[Timmie3054]

I was looking at computers parts on the internet and they seem a lot cheaper online.

Now I am not a usual online buyer. But I am seeing some good deals from buying things over the internet.

I know the choice is mine. But I want to know other peoples preferences
do you usually buy computer parts at the store or online?

[S02]

Welcome.

There are certain online stores I don't trust, look at shipping costs and insurance and compare it to shop.

Where do you live and where are you planning to buy from?

Also what are you looking to buy?

We here at overclockers can help you get the right stuff, at the right prices and at the right places.

[Timmie3054]

Originally Posted by S02

Welcome.

There are certain online stores I don't trust, look at shipping costs and insurance and compare it to shop.

Where do you live and where are you planning to buy from?

Also what are you looking to buy?

We here at overclockers can help you get the right stuff, at the right prices and at the right places.

I am from Canada. I am looking for a whole new build.

CPU (AMD Phenom II x6 1090t)
Motherboard
2 High End Video Cards (Prefer Nvidia for my 3d monitor)
90GB SSD
Case (considering the HAF-X)
CPU Cooler (preferably water cooler.)
Power Supply that can run SLI/Crossfire

All the other stuff I pretty much have.

I have a $3,000 budget but I am willing to go above and beyond if it will make a difference.

[S02]

Well, you have the budget, I don't know where to buy if you're in Canada, but newegg is generally the place to buy. Can you link the parts and put the component names above? This way people will be able to tell you where else to get it, or what else to get, within the budget or above if neccesary.

[Marshmallow64]

Newegg Canada is a great place to buy.

[Timmie3054]

AMD Phenom II x6 1090t
ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme (Only because it can do SLI)
GTX 480's (At least 1GB GDDR5
OCZ Vertex II SSD 90GB or 120Gb
HAF-X
Water Cooling (I have never had one before and I really don't know what is good and what is not good. So anyone that you think should be good.)

[A-Dub]

Living in a small town I don't have much choice but to shop online. My town does have a small mom + pop repair shop, but only the most uninformed person would shop there. $100+ for an ATI 4550, $150+ for a 500gb hard drive. If I had a Fry's near me (closest one is 2 hours away) I would shop there since they're pretty competitive with online retailers. I do stop in there on occasion when I am down in Phoenix, last black friday I got an Athlon II x2 + motherboard combo for ~$40. Microcenter is pretty competitive as well if you have one near you.

I understand some people are apprehensive about shopping online and like to support local businesses. I'd be willing to pay say 10-20% above online prices for the convenience and instant gratification of walking into my local shop and getting something right away. I just don't see how they sell anything when they're marking up 2 to 3 times what I can get it for online.

[TheGreySpectre]

On online vs brick & mortar:
Granted I have never been into a Fry's, but most computer stores seem more geared toward selling upgrades and whole computers. It seems like the average part selection for some components such as cases, motherboards and and processors seem to be rather limited. I also have not really found thier customer service to be any better then online.

I generally shop at newegg because it allows me to have OCF up for component advice, and they have great customer service for if something goes wrong. They also don't try and push stuff on me that I don't need.


On your build:
For water cooling I would HIGHLY suggest putting together your own setup, as opposed to getting a kit. Some questions to consider:
Are you planning on water cooling just the processor or the processor and video cards?
Do you want everything internal to the case, or are you okay with things outside the case?
Are you okay with doing case modifications or do you want everything to fit out of the box?
Are you going for OCing possibilities, noise reduction or both with watercooling?
If you know you want to do watercooling pop on over into the Water Cooling board once you know all your components, and they can help you figure out how to get the most bang for your buck.

For water cooling you are probably going to want to look at something like this: Swiftech Apogee , Radiator, D5 Pump, Tubing and a Resevoir/T-Line. The radiator size will be partially largely determine by weather or not you are also cooling your video cards (in which case you would also need 2 video card blocks),

You are going to need a pretty heft power supply for that, you might consider : This, or go and Read this Thread

If you want to do water cooling with no hassle, you might consider one of the Mountain Mods Cases as you can drop fairly large radiators into them with no hassle.

You might want to consider getting a second standard HDD to go along with your SSD to provide storage space.

Do you need to account for an operating system/keyboard,mouse/monitor(s) in your budget?

[Timmie3054]

Originally Posted by TheGreySpectre

On online vs brick & mortar:
Granted I have never been into a Fry's, but most computer stores seem more geared toward selling upgrades and whole computers. It seems like the average part selection for some components such as cases, motherboards and and processors seem to be rather limited. I also have not really found thier customer service to be any better then online.

I generally shop at newegg because it allows me to have OCF up for component advice, and they have great customer service for if something goes wrong. They also don't try and push stuff on me that I don't need.


On your build:
For water cooling I would HIGHLY suggest putting together your own setup, as opposed to getting a kit. Some questions to consider:
Are you planning on water cooling just the processor or the processor and video cards?
Do you want everything internal to the case, or are you okay with things outside the case?
Are you okay with doing case modifications or do you want everything to fit out of the box?
Are you going for OCing possibilities, noise reduction or both with watercooling?
If you know you want to do watercooling pop on over into the Water Cooling board once you know all your components, and they can help you figure out how to get the most bang for your buck.

For water cooling you are probably going to want to look at something like this: Swiftech Apogee , Radiator, D5 Pump, Tubing and a Resevoir/T-Line. The radiator size will be partially largely determine by weather or not you are also cooling your video cards (in which case you would also need 2 video card blocks),

You are going to need a pretty heft power supply for that, you might consider : This, or go and Read this Thread

If you want to do water cooling with no hassle, you might consider one of the Mountain Mods Cases as you can drop fairly large radiators into them with no hassle.

You might want to consider getting a second standard HDD to go along with your SSD to provide storage space.

Do you need to account for an operating system/keyboard,mouse/monitor(s) in your budget?

Thanks, I already bought all the small things last week. Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate, Keyboard, Mouse, speakers, Ram.etc.

I now need to get the big things, Motherboard, CPU Video cards.etc That is the reason why I came here.