Hey all, just curious to see where people buy computer hardware from, e.g cases, CPUs, GPUs, hardrives etc…
I've pretty much always purchased from PC Case Gear, I like their website layout and they have always been reliable with shipping and warranty claims.
Umart also seem to be a nice balance between cheap (if they're not tied cheapest they're only a few dollars off) and having stock on head for immediate pick up in Sydney as well. The other stores with good stock levels are Scorptec and Mwave but they're not usually cheap.
Ditto for their Sunshine Coast store. Being able to pick stuff up on a Saturday morning is great.
Umart used to be great. You could place an order and as long as the website said the stock is available, you could rock up to the store and buy it. Could even place an order instore using their computer. Now, you have to wait for ready to pick up email which can take hours to couple of days, they lost the merit unless they have the cheapest price.
MSY used to be local to me so it was always there. It was not the place to go if you needed customer support though, I felt bad for anyone in there going “I want to upgrade, I don’t know what kind of ram I need but it’s a windows computer”, they were treated like shit.
When that extended to warranty they got in trouble, I never had warranty issues because I could always pinpoint the exact part, but that’s because I always had various bits lying around to test with and they were fine to warranty then.
yep - MSY has always been a 'box shop' - meaning you are expected to know exactly what you want - you walk in and ask for it, they go get it, and you pay for it and walk out, allowing the next guy in line to ask for what he wants without p'ing off too many customers in the queue
consultation and advice for the undecided is not part of their business plan
tho' a couple of times when I've asked about one product the counter guy has offered something similar as a better deal
Do people still tinker and build. Feels more niche than 15-20 yrs ago.
of course, PC building is probably more popular now than it ever has been, i mean prices haven't helped in the last couple of years tbf.
Your living under the rock. All the RGB lighting, RAMs with useless fancy alloy clothing, water pipes, skyhigh price 4-slot 32GB GPU and highend 24phase motherboard, 1000W modular PSU, 15-20 yrs ago is a niche compared to today.
Its all mini figurine painting to me. Nothing wrong with hobbies tho. Good for you.
ASRock
MSY when I want to go home empty handed
Out Of Stock can be good for the wallet
Shopping Express
Austin Computers
PC Case Gear, Umart, Computer Alliance, Scorptec, & MWave.
RIP CW Supplies :(
CPL Preston. Showroom coming "soon".
Hahahaa!
Wherever it's cheapest within reason (no dodgy no name online stores).
Have bought stuff from MSY, PC Case Gear, Amazon, Harris Technology via eBAy (15-20% off tech sales), Centrecom.
wow, didn't realise they were still around, used to order from them in the early 2000's
Facebook marketplace - only if I need a PC with current parts built in the past year
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Need my Chromebook fixed as it doesn't charge anymore and the USBC input on the Chromebook is bent. Where is the best place to get this fixed near Melbourne?
Wherever is cheapest
Or whoever can get it to me fastest depending on what I need haha.
I've given up on PC Case Gear though since they stopped allowing pickup and since reading this debacle
Most of my parts were second hand. Rest were bought from cheapest place online during sales. MSY used to be my go to since they were cheap and didn't take years to process your order but they permanently closed the store near me :(
What's a good place to buy safe 2nd hand parts mate?
ARC Computers. I bought many parts from their Chatswood branch. Sadly, ARC only have a Silverwater branch now.
Holy crap they're still around?!
Used to be MSY/Centrecom/PCCG(when it was in clayton). I would make lists and get my mum to drive me places out of the way to save $3
Now, Amazon and ebay, usually through through ozbargain advertised deals. You just save so much more using promotions.
That said, I haven't really needed to make any major upgrades in the last 5-10 years. I was planning to do an upgrade just so I could play Cyberpunk, but a combo of that being disappointing and inflated prices means I've put it off.
Last thing I bought was 8gb of ddr3 ram and an aftermarket CPU cooler. The cooler I bought new from Amazon, and the ram I got second hand from ebay
As per previous post Staticice is great.
Stuff with moving parts/fragile I prefer to pick up
Ebay is actually good with sales for CPU/SSD
Amazon and Newegg is good to compare
Surprised no Techfast - given they are one of the biggest sellers in OzBargain (whether you love them or hate them). Arguably their biggest discount is pre-built machines but they do have some good specials on GPUs and stuff too.
This poll is bugged as I buy PC parts and tech gear from Scorptech, PC Case Gear, Mwave and eBay (and very few if any others), yet can only vote for one.
Was Shopping Express until a transaction went though on a 24 hour sale, passing Mastercard's check, then rejected the next day when it was too late for me to use an alternate card. Card that was rejected on security grounds that had been successfully used with them for 2 years, same ip, same name, same billing and delivery addresses, and on bigger priced items - so I suspect from the followup it was an excuse not to honor the item.
Was MWave for years until 7 of 8 items marked as in stock for immediate delivery weren't indeed so - had to cancel order after a month as 5 items still hadn't come in.
I don't have any PC stores in my area so buy from whoever has stock of what I need. If I really want something now I usually don't like to wait and go to a store either Scorptec, Umart and then Mwave or Msy in order of closest to furthest from my place. Umart or Mwave. Though these days I usually opt to get it delivered if I'm not in a hurry from Umart, Mwave as they usually have the best shipping costs. Or Centre Com now that they have a new Sydney store and also free shipping if you purchase over $79.
If you live in Brisbane, uMart is the only game in town when you want something right now
There is a Computer Alliance on the otherside of town to me, but my local MSY has shut down (tbh, good, staff at that store deserved to be unemployed). We don't have PCCG or MWave or PLE or Scorptec.
Big ticket stuff, like a CPU or GPU, I'll buy from where ever OzBargain tell's me to get it from but if I need a keyboard or some thermal paste, uMart's website is really good imho.