Web Savvy: Smart Shopping on Today's Web

Harry McCracken looks back several months to the golden age of online buying.

Looking for sources of advanced information on PC nuts and bolts? Head to these prime destinations for under-the-hood news, reviews, and advice:

Tom's Hardware Guide: This full-blown community of PC fans teems with opinionated message boards.
The PC Guide: Technical hardware info in plain English, plus a great guide to PC fundamentals.
Ars Technica: Unabashedly geeky coverage of CPUs, motherboards, and the like; if you plan to build your own PC, go here first.
MadOnion.com: Free tools such as downloadable benchmarks and an upgrade advisor that analyzes your PC's parts.
StorageReview.com: A wealth of data on hard, CD-RW, and DVD-ROM drives, including specs, tests, and a comparison engine.

Write PC World Executive Editor Harry McCracken at websavvy@pcworld.com.

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