Picking components for a custom computer: pcpartpicker.com
The website pcpartpicker.com is my favorite website in the world. Besides Triple V, of course (laugh track). It allows you to browse through an obscene selection of components, compare prices at a number of online stores (including my three favorites as mentioned in the Active Deals of the Day post - Newegg, Amazon, and Best Buy), and build a parts list for your computer, all while checking for incompatibilities. Check out the parts list for the gaming computer I made for my husband:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
They even have an option for you to build your own inventory, so if you purchased a graphics card two years ago, for example, PCPP remembers the exact model and the amount you paid for it, so you can easily add it to a new parts list if you want to move it to a different computer. Just as a for-instance. You can save as many parts lists as you want, so if you're working with two different ideas, you can compare what each one would cost.
Of course, prices fluctuate and deals may be gone tomorrow, but pcpartpicker also includes a tracker to show what an item usually costs, how often it goes on sale, and for how much. This is crucial because retailers will so often show a "sale price" of $20 off, when really it always sells for that, but occasionally comes with a $20 mail in rebate. The only minor complaints I have is that it doesn't work well with Newegg sales, doesn't include Amazon merchants (which usually have no tax so I always buy "fulfilled by Amazon" when prices are the same), and won't allow me to opt out of Newegg shipping even though I can usually get around paying it with my free trial of shopkeeper.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
They even have an option for you to build your own inventory, so if you purchased a graphics card two years ago, for example, PCPP remembers the exact model and the amount you paid for it, so you can easily add it to a new parts list if you want to move it to a different computer. Just as a for-instance. You can save as many parts lists as you want, so if you're working with two different ideas, you can compare what each one would cost.
Of course, prices fluctuate and deals may be gone tomorrow, but pcpartpicker also includes a tracker to show what an item usually costs, how often it goes on sale, and for how much. This is crucial because retailers will so often show a "sale price" of $20 off, when really it always sells for that, but occasionally comes with a $20 mail in rebate. The only minor complaints I have is that it doesn't work well with Newegg sales, doesn't include Amazon merchants (which usually have no tax so I always buy "fulfilled by Amazon" when prices are the same), and won't allow me to opt out of Newegg shipping even though I can usually get around paying it with my free trial of shopkeeper.
One of the best features of the pcpartpicker parts lists is the ability to add a part from a filter. What this means is that when you go to search for a part, use filters like with any online shopping service, and they'll add the lowest price choice to your list. When prices update, so does your list. This is fantastic when you're still working out the kinks. Even if you don't end up buying the part they pick, you can still click on the list to view your filtered items and look at all the cheapest options until you find one you do like, or narrow it down even more. This was a feature I wasn't even aware of until very recently and it's saved me so much distress.
If you want to learn more about how to use PCPP, be sure to come back for Part 2: A tutorial on using pcpartpicker.com
If you want to learn more about how to use PCPP, be sure to come back for Part 2: A tutorial on using pcpartpicker.com
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