Am I paying too much?

[Guest]

I can get a 1.4 Athlon with an MSI motherboard thats supports DDR Ram for $250. DO you guys think that is a good price? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[dhlucke]

Check <A HREF="http://www.pricewatch.com/" target="_new">Pricewatch</A> to get a feel for prices. Is the CPU OEM or Retail? If it's OEM, what HSF does it come with? These are things you need to know and compare.

<font color=red>Change the sig of the week!</font color=red>

 

[Guest]

I don't like pricewatch because I don't know the companies. The price from what I looked at seemed to be near the upper middle of pricing on the site though. This is a retail boxed processor. I don't know what hsf is do I still need to worry about it?
P.S. This is the first time I am upgrading something like this my experience is vid cards and hard drives and the such.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by DrunkenMaster on 09/04/01 09:08 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[tilepusher]

Hey DM,
What do you really know about the vendor you are buying your mobo/cpu combo from? Will they exchange/refund if it is DOA or if you accidently fry it no questions asked? If so buy it. If you don't know, what is the difference between them and "Pricewatch.com" ? "HSF" or a ton of others most of the time stand for "H"-Heat, "S"-Sink, "F"-Fan, or the first set of words that come out of my mouth when seeing New Hardware,Fast Cars or Fine Women.....HOT, SH*T,F*CK!!!! Just kidding!
Peace Out..........tile

What do you mean, SEE THE BIG PICTURE, you mean I need a New Monitor too???

 

[madmike]

That price doesn't sound outrageous. If you're not comfortable buying from a company you never heard of, then a few extra dollars is probably worth your peace of mind.

One thing about returns - you don't know how good a company's return or exchange policy is until you need it. I can't say that the size of the vendor matters in this respect. I've had mixed results as far as responsiveness, but I can't ever remember getting stiffed by anyone. If you order with a credit card, you always have the option of getting the cc company involved if they give you a hard time. (AmEx is especially helpful in resolving disputes.)Vendors seem to be easier to work with and quicker to respond than manufacturers. I'd rather try to get a replacement from a vendor with a DOA component than from a manufacturer on a failed part after a few months. I suppose that's because alot of vendors just ship the stuff back to the mfgr. for credit.

Good luck with the upgrade.

 

[Jusphil]

From what i remember, Boxed processors usually come with a HSF (i haven't bought retail in so long.) If you're going to spend $250 of your hard earned dollars, buy from someone who you are comfortable, i have tried many of the retailers on Pricewatch, and most if not all of them are supportive---just a little difficult to understand.

And don't forget to check out THG on mounting HSF on athlon/durons 'cus you dont wana kill your new chip...<b>before</b> you o/c it

 

[Uncle_joe]

Which MSI are you buying?
If it's with VIA KT266 chipset, you'r throwing money away.

Wait a few weeks, get one with VIA KT266A.

$250 for both (cpu&mobo) sounds 'bout right.




Breaking news: Intel hit by a SledgeHammer! AMD to blame! More in just a moment...

 

[Guest]

Master of Drunkenness,
check out www.resellerratings.com for reviews of e-companies. You can check the corresponding company that has the lowest prices on Pricewatch. Also the MSI I heard from these forums blows, so don't get it.