The Hunt - Where to Find Inexpensive Components

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A work colleague and I usually like to compare bargain-hunting notes. This helps us find a wide assortment of deals from a multitude of outlets. One day he received an e-mail from OfficeMax detailing an offer for 256MB modules of SDRAM for about $25 and 128MB for $15, after mail-in rebates. He mentioned it haphazardly, but I happened to need one, so he decided to join me on a component excursion. Upon our arrival, we discovered that our local OfficeMax tacked on an instant store rebate, bringing the price of the 256MB module to $19 and the 128MB down to $8. Needless to say, we pay closer attention to their newsletter. This is how you find those exceptional deals, by keeping your eyes out for the right item at the right price. This holds true for any outlet, froma retail store to eBay to computer shows.

Computer Shows

A computer show can be much like a swap meet, or eBay under a roof, except all products are at a fixed price. I recently attended the Super Computer Sale Show at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, (www.supercomputershow.com). There were dozens of exhibitors with all kinds of bargains.

I found a choice display for $35: the Gateway EV700 17-inch monitor (see Figure 2-4). I also picked up a brand-new 4x DVD-ROM drive for $30 from the same seller, Kaboom, Inc. (kaboom@willinet.net), which was a great deal at the time. Prices for DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs are dropping dramatically to make way for the newer, faster models and the latest combo technologies—DVD-ROM plus CD writer in one package. At most of these shows were exhibitors that, for upward of $1500, would custom-build a computer to your liking while you wait. People were paying premium dollar for the privilege of seeing their computer built before their eyes, when in fact they could’ve found all the necessary pieces there to build it themselves for about $400. It was all there. I discovered TNS International (www.tnsusa.com), a local wholesaler who sold me a combination new 1 GHz AMD Duron processor and motherboard for $100. That’s the core of the computer right there! TNS is where I picked up my chassis for $26 at the show ($30 at its store).

Figure 2-4 - A 17-inch monitor for $35 and a DVD-ROM drive for under $30

One other show I attended was the Giant Computer Show (www.giantcomputershow.com) show, located in the south suburbs of Chicago, which usually occurs every other month. The best way to find similar shows in your area is to check the Web, your local city commerce for an upcoming schedule of events, computer stores, and convention centers.

Figure 2-5 - One man’s garbage is another man’s gold for sure. Here we have 1GB hard drives for $15, CD-ROM drives for $10, and mice for $1.

This chapter is from Build Your Own Server, by Tony Caputo (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004, ISBN: 0072227281). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.

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