| > Any hardware you buy at this point will probably be a
| >CD/DVD writer. It does both. That's one of the things
| >that might be worth buying online. A few months ago
| >I was building a new PC. Hard disks were the same price
| >at TigerDirect as they were at Staples. But DVD writers
| >were about $17 (Samsung), as opposed to $50-$70 at
| >Staples. The only difference is that you get a fancy
| >box with the Staples product. So if you can use other
| >stock -- enough to be worth making an online order --
| >that option might be worth looking into.
|
| If I'm understanding this right, you bought the DVD writer at Tiger
| Direct, for about $17...... Right?
|
I just looked it up. I was partially mistaken. In December
I bought one for $25, though I think they actually discounted
that price, and the shipping was free.... I guess because it
was near Christmas:
Samsung 24X DVDRW Internal Drive - SATA Interface, 0.75 MB Buffer, 48X CD-R,
12X DVD+/-RW, 40X CD-RW - SH-224DB/RSBS (S203-8593) $24.99
The one I was remembering I bought 8/2012:
Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE 22X Internal DVDRW Drive - SATA, 1.5MB Buffer, 22x
DVD+/-R,
8x DVD+/-RW, 16x DVD+R DL, 12x DVD-R DL, OEM, Black
Item#: S203-8588 OEM | Model#: SH-222BB/BEBE
$17.99
There's a Samsung now for $16:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat..._slc.asp?CatId=1624&Nav=|c:89|&Sort=3&Recs=10
I tend to trust Samsung. I don't really have enough
experience to hold a rational opinion, but their stuff
seems to end up in a lot of PCs, and I figure that
the OEM companies probably put a lot of effort into
looking for dependable parts. They also *really* make
this stuff. Unlike a company like Apple (for whom they
make iPhone screens) or HP, they actually make the
hardware themselves. (I don't know about HP writers,
but their PCs are like any other OEM: a collection
of other peoples' parts in a name-brand case.)
If you're just buying a DVD writer, though, and you have
to pay shipping, it won't be such a bargain. I usually
go to Tigerdirect when I'm building a new machine
for myself or a friend. I find their prices good and they
provide a lot of information about the products. I can
buy all the parts there and know that they'll go together,
so I'm usually buying 6 or 8 parts in one order.
They don't have anything worth looking at for software,
but other places have Windows disks and the like.
These days I can't find most parts at all locally. There's
Staples and Best Buy for some things like hard disks.
They're OK if the item I want is on sale. Then there's
Microcenter, which I try to avoid. They're like a budget
warehouse. Boxes are often dented. Their prices are
pretty good, but they once refused me a refund on a
faulty part, so I've avoided them ever since. (I've never
had Staples refuse a return.) With the quality control
on computer parts, giving people a hard time about
returns just doesn't work. I try not to go to Microcenter
now for anything more involved than a fan or adapter.
