++ ATOT official NEF thread part IV ++

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sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,997
15,121
126
You need to get out more. Even I have seen the big nickel.


I don't do sightseeing that much. Especially tacky thing like big nickel. Grand Canyon was impressive though.

Also, went to Sudbury for meetings and conferences, so no time to go scoot around town. I just stayed at the conference hotel.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,374
12,125
126
www.anyf.ca
Crazy that Tigerdirect is gone now, as of around a month ago. Just like that, gone. I knew they closed their physical retail locations years back but the online store is what really counted.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,374
12,125
126
www.anyf.ca
Tigerdirect had decent selection of server related components like Supermicro barebones, now there's not really anywhere for that stuff. Next server build will probably just use normal desktop parts and a custom built rackmount case. Downside is you can't really go smaller than 3U with custom build due to the size of ATX power supplies. Though I kinda want to experiment with some kind of blade setup where the blades slide in from the front and there would just be a bank of PSUs and I/O on the back. The blades would essentially just be a board with the motherboard on it and some connectors to a custom backplane for power and ethernet. For video I would just run the blade on a work bench and plug straight in. (ex: troubleshooting or initial setup)
 

bigboxes

Lifer
Apr 6, 2002
38,591
11,976
146
Tiger Direct has been dead for many years. You were a rare customer of theirs. The rest of us moved on many years ago.
 

bigboxes

Lifer
Apr 6, 2002
38,591
11,976
146
Found a restaurant open today. Had prime rib at Saltgrass Steakhouse. First Christmas without my wife. This year is going to be full of firsts.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,374
12,125
126
www.anyf.ca
Tiger Direct has been dead for many years. You were a rare customer of theirs. The rest of us moved on many years ago.

It was one of the few places in Canada and one of the bigger ones. There used to be NCIX but they're gone now too. There's a few others but they are smaller and have less stock and low limits per customer. We're running out of places to buy computer parts.

I'm almost tempted to get a vendor's permit just so I can gain access to wholesale suppliers. Come to think of it I could start my own online retailer... Even if I just operate a JIT inventory system at first, it's something.
 

bigboxes

Lifer
Apr 6, 2002
38,591
11,976
146
It was one of the few places in Canada and one of the bigger ones. There used to be NCIX but they're gone now too. There's a few others but they are smaller and have less stock and low limits per customer. We're running out of places to buy computer parts.

I'm almost tempted to get a vendor's permit just so I can gain access to wholesale suppliers. Come to think of it I could start my own online retailer... Even if I just operate a JIT inventory system at first, it's something.

I used to a be into Newegg big when the internet exploded. But Amazon was better at a lot of things that Newegg wasn't. Newegg was too late to the party. By then, the personal computer craze had died down. A lot of the specialty shops died out.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,414
8,356
126
vsll09g16s541.jpg
Aw majestic kitteh
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,374
12,125
126
www.anyf.ca
Oh right I always forget about Newegg. When I'm really stuck I do Newegg.ca, but I think it's still American, so there's still a chance of getting hit with customs if the item ships from the states. My last supermicro builds were from Newegg now that I think of it and I was safe though. I think that may be part of the issue not enough people are doing custom builds anymore so all these sites are slowly dying down. Pretty soon we'll have no choice but to buy prebuilds. I would not want to do Amazon, too many sketchy/fake parts. Especially storage related stuff. If the price is too good to be true it probably is, but still rather not chance it.
 

bigboxes

Lifer
Apr 6, 2002
38,591
11,976
146
Amazon usually backs up what 3rd party sellers that go through them. I got sent the wrong part, I believe on purpose. I told Amazon that it was unacceptable. They took care of everything. I missed the deadline for the rebate and Amazon gave me a $30 credit and a free game. Totally happy. They always handle things to my satisfaction. They once ate a $300 SSD that was never delivered to me. That's what they get when they don't require a signature.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,374
12,125
126
www.anyf.ca
That's only good if it's something obvious. Sometimes you don't realize you got screwed way later. For example, fake storage devices. They show up as the advertised space but you only run into issues once you start to use it.

Was also looking into security cameras but read a lot of the ones on amazon are fakes/hacked that have sketchy firmware with trojans etc. This stock ends up mixed in with the legit stock. Amazon is good for the really oddball things you can't get anywhere else but for computer parts I rather buy from a legit source.