Attn : Canadians living in Vancouver BC - Need help purchasing a Computer!

Edgy

Senior member
Sep 21, 2000
366
20
81

Hi,

I live in SF, CA, but will be up in that area during Christmas 16th to 28th to visit my cousins who are in need of a desktop system.

A few questions :

How much is a desktop system go for up there anyway (in Canadian)?
Which vendor do you recommend & can they set me up quickly (2 days)?

This system will be used for educational/internet purposes.
Something like the following:

PIII 500
17in monitor
cheap graphics card (I have spare tnt2 card I think would do).
DVD drive (optional only if price is right)
CD-RW (optional only if price is right)
if neither drives above is reasonable then CD drive
15-30 gig HD (best bang for buck, I guess)
stable sound card (need something that would work with internet phone like dialpad, meaning full duplex)
3 piece speakers (best bang for buck)
etc.

I guess I am ready to spend anywhere from 500 - 1000 USD (is that reasonalbe?)

If not, is there anyone who live there that might be interested in selling a used system even?

thanx.
 

Noriaki

Lifer
Jun 3, 2000
13,640
1
71
you could try http://www.amkcomputers.bc.ca/ they are in burnaby (part of greater Van) and I buy lots of stuff from them. I've never bought a whole system from them, but you could check it out.

there is another place up there I've heard lots about..the attic or atic or something like that...i think it's www.atic.ca, never bought from them but heard they are pretty cool.
 

Rickr

Senior member
Oct 21, 1999
339
0
0
They have the standard B&M stores up there (Office Depot, Future Shop, Staples). Your best bet may be to buy a cheap name-brand system so they will have a good warranty once you leave.
 

hagbard

Banned
Nov 30, 2000
2,775
0
0


<< Text >>



I bought an IBM hard drive from Netlink (NCIX) that came very poorly packaged, and now has bad sectors (my 30.7GB drive is now 28.6GB). They apologized for the shipping back when I bought it in mid-Nov, and only now have I gotten around to installing it and finding the bad sectors. In that time, I've heard from others who have experienced the same poor packing practices. I sent them an email this morning asking what they propose to do and haven't heard anything back. I'll keep everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) informed. :|
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,941
5
0
Personally, i've never bought anything from ncix... i could always find prices cheaper (normally at Onvia after coupons) online or locally.

But you're not the first that said they had bad packaging... i heard somebody complain 3 or so months ago as well.
 

Sparky Anderson

Senior member
Mar 1, 2000
307
0
0
Go to Atic if you are prepared to stand in line for 30 minutes and get crap service. Not kidding. Try A-Power. Basically the ame prices yet better service.
 

office boy

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
4,210
0
0
well you could always go to ncix and pick it up i guess?
sorry if some of you have had bad experiances, I was just throwing some names out.
 

delano

Junior Member
May 30, 2000
16
0
0

I would go with a-power as well. Excellent service.

I have had trouble with ncix as well, but that was with how soon they got around to shipping a harddrive.
 

NaughtyusMaximus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,220
0
0
Depending on how much money you're planning on spending... This system I recently put together for my brother will give you an idea of what prices are like at least:

Athlon (TBird) 900
Asus A7V
SB Live Platinum
Maxtor 60 gig (7200)
256MB Kingston PC133
ATI Radeon 64DDR
Plextor 12x10x32x
Creative 52x
Floppy
300Watt PS
17&quot; case
HS/fan

Total Inc tax = ~$2800CDN

The majority of the money on this system went toward the video card, which in local papers is around $600 + tax. If you want to know more, PM me, or ICQ.
 

billandopus

Platinum Member
Dec 29, 1999
2,082
0
0
A great resource is The Computer Paper which publishes monthly and is a relatively thick local mag that carries all the local comp shop advertising which is great to price check and compare. The web site is here although i'm pretty sure that you won't get local pricing there. They usually publish on between the second and third week of the month although the Xmas issue has been out for some time now. Probably all gone. You can get them at computer shops, libraries, computer educational outlets (ie: cert schools like BCIT, Open Learning Agency ...) I have to get one every month.

I've been following the Vancouver market for some time and it seems that ATIC is a problematic place to do business. Not to indict anyone here for mentioning them .. it's just that they have had BBB (Better Business Bureau) complaints in the past, mostly with regards to poor service.

www.ncix.com is Netlink computers and they used to be relatively middle of the road in terms of pricing but a recent check has their prices becoming much more competitive. Does this mean that their service is going downhill? I don't know but it would be wise to check out the free reports from the BBB just to make sure.

www.a-power.com is supposedly a good place to do business. In all honesty, i've never ordered there but i'm considering picking up ram from them. Many people I know in the computer hobbyist category and who have done business with them says that it's a good place. Good service.

www.addax.bc.ca is a place in Richmond and the prices there are fairly competitive.

www.icicomputer.com is where I bought my comp and I got good service there. One thing though - it's run by Chinese guys ... most who have decent english. However, their service department is a bit on the ESL (English as a Second Language) side but helpful nonetheless.

Vanco Computers is another place in Vancouver which has decent prices and offers to beat almost any package or setup. Just ask them as the advertising goes to try. They are relatively new (a couple of years or so in business) but are probably worth calling to check out.

Rock Computers is another place that used to have relatively high prices which have come down considerably. Again, don't know if this is at the expensve of cust serv.

AMK Computers at amkcomputers.com is an interesting place. Pretty new from what I can tell but the main difference from other shops is that they have a much more overclocking theme to them. I'm considering picking up some Infineon ram from them too. I believe that Noriaki here has done business with them so you may want to contact him/her for direct experience.

Remember: Buyer Beware for any place where prices are low. It's gotta come out of somewhere. Either the employees are paid crap which translates to bad service or treated badly or possibly the operation is a bit on the shady side. If you want legit products you have to consider the fact that sometimes you get what you pay for. This ain't a consumer lesson but real life.

Good luck on finding a place. BTW, you can always check out the various websites and get a quotation or system build and get a prelim price. Shop them around and find out what's best. That's what i'd do. Way before I even get to Vancouver.
 

Modus

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,235
0
0
Don't forget me! I run Apex Computer Consulting out of my home here in Vancouver. I can generally beat any quote on a complete system, and you'll get that warm fuzzy feeling buying from a fellow AnandTecher Check my profile.

(Mods, please delete this if you find it inappropriate.)

Modus
 

hagbard

Banned
Nov 30, 2000
2,775
0
0
NCIX got back to me (many times, actually). The guy said that Windows reporting that a 30.7GB drive as 28.6GB is normal, but then sent another message saying I should ship it back and they'd then send me another. Now, would I want them to ship me another, given the way the first was shipped? I might as well use it as a hockey puck. I'm waiting to hear back from IBM to see what they say about this guy's 28.7=30.7 theory ;-)

As for the origional poster's question. If I needed computer parts in Vancouver, I'd first go to London Drugs. I'd give them a B+ for service, and a B- for prices (they will, sort of, price match). Atic has about the worst reputation in the city. And until my incident with NCIX, I'd never heard anything negative about them. But I've received a fair bit of mail since reporting the same poor packing and dead drives in recent days.
 

NotoriousJTC

Golden Member
Nov 19, 2000
1,406
0
0
A-Power is an exellent store. Good service and reliable staff.

I just recently purchased a system for a friend from A-power and he has had no probs with it. They typically take 4 days to build a custom system for you, that's because they diagnostic checks etc. during the 4 days to make sure it's all up $ rumnning when you get it. I diffenetly reccomend to anyone planning to purchase a computer, or computer parts to go to A-Power.
 

NotoriousJTC

Golden Member
Nov 19, 2000
1,406
0
0
damn i sounded like an ESL guy on that post...nm im sick anyways

ICIC didnt reply to my e-mail inquiry about thier RAM so i didnt bother going to thier store.
 

Huma

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
1,301
0
0
Atic used to have really cheap prices, but theres quite a few stores that can beat them. Anitec has really cheap micron ram, and I got my MSI k7tpro2-a from them for $180.

I go to a-power often. Netlink is always too busy, and their prices aren't that great.

Atic services licks balls, and their prices aren't that good anymore.
 

MTP

Member
Aug 27, 2000
158
0
0
This is the place I have been going to, called NewTech (Name is now changed to Worldwide).


www.worldwide.bc.ca

They have by far the best pricing of any place around here.
 

Urdumb

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2000
9
0
0
Yes. An advertised 30.7GB is a 28.6GB drive.

Drive makers calculate their drive size based on a KB being equal to 1000 bytes. In reality a KB is 1024 bytes.

I've got the same drive which measures in at 28.6 with zero bad sectors.
 

Aquaman

Lifer
Dec 17, 1999
25,054
13
0
I've purchased computers from:

MicroConcept
Aspert
A-Power
SuperData
The Rock Computers (not the furniture store)
Frontier
Nu-Age

I've always gotten great service and solid machines from these stores. The next Computer Paper will be released on the 8th of December........ so get your cousin to grab one.

Cheers,
Aquaman
 

billandopus

Platinum Member
Dec 29, 1999
2,082
0
0
Hey Modus, I didn't know you were in business. Otherwise i'd would have at the very least pointed you out. So, here's a bump for ya.

BTW, do you deal in whole systems or can you also do separate components as well?
 
Feb 29, 2000
417
0
0
There's ONE little thing I don't understand... Why on Earth don't you buy something from the U.S. - I suppose California's the cheapest place in the country - and then take it to Canada? You can't go wrong. I mean, even if you buy something from Staples (using, ahem, coupons, which aren't that many in Canada to begin with), your relatives in BC would have a warranty from their local Staples/Business Office store.

If I compare American and Canadian prices, the former are always 15-20% lower, hands-down. Having lived in the U.S. and moved to Ottawa, I should know...

Are you going to Vancouver by plane or something? That would be the only problem.

 
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