Computer type

[DL Signs]

The HDMI to Display Port adapters I ordered 10 days ago are evidently lost in transit, decided to suck it up and made the journey yesterday to Best Buy (100 mile r/t) where I got two overpriced cords that I hoped would solve my problems. Was looking forward to spending today (Christmas) getting the new computer set up, installing apps, copying files, etc. My excitement ended approximately 10 seconds after finally getting the monitors connected when I unpackaged the power cord for the tower and saw right away that the socket wasn't compatible with the outlets here...it's a 250V power cord that I believe is used in the UK or Asia. WTF are they sending this out with US orders? This is when I started laughing like Steve Martin in Planes Trains & Automobiles, with one thing after another, and then his rental car catches on fire and there's nothing left to do but laugh...or kill.

This saga is into its third week now and is literally taking down my business. Last time I'm ever ordering anything from New Egg, this isn't supposed to be so hard. In the specs of my tower online it says "Power supply 250W". I'm attaching an image of what the supplied power cord looks like - does anyone know if it's ok to swap it out with a standard 3 prong 120V cord? I did some internet research and can't find a concrete answer...either it'll be "fine", or it won't be enough to power the computer, or it won't be able to handle the voltage from the computer and may fry or catch fire. I contacted New Egg but it'll probably be a few days before I hear back, and I don't trust them at this point.

Modern power supplies can be set up for either 110 or 220 via a switch somewhere on the supply like the pic shows. Find it, make sure it's set to 110 first, then you can use any std power cord. Again, make sure it's set to 110 first, don't just flip the switch and go, some of the imports will have the switch set to 110 already, but include the wrong cable. I don't like Newegg, they're kind of like every other major site where they have multiple retailers & vendors listing on their site, so much of it doesn't come right from them which causes service issues if something isn't correct. I usually go through TigerDirect, everything they sell comes off their shelves. Can't attest to their customer service because I've never needed it, everything I've gotten from them over the last 20+ years has worked as expected. Last system I ordered from them was about a year ago, plugged it in, it fired right up, and it's been on since with zero issues.

 

[gnubler]

There is no switch on the back of my tower like that. Here's a link to the unit I purchased: https://www.newegg.com/dell-optiplex-7090-student-home-office/p/1VK-0001-68ZX5

Thought it met all my requirements...me and technology never seem to hit it off.

 

[victor bogdanov]

There is no switch on the back of my tower like that. Here's a link to the unit I purchased: https://www.newegg.com/dell-optiplex-7090-student-home-office/p/1VK-0001-68ZX5

Thought it met all my requirements...me and technology never seem to hit it off.

The dell power supply is auto switching voltage, you can switch the cord and plug into 110v

That's a pretty overpriced pc for the spec you got, hopefully you didn't pay more than $700 for it

 

[DL Signs]

There is no switch on the back of my tower like that. Here's a link to the unit I purchased: https://www.newegg.com/dell-optiplex-7090-student-home-office/p/1VK-0001-68ZX5

Thought it met all my requirements...me and technology never seem to hit it off.

If it doesn't have a switch it's most likely auto-voltage sensing. Lots of newer stuff is like that, they did away with the switches and integrated a sensor so when you plug it in it sets the value automatically.

 

[gnubler]

Thanks for the info. I'm waiting to hear back from New Egg support about why they shipped out this cord for a US order.

Victor - I shopped around a bit to compare prices. The same tower was on Amazon in the same price range. There's nothing around $700 that even comes close to those specs.

 

[netsol]

Gnubler
IF THE POWER SUPPLY says 110V ~ 220V and has no switch it is AUTOSENSING
if it only lists one voltage that is all it will work on
plugging a 220 v into a 110 v outlet is not going to do any damage if it is only plugged in, until you realize it doesnt work

plugging a 110 v into a 220 v outlet will fill the room with smoke and probably make a high pitched squeal

you really should be ordering from amazon prime, the prices are no worse than best buy (that's not saying much) & they should qualify for prime delivery

 

[Jean Shimp]

I bought a Dell laptop off of Amazon a couple of years ago. When I got the laptop I checked the system specs. I had ordered 16 gig ram with 512 hard drive (not my main computer). What I got was 8 gig ram and 256 hd. Called Amazon and they said I had to notify the third party seller about the discrepancy and get them to authorize a return. The third party seller told me they would "send me an upgrade to install to add to the laptop" to bring it up to the higher specifications. Not being very computer savvy, I called Dell and asked them if it was possible to upgrade in this way. They just laughed and said "no, next time buy from Dell". I contacted the seller and told them I wanted to return the laptop and get a full refund. Fortunately they agreed and I got a refund. The I went to Best Buy and bought a laptop. Now I am very cautious about buying from third party sellers on Amazon. Read the return policy before buying - it is not as easy to return some products as others.

 

[DL Signs]

I bought a Dell laptop off of Amazon a couple of years ago. When I got the laptop I checked the system specs. I had ordered 16 gig ram with 512 hard drive (not my main computer). What I got was 8 gig ram and 256 hd. Called Amazon and they said I had to notify the third party seller about the discrepancy and get them to authorize a return. The third party seller told me they would "send me an upgrade to install to add to the laptop" to bring it up to the higher specifications. Not being very computer savvy, I called Dell and asked them if it was possible to upgrade in this way. They just laughed and said "no, next time buy from Dell". I contacted the seller and told them I wanted to return the laptop and get a full refund. Fortunately they agreed and I got a refund. The I went to Best Buy and bought a laptop. Now I am very cautious about buying from third party sellers on Amazon. Read the return policy before buying - it is not as easy to return some products as others.

That's the problem with Amazon, you never know who you're getting it from, there's just too many vendors, they're nothing but middle men for most stuff. If I need something now, as unimpressive as they can be at times, I'll pay the extra from Best Buy, I at least know where to go if there's an issue. I've ordered a lot from TigerDirect, including quite a few full systems. Can't attest to their customer service because in over 20 years of buying from them I haven't had an issue. Always get what I order, always works, always lasts as long as I expect it to...

 

[Pauly]

The HDMI to Display Port adapters I ordered 10 days ago are evidently lost in transit, decided to suck it up and made the journey yesterday to Best Buy (100 mile r/t) where I got two overpriced cords that I hoped would solve my problems. Was looking forward to spending today (Christmas) getting the new computer set up, installing apps, copying files, etc. My excitement ended approximately 10 seconds after finally getting the monitors connected when I unpackaged the power cord for the tower and saw right away that the socket wasn't compatible with the outlets here...it's a 250V power cord that I believe is used in the UK or Asia. WTF are they sending this out with US orders? This is when I started laughing like Steve Martin in Planes Trains & Automobiles, with one thing after another, and then his rental car catches on fire and there's nothing left to do but laugh...or kill.

This saga is into its third week now and is literally taking down my business. Last time I'm ever ordering anything from New Egg, this isn't supposed to be so hard. In the specs of my tower online it says "Power supply 250W". I'm attaching an image of what the supplied power cord looks like - does anyone know if it's ok to swap it out with a standard 3 prong 120V cord? I did some internet research and can't find a concrete answer...either it'll be "fine", or it won't be enough to power the computer, or it won't be able to handle the voltage from the computer and may fry or catch fire. I contacted New Egg but it'll probably be a few days before I hear back, and I don't trust them at this point.

UK plug.
Easily the best power plug made

Anwyay, all PC power supplies use a standard IEC plug.
Get one from an old electrical device like your old PC or printer etc.

 

[gnubler]

Another lesson learned, and I don't think Amazon is any better than New Egg as evidenced by some comments here. I scrounged up an old power cord and the angels are singing. Only took 3+ weeks of aggravation to get my new workstation up and running. Woo!

New Egg replied to my support ticket saying "Let us know if it's not a US plug" so I wrote back again "It's not a US plug". Looking at the keyboard that came with the tower, it has pound/Euro characters on the number keys, but I get a US dollar symbol pressing the key. At least all the other specs match what was listed on their website.

NEVER AGAIN.

 

[DL Signs]

Well, now you know where it came from, a retailer in the UK. Hard to support sellers in your own country to keep them in business and stay competitive on prices... None of our money stays here anymore, and most of the time you don't even know it. Wonder how many people in other countries get US cords and keyboards when they buy a computer off one of these retail sites? Probably none.

 

[Humble PM]

UK plug.
Easily the best power plug made

Yep, even better than lego for standing on with bare feet. And we can fit a two prong euro plug in, with the aid of a screwdriver in the earth socket.

 

[johnnysigns]

We're using a Signburst Inferno that's about a year old with a Synology NAS hard drive array we work from. We're running windows 10 currently. Typical Adobe design software, Vectric CNC software and a multitude of plotter, laser and corrugated box design software.

 

[ikarasu]

PC building is so simple these days. Partpicker will even prevent you from ordering a part that's not compatible.

You can YouTube a how to build a PC guide and follow along... It's all dropping this part into that slot, and 99% of the time it'll only fit into one slot.

The only sketchy thing is installing the cpu as it's pins (or the pins on the mobo) are sensitive - but if you watch the video and do it how they do it, it's simple.


You usually get 30ish percent better spec, more of you buy items on sale - and you get to learn a bit about building a computer, so you can trouble shoot it.

Best part is when you do decide to upgrade, no need to replace the whole thing... I'm using parts from a PC I built 10 years ago... Especially in a work station, in 5 years you can just upgrade mobo / ram / cpu, and your system will be just as good as a brand new one... At 1/5 the cost.

I suggest anyone looking for a PC to at least wat j a YouTube guide on how to do it before deciding - it's really easy, I built my first PC when I was like 12.

Ltt has a series where they bring a random person who knows nothing about building a PC on, and they build a brand new PC - you can see them drop stuff, shove stuff into the wrong spot very hard, just completely mangle it... And the PC still works in the end. It looks and sounds more scary than it is!

 

[Solventinkjet]

PC building is so simple these days. Partpicker will even prevent you from ordering a part that's not compatible.

You can YouTube a how to build a PC guide and follow along... It's all dropping this part into that slot, and 99% of the time it'll only fit into one slot.

The only sketchy thing is installing the cpu as it's pins (or the pins on the mobo) are sensitive - but if you watch the video and do it how they do it, it's simple.


You usually get 30ish percent better spec, more of you buy items on sale - and you get to learn a bit about building a computer, so you can trouble shoot it.

Best part is when you do decide to upgrade, no need to replace the whole thing... I'm using parts from a PC I built 10 years ago... Especially in a work station, in 5 years you can just upgrade mobo / ram / cpu, and your system will be just as good as a brand new one... At 1/5 the cost.

I suggest anyone looking for a PC to at least wat j a YouTube guide on how to do it before deciding - it's really easy, I built my first PC when I was like 12.

Ltt has a series where they bring a random person who knows nothing about building a PC on, and they build a brand new PC - you can see them drop stuff, shove stuff into the wrong spot very hard, just completely mangle it... And the PC still works in the end. It looks and sounds more scary than it is!

As a self builder I agree with you 100%. However, I've noticed there are a lot of people who, no matter how convincing you can be, want to buy, "Something they know will just work." I guess if the 30% markup is worth it to them, it keeps the retail computer manufacturers in business.

 

[victor bogdanov]

You usually get 30ish percent better spec, more of you buy items on sale - and you get to learn a bit about building a computer, so you can trouble shoot it.

I love building computers, probably have built 20+ over the years and I remember each cpu/gpu and memories of running benchmarks on each comp etc.

The only time I've bough a prebuilt was from microcenter, priced right at what diy would cost and it was a mid spec system so I didn't feel like building.

 

[balstestrat]

I too have built 5-10 PCs for home use, currently one with full custom loop cooling. Love it, basically completely silent even if it's pulling 500W continuously from the wall.

However if you got better things to do I don't see any problem with ready setups from OEMs. They basically have the same parts and competition is real. You save nickels if you could be making money meanwhile.

 

[ikarasu]

I love building computers, probably have built 20+ over the years and I remember each cpu/gpu and memories of running benchmarks on each comp etc.

The only time I've bough a prebuilt was from microcenter, priced right at what diy would cost and it was a mid spec system so I didn't feel like building.

My first PC Was a pre-built - My mom bought it from one of those Pay XX a month for a PC... think we spent like double what it should be, and it sucked. I remember adding a Zip drive to it... and they sent an installer over to do it, was like $250 for what amounts to plugging in 2 cables I moved a year later and the PC got stolen... my sisters bf at the time was a PC guy and told me to build my own, gave me a parts list, and I built it myself.

I put the motherboard into the case without installing any standoffs... this was before they came pre-installed. It kept resetting on boot due to a short... sisters bf cringed when he came over and saw what I had done... but that was my only failure! And this was before youtube. I was following the instructions in the manual... haha.

But yes, I love building too, and swapping parts - I just swapped my 5950X for a 7950X, and used the 5950X For a second build... quick easy upgrade on my main PC, didnt have to buy a new one... and the parts always flow down, so everytime I upgrade this PC.. my other PC's (Wifes, kids, production PC, etc) gets an upgrade too. It's a no brainer, so long as you dont mind opening up a PC.

I've built probably 100+ PC's by now - I was the goto guy my friends went to to get a PC made. Only once have I screwed up...and thats when I dropped an AMD CPU on the floor and bent all the pins... You only make that mistake once though! I spent a good 4 hours re-bending them back.. in the end it did work, but what a pain.

And if you're too afraid to build it yourself, or dont want the hasle - You can goto a PC store, pick your parts and for a nominal fee, they'll put it together - At least... in canada. Over here they charge $50 to build the PC... I just checked and microcenter is $150 usd?! Crazy. I'm sure other non big box stores will build it for cheaper though.

 

[victor bogdanov]

But yes, I love building too, and swapping parts - I just swapped my 5950X for a 7950X, and used the 5950X For a second build... quick easy upgrade on my main PC, didnt have to buy a new one... and the parts always flow down, so everytime I upgrade this PC.. my other PC's (Wifes, kids, production PC, etc) gets an upgrade too. It's a no brainer, so long as you dont mind opening up a PC.

I've been trying to by a 7900xtx video card to pair with my 7950x cpu but so far had 2 orders canceled, nothing like buying a new release gpu, the excitement of trying to find one in stock.

I do the passdown thing too, I get a new top spec pc ever year and the previous one gets passed down. My 3 year old son has a 5900x/ 64gig ram with a 6950xtx waiting for him lol. we've been playing portal 2 and teardown together

 

[Goatshaver]

Another lesson learned, and I don't think Amazon is any better than New Egg as evidenced by some comments here. I scrounged up an old power cord and the angels are singing. Only took 3+ weeks of aggravation to get my new workstation up and running. Woo!

New Egg replied to my support ticket saying "Let us know if it's not a US plug" so I wrote back again "It's not a US plug". Looking at the keyboard that came with the tower, it has pound/Euro characters on the number keys, but I get a US dollar symbol pressing the key. At least all the other specs match what was listed on their website.

NEVER AGAIN.

One reason why I'd buy a system like that directly from Dell. I've heard newegg doing some shady stuff with components and also they have 3rd party sellers so you have to be careful to see if newegg is actually shipping it or if it's coming from a 3rd party, like what amazon does.