Went to Microcenter today

[classy]

I decided to build a 1366 platform so I went to a Microcenter today and bought a I7 920 for $200. But I really wanted to chat about the store for a sec. It is one heck of a nice place. It was like walking into an internet store. They had just about anything you think of. OEM bulk stuff, nice selection on aftermarket coolers even the new Venomous X, water-cooling stuff too. Even their motherboard selection was pretty good. And dudes that were working there are just like us, lol. Nothing like BB. I got one about 35 mins away from me. Prices were really good. Most stuff inline with online pricing, little markup on others. If you got one near you, even if its a little drive, its worth the trip.

 

[cbn]

I decided to build a 1366 platform so I went to a Microcenter today and bought a I7 920 for $200. But I really wanted to chat about the store for a sec. It is one heck of a nice place. It was like walking into an internet store. They had just about anything you think of. OEM bulk stuff, nice selection on aftermarket coolers even the new Venomous X, water-cooling stuff too. Even their motherboard selection was pretty good. And dudes that were working there are just like us, lol. Nothing like BB. I got one about 35 mins away from me. Prices were really good. Most stuff inline with online pricing, little markup on others. If you got one near you, even if its a little drive, its worth the trip.

I have never been to a Micro Center, but Fry's is very close to what you are describing.

For example, in the computer components section there will usually be 20+ mainboards (out of their packages) on display.

 

[DarkThinker]

Monday we have a day off at work, there is one about 12 miles away from me that I am going to be visiting for the first time. I will be taking advantage of my first time trip to checkout the cheaper than Newegg deals like the i7 (though I plan on getting a Penom II 965 from the egg), and I will be getting the 1 TB Hitachi drive which is $20 cheaper than Newegg.

I will also use the trip to checkout computer cases in person but will only be picking up a case if it's cheaper to get than from Newegg

Additionally, I might pickup some 2-3 SATA cables if they are cheaper to get from the store. I guess I am taking my time to build my gaming rig with as much savings as I can get.

I have never been to a store that can be compared to Newegg, I am burning in anticipation like a kid the night before a circus

 

[BlueWeasel]

As much as it sucks sometimes, I think it's probably a good thing that my nearest MC or Fry's is 6 hours away.

 

[notposting]

I just went to the Microcenter near me for the first time last month. Yeah, it's basically Newegg in person. I got what I needed and ran away quickly.

 

[Tsavo]

I decided to build a 1366 platform so I went to a Microcenter today and bought a I7 920 for $200. But I really wanted to chat about the store for a sec. It is one heck of a nice place. It was like walking into an internet store. They had just about anything you think of. OEM bulk stuff, nice selection on aftermarket coolers even the new Venomous X, water-cooling stuff too. Even their motherboard selection was pretty good. And dudes that were working there are just like us, lol. Nothing like BB. I got one about 35 mins away from me. Prices were really good. Most stuff inline with online pricing, little markup on others. If you got one near you, even if its a little drive, its worth the trip.

May your neighbor's shrubbery die a thousand painful deaths.

Best Buy only here.

 

[DarkThinker]

May your neighbor's shrubbery die a thousand painful deaths.

Best Buy only here.

LOL

Ya, It used to be like that for me. However, in December I moved to a much better city in the same state, then when people started talking about Microcenter I discovered I am less than 20 minutes way from one!

 

[Jimbo]

I have never been to a Micro Center, but Fry's is very close to what you are describing.

For example, in the computer components section there will usually be 20+ mainboards (out of their packages) on display.

I have never been to a Fry's that wasn't a crap-hole and staffed by morons.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have never been to a Fry's that wasn't a crap-hole and staffed by morons.

Don't let Faxon hear that...

 

[aggressor]

The nearest Microcenter is an hour and a half away and today was the first time I've gone to one, and I agree. It's the Newegg B&M store I've always dreamed about

 

[SunnyD]

Took a trip out to Atlanta today for the express purpose of going to Microcenter, Frys and Ikea. Stopped in the MC in Marietta... and I must say the selection was impressive, but the store itself seemed like an oversized ghetto "mom 'n pop" computer store. There was crap EVERYWHERE and it was crowded even though there wasn't a ton of people. Basically the store felt like a small grocery store.

Went to the Frys in Milton - that place is the complete opposite of Microcenter. It's absolutely fucking HUGE, bigger than the biggest Sam's Club or Costco I've seen. And POSH. Marble floors and wood finish everywhere, clean layout, huge aisles, and busy but didn't feel crowded. Of course, they didn't have what I went there for (Mobo/CPU combo).

Didn't go to either MC or Fry's in Duluth - no reason to, stock check on the mobo/cpu @ Fry's said Duluth didn't have it either, and I picked up the 920 D0 at the Marietta MC.

Simply put, me experience with Fry's and Microcenter were completely swapped around from what I expected. I was expecting MC to be a clean "warehouse" type of store, while Fry's to be kind of a "Circuit City at Bankruptcy Sale Time" type of deal, at best kind of like the old Computer City stores used to be.

It was a 3 hour drive for me (one way), kind of upset Fry's didn't have what I wanted (it was actually more of a need than the 920 was), but my trip was about taking a road trip with the family anyway.

 

[Spydermag68]

I like MC. I just helped my dad buy a new monitor. I checked online and it was only $7 more after tax than shipping from newegg. I have been going to them for years since CompUSSR went from 2 great stores in town to 70+ crappy ones and then none.

 

[Meghan54]

It was a 3 hour drive for me (one way), kind of upset Fry's didn't have what I wanted (it was actually more of a need than the 920 was), but my trip was about taking a road trip with the family anyway.

You went to the "junkier" looking of the two MicroCenters and the nicer of the two Fry's in Atlanta.

Just wonder where you live given your drive to the ATL MC's and Fry's.....it's about the same drive to them for me, too. Went to MC and Fry's this past Friday.

And, Sunny, remember this....MicroCenter will pricematch anything you find at Fry's (except mb/cpu combos) and Newegg, among other places.

All you have to do is mention you've found a better price at Newegg/Fry's......they'll do the rest--look up the price for you (although almost all the sales people will let you look up the price for them since you probably can navigate to it quicker than them), print it out for matching, etc.

MC will pricematch Newegg, Fry's, OD, OM, Staples, BB, and Target. Of those I'm sure....there may be other places, too. But I've PM'd at both ATL MC's many, many times and have never had a problem.

Fry's, on the other hand, not so much. And another "knock" against Fry's.....pay very close attention to any item they have to retrieve out of the cage for you.....processors, memory, etc. Both Fry's have a bad "habit" of taking returned cpu's and memory sets, resealing them and selling them as new.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Took a trip out to Atlanta today for the express purpose of going to Microcenter, Frys and Ikea. Stopped in the MC in Marietta... and I must say the selection was impressive, but the store itself seemed like an oversized ghetto "mom 'n pop" computer store. There was crap EVERYWHERE and it was crowded even though there wasn't a ton of people. Basically the store felt like a small grocery store.

Went to the Frys in Milton - that place is the complete opposite of Microcenter. It's absolutely fucking HUGE, bigger than the biggest Sam's Club or Costco I've seen. And POSH. Marble floors and wood finish everywhere, clean layout, huge aisles, and busy but didn't feel crowded. Of course, they didn't have what I went there for (Mobo/CPU combo).

Didn't go to either MC or Fry's in Duluth - no reason to, stock check on the mobo/cpu @ Fry's said Duluth didn't have it either, and I picked up the 920 D0 at the Marietta MC.

Simply put, me experience with Fry's and Microcenter were completely swapped around from what I expected. I was expecting MC to be a clean "warehouse" type of store, while Fry's to be kind of a "Circuit City at Bankruptcy Sale Time" type of deal, at best kind of like the old Computer City stores used to be.

It was a 3 hour drive for me (one way), kind of upset Fry's didn't have what I wanted (it was actually more of a need than the 920 was), but my trip was about taking a road trip with the family anyway.

thats the problem with frys, they sometimes have great sales IF they have the item in stock. they severely limit the stock on sale items in order to avoid losing money. MC on the other hand is pretty good about honoring the sale prices for anyone who comes in. in my experience they always have the items in stock, even if the web site doesnt say so. for nonsale items like cables, dvds etc both of these store suck just as bad as radio shack or best buy

 

[SunnyD]

You went to the "junkier" looking of the two MicroCenters and the nicer of the two Fry's in Atlanta.

Just wonder where you live given your drive to the ATL MC's and Fry's.....it's about the same drive to them for me, too. Went to MC and Fry's this past Friday.

Huntsville. It's 190 miles (shortest route) to Atlanta, give or take. Yeah, I'm aware of what Frys does. I wasn't expecting to get anything though, was just hoping as I have to build a machine for HTPC/kids homework/wife duty.

 

[nyker96]

As much as it sucks sometimes, I think it's probably a good thing that my nearest MC or Fry's is 6 hours away.

I'm envy those with both MC and fry's nearby, I don't got neither

those cheap cpu@MC and cheaper combos@frys are unbeatable. don't know about other components which seems more expensive than egg.

 

[lurk3r]

I love the Microcenter in Detroit, CPU prices are amazing, motherboards are a bit pricy, RAM's reasonable.

There are several qualified sales techs, and several morons running in circles trying to put their commission stickers on everything you're carrying. I'm not sure who does the hiring, but any kind of technical screening would eliminate about half their sales staff.

Lines are always pretty long, but that's to be expected with the prices they have.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

I sometimes go to the Fry's and MicroCenter in Atlanta which is about 2 hours away and I actually prefer shopping at newegg. Everytime I go there, they're either busy or out of stock and I end up having to walk around the whole store just to find what I'm looking for. With newegg, everything is so much easier. The only thing that they offer that newegg doesn't are the amazing cpu and cpu/mobo deals.

 

[VirtualLarry]

My Microcenter here in Cambridge, MA is less than an hour away. The store is pretty good sized, although not huge. There's a trader joe's in the same parking lot, and the parking lot is always crowded beyond belief.

They generally have some decent deals, and pricing on some things, like the Antec 300 cases that are now $45, are better than Newegg, especially when you factor in shipping. Motherboards are about on par with Newegg, although MC doesn't stock quite as large a selection (witness them carrying the EP45-UD3L, instead of the UD3P).

Things like small cables and adaptors have gone up in price over the last few years. MC used to be really cheap, but now they are like CompUSA or (almost, but not quite) BestBuy, for cable prices. For example, a dual PS/2 mouse/keyboard to USB adaptor, used to be $6.99, now it's $19.99 a few years later.

They had a bin of SATA cables for $6-7 ea. I'd rather get my cables in bulk online, like at svc.com's clearance section. I've found many a bargain there in the past.

CPUs are MC are cheap, below-cost cheap. I guess that's to get you into the store. They are usually one per customer too, unfortunately. RAM is priced a bit higher than Newegg though. So I guess they figure that if you are buying to build a rig, that you will buy a slightly-expensive motherboard, more-expensive RAM, to go with your cheap CPU.

 

[HalfCrazy]

Nearest microcenter would be about 80 miles from me. Which would put it about 2 hour drive depending on traffic.

 

[Meghan54]

RAM is priced a bit higher than Newegg though.

don't know about other components which seems more expensive than egg.

I keep seeing the "RAM prices (or any other component's prices) are higher at MC than the 'egg, so why shop MC?" comments made over and over.

My answer to that is.....Microcenter pricematches Newegg in anything. RAM, motherboards, video cards....have yet to find anything MC won't pricematch, other than the aforementioned Fry's cpu/mb combos.

As an example: I purchased a Corsair HX850 power supply and a 6GB kit of Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600 RAM at the Marietta MC (ATL) on Friday.

MC's "list" price for the power supply was $199.99 and the RAM was $249.99. Newegg had the power supply for $179.99 + $11.83 shipping; the RAM is priced $219.99 w/FS at the 'egg.

MC pricematched both items without a single problem....even ignored the 'egg's shipping cost for the power supply.

So, why don't more of y'all get your MicroCenter to pricematch more things? Newegg is one of the two online only stores they do pricematch, the other is TigerDirect......which is one reason why MC says, "Twice per week, on Monday and Thursday evenings, we verify CPU pricing from newegg.com and tigerdirect.com, and verify our price is set to the lowest non-rebated price"

MC has always been more than gracious and helpful and very fast PM'ing anything, and I've never had any sales person or manager ever question any PM I've asked to do.....including PM'ing a clearance priced CoolerMaster 590 case from Fry's. Got it for $29....and I'd much rather spend my money at MC than Fry's, every day of the week.

 

[magreen]

MC is the bomb. 15 mins away from the one in Cambridge for me. Great tech service too -- when my mother-in-law needed laptop help first thing I said was take it to MC. She would've taken it to BB. lol. She was really happy with MC's advice -- they actually advised her something that saved her a bundle and they could've totally snowed her and made her spend money with them. She'd have dropped hundreds on it if they told her to. Good honest tech folks there.

I agree w/ OP.

 

[arrfep]

Yeah, Microcenter is a great place. Unfortunately, our 10.25% sales tax kind of kills any deals they ever have.

 

[SunnyD]

Hahaha, Vernon was my cashier too.

 

[faxon]

I have never been to a Fry's that wasn't a crap-hole and staffed by morons.

Ever been in the palo alto store? I agree, every other frys I have gone to (cept Sunnyvale) is full of shitwhits who you can have a good laugh jerking around, but not palo alto. The guys in my department are at least smart, and there are a few who aren't quite in the same league as us ATers, but are still up on their shit. Ooh and then there's me of course

Ed: lol virtuallarry you know I love posts like this. I made it my mission when I was hired to raise the bar here and with our new manager here it's been working out well. There is still room to improve bit we have 3 others on staff who willingly self educate on hardware like us enthusiasts, they just don't do it at the hobbyist level like I do