B&H video

[WilliamM2]

Anyone successfully use these guys to buy parts? I placed my first order ever with them...I ordered a video card on November 24th, it was listed as in stock! They even sent me an email notifying me it was in stock. It was not in stock, they said it would ship in a week. Well I just got it today, 7 weeks later and it's the wrong card, not the one I ordered.

So they offered an exchange, but it's out of stock (never has been in stock), they expect more in about a week....They charged my PayPal account on Nov. 24th. So I told them I would just take a refund.

This PC has been a pain to build, first I get a bad MB from Newegg that died in a day, and took 26 days to RMA, and now this.

Is anyone reliable anymore? Just venting...

 

[brianmanahan]

they've been fine for me in the past

but really any order of PC parts nowadays will probably take forever, with both supply and shipping issues

 

[WilliamM2]

they've been fine for me in the past

but really any order of PC parts nowadays will probably take forever, with both supply and shipping issues

They are the first to ever claim a part was in stock when it wasn't. I signed up for their email notification. They are also the first to ever send me the wrong part. In fact they don't even sell the model of the card I received. She admitted that, it's not even on the website.

All other orders for the PC arrived in a couple days, just the RMA took forever, I blame that on the Holidays.

 

[BoomerD]

I've never bought computer parts from them, but I've ordered quite a bit of photography stuff from them over the past 15 years or so.

 

[LikeLinus]

I placed my first order ever with them...I ordered a video card on November 24th, it was listed as in stock! They even sent me an email notifying me it was in stock. It was not in stock, they said it would ship in a week.

This doesn't really make sense. It sounds like you signed up for email notifications and when it came in stock, you placed the order. You then say it was not in stock, but they would ship in a week?

What card were you trying to order? What card did they offer you as an exchange?

B&H is awesome. I've done over $100k in purchases from them for video production. Personally, I've spent several thousand on computer parts and monitors. Never had a single problem with them. That said, you are ordering in the middle of a pandemic, most likely for a highly sought after card with very limited supplies during the holiday season.. It's happening every vendor trying to sell these parts.

 

[Torn Mind]

Video cards are tough to nab due to mining and further compounded by COVID.

 

[MrSquished]

I've had good experiences with B&H for both photo and audio equipment, including with a return and when a package got stolen.

 

[SKORPI0]

I bought several photo equipment and pc parts and never had a problem. Free shipping and no tax too.

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[WilliamM2]

This doesn't really make sense. It sounds like you signed up for email notifications and when it came in stock, you placed the order. You then say it was not in stock, but they would ship in a week?

What card were you trying to order? What card did they offer you as an exchange?

It makes sense, They said it was in stock when I ordered. When it turned out it wasn't, they said it would ship in a week. They told me that every week for 7 weeks.

I was just ordering a Asus GTX 1650. I don't game, but needed a card because Ryzen does not have onboard graphics. They didn't "offer" a card in exchange, they sent a different Asus GTX 1650.

Ordered: https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/PH-GTX1650-O4GD6/

Received: https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/PH-GTX1650-O4GD6-P/

They are different, they don't, even sell the second one. Glad they have been awesome for you.

They told me they would have more stock in a week...I went for a refund. Probably should have sold it on Ebay, but didn't want the hassle.

 

[LikeLinus]

I was just ordering a Asus GTX 1650. I don't game, but needed a card because Ryzen does not have onboard graphics. They didn't "offer" a card in exchange, they sent a different Asus GTX 1650.

Ordered: https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/PH-GTX1650-O4GD6/

Received: https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/PH-GTX1650-O4GD6-P/

They are different, they don't, even sell the second one. Glad they have been awesome for you.

They told me they would have more stock in a week...I went for a refund. Probably should have sold it on Ebay, but didn't want the hassle.

They actually sent you a higher end card. Same card, but look at the clock rates. It's just a higher OC card.

I would suspect they were trying to make a positive out of a negative by trying to give you the upgraded card.

 

[deadlyapp]

It makes sense, They said it was in stock when I ordered. When it turned out it wasn't, they said it would ship in a week. They told me that every week for 7 weeks.

I was just ordering a Asus GTX 1650. I don't game, but needed a card because Ryzen does not have onboard graphics. They didn't "offer" a card in exchange, they sent a different Asus GTX 1650.

Ordered: https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/PH-GTX1650-O4GD6/

Received: https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/PH-GTX1650-O4GD6-P/

They are different, they don't, even sell the second one. Glad they have been awesome for you.

They told me they would have more stock in a week...I went for a refund. Probably should have sold it on Ebay, but didn't want the hassle.

The P designated card appears to be a better card - why would you have returned it?

 

[WilliamM2]

The P designated card appears to be a better card - why would you have returned it?

It consumes a lot more power and requires a 6 pin power connector to boost a whole 30mhz faster. I don't game so there's no point. They are the same price anyways, so no advantage there.

The whole idea of a GTX1650 is that is does not require external power. The power cable from my PSU was not long enough to route neatly to the card anyways, and I spent quite a bit of time on cable management.

Then there is the principal of not getting what you ordered...after waiting 7 weeks for it to arrive.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I've never bought computer parts from them, but I've ordered quite a bit of photography stuff from them over the past 15 years or so.

Same here. Ordered tons of photography stuff from them over the years including a few DSLR cameras and expensive lenses. Never any trouble at all.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I've never bought computer parts from them, but I've ordered quite a bit of photography stuff from them over the past 15 years or so.

This for me as well. I didn't even know they sold pc parts until I browsed their cyber monday deals last year. Always had good experiences with them. Have even sold some lenses back to them that I stopped using.

 

[WilliamM2]

They actually sent you a higher end card. Same card, but look at the clock rates. It's just a higher OC card.

I would suspect they were trying to make a positive out of a negative by trying to give you the upgraded card.

No, they don't even sell that card. I'm guessing the supplier screwed up, and they didn't notice.

 

[VirtualLarry]

They actually sent you a higher end card. Same card, but look at the clock rates. It's just a higher OC card.

This. They sent you the "Performance" ("P") model. I bought one of those at Newegg a couple of weeks ago, NIB, for $169.99 + ship + tax. Haven't opened it, was saving it for a $$$ build.

Honestly, it's possible that the non-P models aren't "in the channel" anymore, or at least, not within any reasonable sort of timeframe, and if you were already waiting for 7 weeks, they probably saw an opportunity to send you a (nearly) equivalent card (but better? why say "no"?), to end your "weeks of suffering without a card".

Honestly, with current markets, it's kind of "catch as catch can".

 

[Kaido]

Anyone successfully use these guys to buy parts? I placed my first order ever with them...I ordered a video card on November 24th, it was listed as in stock! They even sent me an email notifying me it was in stock. It was not in stock, they said it would ship in a week. Well I just got it today, 7 weeks later and it's the wrong card, not the one I ordered.

So they offered an exchange, but it's out of stock (never has been in stock), they expect more in about a week....They charged my PayPal account on Nov. 24th. So I told them I would just take a refund.

This PC has been a pain to build, first I get a bad MB from Newegg that died in a day, and took 26 days to RMA, and now this.

Is anyone reliable anymore? Just venting...

My 4 primary vendors are:

1. Amazon
2. Newegg
3. B&H Photos
4. Provantage

I also use CDW for bulk stuff, as sometimes they can get really amazing deals direct from the manufacturer if you need like 100 of something. But as far as B&H goes, they've always been super reliable for me. I know that video card stock supply has been pretty fickle since COVID started; I think I've been with B&H for at least a decade with no major issues, so this sounds pretty unusual FWIW.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The whole idea of a GTX1650 is that is does not require external power.

Maybe to you, but my understanding is that a "true" GTX 1650 die is no longer being produced (if you remember, they have the Volta encoder, so streaming games with them is inferior to the rest of the Turing lineup), and instead, NVidia is supplying pin-compatible dies that DO have the "Turing encoder", so as to make them "up to par" with the rest of the Turing line-up for game streaming, but at the cost of needing a 6-pin. Considering that pretty-much EVERY OTHER (current, contemporary) GPU requires a PCI-E supplemental power connector, they may not have seen that as as much of a down-side.

BTW, you can get SATA to PCI-E 6-pin power adapters for like $5-7 online, ebay, Amazon, whereever. I stocked up, for just this scenario, which I used on a friend's Dell rig, with factory PSU (does not have any PCI-E supplemental power connectors), with a GTX 1650 SC Ultra from eVGA that took a 6-pin. I don't consider that in any way risky, because they would have taken 75W from the PCI-E slot, now they're taking 100W from both PCI-E supplemental (off of a SATA) as well as the PCI-E slot. It's hardly more wattage, and can potentially extend the lifespan of the power components driving the PCI-E slot power, by reducing the demand on it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Then there is the principal of not getting what you ordered.

Kind of like ordering a Med. Fries at McD's, and getting a Large, and complaining that you only have a single Ketchup packet in your dash, so the Fries have to go back.

Edit: I mean, I'm not trying to "carry water" for B&H, if they made a mistake, they should own up to it, but given the current situation, the mfg may consider the updated model to be a replacement for the prior model, and thus would have continued to feed that model's supply chain at the distys, and B&H may not even have been aware that much of the switch-over. (Hardware rev 1.0 to 2.0 happens "in the channel" all of the time, with video cards, mobos, etc.)

Generally, although I've only ordered from them once or twice, I think, B&H has always been good to me.

 

[Muse]

I've done business with them and not had issues. They are among the most reliable, is my experience. I wouldn't hesitate to buy flash memory from them, and have and not gotten a knock off. I've RMA'd with Newegg, successfully. I sympathize, building a rig has always made me nervous, I've done it 1/2 dozen times. Good luck !!!

 

[Muadib]

When I order from B&H, I sometimes get the order the same day. I've never had an issue with them, but these are trying times, so anything is possible.

 

[Captante]

Video cards are tough to nab due to mining and further compounded by COVID.

I've been using B&H since the days of Pricewatch (over 25 years) and I've yet to have a problem their CS was unwilling to promptly take care of. The current PC hardware supply (or lack thereof) situation isn't in any way on them.


Also miners have no qualms about paying insane scalper-prices.

Any GPU faster than a GTX-1650 or an RX-5500 is mighty tough to come by right now and if you do manage to find a decent one in stock you'll pay through the nose. My suggestion would be to snag a "placeholder" GPU like one of the above to get you by. (a 1050ti also might work)

 

[WilliamM2]

This. They sent you the "Performance" ("P") model. I bought one of those at Newegg a couple of weeks ago, NIB, for $169.99 + ship + tax. Haven't opened it, was saving it for a $$$ build.

Honestly, it's possible that the non-P models aren't "in the channel" anymore, or at least, not within any reasonable sort of timeframe, and if you were already waiting for 7 weeks, they probably saw an opportunity to send you a (nearly) equivalent card (but better? why say "no"?), to end your "weeks of suffering without a card".

Honestly, with current markets, it's kind of "catch as catch can".

The P stands for Powered according to Asus. If you consider 30 mhz performance, OK.

 

[WilliamM2]

Kind of like ordering a Med. Fries at McD's, and getting a Large, and complaining that you only have a single Ketchup packet in your dash, so the Fries have to go back.

That might be the worst analogy I have ever heard.

Both models were released at the same time. It's not a replacement for the non powered card. They released them both in September , now with GDDR6.

But B&H is taking care of the issue. No need for adapters, my PS has 6 pin connectors. No need for extra wires or power draw when I don't game either. I'll just keep using my old GTX-950. But I like to replace all my parts every 4-5 years, keeps failure rates low. The 950 is 5.5 years old now.

 

[LikeLinus]

The P stands for Powered according to Asus. If you consider 30 mhz performance, OK.

True, but you're not exactly correct in saying it "consumes a lot more power". That simply isn't true. They draw within a few watts of each other.

Take time to fully read this article. It fully explains it.

GeForce GTX 1650 Tested without PCIe Power

Last week we checked out the new GeForce GTX 1650 for the first time and we were disappointed that it was no rival for AMD's RX 570....

www.techspot.com

The issue boils down to the lower clocked card is at the maximum peak of power that the PCIe slot can output. So that small overclock, possibly/probably pushes it right beyond the peak of power that the slot can provide. You're basically choosing to push the slot to the limit of its power peak vs using an external 6 pin connection.

Both cards, other, have the same specs and both recommend a 300w PSU.

B&H was trying to do the right thing and send you an equivalent card, mildly better, to fill the order. Wright or wrong, it's not like they are a bad company for doing it.

You basically can either
1. Return it
2. Buy a simple 6 pin extension cable.