allheart55 (Cindy E)
Administrator
If you're building a new PC or shopping for upgrades, you need a trustworthy place to buy. Not all retailers are the same—some offer great discounts, good customer service, and even helpful tools so you buy the best gear for your money. This week, we're checking out five of the best, based on your nominations.
Building your own computer doesn't have to be super expensive, and there are lots of ways you can save money in the process. Earlier in the week we asked you to tell us where you go—online or offline—to buy computer components after you've put together your spec list. You weighed in with tons of great nominees, but we only have room for your top five. Here they are, in no particular order:
Micro Center
Micro Center operates both brick-and-mortar stores and an extensive online store, both packed with everything from CPUs and motherboards to pre-built computer systems, laptops, and monitors. Many people know Micro Center specifically for their often-incredible deals on CPUs, in many cases hundreds of dollars lower than available anywhere else online—and they appear frequently in your low-price list when you start building your computer at a site like PCPartPicker.
Their physical stores are usually laid out and stocked like geek amusement parks, with tons of systems to play with, gaming consoles to kill time on, and plenty of opportunities to actually touch and try out the tech you're interested in before you buy it—not to mention a massive system builder's center packed with components, cables, cooling, tubes, and more—great for any system builder who's missing a cable or needs that one extra thing to finish their build and doesn't want to wait for shipping.
Those of you who nominated Micro Center also highlighted the popularity of its brick and mortar stores, and the great discounts and bundles available in person. They're not quite everywhere in North America yet, but they're in enough major cities to make them a great destination, and even if you're not close to one, their online store has much of the same gear at equally great prices.
You can even order online for in-store pickup, and if you're running into trouble on what components to buy, their staff in-store is generally actually knowledgeable, which is a refreshing breath of fresh air. Don't take my word for it though—read the love in their nomination thread here.
NCIX
NCIX (and its US counterpart, NCIX US) earned the title of "Canada's Newegg" a while ago, but has since grown far above and beyond the comparison. NCIX is a juggernaut in its own right, serving both Canadian and US buyers with a wide variety of computer components on their website at highly competitive prices. Whether you need a new video card, hard drive, case, or CPU, NCIX has you covered.
Their stock doesn't end there though, and the company sells pre-built systems, peripherals like mechanical keyboards and monitors as well. Their pricing is extremely aggressive, and if they don't have the best price on a specific item, they'll match their competitors. NCIX also operates a rewards program and newsletter for their customers that offers exclusive sales, discounts, and rewards just for signing up.
The company is also committed to educating its customers and helping you make smart buying decisions, which we've seen through their NCIX YouTube Channel and their support for other channels like TechQuickie and Linus Tech Tips, all of which we love and have been known to post videos from frequently.
In its nomination thread, many of you showed your love for NCIX, and specifically mentioned that Canadian shoppers should ship through them exclusively, since they ship using Canada Post, meaning you pay less for shipping but get your gear sooner. You also called out NCIX's customer service for being exceptionally helpful, easy to work with on RMAs and DOA parts.
Plus, if you're thinking about parting out a new computer but don't want to build or burn it in yourself, an extra $50 on your order means they'll assemble everything for you, test it, make sure it works, install your OS, and then ship the whole thing out to you. You can read more in its nomination thread here.
Newegg
Newegg is a juggernaut, and for good reason. The company has been operating for ages, selling computer components and peripherals to system builders and enthusiasts for years and years. For many people, Newegg is their first and last destination when it comes to PC building, and even for those who wind up buying elsewhere, they do a great deal of their research at Newegg first to make sure they're buying the best gear at the best prices.
Newegg doesn't skimp on the selection, either—literally everything you need to build a computer is available from their online store, with fast and affordable shipping, complete with enough tools and options to make sure you're buying exactly what you need, nothing more and nothing less—and that all of your components will work together when you get them. Newegg has comparison tools to help you make that difficult decision between one video card and the next model over, and their sales and discounts—especially around the holidays—are forces your wallet may not be able to resist.
Their forums and customer reviews are well traveled, and while their customer service has been great in my experience, it's noteworthy that component manufacturers often hang out in their forums and in the reviews of their products as well, making sure their customers are happy and offering to make any issues right if someone gets a bad part or has another problem.
Newegg also operates a pair of YouTube channels dedicated to helping you make smart buying decisions—their flagship Newegg TV channel, and their Newegg Products channel. On both they often post product reviews, unboxing videos, first impressions of upcoming products, and more.
The nomination thread for Newegg was massive, and like any major retailer, was filled with both praise for their fast shipping, great selection, amazing discounts, and great customer service....and full of complaints about those very same things. Most of you however highlighted the tools that Newegg makes available to help you compare products, check reviews, and learn more about any specific item you're thinking about buying.
The community around Newegg—not just its staff—are passionate, intelligent, and genuinely helpful. There's a reason why Newegg was an obvious nomination here. Many of you noted that Newegg doesn't always win out on price, but they do win out on research and information, and depending on where you live, even their cheapest shipping can mean that your gear gets to you the next day. If you need any more reasons, check out the nomination thread here—it's packed with them.
Amazon
The "store that sells everything" also sells computer components and parts, and usually at fairly competitive prices—even better if you're an Amazon Prime member and get free shipping on virtually all of the components you purchase.
You have to know what you're looking for of course—Amazon doesn't make it easy for you to part out a PC or make sure components will work together or are compatible with one another before you buy, but they do offer a ridiculously huge selection of both common and obscure parts, new and old, so you can always find what you're looking for, either straight from Amazon or through an Amazon seller.
Their prices are good enough that if you do use other tools to part out your computer, like PCPartPicker, for example, you'll wind up seeing Amazon's product listing in the top two or three most affordable versions of the parts you're thinking about buying almost every time.
In the nomination thread, many of you called out the fact that you used to shop at other part retailers and now buy from Amazon almost as often if not more so—largely because Amazon just has everyone else beat on price. That makes sense—they're a logistical juggernaut, and they have the size and scale to compete with all of the other parts and electronics retailers while simultaneously undercutting them on price and shipping costs.
Many of you even noted that you use those other sites to do your research, and then eventually wind up going with Amazon because of either free shipping or price. To boot, many of you also praised Amazon's pretty liberal return and RMA policies (something I can attest to—I bought some components from Amazon recently, had the shipment delayed several days—we feared it was lost—and Amazon overnighted replacements to me the next day, with just the promise that if the original shipment showed up eventually that I send it back to them) if you ever have problems with the items you ordered. You can read all the conversion stories in its nomination thread here.
TigerDirect
TigerDirect used to have a bit of a bad rap, but the retailer has come a long way to position itself as a solid option for people looking for one more place to price check and score deals on computer components, peripherals, and software.
They do have brick and mortar stores (although not many), but their primary business is through their website, where they offer a wide selection of PC parts from memory and CPUs to fully built systems and other home electronics. Their prices are often worth a solid look—while you may not think of them immediately, in many cases TigerDirect can sneak in with the lowest price on an in-demand item (like a 4K monitor or a popular SSD model) with plenty of stock and fast shipping right to you. They also operate a fan newsletter that's packed with exclusive deals just for signing up.
In its nomination thread, a few of you pointed out that their brick and mortar stores are worth a look if you have one near you, and pointed out that their inventory is solid, their site is easy to use and browse, and while they don't have the same comparison and shopping tools that other retailers have, they're a great option if you're shopping around for a good price on something that may be out of stock or more expensive everywhere else. Read more in its nomination thread here.
http://lifehacker.com/five-best-places-to-buy-computer-parts-1642332463
