I've been a long time of reader of this forum, but this is my first post. I've been seeing a lot of people asking about buying a new computer and 90% of the replies have been to build your own. So I'm writing this thread to help out, as always these are only my opinon:
Building a Computer:
As anything in life, there is a pro and con to building your own system:
Pro
1. You will save a lot of money, on avg about 15-30%
2. You will get exactly what you want
3. You will feel more comfortable using your system
4. It is a lot of fun =) time consuming but fun
Con
1. You will have to do all the research, advice from other people are always good but in the end you have to do your own research.
2. You may have to deal with multiple vendors if you are looking to save as much money as possible.
3. If a component fails, you will have to figure out which one, and then deal with the vendor or manufacture (dealing with the manufacture is a PITA, I highly recommend a vendor that will replace the parts for you)
4. If you need help, you will have to do research
5. And the hardest part is figuring out what you need/want, there are always a ton of people with lots of different opinon, it will be your job to sort thru them all.
Here is a list of vendors that I very often:
1. Newegg.com - Hands down they are one of the best vendors
2. Tigerdirect.com - Very good but compare prices
Buying a Computer System
Before buying a computer system, the first thing you should do is figure out what you will be using the computer for mainly. Don't get too excited about the initial price that many computer companies (ie dell) show, these are bare bottom requirements. I truly believe this is why people are having such a negative experience with Windows, I've been building my own for the past 7 years and never had a negative experience.
Pro
1. If something breaks, theres only one place to call
2. If you need help, theres normally only one place to call
3. Your only dealing with 1 company versus many vendors
4. You dont have to wait weeks for different parts to come in
Con
1. High mark-up on many places but this is how they make a living
2. Most of them are just factory setting with no eye candy
3. Some companies use very low quality parts or propietary parts (ie dell) which makes upgrading a PITA
4. Some have the worest customer service
Companies that I have dealt directly with
1. Dell - I will never buy a Dell again, very cheap component, over price ( and yet their products are below par and so is their customer service. I normally buy Dells for my parents, mainly due to the fact that they don't use a computer much and its easier and cheaper to get a Dell plus their designed is not over the top.
2. Alienware - Very good product but the markup is just stupid. Your just throwing your money away, unless you really really want their cases, there are other brands out there.
3. Pugetsystems.com - Very nice and friendly people, high markup but extremely nice computers. The designs were alittle bland for my taste but overall I had a very nice experience with their customer service. I might consider buying a computer for them later this year.
4. Northwest Falcon - Overprice PERIOD
5. Toriyacomputers.com - These guys are new. I was introduce to them by my boss. Extremely knowledgeable customer service, I must have sent them a thousand email asking about different computer systems and each one was answered. Although I had to wait about 5mins for a phone conversation, but the guy was very helpful. Got my new computer from them, i believe its called the Rogue EC. i just love the design, markup was about on average for the industry, but the attention to detail was extreme. The inside of the case was beautiful. Very good craftsman. And when I first turned it on....i was blown away, Window's XP looked like a brand new OS. Best of all there was no hidden "upgrades", the price I saw was the price I had to pay. Shipping was a bit slow tho, it took 5 days for it to get to me.
Well thats it, please share your experience with Vendors/Computer makers. Lets also keep this thread informative =) and not just a bunch of kids shouting about who has what.
Mark
Building a Computer:
As anything in life, there is a pro and con to building your own system:
Pro
1. You will save a lot of money, on avg about 15-30%
2. You will get exactly what you want
3. You will feel more comfortable using your system
4. It is a lot of fun =) time consuming but fun
Con
1. You will have to do all the research, advice from other people are always good but in the end you have to do your own research.
2. You may have to deal with multiple vendors if you are looking to save as much money as possible.
3. If a component fails, you will have to figure out which one, and then deal with the vendor or manufacture (dealing with the manufacture is a PITA, I highly recommend a vendor that will replace the parts for you)
4. If you need help, you will have to do research
5. And the hardest part is figuring out what you need/want, there are always a ton of people with lots of different opinon, it will be your job to sort thru them all.
Here is a list of vendors that I very often:
1. Newegg.com - Hands down they are one of the best vendors
2. Tigerdirect.com - Very good but compare prices
Buying a Computer System
Before buying a computer system, the first thing you should do is figure out what you will be using the computer for mainly. Don't get too excited about the initial price that many computer companies (ie dell) show, these are bare bottom requirements. I truly believe this is why people are having such a negative experience with Windows, I've been building my own for the past 7 years and never had a negative experience.
Pro
1. If something breaks, theres only one place to call
2. If you need help, theres normally only one place to call
3. Your only dealing with 1 company versus many vendors
4. You dont have to wait weeks for different parts to come in
Con
1. High mark-up on many places but this is how they make a living
2. Most of them are just factory setting with no eye candy
3. Some companies use very low quality parts or propietary parts (ie dell) which makes upgrading a PITA
4. Some have the worest customer service
Companies that I have dealt directly with
1. Dell - I will never buy a Dell again, very cheap component, over price ( and yet their products are below par and so is their customer service. I normally buy Dells for my parents, mainly due to the fact that they don't use a computer much and its easier and cheaper to get a Dell plus their designed is not over the top.
2. Alienware - Very good product but the markup is just stupid. Your just throwing your money away, unless you really really want their cases, there are other brands out there.
3. Pugetsystems.com - Very nice and friendly people, high markup but extremely nice computers. The designs were alittle bland for my taste but overall I had a very nice experience with their customer service. I might consider buying a computer for them later this year.
4. Northwest Falcon - Overprice PERIOD
5. Toriyacomputers.com - These guys are new. I was introduce to them by my boss. Extremely knowledgeable customer service, I must have sent them a thousand email asking about different computer systems and each one was answered. Although I had to wait about 5mins for a phone conversation, but the guy was very helpful. Got my new computer from them, i believe its called the Rogue EC. i just love the design, markup was about on average for the industry, but the attention to detail was extreme. The inside of the case was beautiful. Very good craftsman. And when I first turned it on....i was blown away, Window's XP looked like a brand new OS. Best of all there was no hidden "upgrades", the price I saw was the price I had to pay. Shipping was a bit slow tho, it took 5 days for it to get to me.
Well thats it, please share your experience with Vendors/Computer makers. Lets also keep this thread informative =) and not just a bunch of kids shouting about who has what.
Mark
