Good computer shops

[Outdated]

What makes a good shop for you? For me it’s more than just price.

I’m lucky enough to live near one of the best I have ever dealt with. He’s not the cheapest but he’s not overpriced either, what makes him so good is the service he provides.

When I buy a computer I don’t want Windows on it and I don’t want to pay for Windows either. When I told him this he asked me what Linux I would like. He won’t sell a computer without properly testing it first so it has to have an operating system on it. He guarantees parts and workmanship for 2 years. And he delivers.

I just bought a surprise gift for an old mate up north, someone who gave me far more help and support than I deserved at a time when I really needed it. He needed a new computer and wanted my help in matching compatible parts, I told him I’d research and get back to him but I bought him a whole computer instead.

So early next week he’ll get a nice new computer with his favourite OS on it, already set up with his own login and passwords. All he has to do is plug it in and start using it. Of course I remember all his logins and passwords, I’m autistic.

 

[Misery]

See around here we've got a Best Buy. That's it.

Used to have a Fry's nearby (well, okay, 45 minutes away) and that was just lovely, and then the pandemic took them back behind the toolshed.

Frustrating, it was an absolutely lovely store. They had everything. EVERYTHING. I once bought a giant "tank stick" arcade control gizmo from there. You wouldnt see Best Buy selling something like that. Or most of the other stuff they offered. And the service was great too.

 

[Judge]

The last store-bought computer I had was a Dell 386 from Costco. I remember eventually buying more RAM to increase it to a whopping 16 megabytes, and replaced the Intel CPU with a Cyrix CPU that magically changed it from a 386 to a 486 computer. Was great for gaming, but back then system requirements for most software were more reasonable.

After that, I became my own "computer shop" and never looked back. Building my own computers every so many years. I too used to live just minutes away from a California Fry's Electronics store...and miss it a lot. Living here in Nevada, I have to resort to retailers like Newegg and Amazon, but still build and service it all on my own. Occasionally buying a stray part or two from Best Buy as well. Funny to have recently bought a 650 watt Corsair power supply over the counter from Best Buy. Miracles happen I suppose.

I continue to try to purchase the best components I can afford, to establish a balance of quality and performance of every machine I build.

 

[YabbaDabba]

I’m not sure I would buy another store bought computer. I built my last computer myself as well as my router. It was fun.

 

[Judge]

I’m not sure I would buy another store bought computer. I built my last computer myself as well as my router. It was fun.

Most store-bought computers these days just make me cringe. Usually too light on thermodynamics and certain no-name components that can come back to haunt people.

 

[Outdated]

After that, I became my own "computer shop" and never looked back.

I did that for more than 20 years, and I really enjoyed it. It became much more difficult when I was living in a remote area and ordering parts from 3000 Km away, I went through a spate of faulty/damaged motherboards and after arguing with shops over return policies and who's fault it was I started to lose a little confidence in myself.

Then when I came down to Adelaide I came with nothing other than 2 spare changes of clothes. When I walked in to this computer shop I started talking to the bloke behind the counter about what I wanted to put together and he said "We'll put it all together and test it for you if you like.". Yes Please.

He doesn't sell any pre-assembled computers, except for a few basic configurations he put together himself as demos and to give people easy options to choose from. And I found that an easier option for me to go for as well, "I want something like this but with a better processor and more ram, and don't bother with an optical drive.".

Now that I have two running computers it's just a matter of replacing bits now and then as needed, naturally I'll do that myself. And having one computer to play with while I pull the other one to bits will definitely make life easier.

 

[Judge]

I must say, getting back into modifying my old computer and bringing it up to more recent standards was a real eye-opener. A big reason why I keep the door open to building something state-of-the-art.

 

[Sherlock77]

Here in western Canada there is a small chain of stores called Memory Express

I've dealt with them for years, would rather buy from them than somewhere like Best Buy (which we do have here)

Last computer I ordered was custom built by Memory Express, a desktop (ie. tower drive), built with a few upgraded specs for image editing... I went to the back desk and went through the whole list of components with them, one of the best things I ever did...

 

[Judge]

I'd love to visit one of those chains like "Micro Center"...but they're just too far away. I see them occasionally advertised through YouTube. Kind of like a smaller version of Fry's.

Fry's Electronics....it was like Disneyland for us Geeks. Good memories.

 

[Outdated]

The shop I went to is completely independent, not affiliated with any franchises, which is one of the reasons I walked in and started looking around in the first place. Perhaps if my life had taken a different turn I might have considered doing something similar myself many years ago.

 

[Judge]

The shop I went to is completely independent, not affiliated with any franchises, which is one of the reasons I walked in and started looking around in the first place. Perhaps if my life had taken a different turn I might have considered doing something similar myself many years ago.

I actually gave that a thought when I was between careers. But my intuition and understanding of that market led me to abandon the idea. Too many variables when something goes wrong, not to mention what viruses and malware can do. That the "completed operations" liability was just a bit too much what the market could bear in terms of repair fees and frustrated customers.

Years later I was self-employed under very different circumstances with a minimum of overhead and no liability. But it involved risking everything I had as a personal investor. Not something for the squeamish. But as an autistic person, I sure came to quickly appreciate calling my own shots and making my own work hours.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Supposedly I have a decent computer shop near me and I've been too lazy to check it out.

I'm really lucky that everyone I know just gives me their broken computer parts to fix up and use. I have a pretty massive parts-shelf and 8+ working desktops and laptops at this point, so I don't think I'll need to go to a computer shop anytime soon. None of it is really high-end, but I can always resample and recycle projects

Also, now that all of my old lo-spec setups are enriched with Linux, everything just kind of works

 

[Luca]

I'd love to visit one of those chains like "Micro Center"...but they're just too far away. I see them occasionally advertised through YouTube. Kind of like a smaller version of Fry's.

Fry's Electronics....it was like Disneyland for us Geeks. Good memories.

We have Micro Center here!
One of my friends actually built me a desktop that he got at Micro Center... I know close to nothing about computer hardware but I know it's a high-end gaming computer, although that is the opposite of what I use it for. It's my "work computer" and its primary uses are video editing, digital art, and audio production.

I have been in Micro Center several times with friends and it's totally overwhelming. I don't know what most of the devices are, what the specs are on them, or what they even do. The only ones I'm remotely familiar with are speaker systems, other audio devices (MIDI, interfaces, microphones, headphones, etc) and video and photography devices.
I think Micro Center would be like a wonderland for you though.

As opposed to B&H, which I went to in New York City, which was like a candy store for me since the store was like wall-to-wall music production equipment, electronic instruments, videography equipment and DSLR cameras.
I did purchase a Polaroid camera there!

Another of the great wonders of New York City for me was a two-floor drum shop. If I'd had more money I would've made a lot of purchases there. I did get a Zildjian Cymbals shirt there, and my "weapons of mass percussion" shirt. I still wear both shirts all the time. I also got some light-up sticks.

This is an old picture taken in my old house, but here's the shirt. I think I will wear it today actually.

 

[maycontainthunder]

What makes a good store in my eyes;

Good range
Competitive prices
Staff who know what they are talking about

The only PC shops where I am are a couple of small independents who really are only there to fix things and a big chain store whose staff know very little. On one occasion in the chain store a staff member actually argued with me about a USB card. They were insistent that PCI and PCI Express were interchangeable (they are NOT!!!). God knows how many people returned things that didn't fit or came back angry with a dead PC. I don't go there anymore!

 

[maycontainthunder]

I therefore say that all Apple stores are the best!!

 

[Angular Chap]

Basic competence would be a start! All the shops around here are pretty bad, both the smaller independent ones and the big chains. I could share all kinds of stories about their antics. Kind of depressing seeing a lot of low income pensioners being charged money they can barely afford by some clowns that either give bad advice, don't fix the issues or even make them worse.

There was at least one good shop in Edinburgh who built a PC cooled by Irn-Bru. I present to you, the Aye-Mac!

(No it wasn't actually Irn-Bru, just an Irn-Bru theme and bottle with orange coolant! Next up, whiskey cooled?)

 

[Outdated]

I present to you, the Aye-Mac!

Thank you so much. That just cracked me up, I'm still wiping tears from my eyes. It's going in some emails in the morning.

 

[Outdated]

I therefore say that all Apple stores are the best!!

You do know a Mac is only a PC with a rubbish operating system, don't you? And no, that's no joke. IA64 architecture with intel chipset. The OS has only a very limited set of hardware drivers in it, if you want to install it on any other PC you'll need the tools in the Extras folder on the CD to compile third party drivers.

Intel have been building their hardware since around 1996. Hence iMac.

 

[SRSAutistic]

So early next week he’ll get a nice new computer with his favourite OS on it, already set up with his own login and passwords. All he has to do is plug it in and start using it. Of course I remember all his logins and passwords, I’m autistic.

That's impressive that you were able to install a completely different OS (Linux) on a Windows 10/11 computer.

One time, I tried to hack my dad's phone (iPhone 8) lockscreen passcode by trying different combinations. I tried 5 times before it said "iPhone is disabled".

 

[Outdated]

That's impressive that you were able to install a completely different OS (Linux) on a Windows 10/11 computer.

There's no such thing as a "Windows computer". They're just computers. You can put almost any operating system you like on them. I haven't used Windows in over a decade.