Last year I built a new computer to replace the outdated one I sold before we moved to a new home. After I determined what I wanted to put in it, I had to decide whether to shop at a computer show or at newegg.com. In the past, I've had awesome luck with computer shows so I decided that to be the best choice (bad idea). Anyway, like I said, previously I had great luck on getting good deals at computer shows. When MarketPro (one of the most widely known on the east coast, at least near Philly) came to a town near where I lived in Jersey, I found WinDVD4 (originally $80 online at the time) for $10. All I sacrificed was a box and manual. No big deal. So I figured I could find similar deals at this show for my new computer.
A friend of mine and I drove about an hour and a half to this show. After much browsing and bargaining, I found most of what I wanted, but didn't have enough money for a new hard drive. And to top it off, I figured only $600 cash would be enough so I ended up having to borrow money from the guy with me (which I paid back when we returned). Even then, I had to use my debit card to pay for half of my graphics card.
So after a few hours, it cost about $950 for my system:
Athalon X2 3800+
2gb Corsair XMS DDR400 (PC3200) RAM
eVGA nVidia Geforce 7600GT 256mb, clocked to 600mHz core and 1560mHz memory
Gigabyte Pro-SLI mobo
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case
DVD-R\W Combo drive
Antec 500W modular PSU
Luckily, I still had my old IDE 112gb hard drive because I didn't have any more money to buy a new one. A little later I did some checking and found out that I could've bought that rig, plus a 320gb SATA drive, for the same price. So there's strike one against me.
Then because I bought those things at a computer show, I didn't have any warranties. My graphics card didn't work right from day one, and I couldn't go back to try to return it, nor did I even think of trying to RMA it to eVGA. But I stuck with it for about nine months until it go so bad that I went and bought an X1950XT from newegg for $180. I did, however, try to RMA the card, only to find out I needed my original receipt, which I didn't have. Strike two.
Around this same time (about the beginning of May), I noticed that the external fan on my PSU wasn't spinning (it has two, one inside and one outside). After posting on another site I frequent, I found that was really bad. And it wasn't a matter of just cleaning all the crud out; that didn't work. So I had to spend another $130 on a new PSU. Strike three.
So for the above reasons, I wouldn't recommend buying a whole system at a computer show. Sure, they have great deals sometimes, but if you're being really specific and are buying a lot, newegg is definitely the way to go. Besides that, you don't have to get off your butt to buy anything. Just point, click, type in your info, and three to four days later your stuff arrives. And to those of you who are relatively new at buying things on Newegg, when they say "3 day business shipping" they do mean it. About 95% of the time, my order is verified and processed the same day I buy it, even when I buy it at like 9:00 at night, and is shipped either the next day or the day after. If it says on the site "shipped within 24-48 hours," they're serious. If you're far from the warehouse, expect your box three days later. But if you're closer, you could get it in less time. I think I ordered my card on a Thursday and got it by Saturday, though the warehouse was about 2.5 hours from my college.
Newegg is definitely the best choice for computer parts: they're reliable, honest, and quick. Plus, they're good with RMAing things. Though, there is a small charge for returned items, but they take things back with virtually no questions asked.