Ongoing Discussion I wish I lived in the USA...

[Snakebyte]

My brother lives in NYC and asked if I could help him get a new PC. He wanted to spend up to $2,000 for a new PC and monitor, but could go a bit higher if he got a lot more for the extra money. I reset my Google to search US sites instead of UK ones and started looking at the pre-built and custom-build options available in the US. In the end I went for a PC from http://www.ibuypower.com as their custom configurator was a delight to use and you can easily see how much each option adds or subtracts from the total price.

I won't list the full specification here, but I was blown away by what you can get for just under $2,000, including delivery. He doesn't need a PC this good, but he's got one now:

• i7, because hyper-threading hype.
• 16GB DDR4 (4 x 4GB for quad-channel)*
• NVidia GTX 1070 8GB
• 256GB M2, because who doesn't want a PC that boots faster than pressing the button.
• 512GB SSD, because it was a 'bargain'.
• 27" IPS 144Hz monitor

* He won't ever upgrade it, so no point sticking 2 x 8GB in it. I'm surprised his current PC isn't a 286.

[CyberianK]

Fully agree living in Germany with slightly higher electronics prices plus taxes I always teared up when looking at newegg.com (sometimes go there for reviews when researching what I buy)

 

Especially on those black friday sales

Capitalism rules!

 

[rimmer59]

The taxes/higher prices you pay go towards other things such as public transportation, healthcare, and import taxes.  Yes you pay higher amounts per item, but you don't need to make a large separate payment towards these things (in most cases) since it's being taken out in the form of a percentage of the items worth.  That also being said, there does seem to be a lack of competition with some EU/UK retailers.  Being in the US I can choose Amazon, Newegg, SuperBiiz, B&H, Bestbuy, Jet, OutletPC, Ebay, and even NCIX US (Canadian company, shipping on this is expensive though).  Plenty of retailers fighting for customers with promotional deals, member benefits, shipping speeds, etc.  It does stink as you need to save more to buy the same item, but there's a reason it's setup that way for you.

[Snakebyte]

The cheapest CH Fighterstick in the UK is £125, which is about $156 at the current exchange rate. I can get one for in the US for $90, £72, which isn't just 20% sales tax they're adding, it's an increase of 75%!

[danredda]

You should see what everything is here (1080's are around 1200 AUD, ~900 USD). Doesn't help the exchange rate is whacked too...