Shopping for those new parts to build your own computer?
Oct 17 '00
Now that you have hopefully checked out my introduction to building your own computer, I have deemed it time to give a little more information to the masses that is a little more technical than the previous written. My intentions are not to walk you through the whole process of the build from start to finish , but to open your eyes to the potential problems that you may face if you so choose to embark down this road. With that said here is some more useful things to help you out.
After you have done your research and decided exactly what you feel are the best parts for you to put into your computer , there still lies the question as to where to purchase the parts and where to get the best prices on them. If in fact your reason behind trying to build your own computer is to save money than you may want to order all your parts form one merchandiser as it will cut down on shipping fees. However much like the research you performed on the parts you require , you will need to plan out the best actions for ordering your parts.
Parts can normally be obtained online at many different retailers for many different price ranges on the same product. Anyone's goal is to get the best price no matter what the reason behind building your own PC is. Many sites are available help to put all your possible suppliers and prices together in one spot via each independent part. You will need to look up all your parts separately writing down prices and shipping costs on a scrap piece of paper. Attempt to get all parts from different suppliers at first and total up the end figure. Once you have done that pick a couple of sites and try to order all the parts from them , gathering totals. You will then need to compare the results to find out the cheapest route in the long run. Normally even if not by much ordering from different places turns out to be cheapest , but if you only have a 20 - 30 dollar spread it may be worth it to skip the aggravation that may be associated with ordering from multiple vendors.
There are however a few things that you should be aware of when attempting to gather parts in this manner. The first thing would be the fact that you can obtain parts in either OEM or RETAIL packages. OEM ( original equipment manufacturing) tend to normally be cheapest. The reason is that it comes minus all the retail boxing and sometimes manuals that would have been included. For first time computer assemblers this may not be good as you may at some time require the manual that you don't have. For more experienced builders you can save money this way and I have not as of yet had any problems with OEM style products. The second format that is available is the RETAIL packaging. This means that you get the product exactly as would be seen on the store shelf with all manuals etc. Included. ***NOTE*** OEM warranties are normally shorter than that of RETAIL.
Another categorization you should be aware of is GENERIC or NAME BRAND!!! As the names imply the generic type could be anything and you will not really know what you are getting until the product is received. Generic products normally work decently and are the cheaper of the two options. But beware , make sure that the product your buying is compatible with the components that you have purchased. Name brand is exactly as the name implies , you get a component built by leading manufactures with their full warranty and support.
O.K. heres where the ball tends to start rolling down the hill at rapid speeds. How much will it cost to ship your products. Well for starters we are talking about highly sensitive electronic equipment , which automatically raises the price of shipping. So expect to pay a decent amount for the convenience of having everything arrive on your doorstep. Also look at how quick you need or want the parts to arrive. Standard UPS ground shipping usually averages about a week and is the cheapest in most cases. Sometimes sites have free FEDEX 2nd day air for the price of ground shipping etc. In this case go for it , but to request overnight or 2nd day air will play murder on your pocket book so choose wisely.
Now that I have given you a perspective on how to go about locating your parts for good prices , I will draw this boring thing to a conclusion. Remember happy shopping , good luck and don't jump on one price right away cause it looks good. A better one may be sitting right around the corner. Once again do your research first and thoroughly..
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