Is Hardwareversand even worth it anymore?

chiloutus

So recently I've been looking to get a build for about 1100 euro, and I've been bouncing around the web looking for the best deals.

Now for a while I was looking at hardwareversand and I thought they were cheap, but between ~50% of stock being out of stock constantly and the hassle of it all I checked amazon.co.uk, and the prices are almost identical at the moment!

Here is a PC part picker of my build using amazon alone.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3wBfi) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3wBfi/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3wBfi/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54670k) | £163.94 @ Amazon UK
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | £25.95 @ Amazon UK
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz87xd3h) | £91.99 @ Amazon UK
**Memory** | [Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-khx1600c9d3k28gx) | £59.04 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp128gg25) | £54.99 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | £44.55 @ Amazon UK
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n7602gd5oc) | £164.99 @ Amazon UK
**Case** | [Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcaarcr2blw) | £77.71 @ Amazon UK
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m) | £45.78 @ Amazon UK
**Monitor** | [BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/benq-monitor-gl2460hm) | £121.79 @ Amazon UK
**Keyboard** | [Cherry STREAM XT Wired Standard Keyboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cherry-keyboard-g8523100eu2) | £40.00 @ Amazon UK
**Speakers** | [Logitech Z323 30W 2.1ch Speakers](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/logitech-speakers-980000354) |-
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | £890.73
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-26 22:12 BST+0100 |




I wish I could show you the prices on Hardwareversand but PC part picker doesn't have it listed. But I'm sure there isn't much money to be saved using it

Serephucus

Equivalent build on HWVS:

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150|€204.87
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€30.69
Gigabyte Z87X-D3H, ATX|€120.66
8GB Kingston HyperX blu. PC3-12800U CL10|€63.18
SanDisk SSD Ultra Plus 128GB Notebook|€67.08
Seagate SV35 1TB SATA 6Gb's|€55.10
MSI N760-2GD5/OC, 2GB DDR5|€213.34
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Arc R2 Midi Tower|€83.80
Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M, 500W|€57.76
BenQ GL2460HM|€140.75
Cherry STREAM XT T2 Keyb USB grey (DE)|€25.64
Logitech Speaker System Z323|€36.67
Shipping|€11.99
Total|€1111.53

That's without geizhals.de, so I'd expect the total to be closer to the €1K mark.
£890 = ~€1,081.

srsly78

One set of prices is in sterling, the other is in euros. So a hugely important variable is the exchange rate.

If you use the amazon currency convertor it gives a super-bad rate (never use!!!). If you use your euro visa to pay in sterling you get a better rate but still not the best. The "mid market rate" you see quoted is not something you will get unless you use a broker and have your own sterling account.

Thus I suspect the sterling prices you quote are not as good as you think, when you see your euro credit card bill it will be a lot more.

chiloutus

srsly78 wrote: »

One set of prices is in sterling, the other is in euros. So a hugely important variable is the exchange rate.

If you use the amazon currency convertor it gives a super-bad rate (never use!!!). If you use your euro visa to pay in sterling you get a better rate but still not the best. The "mid market rate" you see quoted is not something you will get unless you use a broker and have your own sterling account.

Thus I suspect the sterling prices you quote are not as good as you think, when you see your euro credit card bill it will be a lot more.

I do agree with what you are saying to an extent, but I was using the BOI website to estimate, how inaccurate would this be?


Also to the poster who gave me a breakdown on HWVS, yeah this does look quite cheap, maybe I was a little hasty in dismissing it, I'll dive back in now and check it out, it seems like they have replenished stock



EDIT so I don't double post, could anyone please direct me to the how to guide using geizhals? I'm having some trouble finding it, thanks.

Serephucus

Copy/paste each item to geizhals, click on the first result, then scroll down until you find the HWVS link. Click that, and it'll bring you back to HWVS with the discount applied.

srsly78

@chillout: If you use visa/mastercard then the boi rate won't be used. The card provider will probably give you a better rate, bank are the worst for currency exchange.

Son Of A Vidic

chiloutus wrote: »

Is Hardwareversand even worth it anymore?

I put a new build together recently and Hardwareversand was the cheapest. About 2 weeks after I built the PC, I noticed some of the components were suddenly cheaper on Amazon. Luck of the draw I suppose, but at the original time purchase, Hardwareversand was definitely the cheaper option.

Serephucus

Just for those curious, the same build comes to £916 on Amazon (~€1,112). That's with free delivery too.

I have to say, I didn't actually expect Amazon to be that cheap. For the extra Euro or two, I'd happily take Amazon's (in my experience) far superior support.

srsly78

Serephucus you seem to be using the mid-market rate (1.21 at the moment). In reality you will not get this as your card provider will apply a 1-2% spread (maybe even more). All depends what type of card you use.

Some example:
boi visa debit = 3.5% non-euro handling fee
visa credit = 2% non-euro handling fee

And it's hard to tell if the handling fee is in addition to "spread".

Conversely if you send money to germany via sepa transfer there should be no extra hidden fees to consider.

chiloutus

Just a quick update, I used geizhals and managed to upgrade:
-Case: Corsair Carbide Series 500R White, ATX, ohne Netzteil
-GPU: MSI N770 TF 2GD5/OC Twin Frozr Gaming, GeForce GTX 770, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
-Monitor: BenQ GL2450HM
-PSU: Seasonic S12II-620, 620 Watt, 80PLUS Bronze
-Keyboard: CHERRY MX-Board 3.0 USB black (DE) (I touch type so I don't mind the german layout)
-Mouse: CM Storm Xornet Gaming Mouse - black

Downgraded
-MB: ASRock Z87 Pro4, Sockel 1150, ATX


Total cost?

€1100 almost on the dot.

That is very very cheap indeed. /Thread I guess? Thanks so much for the heads up about geizhals, saved a bunch

SterlingArcher

Try get the Asus 770 oc. 2 Euro more expensive. Better cooling,and a backplate.

Serephucus

srsly78 wrote: »

Serephucus you seem to be using the mid-market rate (1.21 at the moment). In reality you will not get this as your card provider will apply a 1-2% spread (maybe even more). All depends what type of card you use.

Yeah, I know. I was just keeping things consistent with the earlier build so as to avoid introducing extra variables.

chiloutus

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Try get the Asus 770 oc. 2 Euro more expensive. Better cooling,and a backplate.

This?

http://www.hardwareversand.de/2048+MB/80673/ASUS+GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5+DirectCU+II+OC%2C+GeForce+GTX+770%2C+2GB+GDDR5.article


if so, added

SterlingArcher

chiloutus wrote: »

This?

http://www.hardwareversand.de/2048+MB/80673/ASUS+GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5+DirectCU+II+OC%2C+GeForce+GTX+770%2C+2GB+GDDR5.article


if so, added

That be the one.

yawhat!

For 1100 you should be able to get an R9 290 into the build! Could leave out CPU cooler till a later date to save a few quid. Giehezals should bring it down as well.

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150|€204.87
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€30.69
ASRock Z87 Pro3, Sockel 1150, ATX|€78.06
Corsair CX Series Modular CX600M, 600W|€65.19
8GB-Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9|€55.99
Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 OC Windforce 3, 4GB DDR5, PCI-Express|€377.68
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€69.99
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€49.80
Corsair Carbide Series 300R windowed, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€75.04
Benq GL2450H|€126.10
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1152.40

chiloutus

Yeah after looking it does seem a lot cheaper alright, I actually went and upgraded a lot of things and kept the budget at 1100 on the dot. So really happy and looking forward to building now

ShadowHearth

Just one thing to consider when buying from amazon. Listed prices are all with UK vat. When you go to complete check out, then you get slaped extra for irish vat. Extremely annoying thing.

Serephucus

The price I listed was the end price, including all that junk.