Computer Street shop saved my PC

No one likes the Blue Screen of Death, that's just obvious, but getting one here in the Middle East is even worse.

For anyone unfamiliar with the BSOD, it's — in non-technical terms — your machine's way of telling you that a trip to the computer store is in your future and your wallet's about to get a little lighter. Something has gone wrong, and it's probably hardware.

That's the way it normally goes, at least when the computer stores in your area actually keep components in stock, which often isn't the case in Dubai.

So when I got the BSOD last week, I keep my fingers crossed that whatever broke would be something I could replace without a lot of trouble. After a couple hours of switching out components and generally swearing at my computer, I figured out my video card had committed seppuku (Japanese ritual suicide) for reasons unknown.

I thought I was lucky. Video cards, aka video graphic adapters, are — well, used to be — relatively easy to find and not too expensive to replace. Things have changed. I'm not going to name names — because I just don't need the grief — but I went into and called five different major computer retailers in Dubai looking for a video card.

Four of them told me they didn't stock video cards anymore. Two of those didn't know what a video card was and thought I was shopping for a TV. One store did stock them, but it only had a single underpowered card, which had an MSRP of $100 (Dh367). Somehow, on its trip from the factory, the price had ballooned to Dh575.

Now, I'm not completely unsympathetic to retailers and their problems. When you buy a box of video cards, you had better hope the local nerds are in a buying mood. Since this is a bit risky, many stores try to mitigate any potential losses, but local retailers continued aversion to ANY risk is just hurting themselves.

Video cards, while not as popular as mice and keyboards, are an essential part of a computer. You need them to run HD video, edit photos and videos, and even play video games. If I can't get them from the local retailer, I will take my money elsewhere, which is what I did.

I first hopped on Amazon.com, where I found that I could get a card for Dh525 that was twice as powerful as the one down at the mall. However, that meant waiting at least a week for it to arrive, so at the suggestion of Derek Baldwin, a Gulf News business reporter, we went down to Computer Street in Bur Dubai.

After walking around for a few minutes, I walked into a small components store called Bin Ghalita Computers (and I mean small: one desk, one display case and boxes stacked in any extra space) and asked what they had it stock. The clerk asked me what I needed.

"I need a Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT." This was the card I found on Amazon for Dh525.

In the mall stores, this request elicited some blank stares. On Computer Street, you're told to please wait five minutes and they'll have your GeForce 8800 in the store in five minutes. And they did.

The punch line to this story is that not only did a small, independent retailer give me better customer service and offer a better selection of products than the big, branded retailers, it did it for less money. The clerk there originally quoted me a price of Dh375. When he saw my jaw hit the ground, he corrected himself to Dh475. OK, I could have haggled him back down, but even at Dh475 it was still the cheapest in town. More importantly, it was from a place that I will now go back to the next time I get the BSOD.