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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?
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.
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/...
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.
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...
...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/
. 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
Go for the cheapest CPU, and upgrade in 6months to something twice as fast.
I'll bet you didn't get a socket 939 board
I didn't say it was bad as a matter of policy-- though it would seem to bring about a fair amount of double-taxation, which is in the interest of the state imposing the use tax in any case.
I'm not familiar with the jurisprudence here-- if I were, I wouldn't be asking-- but it was the reasoning behind this statement I really wanted. How not?
Or does that only apply to international trade?
Indeed. But no doubt you HAVE heard of it, when ordering a product from another country. US states are largely sovereign, and so far, the federal government has chosen not to levy a tax on interstate commerce.
If you find that "crazy", it's because you really don't understand the US. Most individual US states are, by themselves, geographically larger than most countries around the world. At the time, centralized control over such a diverse area wouldn't have even been technologically possible... A similar case to Russia, more than a century ago.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
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.
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
I used to buy from Monarch Computers in Georgia; shame they're not around any more.
Monarch had cheap prices, but they were idiots.
They lost accounts with two companies I did work for over repeatedly sending different model motherboards while ordering one model number.
The old sales guy would always tell us "All motherboards are the same", when no, on FreeBSD, when you order a part, you need that part and not some random shit out of the warehouse. Especially on big deployments.
I'm guessing they were okay if you were building a game rig with one of their many Lian Li knockoff towers, but they stunk at b2b sales.
The only thing I'll give them. They did have an original Pacman arcade machine on free play in the store. God help you if that old salesman actually saw anyone playing it, though.
Well, possibly the original intent of the parent was to make a satiric comment about how very US-centric this question is, and completely irrelevant to everyone else. It's not even a national US-question, but pretty much only relevant if you happen to live in certain states.
c++;
For example, I bought a 200G drive a few years ago, which failed after six months. "Sorry", they said, "We can't replace that.
You should have called the HDD warranty people. It would have taken probably five minutes to get an RMA number and box it up to mail off for a replacement.
People tend to act like complete flipper babies when it comes to warranty failure. Not that I have anything to complain about, I've gotten plenty of free "broken" Western Digital drives and sent them off for warranty and got a fresh one in the mail a few days later.
It'll definitely be up to you to take care of your own warranty returns after 30 days or so with any online retailer, too. But honestly, it's often a waste to just not deal with the manufacturer directly in most cases, since they'll be less likely to ask a million questions and waste your time.
FWIW, you're probably better off to pretend that the MIRs don't exist, and buy accordingly.
Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow.
I'll chime in and agree with this one as well. I currently work in one of these small, local shops. We spend so much of our time in the backup/wipe/reload cycle due to malware infection that even the opportunity to talk to someone with any know-how and interest in the nuts and bolts is a nice diversion. We do make it clear that we can't price-match every part, but if you're buying a complete system, often we can match the overall cost due to deals from our distributors. I've even been known to throw in complete assembly for free.
It's worth a try, and the previous posters were right about the hardware; I can't speak for all local shops, but we've been around for 10 years now, and the only way we've made it is by being almost overkill on honoring warranties and providing support after the sale.
Besides all that, you'll also be supporting you immediate local economy. Everybody wins!
Prices are ridiculously low for a Gb of memory considering the amount of produce, material and quality, so anything cheaper will most likely be lesser, be it defect, scam or whatever, unless you're lucky and you did get a working module from the rejected batch.
The memory business is crowded. Getting a life-time guarantee from a business with an *existing* and responsive RMA department for only a couple of bucks extra buys you time and less frustration.
Cheap-skating on memory is for those who like flipping modules on a free afternoon.
Personally I'm a socialist and support our high taxes in Sweden, but I make sure to never miss out an opportunity to withhold as much taxes I can get away with.. Has more to do with personal greed than with any political ideology
I think this is a pretty good summary of why absolute socialism (not what you have in sweden) doesn't work
And here we have the triumph of the capitalists in microcosm. If even those who call themselves Socialists will lie and cheat to avoid contributing to the common good, what hope then for Socialism?
Regarding the definition of 'overseas' for import purposes, by the way: the EU is a single market. Tax is not payable on anything you buy from another EU state, provided it is for your own use rather than for commercial resale. For some reason the British customs think there is still something called a 'personal allowance' which limits how much you can import, but this is not in fact the case; good luck convincing the bloke in Dover that your Transit van full of fags from Calais is entirely for your own use, though.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Or does that only apply to international trade?
Yes. Hooeven & Allison Co. v. Evatt. Article 1, Section 8 and its corollary are what matters in this situation:
"The Congress shall have power [...] To regulate commerce [...] among the several states..."
Where Congress has not regulated, the states must act in accordance with the idea of the Dormant Commerce Clause, which prohibits them from burdening interstate commerce relative to internal commerce. This is because the intent, it is argued, of giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce is to prevent states from breaking down the union economically through protectionism, and thus protectionism is rarely permitted--but charging a uniform tax is not protectionist. One must discriminate against the out-of-state merchant somehow, e.g., by charging a higher or additional tax.
though it would seem to bring about a fair amount of double-taxation
There is no double-taxation going on. You seem to be confused about something.
I'm not familiar with the jurisprudence here-- if I were, I wouldn't be asking-- but it was the reasoning behind this statement I really wanted. How not?
Exactly as I said. It does not discriminate against out-of-state sellers, and it does not favor in-state sellers. It is an evenhanded application of a tax rate for consumer purchases.
If you buy in person in your state, you are charged a sales tax (we'll say it's 7% for the sake of this example).
If you buy in person in another state, you are charged their sales tax. No problem.
If you buy online from your state, you are charged your sales tax. No problem.
If you buy online from another state, the seller does not necessarily collect any tax. This is a problem. The purchase was taxable. It is an unfair advantage not to collect it. It burdens both in-state and in-person transactions.
Along the lines of Philadelphia v. New Jersey and Bacchus Imports v. Dias, as long as the state treats both the in-state and out-of-state merchants the same, it is not an impost or duty. The state cannot charge a higher tax on Internet purchases from out-of-state companies, but if the tax exists domestically, then it can be applied to everyone.
If a state charges a $1 levy on all beer sold in glass bottles, everyone has to pay if they want to do business in the state. The Dormant Commerce Clause exists only in the wake of Congressional silence and prohibits states from burdening out-of-state sellers or preferential treatment of in-state sellers. Creating a level playing field for all is entirely within the rights of the individual state.
Yes, I was under the impression that you were liable for use taxes over and above out-of-state sales tax
Ah. Yeah, that's not the case. The closest thing is that some states require you to pay the use tax, with a credit against what you've paid out-of-state. If you paid 0 tax, for example by driving to Oregon, you're responsible for the full amount (7% in the example). If you paid 5%, you'd owe your home state/municipality 2%.
Actually, I wonder how many people who live in states with sales and use taxes are familiar with these things
Considering it appears as a section of your state tax return, everybody who has ever filed taxes is familiar with it. I'd agree that most people wouldn't be able to tell you about it when asked on the street, though, other than that they're supposed to report the purchase.
I personally don't unless the amount is over $100, though, simply because keeping the receipt for every odd Amazon book or DVD is a bit tedious. Instead, I just add $20 or so to whatever I owe from the big-ticket items. Fair is fair.