Funny story with Fry's and video cards.

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PolarbearBigEd

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
435
Well, to start off today I went into my local Fry's here in Arlington, TX to check up on some items. Whilest I scanned the video card section looking for any 7800GTX's but to my amazement, they were out. Anyway, continuing scanning the video cards I notice they are selling BBATi Radeon 9800 Pro's for $249.99. Absurd I know. Further down, I see BBATi Radeon 9800 Pro AIW's for .... $199.99?!? Confused by the price difference, I ask a sales associate why the difference in the price. He had no idea, but he couldn't comment on the difference so I inform him. He goes to his floor manager I'm assuming and asks her and she has no idea herself. I tell them that they would be shooting themselves in the foot for offering the same card with more features at a lower price than the ladder. Thinking for a minute, the floor manager states, "Well hmm, that is interesting. Well we do have the XT version that is faster for $249.99." Looking for this mysterious card, she points out the 9600XT AIW. She then leads me over to some spec sheets, proclaming that because it has a higher core frequency, it is obviously faster than the 9800 Pro counterpart. At that moment, I told them thank you for your time, and to have a nice day. The moral of the story... Ignorance is bliss. :rolleyes:
 
haha sounds like a good story

btw i thought long and hard about the post someone made about the geek squad, some dude triped over knocking dell 2450fp and dual g5 mac to the ground

hrumm..i thought about how fake that story must be......cause if you think......why would someone bring their screen with them? shouldnt they have an lcd if the problem is with lcds?

to me that sounds rather fake, tho, i wouldnt put it past people in your journey to say somthing like that.......

i want to get a job at staples, but man i dunno.......i herd their employe discount is just when they have stuff on sale :(

who has great employe discounts? :p

soulsaver
 
Stores are always like that, I actually sometimes if I'm bored enough will correct them nicely and if they argue I just say go google it. I've actualy been shocked when an employee at a radio shack tried to sell me soldering flux as heatsink grease!
 
Circuit City Employee to Unfortunate Shopper: "When it comes to laptops, the CENTRINO processor is one of the fastest."

Same Employee: "AMD is always faster, they are 64 bit."

Best Buy Employee to Me: "You're gonna need a 480 watt power supply for that x800."
 
Wll some of that is true, but not for the right reason.

I'm sorry if i offend anyone, but Intel makes THE most horrible gaming CPU's the pentium D's performance in most games is ABYSMAL. But AMD isn't faster because they have 64 bit proc's, intel has EM64T

ANd if you have an X800 you should have a pretty good PSU, my friend has a 9800 Pro on a 350 and has to downclock it, most generic PSU's are horrible.
 
Enjoicube said:
Wll some of that is true, but not for the right reason.

I'm sorry if i offend anyone, but Intel makes THE most horrible gaming CPU's the pentium D's performance in most games is ABYSMAL. But AMD isn't faster because they have 64 bit proc's, intel has EM64T

ANd if you have an X800 you should have a pretty good PSU, my friend has a 9800 Pro on a 350 and has to downclock it, most generic PSU's are horrible.
Click to expand...

True, but AMD isn't always faster, and up until just recently I would be have been hard pressed to reccommend an AMD to anyone who wasn't a strict gamer. Intel has had the multitasking performance edge since HT (dual core made that a non issue). As you pointed out, even when AMD would be faster it has little to do with bits. My x800xt pe runs just fine on a 380watt Antec, but thats not generic. The statements were either wrong or overly general at best. The specifics aren't important, though, because the salesman obviously wasn't aware of even the most general truths, much less details. Just pointing out the obvious: most retail employees are completely ignorant when it comes to the products they sell.
 
yeah, most are, I've tested some employees knowledge and seen that most employees aren't such enthusiasts. And yes, I admit Intel makes great multitasking procs, I sort of wish I had gone for the pentium D meself, but alas my 3500 KILLS my 2500 so I am sort of happy. And i do agree, Intels HT was ingenious, and it's sort of a shame that AMD has nothing like that. Although the same can be said about AMD's hypertransport, which bypasses the northbridge, If on ly AMD and Intel would make one CPU together The Athlon X2 D 840 EE HT ULTRA SUPREME GOLD PLATINUM EDITION,
 
Enjoicube said:
The Athlon X2 D 840 EE HT ULTRA SUPREME GOLD PLATINUM EDITION,
Click to expand...

I sometimes ponder why AMD and Intel don't consult with each other... Instead of fighting to have the better processor, why don't they combine the tech's into one area and make a Super Processor?
 
Nice story :D

I was in that same store to buy my 6800GT when some sales guy was like nonono this 9800XT is a better card. I just laughed at him and walked away w/ my new 400 dollar, I just quit Best Buy and need some thing fun, toy.

I live in Flower Mound BTW :)
 
KrakenGuy said:
I sometimes ponder why AMD and Intel don't consult with each other... Instead of fighting to have the better processor, why don't they combine the tech's into one area and make a Super Processor?
Click to expand...
Because we live in countries where capitalism, not communism, is the name of the game?
 
yes people you are smarter. no one is questioning your knowledge.......might computer people
 
Ahahaha, I had a funny time at Frys too (Fremont, CA.) Was grabbin something, and decided to check out the vid cards. Some guy was askin bout gaming cards and he took out a 9800Pro (this was before 6800 times.)

Customer: I hear this one is a really good one!
Employee: No no no, you don't want that one, you want this one over here (grabs NV Quadro off of the shelf.)
Customer: Why?
Employee: Well, its a whole lot faster, and the proffessionals use it. They do CAD rednering with it, and because of the pro level rendering, it can render models in your games faster too.
Me: Um, excuse me sir... That's a CAD rendering card, not a gaming card. It'll do worse than the 9800Pro for $X00 more... They serve way different purposes. Don't let this fool trick you.

Funny how every retailer you go to this happens A LOT...
 
KrakenGuy said:
I sometimes ponder why AMD and Intel don't consult with each other... Instead of fighting to have the better processor, why don't they combine the tech's into one area and make a Super Processor?
Click to expand...
if they did that, they would have monoplised *sp* the computer chip world.....if you only have 1 choice, well guess what your stuck with this intelon 2.5g proc for 1,000 dollars kkthx


competition keeps prices down, plain and simple
so you should rejoice we have 2 to choose from! :D


soulsaver
 
Just for the hell of saying it...Frys also has some VERY smart people working @ their stores. It just that once and a while you get "that guy".
 
yeah i agree, just like my brother whos also a fellow [H} works at sams eletronic depo....

hes a smart mfer when it comes to computers, ive seen him work with customers, he gives it to them in language they can understand, hes not the type to get them to gbuy what they dont need

he doesnt make a profit, doesnt see anything why bs people?

same with me and when i cut meat, i have no problem telling the truth about anything, i see no profit, no insentive to sell more meat.......

so yes there are smart people out there, like above poster said, you always get "that guy"

soulsaver
 
All of the previous mentioned stories about stores, is why I ONLY shop at Newegg.com or other similar websites.
 
I was at a frys a couple of weeks ago, guy was lookin for a good gaming card for his computer, frys associate sold him a GeForce 4 MX440 :(
 
Brent_Justice said:
I was at a frys a couple of weeks ago, guy was lookin for a good gaming card for his computer, frys associate sold him a GeForce 4 MX440 :(
Click to expand...
I'm hoping you stepped in after the associate left and clued him in.

*EDIT*
Reminds me of this salesidiot in Fry's told me you can't overclock on air. Then pointed to one of the Cheiftec/Koolance cases.
 
Brent_Justice said:
I was at a frys a couple of weeks ago, guy was lookin for a good gaming card for his computer, frys associate sold him a GeForce 4 MX440 :(
Click to expand...


I was told a 5500 BFG OC - just recently at the best buy in North Richland Hills. I was just browsing and a kid of maybe 16-17 asked me if i like to game. I said you betcha, without me telling him what i had he pulled that card off the shelf - there was a 6800GT next to it but he stil picked the 5500. Instead of going into a long rant or embarrassing him i just gave him a website or two that had fairly credible benchmarks to compare. But i did tell him about the extra shader capability and how much faster the 6800GT was. I'm sure he knows by now.
 
Sorry if this is a little off topic, but it shows how stupid some people are. I was once having a talk with my friends about gaming. They mainly like to play consoles, so none of them really new about computers. My friend asked if he had a good enough computer to play games like Half Life 2. ;) The first thing I asked him was what video card he said intel extreme graphics. I laughed a little inside not to embarrass him or anything. Then I asked what processor he had He said he had a really good and fast (2.66ghz) processor. It turned out he had celeron. :D
 
you dont know how many times i get into arguements at frys because of this. they think i dont know anything since im 14..
 
I worked at Circuit City. A guy came in, told me he had an old HP, which I knew had no AGP slots. He asked me for the best video card, I pointed it out to him, a 5600 ultra (at the time, they were the best thing we had). He inquired about the 9800, which were were out of. Actually, we hadn't gotten any in yet, nor did we have any other good ATi cards. I inquired about his rig, and he told me about it. I picked up a PCI GeForce 4 and told him it would be a good card for his rig. He said "no, I want something faster." I told him that his PC only had PCI slots, and the other cards wouldn't work.

"I'm sorry, this is the fastest PCI card we have..."

He looked at me like I was stupid. "What about all of these other cards? Aren't you on commission, you should try selling me this card," he picked up the 5600 again.

"It won't work in your computer."

He gave me the same look. "But, they're all the same thing, video cards..."

I tried to explain the difference between PCI and AGP. He woudln't hear any of it. He bought the card. The next day, my manager asked me into her office. The fucktard bought the thing, BROKE IT trying to install it into a PCI slot, then blamed ME for it all.

I looked at the card, sitting in pieces on her desk, and I laughed in his face. "I so told you it wouldn't fit, I explained to you the difference between AGP and PCI, and you didn't listen. I can grab the card you can use for you, the one I showed you yesterday, or I can have one of our PC guys show you some brand new computers that you don't need to upgrade..."

Let's just say, I got him to buy a brand new $2,000 computer, my manager was pissed, but I got part of the comission the PC guy made anyway.
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
you dont know how many times i get into arguements at frys because of this. they think i dont know anything since im 14..
Click to expand...
indeed I kept getting told a 6800GT was a crap card and the guy wouldn't even let me LOOK at one, he kept pushing me toward a damn 9200 saying it was "Way better because it has more numbers on it" Never going back there I tell you that
 
I was told a 5500 BFG OC - just recently at the best buy in North Richland Hills. I was just browsing and a kid of maybe 16-17 asked me if i like to game. I said you betcha, without me telling him what i had he pulled that card off the shelf - there was a 6800GT next to it but he stil picked the 5500. Instead of going into a long rant or embarrassing him i just gave him a website or two that had fairly credible benchmarks to compare. But i did tell him about the extra shader capability and how much faster the 6800GT was. I'm sure he knows by now.
Click to expand...

lol... Good thing there's 16yr olds like me around then. =P
 
LOL GOD DAM FUCKTARDS IN PC STORE's NEWEGG / JAB-TECH.com> ALL OTHER PC' SELLING PLACES OWNED!
 
I've seen plenty of these people, too, but I also had a rather funny experience at a local Best Buy that I totally wasn't expecting.

So I walk in to look for a new keyboard/mouse, and I'm in the appropriate aisle browsing, and one of the sales guys walks up. He asks if I need help, and I tell him not really, but we get to talking anyway. Turns out, he graduated from Penn State with a degree in computer science. I kinda laugh a bit and say how that's a rare thing. Again, he corrects me and points out like five more guys standing around the store who are either engineers or CS majors/grads. One of them even goes to my school (Drexel University).

So much for all Best Buys being filled with ignorant salespeople... :confused:
 
KrakenGuy said:
I sometimes ponder why AMD and Intel don't consult with each other... Instead of fighting to have the better processor, why don't they combine the tech's into one area and make a Super Processor?
Click to expand...

Because of this :

$

Para
 
’m‚³‚ñ said:
I worked at Circuit City. A guy came in, told me he had an old HP, which I knew had no AGP slots. He asked me for the best video card, I pointed it out to him, a 5600 ultra (at the time, they were the best thing we had). He inquired about the 9800, which were were out of. Actually, we hadn't gotten any in yet, nor did we have any other good ATi cards. I inquired about his rig, and he told me about it. I picked up a PCI GeForce 4 and told him it would be a good card for his rig. He said "no, I want something faster." I told him that his PC only had PCI slots, and the other cards wouldn't work.

"I'm sorry, this is the fastest PCI card we have..."

He looked at me like I was stupid. "What about all of these other cards? Aren't you on commission, you should try selling me this card," he picked up the 5600 again.

"It won't work in your computer."

He gave me the same look. "But, they're all the same thing, video cards..."

I tried to explain the difference between PCI and AGP. He woudln't hear any of it. He bought the card. The next day, my manager asked me into her office. The fucktard bought the thing, BROKE IT trying to install it into a PCI slot, then blamed ME for it all.

I looked at the card, sitting in pieces on her desk, and I laughed in his face. "I so told you it wouldn't fit, I explained to you the difference between AGP and PCI, and you didn't listen. I can grab the card you can use for you, the one I showed you yesterday, or I can have one of our PC guys show you some brand new computers that you don't need to upgrade..."

Let's just say, I got him to buy a brand new $2,000 computer, my manager was pissed, but I got part of the comission the PC guy made anyway.
Click to expand...

Sadly, this happens too often. There are stoopid (I should say, unaware) sales person that don't have a clue on how computer works and there are stoopid person (like the one in the story above) that knows nothing but try to convince you that they understand (or think they are..)

Para
 
FoolOnTheHill said:
I've seen plenty of these people, too, but I also had a rather funny experience at a local Best Buy that I totally wasn't expecting.
So I walk in to look for a new keyboard/mouse, and I'm in the appropriate aisle browsing, and one of the sales guys walks up. He asks if I need help, and I tell him not really, but we get to talking anyway. Turns out, he graduated from Penn State with a degree in computer science. I kinda laugh a bit and say how that's a rare thing. Again, he corrects me and points out like five more guys standing around the store who are either engineers or CS majors/grads. One of them even goes to my school (Drexel University).
So much for all Best Buys being filled with ignorant salespeople... :confused:
Click to expand...

True. Lot's of IT people that just need a job that are out of work.
 
thats pretty funny.
i actually had a best buy employee tell me that the sony lcd i was looking at was the most expensive because it looked the best.
you see it cost's the company more money to make a thinner design.
you're paying extra to get the silver and black lcd sinec the other lcds are one solid color and that was the reason the sony lcd cost 600 while the samsung cost 400.
:eek:
 
Intel_Inside said:
All of the previous mentioned stories about stores, is why I ONLY shop at Newegg.com or other similar websites.
Click to expand...

if you know better. Then what does it matter? It's not like you would get swindled if you know what was needed, and what pwnz what.
 
I was gettin the serious itch to upgrade my ram and didn't want to wait for shipping from newegg or somewhere else so I go to a couple of places to get the best deal. One of them was the local PC Club in OC. I had not been in there for years because places like fry's are so much better but I thought I would give em a shot.

I go in there and ask where their ram is and the guy shows me this little section of a bunch of ram sticks in a basket. I ask him if they had patriot memory (I have it and have no probs with it and kinda wanted to stay with the same stuff) the guy thinks for a little bit and says no we don't sell movies here. I had to think about that for a second and and then I realized that we were not on the same page. So cracking up in my mind I ask him what brand they carry and he says very seriously "we carry OEM brand memory." WTF
 
I wish stores would "train" their employee's in a little bit of the product they are selling that way people won't return items because of misleading knowledge sales personnell have.
 
arrgh! I've been to every chain of computer ho ho store out there. And most of them employ teenage kids with limited knowledge to work the areas that most of "us" are more familiar with.

And I’ve been, like most of you, in the vicinity of a “sale” in the process that was soooo BS that yeah, I stepped in. I usually exercise some tact and grab the person before they reach the register—unless the salesperson is so cocky with his lack of info that he deserves a little humbling.

But what I hate more than anything is standing in one line at say CUSA, say returning a video card under their highly marketed replacement plan (after say 6 months of use) and watching the line to my left, with their “broke” computers get ripped from right under their noses.

My question to you all—have you ever offered your technical expertise to someone in one of these lines? Let me tell you, it breaks my heart to see someone get charged 50 dollars to-God knows how high, for an anti-virus scan or HDD replacement.

I guess the same holds true for car dealer and people like me whom are less than auto-literate. But damn if it doesn’t drive me crazy to see it happen and I know it’s happening.
 
And most of them employ teenage kids with limited knowledge to work the areas that most of "us" are more familiar with.
Click to expand...

Hey! What's wrong with us teenagers? I build and service computers for saving up for college! =P

But what I hate more than anything is standing in one line at say CUSA
Click to expand...

I hate CUSA too... then again that's why we call it CompUSSR...
 
Pkirk618 said:
My question to you all—have you ever offered your technical expertise to someone in one of these lines? Let me tell you, it breaks my heart to see someone get charged 50 dollars to-God knows how high, for an anti-virus scan or HDD replacement.
Click to expand...
And you would be offering these services for....? 25 bux? 10? 5? Free?
Time invested (aka cost per hour for x person(s)), verifying it runs as it should, nothing borked, guarantees/warranties, costs (electricity, screws, tools, misc), tax on profit.
Oh, and dealing with people...
 
’m‚³‚ñ said:
I worked at Circuit City.
I got part of the comission the PC guy made anyway.
Click to expand...
circuit city gets comission? if so i need to drop an app over at ours :p

soulsaver
 
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