Where should I buy a custom computer from?

S

solomonla

New Member
So I have about $12-1300 to spend on a new desktop. I debated building it myself but I have very little time and it's been ages since I've built one. I'd rather pay a premium to have it built for me.

That being said, this computer will primarily be used for image editing. That is, a lot of work with LARGE files in adobe photoshop and lightroom. I'm a semi-professional photographer so it's important to me to have a computer that can keep up with the workload.

Aside from that I do some gaming. I wan't to be able to play games like modern warfare 2, assasins creed, etc on high visual settings. I also use my computer as a source for my multimedia and plan to run it into my TV for viewing HD movies etc.

I'm not really sure on the difference between RAM speeds now. But I know I need a solid video card, a decent amount of ram, and a cpu that can keep up. I would prefer a video card that could run out to two monitors (not a necessity) and has an HDMI output.

So yah.... Where's a good place to get a custom computer that falls into the above description? A friend recommended ibuypower.com but I've read both really good and really horrible reviews of the company. Also, it seems that they slightly overcharge for their product.

Any recommendations on where I should be shopping for this PC would be appreciated.

Thanks and kind regards,

-Michael
 
I have had really great success with Magic Micro I didn't have time to build my computer at work so I went with them on a custom computer for about 900 dollars on budget.
 
Build it yourself and save money. no point in paying someone for a job a monkey with half a brain could do.
 
linkin said:
Build it yourself and save money. no point in paying someone for a job a monkey with half a brain could do.
Click to expand...
+1
But could have said it a little nicer :P I think what he's trying to say is that you could potentially save up to $100+ if you do it yourself. And as someone that just recently built his 2nd computer, there's something satisfying about doing it yourself. It's kind of like a drug, you want to keep upgrading :P

But if you had to pick one, I would also go for cyberpower. I bought one awhile back and it's still going strong. Never had an issue with it. Sometimes Newegg and Tigerdirect have some good deals on their clearance/open box section.
 
you could always go through Dell. They have a well trusted reputation all over the world which is nice. but a lot of the other sites listed above can be good to
 
^^ EEWW Stay way from dell when it comes to desktops

Stick to HP, Acer, and some Gateways when it comes to pre-built pcs
 
I bought a system from ibuypower last year and I've been happy with it.

I had to send back the first video card due to it being defective. I also had to make adjustments to the v-1 fan. I think my system got dropped hard during shipping. I read that other had trouble with the v1 getting bent.

Anyway, they quickly replaced the video card under warranty so it wasn't that big of a deal.

I'd buy from them again.
 
Lambdatek is best for prices and has a pc configurator. And if you ask them to, they will build it free of charge.
 
Are you 100% unable to build it yourself?

I had an ibuypower build lined up thinking i would save myself some time. money while letting them do it...wrong....

Read around, they have shady customer support and their products come out of their factory at half par. If something goes wrong, vroom whole computer goes back to cali.

There have been great reviews and satisfied customers, but i dont want to roll the dice with this. When i made my build spec i saved money actually and was able to pic nicer components.
 
Avadirect.com might be another place to check out--moderate prices-located in the Ohio-they have made the top 10 performance list at Pcworld. Just another option.
 
G25r8cer said:
^^ EEWW Stay way from dell when it comes to desktops

Stick to HP, Acer, and some Gateways when it comes to pre-built pcs
Click to expand...
I'd use dell before HP/Gateway/Acer, as dell tends to use Delta power supplies over bestec(delta units are slightly better than bestec, although both are generally rubbish). Really though the only way to go "pre built" imo is through cyberpower, ibuypower, etc and making sure you have a quality power supply.
 
^^ Dell uses crappy mobo's, hdd's, and cd/dvd drives. I have had way too many bad experiences with Dell. Plus, why would you buy from a company who has been sued multiple times for ripping people off? Doesnt make sense to me but, I guess we all have are opinions.

Edit: It's been so long since ive looked at oem machines that I forgot about Asus
 
G25r8cer said:
^^ Dell uses crappy mobo's, hdd's, and cd/dvd drives. I have had way too many bad experiences with Dell. Plus, why would you buy from a company who has been sued multiple times for ripping people off? Doesnt make sense to me but, I guess we all have are opinions.

Edit: It's been so long since ive looked at oem machines that I forgot about Asus
Click to expand...

Like i said before, i wouldnt buy from any of the "big ones", but dell is the lesser of the evils. As much as i hate dell as a company, (eg-microsoft has had antitrust suits against them and we still buy from them) HP, Gateway, and Acer use even lower quality stuff. Some dell's use variations of asus motherboards(albeit cheap mobos), and generally use samsung hard drives from my experience. Most dell dvd drives are built by lite-on(even though i prefer sony optiarc drives, lite-on drives are decent enough). Plus sort of off the same lines, when it comes to notebooks, dell's business class notebooks are some of the best you can get for the price.
 
G25r8cer said:
^^ Dell uses crappy mobo's, hdd's, and cd/dvd drives. I have had way too many bad experiences with Dell. Plus, why would you buy from a company who has been sued multiple times for ripping people off? Doesnt make sense to me but, I guess we all have are opinions.

Edit: It's been so long since ive looked at oem machines that I forgot about Asus
Click to expand...




I had a dell that ran perfectly for like 9 years then it got a virus that killed it so I decided to build my own
 
^^ A virus that killed the computer? Not possible sorry

It might have messed up your OS but, that cannot effect hardware. In that case you just reload the OS.
 
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