, no website seems to have the best prices on everything. Newegg probably comes the closest, but since I live in NJ I too have to "shop" around to avoid the Egg tax. Also since computers are an expensive hobby I kind of created a routine that I follow to get good prices on things...A little time consuming but if you are trying to save some money well worth the time.
When I go shopping this is usually how I do it...
First I visit Newegg.com and using their superior search function I find the product(s) I feel is fitting for the job. I check out their reviews, and price including shipping and tax(I live in NJ).
Next I visit these three sites which I have ordered from and have always had pretty comptetive pricing, Mwave.com, Zipzoomfly.com, and Ewiz.com. I also sometimes glance at specialty sites if I feel the item may be cheaper there or just to check and read reviews. Clubit.com, Frozencpu.com.
I also check the big/retail names just in case there may be a deal, Amazon.com, Buy.com, Tigerdirect.com, Compusa.com, Frys.com, and Bestbuy.com and the like.
Lastly I check these three pricing websites for the item to see if there is any place that may have an amazing price but less than satisfactory customer experience. If it is a low price I try and figure out if its worth it depending on the likely hood that I'd have to return it.
pricewatch.com
pricegrabber.com
bizrate.com
For the last 5 machines I have built(from web surfing machines to gaming rigs) I have used this method and I have saved a ton of money than if I just bought everything from 1 site. Also honestly if you order your parts all on the same day then the chance that you won't get them all within a few days of each other is slim to none. So returning them shouldn't be a problem.
-wondergod-
I trust nobody. With the prices as low as they are, everything is garbage. The "cheap computer" manufactured in China destroyed the market. I mean, what do you expect for f*cking $300 ??? Who is going to buy a PC for $2000, no matter how well built, when you have the same specs in a $800 box ? So now instead of $2000 it is going to cost you $5000.
It is all down the drain people. Or may be I am just getting too old. Note to moderators: I am not trolling, I am complaining :-)
I know a company which had to purchase batches of specialized PCs manufactured in China. They got three completely different models from three different suppliers to be safe (of course nobody knows who the real manufacturer is - quite possibly it is one and the same). More than 70% of them failed within six months !! Do you realize what the odds of this are ? A computer failing within six months ? How about _dozens_ of computers ?
To be honest though I have never had a problem with anything Dell, no matter how cheap. I feel sorry for them trying to compete at these prices and still succeeding in delivering something that doesn't fail within six months.
I use Directron.com. They are always cheaper than any big chain, including Fry's. Service is impeccable.
Attaching a HSF scares you? Yeah, it can be rather nasty.
And once, on a 350MHz board, I bumped off the retainer clip. Supposedly, it screws over the whole motherboard. I just built an epoxy bridge using a piece of wire, dremeled in the side of the mount, glued in the post, and built a tab. Works even today.
Shit breaks. We fix it.
ATTN: VENDORS!
For me, and I KNOW for many, there is a premium worth paying when the customer KNOWS that whether the sale goes well or there are mistakes, that they will be treated fairly.
Newegg has my undying loyalty for that reason. I buy from them by default unless I need a part right now, which means enduring the idiots at Frys.
In my dealings with Newegg and Monoprice (who has never gotten an order wrong) I have often decided to pay a little bit extra, and in one case (a Sony 46' LCD) a LOT more, because I trust them to get it right, or treat me right.
Why is this so hard? Why are not Business schools doing case-studies on Newegg tech support? Newegg has helped me out when it was ME who screwed up an order! Sales tax is cheaper than my peace of mind. I would gladly pay extra to not spend my time tracking shipping numbers, and waiting on RMAs with no clue as to whats happening.
Mwave is probably good too, but I will never know, unless I need something I cant find at Newegg.
Parent is correct. I've had great luck with zipzoomfly. Their prices are usually about the same as new egg, and from my experience they're second nicest to new egg when it comes to returns, etc, although newegg still wins by far in that category.
I like zipzoomfly.com . they have been very nice to me on the few times I've had trouble with compatibility, the prices are decent and shipping is either free for ground service, or reasonable for second day air
If I don't buy from newegg, I'm buying from whoever has the cheapest price listed on pricegrabber.com. I've bought from some pretty shady looking sites before and never had any problem. Of course, bad sites would probably get pulled from pricegrabber pretty quickly. The only hard part about it would be trying to figure out which sites you can get everything from. But I mean, I've never seen anything take less than 3 days or more than 5 to ship, so I don't think you really have to worry about the return policy expiring if you're ordering them all at once. Unless of course something gets back-ordered. But in that case most companies will just send everything else anyways, so that doesn't make much of a difference.
You might be surprised to learn that even after taxes, most electronic-related items are significantly cheaper in the US.
Two reasons:
Wouldn't that be more than enough to account for a price difference of 100 USD vs. 80 EUR before VAT?
Don't know if this has been mentioned, but if you have friends or family in another state, have them buy the parts, pay them back, and next time the visit you/you visit them, pick em up. No more sales tax.
Also, does anyone here recall the whole SoftRAM95 scandal - and recall as well that TigerDirect heavily promoted this product (full page catalog spreads, etc)?
To me both speak of a "money first, everything else is noise" way of doing business. I never do business with them, and steer my clients who might be using them to better alternatives.
very bad experiences with augustustech -- should have trusted resellerratings. this was almost 10 years ago, so things may have changed. i'm honestly not sure if they are still in business.
had nothing but the very best experience with ecspc.biz, but they are kind of pricey and the product line is limited. the price i paid was well worth it though. don't know if they still do (this was in 2000), i built a new system and got the ram from there. something with the system was not quite right, and having just replaced all the parts, i was not sure what was failing. i emailed them to let them know what was going on, and they said that if i found the ram to be faulty, to let them know asap so they could ship it out (hopefully on the same day they were informed), and to return the defective unit "whenever." don't know if they still operate that way, but i've never regretted a purchase from them.
(i cannot remember what the problem was, but the ram was fine.)
You don't have income tax. And you are fussing about some sales tax?
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
I've heard good things about tigerdirect.com. Also, you can use newegg's excellent research functions to figure out what components you want, then go buy them at a Fry's if there's one near you. For me, the best thing about newegg is their search tools, the fact that they have fairly accurate specs, and that they include photos of everything. You might also check resellerratings.com, and see which PC hardware sellers are highly rated.
Well, you might avoid the Western Digital "Mybook" series then. I've had drives fail after 13 months, one month out of warranty. Some of my friends, who coincindentally bought their drives from the same retailer, have had similar 13 month lifetimes.
This is unacceptable, so I've switched to drive vendors with 5 year warranties.
Being a Canadian and trying to keep stuff on this side of the border, I pretty much strictly use NCIX. While their prices aren't always the lowest, they often are, and their price matching is online, simple, and effective, so they basically are the lowest priced vendor. I agree that shipping is fast. When there are problems, they seem to be more professional at resolving them than other vendors, certainly no comparison to Tigerdirect!!
They have --usually-- decent product info through the forums on their website, and various incentives for volume buyers. They also have brick and mortar stores for the locals, which works for me at least. I've heard their US division is growing very quickly, and I'm not surprised. The main thing I like about them is their reliability and prices.
Damn those pesky terrorists
Yeah, you really want to avoid those ISS certified parts - their laptops are so 'high-tech', they run Windows and get Windows spyware which steals passwords
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3768196/Password+Stealing+Worm+Catches+NASA+Napping.htm
I'll just bet some astronaut has gone and used the same password for his WoW account as the station's computer.
Suck up the tax and buy from NewEgg anyway. About a month or a little more ago, I bought some UPSes from them. Both came with labels slapped on the packaging, and the packaging was mangled on one. Further, the styrofoam inside was trashed, and it was missing the manuals, accessory parts, and warranty cards. I called NewEgg, prepared to do the consumer battle, but with no aggravation at all, they sent me a new one, gratis. Can't beat that with a stick.
captcha si "admires", and admirable one for my views on NewEgg.
I've had newegg cross ship. Although I did have to pay for the replacement up-front but it was then refunded once they got the defective one back.
I strongly recommend CDW (cdw.com) for everything computer. From my experience, they are excellent, and their customer support is very good.
Navicula hydraulica plena anguilarum est. Omnes castelli tuus nostri sunt. Ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta.
Sales tax is 7%, not 9.5%. The damn DEA keeps bustin up the stills lookin for meth labs, so now we even have to pay tax on corn whiskey. It's $4.40 per gallon, so that's nearly $18 a month!
thanks for bringing that one out of the wood-work
i totally forgot about it... epic rant
------ no thanks... I've quit
For about 6 years, I've bought parts from www.directron.com with no problems. They are in Texas and I am in California so they ship to me without any sales tax. This can be a big savings if you order all your PC parts at once. I have built 5 complete PCs so far by ordering the parts from www.directron.com.
Many states with sales taxes require consumers to submit a "use tax" equal to the sales tax amount for items they import but do not pay sales taxes on.
Enforcement is spotty, but not paying obscure taxes can come back to bite you if you ever run for public office. Remember the Congressmen who got caught not paying social security taxes for their maids and nannies back in the '90s?
http://www.resellerratings.com/
Obama -- Buy from Newegg and pay the sales tax. You should believe in what it stands for.
McCain -- Buy from Mwave or ZipZoomFly.
I do not respond to cowards. Especially anonymous ones.
I built out a system a couple of years ago and got almost everything at zipzoomfly.
I'm building out a system now and getting almost everything from NewEgg.
NewEgg has slightly better prices and appear to have a broader selection, but if I had to pay sales tax I'd be using zipzoomfly instead of NewEgg.
-X
+1 to this. I was a big Monarch customer, but they got bought out, run into the ground and then went bust. What a shame.
So now I am looking for an ala carte integerator that will put a machine together for me like Monarch used to.
I have always used Tigerdirect, they have great prices, and their service and support has always been steller. They are located in Florida, but they have shipping warehouses all over the US.
www.tigerdirect.com
Best of luck with your new system!
Just because you order from one site doesn't mean your stuff will arrive at the same time. I ordered from Newegg, and the parts shipped from three different warehouses - CA, TN, and TX.
Evolution is a state-sponsored, state-protected religion.
Amazon.com or buy.com are the two other companies I have shopped from if newegg doesn't have what I am looking for. I have also placed an order from zipzoomfly and had good success from them as well, although that was only a single instance.
I've ordered lots of stuff from Directron. Never had any problems and the prices are pretty good.
I believe www.buy.com has some good prices and shipping deals. However, as noted in the description www.newegg.com is the way to go if your not taxed. Their shipping deals, customer service, and prices cannot be beat. I would recommend them so much so that if I was taxed here in Pennsylvania I would try to find someone out of state to get the parts shipped to (given I knew someone that lived out of state). Also, on a related note I am selling some gaming sound cards and several hard drives on eBay with free shipping. My eBay username is iverson2384; I have an unlocked iPhone up for sale as well.
I'll stick with Fry's and Amazon. If something doesn't work or doesn't work the way I'd like I'll return it and I'll happily accept an RMA'd product myself.
To me that's good business.
And try not to be such a little cock.
Quack, quack.
Fry's and Amazon manage to make money without charging the same restocking fee. Newegg penalizes you for any return.
I didn't realize there were some many fucking STORE fanbois.
Quack, quack.
Why bother switching vendors? Even with the sales tax, newegg would still be price-competitive with any of the other reputable vendors out there.
Really, check pricegrabber, pricespider, pricewatch, froogle (etc).
Newegg is usually the cheapest by far (again, reputable vendors).
Adding another 10% usually doesn't change that.
I usually alternate between Newegg and Amazon, but I hate buying from Amazon (one-click bastards) and will buy from Newegg if the difference is small.
I do about 3-6 months research, pick out the right parts for my needs, and then I hit the following online vendors in order for parts:
newegg.com - great prices, reasonable shipping, broad selection and a good return policy if things don't work out.
zipzoomfly.com - sometimes has parts that I want that newegg doesn't. The prices are comparable.
mwave.com - again, sometimes has parts that the previous two don't. Generally runs pretty good deals too.
I'll price compare between the three and factor in shipping costs. It's nice having a single vendor to deal with sometimes, but I'll poke around for a deal ;-).
Man I used to go thru the crap of trying to do the research and squeeze a good deal and then I bought a Dell once just for a second box for my wife and it's pushing 3 years old now having never been serviced (Pentium D - Dimension E510). I paid $500 for it and free shipping and it had 1 year parts and labor for the first year though I never used it. I hate their tech support but I know WTF I'm doing and it's not a bad little box. I added an ATI X800 and 2GB ram and it hasn't been a bad little gaming box though Crysis nearly made it cry. So for my next refresh, I'm just buying Dell.
www.svc.com has always been good to me for things like data cables, cooling gear like fans + heatsinks, and other odds and ends. Highly recommend them.
And the nice thing is, they don't charge you $3 for shipping per SATA cable, for example. They actually calculate the weight of your order and charge what it actually costs - saves quite a bit on this sort of thing.
I've also noticed that www.buy.com can have very good prices on monitors.
I like to use TigerDirect since they usually have a great price and/or deals. I have been using them for 10 years without a problem. I tried Newegg once and hated it. They sell bad ram and other things. Plus they have a place in NJ so we get charged 7% sales tax.
I can see quite a few favorable reviews of MicroCenter here. You guys don't know what you are dealing with!
Following is a true horror story of mine. It's probably not going to catch many eyeballs after 400+ posts, but I'm posting this anyway.
I used to shop at MicroCenter's Houston location on a semi-regular basis and like many others, had always wondered how they could manage their low prices.
One day, a couple of years ago, I needed a pair of mid-end LCD monitors for a client of mine. Looking around various local as well as online places, one particular model at MicroCenter caught my attention. Their price was 20% below the lowest price I could found on the web!
Thinking I had hit the jackpot, I immediately went out and bought two. Guess what? Both monitors had 2-3 dead pixels! Chuck it up to back luck, I went back to the store the next day and asked for exchange. Another surprise! According to their store policy, anything less than 9 pixels in an LCD monitor was not considered defective, and I would need to pay 15% restocking fee for the exchange -- for non-defective, open-box items! After half an hour of arguing and going nowhere, I gruntly paid the 15% fee, which amounted to ~$100, and came back with another pair.
No surprise any more... DEAL PIXELS AGAIN in both! However, wiser the second time around, I did not simply break the seal sticker on the box. Instead I used a razor blade so that the seal could be put back in place as if the box had never been opened. I promptly returned the items to the store, without paying restocking fee this time.
Walking out of the store -- for the last time in my life, I noticed a few dozen boxes of the same model stocked against the wall, waiting to be sold.
In retrospect, I believe what happened was that those defective LCD monitors were rejects from the Asian market where customers were more demanding, and MicroCenter bought them cheap and passed to us unsuspecting North American consumers as brand new items.
If this happened to LCD monitors, imagine what could happen to other more obscure parts and supplies. Since that day, I've been avoiding MicroCenter like a plague.
Now you know how they could manage those low prices!
For years I'd used pricewatch to find the best prices for all the things I wanted, and then see how much I could order together from the retailers I found... I stopped that BS about five years ago. I pretty much rely entirely on Newegg now. You really can't go wrong. I live in Vermont, so most of the time, stuff I order from them ships from their New Jersey warehouses, and I have it the next day, for next to nothing on shipping. Last time I built new machines, cases monitors and most of the guts shipped from New Jersey, memory shipped from Tennessee, and the uber videocard for my box shipped from California, and I had it all within 3 days. I paid something like $80 shipping for the parts for two fully-loaded machines with input devices, monitors, and 40lb steel cases. So, not bad. They usually have the lowest prices, or at least close enough that it's not worth buying from somewhere else, and their shipping is cheap and fast.
I've never really had a problem with them NOT having something I wanted, although one time I had to order special low-noise fans and a huge copper heatsink from FrozenCPU because they were out of stock at Newegg. (I was ordering stuff from FrozenCPU anyway)
Other than that, if it's pro video capture hardware or tablets or something, I get it from B&H Photo, where I get all my camera gear. They're like the Newegg of Photo and Video stuff. Although Newegg has started carrying Tablets now.
Aside:
First big order I made with Newegg was for building a new computer, with a scanner, printer, and two 19" Viewsonic CRT monitors... It all arrived very quickly (And at once), the FedEx guy was not amused, and I had to help him carry it up the flight of stairs... It filled the goddamn livingroom. Hehe. That's so completely etched into my memory now.
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
I didn't see eWiz.com listed, so I felt they needed the mention. They are a good one-stop-shop, similar to newegg (which is my first choice). Make sure to search pricewatch.com and follow the links to get specially priced items into your cart.
My comment is solely related to LCD monitors.
I highly recommend buying them at Best Buy. If you can find a model you like, odds are you can find it at near market price.
But here's the great thing. LCD screens are known for their dead pixels and vendors are known for their awful policies on returning LCDs with dead pixels.
Best Buy will exchange your product if it has ONE dead pixel. I have returned 5 screens which had fewer than 10 dead pixels in total, and the loss prevention guy still lets me walk past without putting me in zip cuffs everytime I come in to buy something new.
At this point I wonder if I have been a net loss to them given that I've spent significantly less than $5000 at the store.
globalcomputer.com
has some of the cheapest quality components around
they compare well to newegg
I just can't get my brothers and father to believe that the Frys in Las Vegas not only has an english speaking staff, but also helpful and informed folks in the aisles.
Just in case you think it's not a real Fry's, it does indeed have the trademark nearly impossible to exit parking lot.
hawk
Just go to pricewatch.com, and find the parts you want. They have a seller rating, and I've never had a bad experience buying anything from vendors that submit prices to Pricewatch.com.
Your experience may vary, but just buy some stuff and find a vendor you like. It's not rocket surgery.
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
Um... you're supposed to report those purchases for taxation by your state.
Not that anyone ever does, but you are supposed to.
MicroCenter's local, so I ordered it online and drove over during lunch. FWIW, there were rebates on some of the items from NewEgg, NCIXUS, and FRYS, totallying $145. I was pleasantly surprised to get every single one of them. I've bought parts (drives, memory, cables, etc.) from all of them except NCIXUS before, just never any system boards, cases or processors.
The power supply had a problem (high-pitched whine under any significant load), and since I got it first, by the time I noticed the problem, it was too late to send it back to FRYS (over 30 days). The manufacturer was great, though, and the replacement is on its way here (they're paying for all shipping).
I also picked up a few hard drives from ChiefValue.com recently, no complaints.
I go to a local non-chain store in suburban D.C near work. They've been in business for a while - at least 10 years IIRC. I'd suggest a place like this where you can build a relationship with the staff.
http://tcponline.com/Monthly_Special.htm
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
I think it's ok to discuss even if it's rather off topic in threads, if people want to discuss it it's ok. But well, please keep some standard on what is posted on the front page at least. That someone want to buy a new gaming PC is not a news item, maybe I should post a news item asking for advices what underwear to get when you feel big enough to leave those mickey mouse pants your mother got you 15 years ago. Though I do understand Slashdot would be a bad forum for such a question since most people wouldn't know, it's better for PC advices ..
Also, if newegg with 9.5% taxes still is cheaper, BUY!
If newegg with 9.5% taxes cost more than some alternative, DONT BUY!
How hard can it be?
Yes I did notice it, but I don't want to see posts like "which coffee should I drink this morning?" on the front page. Ok if people ask work or educational advices in a non-general maner but please don't ask what browser to install, if blue is better than brown and such.
Who the fuck gives a shit about this guy buying a new gaming PC? He can't ask for good prices somewhere else? Shall everyone who wants to get a new system have their story on Slashdots front page?
I don't say I've got a life, also I didn't read it more than to look for earlier complaints on the same thing so I could reply in that part of the thread.
But Slashdot reaches a lot of people, how many care about that he will buy a new PC for games? Big deal? Most important information of the day?
I'd guess much more interesting stories never reaches the front page.
I may have been acceptable if he was building a huge data center or very small server system or something such with a little more exotic hardware, BUT A FUCKING DESKTOP PC!?!
Just give him dell.com/xps or something.
I heard amazon and newegg are starting to stop collecting sales tax in certain areas
These are the guys who sued Apple for code-naming 10.4 'Tiger'. Srsly, now...
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
My own short list:
newegg, nextwarehouse, geeks.com, and cdw.
CDW is the most expensive of them all, but they're extremely fast and reliable. The only problem I've had with them is that on some gear, like Cisco, they might have a sales agent contact you to make sure that you're ordering what you need -- and they will neg. with you. This can be a great thing, and it is a fabulous service, but it does slightly delay the receipt of gear that you might need right now, today. Overall, this has been rare, and when it happens you will get a phone-call, you can simply confirm your order and it will still come in a very acceptable time-frame.
Newegg is usually great, but I've had cases where they would randomly complain about my different shipping and billing addresses (that were used on prior purchases) and would drop my order. That would delay shipments by days or even weeks, but I'd eventually get the equipment. This once happened when I needed the shipment the next day, and had paid for next-day shipping, and worse--the product had gone up in price. Again, Newegg figured it out for me, and adjusted the prices, but I'm cautious about purchasing from them when I have a strict, close deadline.
Go here for a good list of Power Supply part numbers: http://www.80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_join.aspx
Power supplies on that list are tested for efficiency at 20% load, 50% load, and 100% load. If they pass they get the 80 Plus efficiency rating. Newer 80 Plus ratings bronze, silver, and gold were added which have even stricter efficiency requirements.
Also sizing your power supply for your needs is critical. If your system is only going to consume 100 watts on load there's little reason why you should be buying a 600 watt power supply. If you're going to buy 4 video cards and/or 6 hard disks, then maybe. But for your standard single cpu, single video card, and one or two hard disk machine, a 400 watt power supply or maybe even less (depending on video card and cpu) might be all you need. That's because efficiency tends to drop-off under 20% of the PSU's load. So if our system consumes say 80 watts idle, then 400 watt PSU would be more efficient than a 500 watt PSU.
Another thing you should be looking at are the listed amps for each voltage line the psu can support. For example let's look at the following two PSUs at newegg: CHIEFTEC GREEN CTP-350-12G 350W and SeaSonic SS-350ET 350W. Both are rated 80 plus so they're both efficient and both have two 12V lines. But if we look at the output specs the Chieftec has 11A and 14A for the 12V lines while the Seasonic has 17A for each 12V line. In fact, the Seasonic PSU beats the Chieftec on all output voltages except the 3.3V which it loses by only 1amp. In this case the PSUs are rated exactly the same, but I've seen cheaper high wattage models with crappier specs than PSUs rated 50 watts or even 100 watts lower. The total output wattage might be higher but if each line can't handle the fluctuations your system can crash or your PSU can fail (sometimes violently).
i've started looking for deals on HP workstations. with up to 8gb of ram, onboard RAID, gig ethernet, and a higher-end component-base in general, all i have to do is throw in a video card (for gaming) and i'm off.
i started with an open-box xw4300 (P4, 3ghz), and recently moved onto an open-box xw4400 (c2d 2.4)
i picked mine up from a major IT reseller (focused on SMB/Enterprise sales). i once saw an open box xw* with a DC opteron 2ghz+ for sale for around $500.
that's my recommendation. time is money, and frankly, the novelty of building the same system over and over again wore off long ago...
not only is time travel possible, it's irrelevant.
They went out of buisness a few years ago. Did someone buy the name?
"The Adobe Updater must update itself before it can check for updates. Would you like to update the Adobe Updater now?"
I use NCIX.com here in Canada. Great site!
It's not rocket science, but it is dishonest and immoral.
The preferred solution is to not have a problem.
I have had great dealings with NCIX here in Canada. http://www.ncix.com Good prices, quick delivery via Canada post, and they allow posting on each page about the items, so you can read user reviews before buying.
I only ever had 1 problem with them, the description on some ECC server ram said 2GB ram XYXXYXY speed kit. Note that the way it was worded it did not say 2GB (1X2) kit. Thus, when I thought I was ordering 1 2GB stick of ram, I was ordering 2 1GB sticks of ram. As I ordered a number of these, it was expensive. I ended up returning them and was not charged at all. They even refunded my shipping due to the confusing way in which the item was marked. That was impressive.
Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
I've dealt with mwave.com for 10 years now. Prices are good, service is predictably and consistently good. They've never screwed up any of my orders and they graciously allowed me to return and exchange and Creative X-FI card that had a buzz in it - with no service charge.
tiger direct is good and I go to there warehouse store and there customer service is good there and it is real easy to return stuff.
And you are... a sales-employee from Tiger Direct, I assume?
Posting AC, valueing my karma.
No but same day pick and same days returns is better then waiting for ups / fedex to beat up your package and to leave it plan site all day even when it says that it needs to be singed for is better.
I've had the best luck with ZipZoomFly and Amazon. I buy the bulk of everything I use from New Egg though.
Some Favs R: Zipzoomfly-CA, eCost.com, Amazon.com, Buy.com, Pricegrabber.com, Nextag.com, Shopping.com, Price-Comparison.com
You're being too nice. nine-times is a sociopathic dick.
eBay ... only ... eBay ...
... if it isn't junk I cannot afford it.
I have four identical computers (all dual-Xeon workstations) to keep two running (a primary and a spare).
Retro junk is all I buy.
Fully depreciated junk beats todays wonder-crap everytime. If it was a quality peripheral device it will last for 8-10 years and silly corporate out with the old in with the new is what birthed the VISTA DEBACLE.
I use newegg a lot too. But the other main supplier I use is geeks.com. I've been dealing with them for a few years now. Customer Service has been great. Depending on what your ordering I prefer to use geeks. They have some really great prices on hard drives and sometimes you can even get refurb parts. I ordered a refurb 500gb hard drive and have had no problems with it whatsoever. Plus I saved $60
I've had decent luck with Tigerdirect, although they advertise most of their prices after mail in rebates... funny, I seem to be batting about .600 for those rebates. They seem to get lost in the mail a lot. Had a few faulty pieces show up, too... but that was resolved satisfactorily.
However... I will never, ever use them for business purchasing again... terrible sales managers!
Newegg seems to generally have slightly lower prices than TD's pre-rebate prices. Their service is great, also. They give me a warmer, fuzzier feeling of security also.
Is it true that Newegg is what became of the old Egghead chain? I miss Egghead. A lot.
For as long as they've been a national chain, they've managed to become a sort of first geek job for countless of our tribe. I can tell you that I've been walking into Radio Shacks since at least the early eighties and thinking each time, "I wonder if I'll run into anybody cool working here."
Now, admittedly, those people are about one in fifteen among their staff, but they still pop up. Makes sense. If you're the kind of person who wants discounts on protoboards and power supplies and soon and you're from a non-geek family/social circle, a job at Radio Shack can be the only evident option for going from being a user to being, at the least, somebody who builds from components, or even somebody who is soldering, figuring out resistances, and so on.
Does this get me to buy their crappy consumer electronics? No. But I'm always glad to go there for mini screwdrivers on Xacto-style knives and that kind of thing and see if anything else worth my time and cash turns up.
It's all about the information. And what we do with it.