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Ask HN: Where do you shop for PCs?
Where do you shop for PCs? I'm getting a non-mac for the first time in a while.
- doubt_me 9y agoEbay. NVIDIA 2016+, SSD, ASUS, Probably ROG they have other models too. Depending on the screen size etc. anything from 1k - 1200$ will last a very long time. Grabbed a year old laptop for 750$ used (Should have waited for the cyber monday newegg sale) Friend grabbed an ebay newegg special that was only on their ebay store. Not an ROG but still amazing for under 1k
- Boothroid 9y agoWith you on this. I've never bought a new PC, always eBay or self build.
- adjagu 9y agoOnline I tend to use Newegg (https://www.newegg.com https://www.newegg.com) and for a physical store I use Micro Center (http://www.microcenter.com/ http://www.microcenter.com/). Edit: I do not purchase pre-built machines. I like to build my own, so where I shop may not have the best deals for a pre-built pc.
- ct0 9y agoGreat nostalgia for CompUSA comes over me when walking around a Microcenter. The one in NJ is 3.5% sales tax too.
- adjagu 9y agoCompUSA used to get all my business. After they left the area friends informed me about Micro Center and it has been my favorite since. R.I.P CompUSA and RadioShack.
- ShabbosGoy 9y agoNewegg or Tigerdirect. If I’m lazy I go to Frys to buy my parts.
- protomyth 9y agoTigerdirect was sold to http://www.pcm.com/ http://www.pcm.com/
- vinylkey 9y agoI build my own. I use both https://pcpartpicker.com/ https://pcpartpicker.com/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/ https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/ to plan the build and find deals. I tend to stick with Newegg, Amazon, B&H, and Fry's for getting my parts.
- teej 9y agoI second this. After being a all Mac household for 10 years I finally built a computer for the first time since college. I didn’t want a “gamer” case so I decided to go with an NCASE M1 Build. After a year I am very happy with it. I did all of my research and planning with Reddit and pcpartpicker. https://imgur.com/o5KmRpn https://imgur.com/o5KmRpn
- teirce 9y agoI have the same case with a full-sized GPU and it was a headache. Next time I'll probably build in an mATX case...
- programmarchy 9y agoI built a machine learning rig using PC Part Picker recently. It's nice because it helps you make sure the components you are ordering are all compatible.
- CASHforGOLD 9y agoHas anyone tried running Sketch App for Mac on a Virtual Machine or Hackintosh? How does it perform? The only the holding me back from switching to Windows is the limited applications for design but my preference for Mac is dwindling.
- hedora 9y agoCentral Computer. Don’t let the compactness of their stores fool you. There are a few in the SF Bay Area, and they have a much better selection of top-reviewed and hard-to-find components than Fry’s (especially for things like heatsinks and power supplies). They also have a formidable selection of cables.
- 9y ago
- genocide_throw 9y agoLogical Increments and building my own. Blog posts forthcoming -- Amazon, NewEgg, and NCIX.com.
- patleeman 9y agoJust a heads up, NCIX has filed for bankruptcy. https://www.anandtech.com/show/12115/ncix-files-for-bankruptcy-after-restructuring-attempts https://www.anandtech.com/show/12115/ncix-files-for-bankrupt...
- genocide_throw 9y agoThanks for the link, sad to see this happening.
- nickjj 9y agoNewEgg and Amazon. I've been piecing together my own PCs for around 20 years. The last one I built is a few years old but it's still running like a champ. A full part list can be found at https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/the-tools-i-use#computer-desk-and-phone https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/the-tools-i-use#computer-desk....
- thecolorblue 9y agoI usually get refurbished computers directly from Dell or apple. The price is not the best but I find the process easier. If you have a microcenter around you I would check out what they have. They do not have their refurbished parts on their website.
- slowmovintarget 9y agoHaving very little time to build my own (requires light and noise that would wake kiddo), I read reviews. This led me to Velocity Micro. Disclaimer: I'm a gamer.
- dharness 9y agoWhat kind of noise
- slowmovintarget 9y ago- Plastic wrappers around components - Sliding metal or clanking of metal on metal when working with the case - Slight tapping of screw-driver getting it into tight spots - Shunk of cards being seated into slots (depending) - Click or snap of fitting other parts together - Cursing when I cut myself, though this happens a lot less with modern cases It also takes an investment of time that's worth the few hundred bucks (to me, anyhow) extra to pay someone else to do it. I'm still going to have to muck around with drivers and software anyway, and that takes more time than the hardware. I certainly am not saying don't build your own, but I live in an apartment and it is very inconvenient to assemble when kiddo is asleep, and impossible when kiddo is awake (maybe when kiddo is a little older).
- dharness 9y agoHmm, I don't know those seem like very quiet noises.
- EpicEng 9y agoYou can't put together a PC, essentially lego blocks, because it will wake your child? Does your child sleep strapped to your chest? I don't understand this at all...
- cr0sh 9y agoMy stuff usually comes from Ebay or Newegg, which have already been mentioned. But if you want play fast and loose, check this sub-reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/ https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/ This group is dedicated to finding and getting good deals on hardware, and sometimes those deals can be insane if you play your cards right. For instance, a few years ago I managed (using the instructions found on a thread there) to knock almost $200.00 off the cost of a particular Core i7 CPU. It took some interesting footwork. Basically, at the time you had to get a particular coupon from someone on Ebay for Staples, then you went to staples and ordered the CPU (which was on sale there with the coupon), then once you had it in your cart, they would do a price match via chat with a rep to what was available at another physical store (Microcenter? can't recall) - there was a couple of more steps involved, and depending on how you did the steps, you could get more or less off the price - so you had to play the steps right. In the end, I didn't get the best deal, but I came really close; it took me a few hours to do everything "just right", but the CPU at the time was well worth it; it turned a $300+ CPU into something costing just over $100.00, beating out even AMD's best mid-range offering at the time (IIRC, AMDs mid-range at the time was the 8350 or something like that). I needed the CPU for a build I was doing for a Core V1 case, which is mini-itx - and AMD didn't make a mobo at the time that supported their better CPUs; you could only go with Intel. While the Mini-ITX Intel boards were cheap, you paid thru the nose for a decent CPU - so jumping thru the hoops was well worth it for me. So - pick out the hardware you want or need, then see that sub-reddit for any deals on parts - also be sure to check out their related community sub-reddits, which can also help you out picking hardware, answering questions, etc. One other note: If you're into Macs, consider building your PC hardware to support a hackintosh build; if you do it right, you can make the build in such a manner that you can swap out drives or dual-boot between Mac and Windows (or Linux, or whatever). One of the best resources is this: https://www.tonymacx86.com/ https://www.tonymacx86.com/ Be sure to check out the "buyer's guide" to find out what hardware is best for supporting a hackintosh on a variety of budgets. A hackintosh isn't for everyone; they can be flakey at times (and don't expect support from Apple, either!) - but if you like that kind of adventure, building your machine for it will generally net you a pretty good general PC while allowing you to do the hackintosh thing.
- cr0sh 9y agoSomething else to consider if you're adventurous: Dumpster diving. No, seriously - if you go around various industrial business parks and whatnot, and don't rile the security guards too much, you'd be surprised at what you can find - and many times it's just sitting next to the dumpster, not in it. A lot of companies upgrade their machines, but either don't know what to do with their old machines, or don't want to take the time or energy (laziness) to recycle them properly or donate them (paperwork, ya know) - so to the dumpster they go! Another option (though you typically have to pay something - but very little) are sales at hamfests. Find one in your area, spend a few dollars getting in to the fest, and bring with you a couple hundred bucks and see what you can buy. It may not net you the latest and greatest hardware, but you might find something worthwhile on occasion. That, or you'll walk away with something you never expected to see or purchase (you'd be surprised at the stuff that shows up at these fests when old hams clean out their garage). TBH, I think it's an ecosystem of hams selling to other hams to keep the stuff around because they run out of storage - kinda a community distributed physical storage system...lol.
- EpicEng 9y agoI don't know why you're being downvoted for this; I've found _great_ stuff in other people's trash this way.
- olalonde 9y agoGovernment auctions are also a good place to find deals: https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.AdvSearchResultsNew&searchPg=Category&additionalParams=true&sortOption=ad&timing=BySimple&timingType=&category=29 https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.AdvSearchResultsN...
- TYPE_FASTER 9y agoOur town dump has a computers/electronics area that I've been tempted to pick through (and have seen multiple people harvesting).
- SAI_Peregrinus 9y agoNewegg. They have excellent service, and are also socially good due to their fighting against patent trolls.
- alehul 9y agoJust an FYI: Many people are posting about Newegg, which may still have great prices, but it's important to note that it was bought by a Chinese company and there's tons of recent threads complaining about issues and a lack of customer service, and that it feels entirely different now.
- topspin 9y agoConfirmed. I've built many machines via Newegg and I definitely won't do this for the next build. It has turned into something of a clearing house for scammy looking "sellers" that no one knows anything about. The prices aren't any better than what you find on Amazon while the shipping costs more. Shame they ruined it.
- petecooper 9y agoUsed: ex-corporate Dell stock via eBay. Unbeatable value, in my experience. New: build my own.
- navidfarhadi 9y agoI've been building my own since around 2010. I buy components mainly from Amazon and Newegg, but I also purchase from Fry's and Best Buy occasionally if they have something I need in stock and I can price-match online retailers. I also highly recommend Micro Center. I loved that store but occasionally the location near me (Santa Clara, CA) closed not too long ago and was replaced by a Wal-Mart. The Dell and Lenovo Outlet in the US also have some great deals on refurbished laptops if you are interested.
- danjoc 9y agorazerzone.com If you're a Mac person, Razer is going to push your buttons. Quality aluminum build. Lightweight. High end. Excellent quality displays. And a group of haters that will follow you around the web calling you a moron for suggesting/buying Razer... Just like with Apple :)
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoHow about noise?
- danjoc 9y agoThe quietest Razer laptop is probably the Blade Stealth since it doesn't have a discrete GPU like the Blade and Blade Pro. It's also the lightest and the one available in gunmetal grey.
- SimonPStevens 9y agoI brought my last laptop 2 years ago from PCSpecialist. Good build quality, very high spec, and still runs beautiful now. (Mine is rather bulky for a laptop, but I was intentionally looking for performance over size, they do seem to have other more slimline models available) https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/
- gh2k 9y agoAs someone who self-builds PCs, I second the recommendation for PCSpecialist for people who aren't planning to do that themselves. I've used them for laptops at home and our small biz gets all our desktops from them. Lots of options, good sales, aftersales etc. - Build quality is great.
- bfuller 9y agomicrocenter. i like their warranty. pay $20 per year and if nothing goes wrong i smash the computer and they give me a gift card with the original amount i spent, all i have to pay is the cost of the new warranty.
- tboyd47 9y agoeBay and pawn shops.
- gwbas1c 9y agoAny Apple store in a state without sales tax. I usually have enough opportunities to cross state lines that it's not too big of a deal.
- jakebasile 9y agoI'll add to the pile of "I build my own" comments. Haven't bought an off the shelf PC in decades. If you're using it for gaming it's the way to go. There's a trade off in time of course and if you don't want to make that trade I'd suggest one of the bespoke system builders like MainGear et al., but I can't personally vouch for any of them. Plenty of help available if you're interested in building your own(feel free to message me, even).
- JasonFruit 9y agoI've had remarkable luck picking up used small-business servers off Craigslist. I don't have much need for speedy graphics, so a Lenovo TS-140 with a bunch of memory for $200 was a great deal. That, a Debian USB key, a cheap mechanical keyboard, and a wide-screen monitor from Goodwill made a great coding box for me.
- kevinherron 9y agoFor home use, build your own. For business... suck it up, buy a Dell workstation, and let the warranty do its work if needed.
- dboreham 9y agoI haven't acquired a new desktop in a long time but I'd build from components if it were a beefy developer/gaming machine, or buy whatever Costco is selling this week if it is for a "regular person" to just do email, spreadsheets. We get most of our laptops from either Costco or Lenovo, sometimes Microsoft.
- matchmike1313 9y agoEither build my own (Newegg.com typically) or Dell.
- netrap 9y agoNatex, NewEgg, SuperBiiz, PCPartPicker, sometimes eBay. If you mean pre-built? Dell, I guess.....
- pjmlp 9y agoI am been into laptop mode for the last 15 years. Usually it is a Lenovo or Asus model, taken from local stores.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- scarface74 9y agoI'm going to go against the grain. I only use my computer for development and as a Plex Server. I either by Dell's business line or from the Microsoft Store to avoid bundled crapware.
- enobrev 9y agoI'm an Ubuntu user and not much of a gamer (besides the rare splurge on a steam for linux game) so I tend to be perfectly happy with last-year's tech. I used to stay very up to date with system specs and prices, but I can't be bothered anymore. Now I'll generally rely upon "Build Guides", Reddit, and PC Part Picker. I built my current desktop about 5 years ago, but the parts inside are about 1-3 years old. To start, I'll generally look up Build Guides from the previous year, or a couple "Budget Build"s from this year, enter all the parts into PC Part Picker and then mix and match until I find something that can handle what I need for under $600. And then every year or so, I'll fire up the previous year's build guides or present year's "budget build" and see if there's anything worth upgrading to without spending too much. Building your own can be a pain, but the annoyance is short-lived, and it's a hell of a lot less expensive. Just as well, I like to know what's in the box, so I can upgrade / tweak it as needed. As my needs change and I find I need my system to handle disk writes more efficiently, or need more memory, or if it's too loud, I can take care of all of that myself with a bit of googling and a couple hundred bucks.
- jokestir 9y agoSystem 76
- itamarst 9y agoLenovo Outlet, for thinkpads and thinkstations.
- jetti 9y agoI haven't bought a desktop since 2011 that wasn't a Mac but did buy one laptop recently. I got my Dell Precision M6800 on Overstock.com. It was only $400 and is a couple years old but I like it, plus I love the 17.3" screen size!
- zantana 9y agoWent to Microcenter for my last machine. Price was pretty close to what I could spec out on partpicker for that model, which they raised $100 after I bought it. :)
- pcunite 9y agoBuild my own
- matt_the_bass 9y agoI’ve been getting HPs at work. Mostly from Newegg or cdw. They’ve been working great for us.
- featherverse 9y agoNewegg.com and I build them all.