{
  "id": 14711427,
  "title": "The internet isn’t the best place for finding PC components to upgrade your computer — brick-and-mortar stores still reign supreme thanks to bundled deals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/the-internet-isnt-the-best-place-for-finding-pc-components-to-upgrade",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-15T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/gaming-pcs/the-internet-isnt-the-best-place-for-finding-pc-components-to-upgrade-your-computer-brick-and-mortar-stores-still-reign-supreme-thanks-to-bundled-deals"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The soaring costs of computer components have created a crisis in the consumer PC market. Prices for standard DDR5 kits, NVMe SSDs, and GPUs are all excessively high, particularly due to the AI-driven demand. However, a potential solution may lie in Micro Center, a brick-and-mortar store with 30 locations across the U.S. In the current situation, customers have limited options for upgrading or building a new PC, as many components are out of stock or cost exorbitantly. The RTX 5090, an Nvidia GPU, exemplifies this issue; its cheapest online price is $6,549.99, which is significantly more than the original MSRP of $1,999.99. Micro Center's in-store availability of the RTX 5090, priced at $5,029.99, offers substantial savings when compared to online retailers. Micro Center's component bundles often provide better value than those found on Newegg, despite slight variations in components. The store's prices, although limited to those who can make the trip, could offer consumers an alternative to high online prices. Despite Micro Center's lower prices, the issue of rising PC component costs remains, with memory and NAND prices continuing to increase without a foreseeable end.",
  "summary": "Component bundles are a great way of offsetting high prices on certain parts, but your proximity to a Micro Center may save you even more.",
  "key_points": [
    "Brick-and-mortar stores like Micro Center offer better deals on PC components.",
    "RTX 5090 GPU costs $5,029.99 at Micro Center, compared to $6,549.99 online.",
    "Micro Center's component bundles provide value despite slight component variations."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}