Any good brick and mortar computer parts shops?

[AmberClad]

Other than MicroCenter and CompUSA...
Just something for those times you need something small like a cable and don't want to pay $$$ shipping for it.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Look around. In my old town there were three locally owned shops that were very competitive with net pricing and were always willing to help out.

 

[Anubis]

Frys?

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: Anubis
Frys?

We don't have Fry's in Northern Virginia (or on the entire east coast, for that matter...).

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Look around. In my old town there were three locally owned shops that were very competitive with net pricing and were always willing to help out.

I miss the little mom and pop type computer shops.
There were dozens of them in the Austin area in the late 90s.
I think all but maybe one or two of them are gone now.

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Look around. In my old town there were three locally owned shops that were very competitive with net pricing and were always willing to help out.

I miss the little mom and pop type computer shops.
There were dozens of them in the Austin area in the late 90s.
I think all but maybe one or two of them are gone now.

Same here. I think most of them were driven out of business by high lease prices years ago.

 

[funkymatt]

all the compussr's near me recently closed. their closeout prices were crap too.

PC club is usually where I go when I need something and can't wait for newegg.

 

[FleshLight]

Fry's and Microcenter

 

[pontifex]

Best Buy? Circuit City?

 

[us3rnotfound]

Originally posted by: pontifex
Best Buy? Circuit City?

lol, if you want a slow stick of PC 133 ram or a GeForce 5500FX.

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: AmberClad
Other than MicroCenter and CompUSA...
Just something for those times you need something small like a cable and don't want to pay $$$ shipping for it.

RadioShack is sometimes bearable on cables and such. If you live near one of the few remaining good ones, they usually have decent stock of the commonly-needed stuff (as well as a lot of crap).

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound

Originally posted by: pontifex
Best Buy? Circuit City?

lol, if you want a slow stick of PC 133 ram or a GeForce 5500FX.

Now only $250!

 

[aphex]

We actually have a halfway decent one about 10 minutes away.... Still much better prices and product selection online, but for a local store, not half bad...

http://www.cbwarehouse.com

 

[pradeep1]

Fry's has good selection, but customer service and technical knowledge is lacking.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: Anubis
Frys?

We don't have Fry's in Northern Virginia (or on the entire east coast, for that matter...).

Do you realize how much it sucks to not have Fry's? For those who have Fry's, you take it all for granted.

I live in the East Bay (Berkeley), and going to Fry's means a 30 minute drive down to Fremont or up to Concord. Concord sucks because they don't feature the SF Bay Area deals. No one knows Fremont, so very few ppl drive down there. Thus I have to resort to going home and visiting the superstore in Sunnyvale, CA.

With that said, looking for stuff at BB and Comp USA just pisses me off. They rip you off. Fry's always has some 100 pack DVD-Rs on sale, and their selection is just unbeatable. I couldn't find a cheap keyboard I wanted from Logitech at CompUSA and Best Buy, but Fry's definitely had it. This pissed me off because in my freshman year I didn't have a car, and when my roommate spilled alcohol all over my keyboard, I had to get a replacement for my CS project ASAP.

Same with when I was looking for laptop svideo => composite connector. They sell the fancy $19.99 and up ones at BB, but why can't you offer $3.99 ones? Fry's has a ton of those AS WELL as your expensive Monster ones that run up to like $80. There's a whole grade of $10 ones, $20 ones, $40 ones too, etc etc...

Then you come to motherboards. Where else are you going to get a huge display of like all these motherboards. I remember they even carried all the DFI NF4 boards at Fry's and 2 of them were on display, in addition to the MSI, Abit, Asus, Gigabyte, etc etc.. you name it.

Yea, I'd pick BB simply because I have rewards points with them, and they're the only DECENT store around here. It's where I go when I have to get something quick. Yea that $36 Firewire connector for my camcorder sure pissed me off, but I figured getting a $10 one at Fry's would eat the difference up in gas.

Of course comparing Fry's and BB is simply comparing a mom and pop grocery store to one of the giant Albertsons or Safeways that are around. Or a small shop to Target/Wal-Mart.

You just can't beat price and selection at Fry's.

Having lived in the Silicon Valley, and being able to drive to Fry's in under 10 minutes makes it one of my favorite places to walk around with friends when we're bored. There's also SVC which has more fancy goods that you might find at Newegg which luckily is located smack dab in San Jose also.... yea.. I guess we're spoiled.