Deals, Discounts, and Best PC Component Buys & Builds

Zachary Nguyen2 said:I grabbed it yesterday and didn't even need Prime. They clearly underestimated how many people would jump on it at such a low price.
Now it's already up to 190 pounds.

That was the Amazon price. Right now, those aren't Amazon prices—they're coming from marketplace sellers. It’s not that Amazon hiked the price; they just sold out their stock. Once they restock, there's a good chance the price will drop back down. If you look at Threadripper prices on Amazon, right now only Amazon has lowered their price because of AMD's cut, while all the other sellers are still clinging to the old price.

Please forgive me, I completely missed that you had posted. I actually just placed an order on Amazon to snag that promotional price for myself. On a side note, I was wondering if anyone knows where I might find some RAM at a somewhat reasonable price? I am simply looking for a single 8GB DDR4 stick from any brand, even if it happens to be the slowest version available. It seems that even something as basic as that is costing me about $167.

Some deals are strictly reserved for Prime members, while this one is clearly open to everyone. For Prime members, the main perks are things like free fast shipping and such. A bit more context on that:

They offer exclusive deals specifically for Prime users. Sometimes, an item isn't even available for purchase unless you're a Prime member. Usually, this applies most often to household essentials. (For instance, 7 Lenor is significantly cheaper for Prime members—like getting a large 1.8L bottle for about $1.10 less than the standard price.)

Timothy Kim60 said:Some deals are exclusive to Prime members, but this one was clearly open to everyone. Prime members basically just get fast shipping and stuff. A little context on that:

Look, most of these aren't even significant offers. It's like having a Kroger rewards card 😁😁
And that falls under the category of Amazon Fresh or whatever; it doesn't follow the same shipping rules. (You aren't getting free next-day delivery if you order 7 Lenor; you get it if you order headphones for $7)

Amazon operates on razor-thin margins. They can't afford to offer extra discounts on top of the Prime price, especially when it's questionable if the Prime fee even covers their fast shipping costs.

As far as Prime perks go, the big ones are getting early access to Today's deals and slightly earlier access during a Lightning sale for things like Cyber Monday.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/deals/ref=nav_cs_us

P.S.

That thing about the Ryzen 1600 wasn't a "deal."
It was just Amazon's price at the time. I had the page open and there was no countdown timer, so it wasn't some limited-time promotion or anything specific to certain users. They just dropped the price on the Ryzen 1600, and once they sold through the stock, they pulled it.

Samuel Castillo49 said:Sorry, I missed your post. I just ordered mine from Amazon at that sale price. By the way, does anyone know where I can find RAM at a decent price? I just need a single 8GB DDR4 stick from any brand, even if it's the slowest version. Even stuff like that is costing about $167 man.

There aren't any RAM deals out there right now; everything is overpriced. And when something actually goes on sale, it sells out within an hour.

Discounts are live over at Kroger. Honestly, about 95% of this stuff is total garbage—it’s just a classic tactic where they jack up the price and then "slash" it back down to what it should have been in the first place. That said, there are a few gems in here if you approach them with a healthy dose of skepticism. I remember once when I was in a local Best Buy asking about a specific monitor during one of these sales; the guy just gave me this blank stare and basically implied it was just a handful of units in the whole store that would be gone in seconds.

So, here it is:

GIGABYTE AMD Radeon R9 285 WF2 OC graphics card, 2 GB GDDR5 - $318. This thing actually performs closer to a GTX 1050 than the cards currently sitting in this budget range (like the RX 560 or GTX 1050), though it does pull a bit more power. It's not a dealbreaker, though.

XFX AMD Radeon RX 460 2GB Double Dissipation graphics card, 2 GB GDDR5 - $247

Fractal Design Define R5 Black case, no PSU included - $235. The price is solid, slightly lower than usual (I paid $263, which was the lowest I've seen so far).
Fractal Design Define S case, black, no PSU included - $194

Timothy Kim60 said:Discounts over at Kroger. Honestly, 95% of this stuff is garbage. They just jack up the price then drop it back to normal and call it a sale... There are some decent items, though, you just have to look closely. When I asked about a specific monitor during a similar sale once, the guy just stared at me blankly and said they only had a couple left in stock in Chicago and they were probably gone already.

So:

GIGABYTE AMD Radeon R9 285 WF2 OC graphics card, 2 GB GDDR5 - $318. This performs closer to a GTX 1050 than the cards currently sold in this budget range (like the RX 560 or GTX 1050), it just pulls more power, but it isn't a huge deal.

XFX AMD Radeon RX 460 2GB Double Dissipation graphics card, 2 GB GDDR5 - $247

Fractal Design Define R5 Black case, no PSU included - $235, good price, slightly lower than usual (I paid $263, the lowest I've seen so far).
Fractal Design Define S case, black, no PSU included - $194

https://www.kroger.com/seasonal-discounts...80-percent-2017/

Is this only valid in that store, and they don't ship?

Yeah, it only shows the clearance prices. I'm guessing that means they aren't actually shipping them, or you just can't order them right now.

Honestly, those are probably just leftover stock or a handful of old items. My guess is that anything that's actually a good deal vanishes instantly.

You can find some incredibly cheap DDR3 RAM over at Best Buy if you're looking to pick up some stock for your business. It doesn't look like a mistake; people have been placing orders left and right.

Timothy Kim60 said:Yeah, it only lists sales prices. I assume they aren't shipping them or you just can't order them right now.

It's probably just leftover stock or a few random items. I bet anything that's actually a good deal sells out instantly.

Did anyone go?
I'm heading into downtown Chicago tomorrow, so I'm wondering if I should stop by. I'm looking for that R5 case.

Look, it probably isn't available like that, so don't go building up massive expectations—don't just head down to downtown Chicago specifically for this. Your best bet is to try reaching out and contacting them directly.

I suspect it’s only a handful of units, likely reserved for employees or someone on the inside getting an early tip. For everyone else, that whole thing feels like nothing more than some free marketing from a local retail chain.

EDIT

The Ryzen arrived. It wasn't actually an error; everyone who ordered was just a bit spooked because the dispatch was slightly delayed. We're looking at week 37 (those with the 8-core models were seeing arrivals around weeks 28 and 36), so we'll see. Honestly, I'm not stressing over it, though—I'm not expecting much since the price is already highway robbery as it stands.

I plan to get the motherboard ordered by Sunday night or Monday morning.

Wait, is it just a random occurrence that some Ryzen 1600/1600X units end up having 8 cores and 16 threads? I thought you guys were talking about the potential core unlocking this whole time, but now I've actually gone to Google to check 😲

Timothy Kim60 said:Look, they probably don't have that available, so don't get your hopes up or drive all the way to the city just for it. Try reaching out to them first.

I honestly think it'll be just a handful of units meant for employees or people with inside connections. For everyone else, it’s probably just some free marketing stunt by the local spot.

EDIT

The Ryzen arrived. It wasn't an error (everyone who ordered got a bit nervous because the shipping was delayed). Week 37 is the target (the 8-core models were coming in weeks 28 and 36), so we'll see. I'm not stressing over it though; I'm not expecting much since the price is basically highway robbery anyway.

I'll be ordering the motherboard by Sunday night or Monday morning.

Where does it say week?
If you're looking for a motherboard on Amazon, I think there's a $10 discount on everything over $50 right now.

Nesho95

It’s pretty straightforward—it comes right out of the box as an 8c16t chip. The model name and clock speeds stay identical to the R5 1600/1600X. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me given their incredible yields; they get 80%+ full functional 8c16t chips across the entire Ryzen lineup. Whether this is a one-off fluke or a trend that continues remains to be seen. I’m not buying into the "error" narrative either, because back when these first launched, everyone was speculating about potential "unlocking" once Coffee Lake arrived.

Zachary Nguyen2

I need to comb through Amazon a bit this weekend, but I suspect the final price will end up being pretty similar to what we're seeing here in the States.
The week is printed on the second line of the processor itself (just Google a photo). It'll show four digits: the first two are 17 (representing 2017), and the last two indicate the specific week of that year.

Timothy Kim60 said:Nesho95

It’ll likely ship as an 8c16t right out of the box. The name and clock speeds will probably stay tied to the R5 1600/1600X specs. It doesn't seem weird given their high yields—they get over 80% perfect 8c16t chips for the whole Ryzen lineup. We don't know if this is just a fluke or the new norm. I'm not buying the "error" theory either; everyone was already speculating about future unlocks back when Coffee Lake launched.

Zachary Nguyen2

I need to scour Amazon this weekend, but I bet the final price ends up being pretty similar to what we see here in the States.
The week number is printed on the processor itself in the second row. There are four digits; the first is 17 for the year 2017, and the next two indicate the specific week of that year.

Mine says week 32, so I'll probably never see those 8 cores. 😁
Take graphics cards as an example. A Gigabyte AB350M Gaming 3 goes for about $300 locally, but on Amazon, it's listed at 95 euros, which works out to roughly $100 with the current exchange rate.

You can never be too careful; at least it's 28 weeks or younger... Where did you pick it up?

Regarding the motherboard, I wouldn't call it a bad deal—I’d go as far as saying it's a terrible one. Those Gaming 3 motherboards from Gigabyte (both ATX and mATX) were absolute steals when the AM4 socket first hit the market, but prices spiked after that, and once other brands filled out their lineups, they drove those costs back down. That specific board would run you well over $550 with shipping included. In the US, you can grab a B350 Prime Plus for $253, which actually features a superior VRM setup. Honestly, I don't see any board out there right now that makes that price worth it.

Timothy Kim60 said:You never know, at least they're 28 weeks or younger... Where'd you pick it up?

Regarding the motherboard, it isn't just "not a deal," it's actually a bad one. Those gaming 3 motherboards from Gigabyte (both ATX and mATX) were a total steal when the AM4 socket first launched, but prices spiked after that once other brands filled out the market and drove them down. That board would run you over $150 including shipping. Meanwhile, in the US, you can grab a B350 Prime Plus for $253, which has a better VRM setup anyway. I don't see any board out there right now that makes sense for that price.

Bought it through Caseking.
It was $120 including shipping.

Aha, I didn't catch the micro-ATX option. Regardless, that ASUS board is still the smarter buy over the ASRock Micro Pro4 mentioned below. $233

Timothy Kim60 said:My bad, I didn't check if it was micro. Either way, that ASUS card from here is the better deal over the ASRock micro Pro4 listed below.$233

It's ATX, not micro.

If we’re talking about this one priced at $115

I haven't heard anything about some $10 discount. Even if you do find one, it isn't exactly a steal. From what I've seen on Amazon, any deals I've come across aren't even better than what we have here in the States—the final price ends up being higher