Where to buy computer parts?

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bla

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#248374 23-Mar-2019 09:23

What's the cheapest way to buy computer parts in NZ? (I'm trying to build a pretty good gaming PC for less than what a fully assembled system would cost)

What are my options? Where are you buying parts?

According to my own research *cough* googling *cough* pbtech is pretty much the cheapest, but most of the parts under the NZD 400 duty limit are even cheaper when ordered from Amazon US... Any thoughts?

Thank you!

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#2203755 23-Mar-2019 09:59

Hello and welcome to Geekzone.

The best way is to buy all from one place if you are having it shipped.

Use pricespy.co.nz to look for cheap parts.

Consult trademe to see if you can find them cheaper.

PBTech is usually the cheapest but make sure to check other sites first as sometimes they are NOT the cheapest.

If you want to order online from over seas such as Amazon you can, just be mindful that you will not be covered by the CGA if you wish to make use of it and warranty will be limited if nonexistent.

If you don't mind buying second hand that is also a good option, many PC parts are safe to buy second hand and the community here is mostly truthful and sell good parts for cheap, I haven't had a bad buy yet and I must've had about 20 deals already. There are a few things I would recommend you do NOT buy second hand such as a PSU.

If you need help looking for parts let us know your requirements and budget and we can help.

JeremyNzl

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#2203757 23-Mar-2019 10:06

Cheaper parts can be sourced offshore, I have in the past used a drop shipping service and may have made mistakes with the value declaration,

Warranty and insurance on the shipped item are problems that need to be weighed up for the cost/benefit.

These days I choose to use reliable nz based web stores that log and make available my purchase and warranty history online.

This along with free shipping and no hassle returns have been worth more to me over the last 15 years than saving a few bucks and needing to invoke consumer laws on warranty issues.

richms

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#2203766 23-Mar-2019 11:00

Newegg has done good for me as well. Reasonable direct to NZ shipping costs but not everything can be sent.

Was always cheaper than anyone locally for ram, about the same for CPU so that came from PBtech, funny USB cards and similar that are only available in the US are also good from them like ones with 4 controllers etc.

Richard rich.ms

toejam316

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#2203794 23-Mar-2019 12:58

If you don't want to muck around, pick a local retailer like Computer Lounge and pick everything up from them.

If you want to muck around to save a bit more, use price spy to pick and choose from each retailer, although bare in mind shipping could negate any savings you make here.

If you're not in a massive rush and don't care for your CGA Coverage, try buying parts off of Newegg or Amazon, too. You'll find GPUs, RAM, HDDs, SSD and CPUs can be quite a bit cheaper off shore sometimes.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

kingdragonfly

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#2203853 23-Mar-2019 15:45

I like Ascent.

Note I tend to buy higher performance equipment when given a choice. I also do more research on every part than most.

They are about 2 to 4% more expensive than PB Tech.

However PBTech sometime runs on or over the cusp of legality with regularity.

I've never had a problem with Ascent after hundreds of orders. They have a wider selection than most, though obviously all companies buy from the same sources.

Also I like the search feature.

Computer Lounge is good too. Sometimes they have high performance pieces that are harder to find.

http://www.ascent.co.nz

kingdragonfly

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#2203855 23-Mar-2019 15:50

Don't buy from TradeMe

For used pieces, I find people are unrealistic / widely optimistic about their prices.

For new pieces, 85% or more is the cheapest junk available, or actually fronts for off-shore operators.

Make sure you always filter for these:
* new
* region: All New Zealand

SpartanVXL

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#2203890 23-Mar-2019 18:23

High cost items should definately be bought here and from a decent retailer for warranty. Cpu gpu psu are all things you want to keep a recipt for.

Amazon (at least when they do free shipping) is great for the other parts that fall under the gst threshold. Storage (hdd, ssd), memory (ram) are commonly quite a bit cheaper on Amazon then locally. They are also decent when it comes to warranty as they’ll accept shipping back for defects.

Amazon also has more model selection, especially when it comes to motherboard or RAM kits with different timings/speed. Just check the exchange rate before making a purchase as well as who you’re buying from (ie Amazon/manufacturer fulfilled).

Trademe is ok if buying parts for a reasonable price. Sometimes people will also list their entire rig just to get of it quick for a lower price. Another option is Facebook marketplace, while I haven’t used it some friends do to get good deals for things that the owners dont want to pay TM fees for.

As with any secondhand stuff check the details and ask questions before going for it. A reasonable amount of tech stuff is well looked after since the owners know what they’re doing. Geekzones sub-forum will also have some stuff that you can pick up and put together if you’re willing to be patient.

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

1101

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#2204628 25-Mar-2019 11:47

Buy everything from the one store (the exception perhaps is the vid card)

Reason : if you have some some of hard to diag issue , and you bought RAM, PSU, MB etc from different stores , its going to be a nightmare
for you to diag EXACTLY what part has the intermittent fault.
If bought from the one retailer, you can take the whole lot back & work with them to sort it out.

I wouldnt buy a used motherboard.
Last used MB I bought on trademe had an intermittent fault . That may be a reason that someone is selling it , to offload their problem onto you.

antoniosk

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#2204641 25-Mar-2019 12:13

You should also surrender on the notion that whatever you assemble will be cheaper than an equivalent system built by a company. It won't be, like for like.

BUT, a HUGE strength of the PC desktop ecosystem is it's ability to mix and match component pieces, backed up by Windows and it's enormous driver library. Love or loathe microsoft, windows has had 33 years of driver work and on the whole tends to be pretty good.... when it doesn't hiccup. Don't underestimate that value and what it will let you do.

You WILL be able to assemble a machine that will cost you whatever you want it to, because of the mix and match. Do your research on clock timing, ram latencies and cpu multipliers though - don't just chuck anything in, as the sum of the parts DOES play a big role in performance.... unless of course you're nickel and diming everything, in which case beggars cant be choosers :-)

Don't skimp on power or the case, or cpu+cooling. Everything else is modular and can be replaced easily, but cpu, power supplies and cooling are a pita to change.

There's lots of videos on youtube on how to lay out pieces and tuck wiring away to not interfere with airflow.

________

Antoniosk

frankv

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#2204655 25-Mar-2019 12:30

When I've bought parts in NZ, it's been from Paradigm Partners (pp.co.nz). They used to be much cheaper than elsewhere, but sadly now seem to be about the same. But great service and quick shipping, and the one warranty claim I had was quickly replaced with no hassles.

As others have said, beware of shipping costs from the USA, which can exceed the cost of the item. Remember that the $400 GST limit is on product+shipping. Also remember to add on a couple of percent for your bank/credit card company on the exchage rate conversions.

Don't buy anything from AliExpress... you don't know what you're getting, and cheap items are often fraudulently mislabelled as larger capacity, or are faulty goods, perhaps after repair.

woodson

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#2204806 25-Mar-2019 16:49

I use DTC online - a lot cheaper than PBTech. Plus, fee shipping and 2% discount for direct bank transfer payments.

richms

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#2204852 25-Mar-2019 20:21

My aliexpress SSDs have all performed faultlessly. With my 5th gen machines supporting a bios upgrade to support NVMe boot it was probably the second most signifigant upgrade to the PC since going from spinning rust to a sata SSD. Perhaps third behind maxing out the ram.

Also my aliexpress ram for dinosaur DDR2 based computers has all been fine as well. As was my atom based ITX board for dirt cheap for a router PC that turned out to not be fast enough.

Also its good for motherboards for older machines where they are repaired old models, vs the untested junk on trademe for twice the price with no warranty.

Richard rich.ms

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#2204856 25-Mar-2019 20:42

I've had very bad experiences buying electronics on aliexpress

toejam316

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#2204891 25-Mar-2019 21:38

richms:

My aliexpress SSDs have all performed faultlessly. With my 5th gen machines supporting a bios upgrade to support NVMe boot it was probably the second most signifigant upgrade to the PC since going from spinning rust to a sata SSD. Perhaps third behind maxing out the ram.

Also my aliexpress ram for dinosaur DDR2 based computers has all been fine as well. As was my atom based ITX board for dirt cheap for a router PC that turned out to not be fast enough.

Also its good for motherboards for older machines where they are repaired old models, vs the untested junk on trademe for twice the price with no warranty.

There's a fine line between bravery and foolishness, and I have no idea which side you're living on.

You're a mad man for buying PC hardware off Aliexpress, and I salute you for it.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

bla

20 posts

Geek

#2205496 27-Mar-2019 09:13

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions!

Yeah, I'm not brave enough to buy vital components on AliExpress - I've had mixed experiences.

But I didn't know about PP and DTC and those places look like a good alternative to PBTech for some things!

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