Any IDE (PATA) bare hard drive deals?

[ho'ard]

I fillt my internal startup drive again (MDD). This time it's going to need to be at least 500 GB. Anything out there? Cheapest I've found so far is a 500 GB drive at OWC for $125.

[guitarist]

That's a PDGD

(pretty dang good deal)

[BillMac]

Seagate 650GB at Fry's

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5448089...IN_RSLT_PG

[ho'ard]

I managed to find a place for 10 GB to go temporarily . . . that 650 gigger would be just about right. Would rather do business with OWC though-- hey owner-folk, if you're reading, any chance of carrying this drive soon? You're usually all about stocking stuff to keep previous generations ticking . . .

[Buzz]

bummer they jacked the 650GB at fry's up $20 from their intro price (limit 2)... but I think they have a 500GB Maxtor for a penny under $100...

[ho'ard]

I have somehow formed the impression that Fry's is the Walmart of the tech retail industry and not a company I want to support-- from reading about it here, I think (we don't have any in Chicago). Thoughts?

[hal]

might find really cheap refurbs at geeks

[jdc]

$99 for 500 gigs is what you should be looking for as a starting point

[MacMagus]

> I have somehow formed the impression that Fry's is the Walmart of the tech retail industry
> and not a company I want to support

I boycott Wal-Mart. I don't boycott Fry's. Fry's has its problems, but it's only minimally contributing to torturous slave labor in third world countries, destroys local businesses through honest competition and sells quality name-brand goods at decent prices (where Wal-Mart slaps name-brands on any crap they can find).

Fry's is a chain of giant discount warehouse stores carrying such diverse stuff as consumer electronics and office supplies, snacks and sundries, household goods and appliances and scientific and engineering equipment. Each store has a unique "theme" such as "Alice in Wonderland" or "1950's Schlock Sci-Fi."

Going to Fry's is an adventure. There's always new and interesting stuff on the shelves there. The electronics and computer parts sections are worth a couple of hours of browsing.

Fry's saves money by buying in bulk and offering only the most basic no-frills customer service. Most of the stores are pretty dirty and disordered. It's next to impossible to find anyone to help with a purchase and trying to do anything more than a return or exchange at the service desk is futile. Salespeople are often ignorant, illiterate non-English-speakers who view their job as nothing more than punching up sales slips on an antiquated computer terminal. Weekend sales items are usually available only in very limited quantities. Many of the items that one might find discounted at Fry's are returned or open-box merchandise with missing parts. Those items are typically clearly labeled as returned merchandise, but some people notice only the price tag. The checkout line is designed like the cows' entrance to a slaughterhouse. Fry's has a firm bag-and-receipt check policy that clogs up the exits and makes people feel as if they are presumed criminals.

For all of that, it's worth a regular visit... if you have the brains and the temperament for it.

A wily and educated consumer can get fantastic deals on very high quality goods at Fry's, but a sucker is likely to feel skinned alive by the time he leaves the store.

Damn, I really miss that place!

Outpost.com, one of the first online megastores, was recently acquired by Fry's. Even though they now use the Frys.com domain, they are not quite the same entity. They had some serious computer-inventory problems for awhile and pissed off a lot of people with all the trouble that caused, but they seem to have ironed it all out. They used to sell OEM hard drives without disclosing the warranty (or lack thereof) and pissed off a lot of people with all the trouble THAT caused, but they've also addressed that issue and now warranty information is clearly noted.