No, Id say software is more here. I latest release game can be over $100 but normally nearer $90. Saying that every now and then my local Big W must price things up wrong and you can get a bargain.

As for MS, they charge too much everywhere in the world including here. The OS is a very large %age of one of my new builds BOM. Processors, Ram and HDD are all cheaper than the OS now!

Thanks, I've just upgraded my ram in my laptop and my CPU, MB, RAM, Video card etc here and bought two copies of Vista. The main reason I did it before coming over is I wouldn't know where to order online components from in Australia. Do they have an ebuyer, overclockers etc shop?

Well they do, sort of. I set my PC company up due to the frustration I was having getting stuff here. But since doing it myself, I now know why they have such a hard time supplying. Stock levels maintained by the main importers in Oz is terrible, with no constistancy of supply. I too almost gave up doing it due to sheer frustration.

Now I've decided to lower my standards and not even attempt to emulate the uk's 'buy before 4pm and get it the next day'. I now only aim for a 7 day turnaround and even this can be tight. Also you can't get a lot of the latest stuff here, and the old stuff quickly dries up as stock buffer levels here is so low.

Anyway here is my list of who to use:- Me first....

www.bravido.com.au
www.i-tech.com.au
www.secret.com.au
www.computeralliance.com.au
and harris technology (can't find the link)

I can get most things eventually.

Try any of the computer forums, from Whirlpool right though to Geeks and there is only one company to use in Aussie.

http://msy.com.au/SYSTEMS/system.html

Phone at 4pm and get your system next day Arkon


All over Aussie at prices equivalent if not cheaper than the UK, with the latest software and technology.... Thank god for the Taiwanese businessmen and their marketing.

Maybe you should spend some time with them Arkon to find out how they beat the shipment delays.

IE: here is an example of the kind of prices they charge, and something that most comp buyers would know the price of... LG OEM Beige / Black Dual Layer 16X DVD Writer W/SW = 43 Aud... Are they 18 quid in England ?

If I've got the parts in stock then I ship the following morning, doesn't mean you get it the following day, you are then at the mercy of auspost and the couriers. I'm selling non OEM DVD burners for $55 thats about £22 so things like that arn't too bad here. Software is dearer here and so are the new high end stuff.

I can't compete with the shipment times all the time I'm here stuck in the outback! If I was in Sydney then we would be equal. The only real benefit I offer is giving people a custom PC that suits their exact needs using the latest branded stuff. Not just a box shifter, selling yesterdays tech. Basically you get what you pay for and if it looks cheap there is usually a reason under the hood.

MSY build anything you want, The highest spec CPU they have at present is an Intel conroe Dual core e6700 at 735 AUD, the e6600 is 300 bucks cheaper.

If you look on this page, you can build anything combined with everything available on their list. They have some very high spec stuff available.

http://msy.com.au/Parts/msy.htm

Stores all up and down the east coast, and Adelaide, have to buy on line or over the phone in Perth.

Comp geeks in Melbourne rave about the place.

They may be good, but can they supply Alpaca fleece too?

LoL, nope on that one you are one of a kind Arkon

I'm glad this thread is here - I was beginning to wonder how i'd manage without ebuyer, scan and komplett!! Whilst I'm posting - do you find overheating a problem in Oz? Or do you just stuff extra fans in?

Yes it's a real problem but I just wear a sweat band, seems to help.....Oh you mean the computers? No just make sure you have a 2 fan system, one at the front and one at the back. if the temperature of your office or study is ok you you then it's normally ok for your puter. If you put in high end cpu's, overclock and load it up with lots of HDD then yes, you will need to be more carefull.

Arkon - hey- why not put your price ("our price") in RED. It will stand out as being cheaper. The first time around I only saw the expensive RRP price jump out.

I've had real problems, but thats because I've an old AMD, had to put 3 fans in the box, and this year even took the sides off, and it still overheated, and switched off.

It's fine for 9 months of the year and in the evenings. LOL.

AMD's dont have an issue with overheating these days.

My next comp will be MSY's AMD AM2 x 2 Dual core 4200, with some extra ram and a larger harddrive and larger video card, coming out at circa 900 bucks.

Might be worth checking to make sure the CPU heatsink is fitted flush and square to the chip. It's one of the main causes. Or fit a better cpu cooler, I've got a nice Hyper6 that should do the trick if your case is big enough!

Thanks for that, it's good to get feedback. I'm currently revamping the site so all suggestions are good. I'm also automating most of it to update the prices more often. Im now upt to 470 lines and hopefully within the next couple of weeks up to a 1000 or more. Also need to design a decent vista machine for the site.

Thanks for the advice Arkon, it probably is a poorly fitted cpu, as I mucked about with it 20 months or so ago.