Buying parts over a few weeks?

[Dogdaysdude]

I guess this is a dumb question. I think I know the answer, but have to ask to confirm my stupidity...Is it a bad idea to purchase computer parts for a new build over a short period of time? Like a couple months? The time for returning defective parts would have expired by then?
Thanks. :rolleyes:

[Mick_D]

It depends on the return/warranty policy of where you purchased. For example, here is a link to Newegg's policy. http://www.newegg.com/app/warranty.asp

In this industry some products pricing can really drop in a period of a couple of months. Unless you see an absolutely great deal with a warranty/return policy that will give you time, I would say just save up the money. Continue your research on selections, reading "how to" articles on sytem building, and keep reading these forums in the meantime.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I did just as you propose to do and ended up losing money sorta.

I bought a mobo here, the RAM there, some other peripherals at another vendor and the case on eBay. This was over a course of about a year or more. When I finally went to put it together, 2 of the 3 sticks of the RAM were no good. W-a-a-y past warranty for that item so I lost out about $75+/-. Also if I had waited, my mobo would have had SATA capabilities for the same money but doesn't, so there is a feature I would have had today if I waited to buy when I had enough to buy the whole package at once.

Many of the items along the way were specials, on sale or if I ordered them then, other doodads would be thrown in with the purchase, so on and so forth. Am I sorry I did it this way? No. Basically what I saved I lost, so I feel as if I broke even.

The new system is running fine now and it's about 3 times the machine from what I had before, so liking it is an understatement! It cranks (to mee anyway)! :D

Semi-unrelated to the build is, I bought a 200 gig HD about a year ago for a good price. I just tried to put it into service in the new build and found that the manufacturer's diagnostics won't even detect it. I'm already in the process of an RMA because luckily it has a 3 year warranty even though I discovered it just prior to the 1 year mark, I didn't begin the return process inside of the 1 year. I know that there would have been some grey area coverage through the purchaser but I'm fine because it's going to be covered through the manufacturer. I may be out some shipping and posting when it's all said and done but no big deal.

So if anybody deserves the 'I'm stupid' sign, I can wave it like a banner for this build and more... :o I swear, I'm going to buy nothing on sale, with or without other side perks like rebates, package 'deals' etc no-more. Just straight-out OEM or retail for a change just to see if it uncomplicates matters any for awhile. Enough hair-pulling for now, thank you.

If you do choose to buy one or a few things at a time, make sure the part(s) can be verified shortly after it arrives and you should be alright. Best of luck with your new build.

[cyber_surfer]

I purchase everything within 1 month of the build.

I try to have everything on hand (and tested if at all possible) before the CPU is ordered. Allowing time for An RMA from NewEgg (if required) for any of the components.

NewEgg only allows 7 days to return defective CPU's to them. ZipZoomFly allows 15 days.

By timing every item to allow for delivery and testing I can be sure the CPU will have everything it needs to be tested in such a short interval.

No CPU has ever been a problem yet (5 builds).

Two Abit MBs have popped the Northbridge heatsink loose. One when the board arrived with the problem, the other nine days after the machine was running. Switched to ASUS.

[pop pop]

I'm in the process of being stupid too, I guess. But maybe I'm limiting it a bit. I have a buy and build window of maybe two months. Right now I'm buying mainly OEM stuff that will not likely go down in price and that has looong manufacturer's warrantees -- some at just 1 year, others at 3 to 5 years, and for the Crucial RAM, life. I'm holding off on the CPU until right at build time. That way, I get it, it goes in and gets checked out.

Maybe I'm playing the odds, but I'm still hedging ... :cool:

[dsdsds]

If you're going to buy components weeks or months apart, 1 piece of advice. whatever you do, choose and buy your MB 1st! (for example, you'd rather be looking for ram that fits into your mb than looking for a mb compatible with your ram)

[Dogdaysdude]

Ah! A good point. Thanks to all. I will keep watching this thread. It may be weeks apart, but I'm keeping an eye on prices as well.

[joea64]

I did the purchase process over the course of two weeks myself. I posted here repeatedly to get advice and give updates, and monitored Pricewatch and selected vendor sites (including newegg.com) to get an idea of the prices. As it happened, in the end I bought most of the components myself in person and didn't get radically far off from my overall target price; the compensation for any extra money I had to spend is that I have confidence in my hardware.