I've been to the promised land!

No, I unfortunately haven’t slept with Jennifer Love Hewitt. The promised land in question was the new Fry’s Electronics in Downers Grove, IL. Now this is the first Fry’s I know of in the Chicagoland area. I had heard of this mythical beast from west coast friends before, but I had no idea the magnitude and geekiness this place really conveyed.

For those of you that don’t know, Fry’s is like taking the best parts of Best Buy, Circuit City, Comp USA (which I will never have to shop at again!), Radio Shack and your high-end audio/video dealer. Mix those up in a blender, and then add extra geekiness, more in-depth computer coverage, and a couple of Red Bulls. You now have Fry’s.

One of the examples I have to give you is that there was a wall of motherboards. Not a little section, not a small glass case, but a WALL OF MOTHERBOARDS. Each one was bolted to the wall, so you could actually see everything on it. All of the sockets, slots etc. There must have been at least twenty plus models to choose from too. If you want to build your own PC, this is the place.

Modders will have a field day as well. Pretty much every little custom component you could want was available. Liquid cooling solutions, Check. Fans with LED’s, Check. Rotary Cutting tools, Check. Cold Cathode tubes, Check. This place was truly geek nirvana. They even had an entire Apple section with every current product and pretty much every accessory you could think of. I picked up my iTrip there.

So needless to say, if you are in Chicagoland, check out Fry’s. You will NOT be disappointed in the sheer quantity and quality of products they carry. I may never have to shop anywhere else again!