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computer show prices

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imtim83, I think that compusa and fry's are very close to your dream,
plus newegg.com (although online only) for the other things they don't carry,
we've very good sources to get everything cheap in the US.

I can see monopoly coming, fry's, compusa, bestbuy dominate the retail business, amazon, dell, newegg, directron, tcwo, etc dominate the online business, all other smaller local or online vendors will be RIP soon.


 
IMO computer shows sell crap. Their monitors are about all i will ever buy from one again. To many bad experiences...:|
 
At the shows here in the NYC area you can get the quality brand name conponents that are available online but at higher prices. Remember you have to factor in the hidden costs of transportation, admission fee, parking, and sales tax. The shows do offer better prices than retail stores like CompUSA or a local shop.
 
Originally posted by: Kingofcomputer
imtim83, I think that compusa and fry's are very close to your dream,
plus newegg.com (although online only) for the other things they don't carry,
we've very good sources to get everything cheap in the US.

I can see monopoly coming, fry's, compusa, bestbuy dominate the retail business, amazon, dell, newegg, directron, tcwo, etc dominate the online business, all other smaller local or online vendors will be RIP soon.
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Heh, I don't think that will be happening. There is still a place for local businesses - even in my area in rural IN there are several small computer businesses in nearby towns. They set up networks for other businesses, upgrade people's old computers, and other stuff like that. Of course, since they do lots of upgrades, they always have new stuff on hand, so if some older (non-RMA-able) part in my computer breaks, I can always call them up and usually get a good price (not usually as good as newegg, but it's hard to be the local convenience).
 
MichaelD wow $140 for a GF2 GTS. I feel bad for him too. But i guess like you said MichaelD why spoil his fun! I learned the hard way when i first brought a computer then found out you could build one nd was mad because i could of spent the money on building one instead of buying the computer i did. I for one from now on will never buy another computer by any brandname ever again. All of mind will be home built! I think its good to learn your own lessons because i feel its sometimes better to learn some things yourself. Maybe not all but some. The first time i build a computer i was amazed how easy it was to build. It was too easy to me.

 
Aside from cases and other almost-too-heavy-to-ship items, I have found computers shows are nw only beneficial when it comes to niche parts. Ya know, that weird combo cable that no one online admits to selling ... or maybe the VGA switchbox that can handle 20 CPU inputs.

Granted, I did come across this gem of a cheap motherboard around Labor Day last year. I want to say that this particular show was just after Anand posted his roundup of Athlon mobos. This little wonder was very cool in appearance (black PCB), had onboard LAN and audio, could take DDR and PC133 RAM, and nearly stole all of the limelight in Anand's review. That K7S5A is still running strong for me today. $60 well spent, if you ask me.

-SUO
 
Well up here in Canada, specifically Toronto, the computer show's aren't too bad.. I've purchased my last two hard drives from the comp shows, (IBM 75GXP, and Maxtor D740X) Both of which are running great, the IBM for just about 2 years now

But yeah, in Canada we don't have as many retailers as you in the US have, like newegg and such. Plus if we order from stores in the US, we have to pay the exchange, plus duties, so it ends up costing more.

But yeah, there are a lot of jacked up prices at the ones here too. and you have the vendors claiming their GF4 mxs are top of the line and things like that. It's sad really, I mean I've honestly laughed in some of the faces of the vendors, with all the BS they were spewing out.

MichaelD: and yeah I know what you mean, I talk to some people there, and they're going on and on about how they scored and amazing deal.. I mean you really don't want to spoil it for them.

--Mark
 
Originally posted by: imtim83
MichaelD wow $140 for a GF2 GTS. I feel bad for him too. But i guess like you said MichaelD why spoil his fun! I learned the hard way when i first brought a computer then found out you could build one nd was mad because i could of spent the money on building one instead of buying the computer i did. I for one from now on will never buy another computer by any brandname ever again. All of mind will be home built! I think its good to learn your own lessons because i feel its sometimes better to learn some things yourself. Maybe not all but some. The first time i build a computer i was amazed how easy it was to build. It was too easy to me.
Click to expand...

I wound up paying $2,200 and change for my Dell system that I bought almost three years ago. PIII550e/128mb PC100. Onboard video. But, I got a nice 17" monitor/speaks/kb/mouse and a nifty Dell mousepad
rolleye.gif


To find out about a year later that I could've built a kickbutt rig for about $1,000 just made me cry. 🙁

In retrospect though, for someone who does not own a computer or any parts, buying prebuilt is not a bad way to go.

The only thing from that Dell not currently in use is the case/mobo/ps/floppy. All four are proprietary (the damn reason I built my own in the first place. :|) The DVD rom/CPU/memory/HD comprise the guts of my second rig. Speakers I gave to my GF.
 
Computer shows can be cool since you get to see new stuff out that maybe a local vendor doesn't have, but with all the electronics stores out now (like Fry's, BB, CompUSA, CC, and the like), you can see just about any of the regular top end components.

It was much different in the mid-90's when the big electronic stores as well as the online stores weren't so prevalent in keeping things up to date. I haven't bought anything from a show since like early 96 when I was in SD. Now with everything at the touch of a button on the internet, I can see every angle of a component and I don't even need to try it out, I can get a review or go to a forum so I don't need to see it at a show. Plus the online and store prices are alot better than they used to be too.

Hehe And talk about fly-by-night vendors, once you bought it, it's yours cause they are usually located some other place or state.
 
Maverick007, haven't seen you here for a long time.

Same reasons here, I stopped going to computer show at about the time buy.com appeared, later compusa, bestbuy all went online, amazon started selling computer stuff, newegg.com appeared, dell started having crazy deals on parts.
 
Around Madison WI Bluestar Productions are the ones that put on the shows.They use to be cool but lately they aren't much more than printer and prebuilts with a couple of overpriced parts vendors.There was a small show in Milwaukee one Sunday a month that was pretty competitive with the online stores but they couldn't afford to rent the banquet hall any more so they quit having the show.I liked that show because they had a nice selection of goods.You had to get there early or wait in line at the vendor tables for quite awhile and then you might not get what you came for because alot of people would buy alot of stuff!!
 
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