Best Buy

[Xuder O'Clam]

I am an idiot for even considering Best Buy, but I over researched and the deal they had was great.

Anyway, my nephew just graduated and my brother asked me to help find a computer for him. I would build it for him, but distance and time were factors. He is a mild gamer, mostly of older games, but his interest is growing. He's also into photography. So I wanted to get him the new Acer 27" IPS, WQHD, 144Hz, 4ms response time monitor after a fair bit of research.

Low and behold, Best Buy has a bundled deal with an Acer tower. Specs aren't bad, I7 4790, 16 gigs ram, 2TB hybrid drive, and a gimped GTX 745, which I figured could be upgraded in a year after the warranty expires.

Problem is, after delivery we discovered the tower does not support the monitor. The monitor has only a display port for connection. The video card in the tower has just HDMI and DVI-D. An adapter won't work. Can't even turn computer on.

Called Best Buy immediately. After an hour of silly questions, suggestions, and poor research by them, I am told this will be "escalated to the head office". Five days pass, no word. They call yesterday with an offer to replace the Acer monitor with a comparable Asus monitor. Fine. Problem is, I am aware of the Asus monitor and inform them that the same problem will exist. The monitor has only a display port for connection.

After another half hour of fruitless talk and research, and I am back to square one waiting for Best Buy head offices to sort this out.

I should have just built this one, even though building actually would have been more expensive.

Anyway, just thought I'd reiterate that Best Buy sucks.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

Should have gone to Future Shop, n00b.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

lulz, no more future shop

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

lulz, no more future shop

That's why Best Buy sucks.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

:sigh: I'm a lazy idiot.

 

[botfly10]

lmfao best buy sold an incompatible combo.... hahaahhaha

You could fix it with a new gpu though.

Thats a fucking bad ass monitor (if its the one im thinking of - the XB270HU). I want that pretty bad.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

That's the monitor. It is nice. The problem with going new gpu is warranty, and also PSU would need upgrading.

I may just see if I can keep the monitor at $250 off and just exchange the tower for one that will support it, and pay the difference on that. I can move to a 760, all other specs the same, with a nicer case for an extra $150. Plus it would be an Asus desktop rather than Acer.

It's hilarious that they sell an incompatible combo. It's sad that after 6 days the best they could come up with is another monitor that is also incompatible.

 

[xer0h0ur]

Dude what? Your warranty can't possibly be voided for upgrading a component. That is beyond ridiculous. I bet you if you ask them all they will tell you is that the warranty will not cover the new video card you would put in which is a captain obvious response although any component you put in will have its own manufacturer warranty anyways and likely for well over 1 year at that.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

Dude what? Your warranty can't possibly be voided for upgrading a component. That is beyond ridiculous. I bet you if you ask them all they will tell you is that the warranty will not cover the new video card you would put in which is a captain obvious response although any component you put in will have its own manufacturer warranty anyways and likely for well over 1 year at that.

Warranties are voided on certain pre fab desktops if you even open the case. Like I said, if it wasn't for distance I would have just built the thing myself and been able to service it.

 

[xer0h0ur]

You sure you're not assuming? I haven't seen OEMs take that approach in ages.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

No, not assuming. The point is if I can do the swap of towers for $150, it's better than upgrading the vid card, "potentially" voiding the warranty, and having to also upgrade the PSU.

A card and PSU would cost more than $150, and I am not there to install either.

 

[xer0h0ur]

I can guarantee you that any power supply inside of any PC you get at Best Buy is a Chinese piece of shit. Do you actually think those garbage video cards use enough power to need a power supply upgrade? Breh, I can't even.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

I can guarantee you that any power supply inside of any PC you get at Best Buy is a Chinese piece of shit. Do you actually think those garbage video cards use enough power to need a power supply upgrade? Breh, I can't even.

Wat?

I have no idea what you are trying to tell me here. If I am going to buy a new vid card, I am not going to skimp, and as you said the PSUs in these machines are crap and provide the bare minimum power for the pre-installed components, so I would likely need to upgrade that also.

Perhaps you don't get my dilemma here. I am on the other side of the country from where the computer is. I cannot upgrade it for them. My best choice is to upgrade the tower itself.

 

[MassHavoc]

Wat?

I have no idea what you are trying to tell me here. If I am going to buy a new vid card, I am not going to skimp, and as you said the PSUs in these machines are crap and provide the bare minimum power for the pre-installed components, so I would likely need to upgrade that also.

Perhaps you don't get my dilemma here. I am on the other side of the country from where the computer is. I cannot upgrade it for them. My best choice is to upgrade the tower itself.

I think he was saying that the power supplies in the pre-builds from best buy are going to be shit, because the video cards that they put in the pre-builds are usually shit and don't need anything more than a shitty Chinese power supply. So... everything is shit. Time to move so you can build him a real machine.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

I think he was saying that the power supplies in the pre-builds from best buy are going to be shit, because the video cards that they put in the pre-builds are usually shit and don't need anything more than a shitty Chinese power supply.

But that's exactly what I was saying. If I upgrade the card in one of these machines I will likely need to upgrade the PSU.

 

[MassHavoc]

But that's exactly what I was saying. If I upgrade the card in one of these machines I will likely need to upgrade the PSU.

And if you upgrade the power supply you might as well upgrade the case, and if you upgrade the case you might as well upgrade the.... ahhhhh PCMASTERRACE!! haha. I keeeed I keeed.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

Lol, well, anyway, Best Buy sucks for selling an incompatible combo. It sucks even more that this is still unresolved a week later.

My nephew has this killer monitor burning a hole in his desk, and he can't even turn it on yet.

 

[MassHavoc]

Yeah, that is some complete bullshit, for both reasons, I can't believe the incompetence involved, but if it had to happen then it makes sense it's best buy. I bet someone was just looking at warehouse availability of SKUs and said, let's just jam all these together and discount them.

 

[xer0h0ur]

I just read 745 and 760, both of which are econo-cards and I thought you were referencing needing a power supply upgrade for that. Ironically newer Maxwell cards of the same category like the 950 or 960 sip less power than either of those and the next generation Pascal cards will sip even less power. I suppose its easy to assume a better performing video card requires more power when you don't know hardware.

 

[Crystallas]

Edited: removed the link, as this converter wont work.

Why is a converter not an option? Displayport uses most of the same signaling methods as HDMI, and then some. So a converter should work just fine. Displayport is a superior longterm solution, it's a VESA standard and will continuously improve over time. I don't see it as a problem to get a converter here and there, as some future TVs and monitors wont even have HDMI.