where to buy quality but low cost parts?

[gazelleintense]

tigerdirect seems to be one.... any place cheaper or better?

I want a basic system... email, web surfing... nothing fancy.


this is my first pc build.... I just need a low cost basic system. don't want to pay too much.

[cmichael258]

I have never purchased all of my parts from one source. I would recommend that you put together a list of desired components and then shop around. Online dealers like Newegg et al often have price reductions or rebates and if you know what part you want, you can do a search for the best price.

[Alaron]

We recommend www.newegg.com They might not be the absolute cheapest, but they make up for it with excellent customer service. Something Tiger cannot say.

Welcome to PCM.

[King Mir]

The quality part depends on the brand, not the store.

The three sites that I've been using are xpBargains.com, pricewatch.com, and edealinfo.com. These will link to cheap prices, but they do not assure quality service.

[gazelleintense]

good info thanks

sounds like there is a fine line between getting decent parts at a fair price, and getting support (help) when you need it.

[Mavrick813]

I have noticed that with newegg you get great deals here and their, Avg pricing mostly, and Once and a while you pay out the nose on something.

I would suggest newegg because their Customer Service is top notch.

UPS lost a bunch of my packages from a previous build. Newegg.com Re-shipped immediately when I put in my claim. Waved my shipping fees, Credited $200.00 from my order, and gave me $150.00 credit on my account towards my next purchase with them that was more then $300.00, That was 50% off my next order.

That situation has guaranteed my Loyalty to the Egg...

Mike

[TwoRails]

Hi gazelleintense,

Welcome to PCMech !

My first "go to" is www.newegg.com

Other good sources are:

www.ZipZoomFly.com
www.mwave.com
www.geeks.com
www.eWiz.com

and I also use, on occasion,

www.buy.com

TwoRails

[freakitchen]

For a basic system, it's pretty much impossible to compete on price with a pre-built from DELL, without sacrificing on quality.

[gazelleintense]

I like dells, but I did want to build my first one... just for the experience. I forgot to mention that.

[David M]

I like using Pricegrabber.com for searching around for prices but will only use the vendors with the best reputations and the greater number of reviews. Newegg.com is excellent but they are not the only game in town.

Stay away from small time retailers and retailers with less than stellar ratings. The cheapest price is rarely the best deal, especially when something happens with your transaction and you have to hassle with correcting the problem. A handful of retailers could care less after they have your money.

[doubledragon5]

I used tigerdirect once with my first build, and it was not a good experience.. My CPU was DOA, and they would not replace it cause they said it was user fault.. I also use zipzoomfly and had a good experience, but mostly use newegg.. Never sacrifice customer support for low cost, it never works out in the end..

[amdalex]

newegg.com, simply the best.

[geowick07]

x1000 for all the NewEgg suggestions. My last build, I bought almost everything from them, and didn't have one problem. For sure, give them a look!

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen For a basic system, it's pretty much impossible to compete on price with a pre-built from DELL, without sacrificing on quality.

It's hard to compete on price with a pre-built DELL if the budget is under $500 with a monitor, mouse & keyboard and the operating system included in the price; otherwise it's fairly simple, good quality parts have gone down in price a lot since AMD started focusing on midrange parts.

[phigdon]

i have to agree with newegg. i have dealt with tigerdirect, zipzoomfly, and amazon. newegg is outstanding for customer service, their shipping is fast, and if the part you want is out of stock they wont let you order it. i have had issues with ordering, especially from amazon, that they will bill you and then send an email telling you that your item is out of stock. even if newegg is slightly higher in price its worth the investment for less headaches.

[brizey]

I bought everything but my case from newegg on my last build. I bought my case from a local Microcenter because I wanted to see/touch/smell/taste it before I bought it and was willing to pay a few more $$ for that.

Frys is also good for an "ad" deal if you have one local. Their online store sucks, though.

[dchristey]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen For a basic system, it's pretty much impossible to compete on price with a pre-built from DELL, without sacrificing on quality.

I wouldnt agree with that 100%, you can buy very good and cheap memory - where as Dell will put standard RAM in *most* of their machines - although if your inexperienced at building machines then why not?

[freakitchen]

I'll try and clarify my remark here briefly - what Masaki said is true, the cost of building a good system IS falling, thanks not least to plumetting RAM prices (I could now buy 4GB of memory for less than half what I paid for 2GB less than 18 months ago!). But it's difficult to ignore the fact that, with a DELL, you're getting a quality screen for a low price, and perhaps more importantly, an operating system for almost nothing. That has a BIG impact on the price when spending very little in the first instance.

If the OP wants the experience of building a computer then of course, that's fine. I personally am happier to pay a little extra, even, for that 'privilege'. Am not sure what you mean by 'standard' RAM, though, dchristey - for a basic machine, RAM needs only to match the FSB of the processor and to be of decent quality.

[shadowpr]

Originally Posted by brizey I wanted to see/touch/smell/taste it before I bought it and was willing to pay a few more $$ for that.

Yeah, I would think they would charge more if people got to taste the product first.

[brizey]

Originally Posted by shadowpr Yeah, I would think they would charge more if people got to taste the product first.

I guess I have too much character to go into a place to check out a product then buy it online to save a few bucks. Bad Karma.

[brizey]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen I'll try and clarify my remark here briefly - what Masaki said is true, the cost of building a good system IS falling, thanks not least to plumetting RAM prices (I could now buy 4GB of memory for less than half what I paid for 2GB less than 18 months ago!). But it's difficult to ignore the fact that, with a DELL, you're getting a quality screen for a low price, and perhaps more importantly, an operating system for almost nothing. That has a BIG impact on the price when spending very little in the first instance. If the OP wants the experience of building a computer then of course, that's fine. I personally am happier to pay a little extra, even, for that 'privilege'. Am not sure what you mean by 'standard' RAM, though, dchristey - for a basic machine, RAM needs only to match the FSB of the processor and to be of decent quality.

There is also service to consider. It is pretty troublesome to service a Dell/Compaq/Etc because you have no idea what is in it. If you build a computer, you can fix it. For example, I have a chipset cooler on my desk in front of me so that I can replace my noisy-soon-to-die Asus A8N-SLI chipset fan of death. If I had a similar problem on a gateway, how likely would I have been to find people with the same problem that found a cooler than worked for sure? Cripes, can you even see fanspeeds on a Dell MB? The likely scenario is three hours of help desk Indian roulette trying to find someone competent.