Part Recommendations

[Axxemann]

What would you do?

I'm going to be upgrading my case to the Fractal Pop Air XL, and the price on Newegg Canada and my local dealer is exactly the same. The local guys don't stock the XL, in fact, they don't really stock anything in full tower form factors (Mids and SFF are popular around here.)  One area I know they beat Newegg is in Customer Service. It's one of the benefits of having a brick & mortar store.

Newegg has them in stock. But shipping is an extra $20. There's also all the horror stories about dealing with Newegg's RMA/Return process. Last thing I want is a broken side panel to hamper progress. At least with the local shop, we can crack open the box and inspect it together.

Ordering local, I'm looking at an indeterminate amount of time for the case to arrive. Newegg will have it to my door in a week or so. 

I'm leaning local because I've dealt with them since they opened up shop here, so we're going back 20ish years. That $20 I'd spend on shipping would go to an extra HDD cage and USB-C cable, too.

So... Red Team... what would you do in my shoes?

[jamesc359]

All things being equal I say shop local. However things are rarely equal. So if I were in your shoes I'd look at other retailers (both local and online), then I'd ask the preferred local dealer for an estimated wait time. If it's reasonable, wait, if not I'd buy it from Newegg.

This is purely anecdotal, but I've never had an issue with Newegg or their returns. In fact for all the returns I've ever done they were excellent. YMMV of course.

[Axxemann]

There's next to nothing for local retailers. The few there are are miniscule in comparison to Memory Express (think of them as Canada's version of Microcenter, just not as well stocked because Canada) and typically charge 10-20% more for the same stuff, or they don't carry it period.

Online hasn't netted me much without more being spent in one place or another that I don't want to spend on.

[jamesc359]

Well in that case I'd ask for an estimated wait time and if it's more than a month I'd go with Newegg.

[Axxemann]

That's just the thing: The locals list it as a special order item, but no one has ever ordered that particular case. Their SOP is pay for it now, they order it from the supplier, then I wait. Fractal ships out by the pallet as opposed to onesie-twosies like Corsair and other manufacturers. I can get the mid tower variant same day since it's a regular stocked item. I want the full tower because I need the extra space for hard drive bays. I did the math and fully trimmed out with the extra drive cages and USB-C cable, Newegg is going to cost me $40 more than local, all because of shipping costs. If they offered free shipping on cases, there wouldn't be any discussion, I'd be posting pics of my transplant already.

[mengelag]

I personally get most of my things through Memory Express. Good company with good customer service. Unless you're looking for something uncommon, Mem Express generally has it.

[Vynski]

Same here, all things considered equal; GO LOCAL.  Especially since NewEgg has sold out to China.

[johnnyenglish]

I order so many thing online but they are usually (substancially) cheaper.

Go Local !

[Axxemann]

Same here. But having Memory Express quite literally 5 minutes away and a team of relatively knowledgeable staff has its perks. I'm still old school where I like to go to a store and see it in the flesh before I spend my money.

I remember years ago when I was at one of the local motorcycle shops when shopping for a new helmet. Found one that fit, but the shop was asking $50 more than the online guys. I asked them if they'd match the price and the sales rep laughed at me. I found the department manager and had him watch me place the order online. I then told him exactly what transpired. He turned the same shade of red as a Coke can as I left. The next time I went in to get a chain and sprocket set installed, the gear guy that laughed at me was gone, and they had a big "Ask about our Price Match Promise!" sign in the riding gear section.

[Vynski]

I hear you loud and clear @Axxemann .  Your fortunate that it's only 5 miles.  I have to travel about 25 to the local Best Buy.  These guys have been very generous in sales to more than me.  This is where I got a Corsair Sabre Pro on a clearance sale, a $110 mouse for $45.  Beat that Amazon!

[Axxemann]

3.8 km according to my trip odometer. 🙂

Best Buy isn't that far away either, but I've found their PC staff are the MemEx rejects who really don't know jack about individual components, but are happy to sell you a $4000CAD premade gaming rig that can be built for less than half that.

[Vynski]

I didn't say I trust their "GEEK SQUAD".  They are simply learning on the job and getting paid for it.  I remember far too many of the network technicians like that.  Charged $40 / hour but it took them 7-8 times longer, and that's being generous, to do what a good tech could do in 20 minutes for $60 / hr.  LOL.  

But as I said I'm not the only individual that has gotten good deals from them.  Our local newspaper owner-editor got her a new Apple that was $600 cheaper than Amazon.

[BigAl01]

Support your local shop and buy it through them.  While you are waiting on it to arrive, start planning out what is going into the case and what custom mods you can do to make it your personal expression of a gaming beast.

[Axxemann]

It'll be getting a custom loop at some point. The Pop Air XL will have support for a 360mm rad up front, a 280 up top and a 140 in the back. I'm going to bypass the 140 and just have a fan in there. I'm not too worried about noise (having tinnitus, wearing headphones and all) so I'm currently batting around setting the 140mm fan in the rear as a fresh air intake and exhausting through the rads. I could do it the opposite way, too. I'm pretty aggressive with my fans to begin with (they're always spinning at a minimum of 50%) so airflow will be there regardless.

In terms of case mods... at most it might see a hole or two drilled out for fill and drain ports so I can plumb them right into the loop. Ideally I want to fill from my coolant bottle using a vacuum pump and treat it like I was bleeding brakes instead of burping a cooling system on a race bike. A few Tee fittings here and there with some extra shutoff valves for diverting flow where I need it to go and an overkill pump and reservoir... because I can.

[petosiris]

I'd say buy the case in the local shop, if the price there isn't much more expensive than on Newegg.  

And congrats with your new case!  It looks great and should have nice airflow too, I guess. 👍

[pauln]

Nice case! I like the Black w/gold trim and the dark glass.

[pauln]

If I had to have it right away I have a Microcenter 1hr away. my next option BestBuy  2 miles down the road. I am sure it would be more money and I would have to order it. I have had good luck with Newegg as well.

The small local shops here in NH are all gone these days.

[Caleb21]

how important is the 40$ to you... are you willing to wait weeks or potentially months for it and still be happy then, or would 40$ be worth having it this time next week... ive heard of neweggs issues but if your buying new you shouldnt have much issue ever, i never have and have spent over 10 grand on newegg in the past 3 years.... if your panel did arrive broken for some reason (ive never had anything come bad or broken)... the  im almost positive theyd easily replace it as i have parts i got from them that they warranty was up but the manufactuers have warrantys too and longer ones so that part got replaced and it was NZXTs fault not newegg... and when i had an issue with amazon and got patts sent that they flagged and said they canceled so i got them from newegg too then amazon locked me out that account forever i tried everything, all cuz i spent 3k at once and it was t even the first time... then they charged me for one cooler and all the insurance(1000$ worth) for all tbe parts but still canceled all parts besides cooler chich got thru, when i called and they promised bothing would so i rebought it all on neweegg... anyways i had to send a cooler back to newegg cuz i couldnt to amazon cuz they locked my account up.... idk if i even sent them the right one i didnt check but, newegg gladly let me return it and refunded me and even waved all restocking fees... in my experience especially buying new, i buy on newegg... and id be willing to bet you that for 10$ more you could have that case in 2-3 days tops, not a week... newegg has highlighted bad cases but... im satusfied and will continue to use them, but the closest thing i have to a pc store is a best buy lol.. and im in louisiana between new orleans and baton rouge.. id say newegg is worth the extra money but..... if you support your local shop and they think they can get the case to you within a week or 2? then support your local shop but if they arent sure when, go with newegg... sad but, its the way these days... even if they sent you a broken case you could send it back and have it replaced before youd even get the first case from the other ppl if they take a month or so... goodluck!!!

[justusfriedhelm]

There is awlays an extra cost if u'd chose physical (local) shop. There is no way around - you need to keep the store up (bills, employees etc), and in that you've got the cost of returning if something would **bleep** up (aka the cost of sending **bleep**e over).

[jaandoh]

When I've purchased parts in the past, I've preferred local from the standpoint of being able to return it quicker than posting it across the country, or even outside of the country...

It would mean my money is not being wasted in stupid shipping charges and don't forget insurance when shipping expensive items... 

For example here in UK if you send an item via what used to be called "recorded delivery" , the new name being "signed for" the most value it will cover is upto £30= if it gets lost or damaged... 

Having said that I've only ever returned a graphic card, locally, because I made (in my opinion)  a bad choice...