This place is mecca. I had always assumed it was just like Best Buy, so I avoided it. I've always ordered all of my pc parts online to avoid being gouged by retail stored, but Fry's shcoked the hell out of me. Well I finally went, and their prices vary from newegg.com's by mere dollars, which you would pay for on shipping anyway. Plus they have insane delas like A64 3200+/mobo comboes for $205, or 200gb SATA hd's for $70. I even saw a A64 3000+ OEM for $95 last weekend. Say what?? I love this store, and now I want one even closer to Humble.
We've discussed them a number of times here. I've been shopping at Frys for about 10 years, and NEVER EVER EVER buy returned items, esp. computer parts.
Be wary of the mobo/cpu package deals. Don't count on the mobo being anything decent. That being said...those are still pretty good deals...you can get the packaged deal cheaper than you could get the cpu alone. That's what I did...bought the package deal and a better mobo...gonna dump that piecer mobo on eBay and make some back! And...you gotta love a place that drops a DDR dance pad out for the kids (and adults) to try out.
When I order from newegg I pay zero in sales tax, when you buy from a retail store you pay 8.25%. That's usually far more than the shipping costs. Plus, newegg has remarkably good customer service, while I've heard differently about Fry's. To each his own, though.
They recently built one on the SW side around Murphey and the SW Freeway. I'm checking it out next time I'm home.
I love Fry's and have always had decent service there. Most of the time, I know what I'm looking for and don't need much help from the sales people. They also usually have ridiculous deals on blank media, plus they have dvd's, cd's, home appliances and all kinds of electronics, computer stuff, hardware and software! It's a geek's dream!
I'd rather pay a few bucks more in tax than wait for a package to arrive. Waiting for a package usually means it comes while I'm at work, so I have to sign a release and wait an extra day. I never buy mobo/cpu combos...just using it as an example. I'm building a new rig, and I hope to pick up a A64 3200+, MSI K8N Neo Platinum, and whatever 200 gig SATA hd is on sale tonight. I already have a gig of Crucial memory and a case from newegg in the mail.
I love this place too, I really love bring in their newspaper ads to Bestbuy and having them match stuff... DIE BESTBUY DIE!!!
The one in Clear Lake is a must see............it's like a big space station. An awesome tribute to NASA. Great store.....but I still get most of my stuff from newegg.
Seconded...it's much more awesome than the generic Fry's stores they've been opening in the Dallas area.
I like Fry's well enough, but I really only shop there for stuff on sale. Otherwise, I pretty much stick to Axion, Directron, and NewEgg.
I think you should get the Gizmondo instead. Games, Movies, MP3s, GPS, Messaging...etc..etc..etc.. www.gizmondo.com Comes out in March. DD
I don't know if you are allowed to answer this DaDakota, but I have a question regarding the price of the Gizmondo. As it stands now, I wouldn't pay $420 for it, especially with the DS and PSP out there, not to mention other multimedia products. However, I read somewhere from someone in the company, IIRC, that the Gizmondo's price would drop pretty rapidly and that it would be around $99. Is that true and if so is there some timetable for when that will happen? I realize that is probably like asking Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo for detailed plans on their next-gen consoles, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Some of the games you guys made could be pretty interesting and something I'd consider getting if the Gizmondo only cost ~$99.
