Follow up on buying a computer

[Triton]

Okay this maybe should go in TGB&U but I'll put it here and I'm sure that if I've misstepped one of our ever vigilant moderating staff will correct me.

As some of you may recall some weeks ago I asked about sources for computer systems as I intended to buy a new one. I got various and sundry answers with a majority of folks advising me to purchase the parts and put my own together, something I considered doing for a while. However in the final analysis I decided it was too much hassle but was intrigued by a suggestion that was posted here for a company out of California called cyberpowersystem.com. After some period of computer configuration and saving some money (because you can spend more there then you intend) I ordered a system. This was on February 20th. The estimated ship date was for March 3rd. So I waited. March 3rd came and went nothing. Finally after a week I emailed them and asked what was up. They replied that their production line was backed up but that they would try to have the system out by the end of the next week. So I waited. At the end of the next week nothing so I called them up this time. They told me their production line was backed up but that they would try to have it out late the next week. So I waited. Nothing. So I emailed them again. This time they said that they would put a rush order on it, which they did and they had it out the door in two days. Three days after shipping the system arrived at my house. It turns out it seems to be a very good system which is good.

So in a nutshell I would say that the company turns out good computers but needs to work on their production estimates.

 

[Horned Toad]

Okay this maybe should go in TGB&U but I'll put it here and I'm sure that if I've misstepped one of our ever vigilant moderating staff will correct me.

As some of you may recall some weeks ago I asked about sources for computer systems as I intended to buy a new one. I got various and sundry answers with a majority of folks advising me to purchase the parts and put my own together, something I considered doing for a while. However in the final analysis I decided it was too much hassle but was intrigued by a suggestion that was posted here for a company out of California called cyberpowersystem.com. After some period of computer configuration and saving some money (because you can spend more there then you intend) I ordered a system. This was on February 20th. The estimated ship date was for March 3rd. So I waited. March 3rd came and went nothing. Finally after a week I emailed them and asked what was up. They replied that their production line was backed up but that they would try to have the system out by the end of the next week. So I waited. At the end of the next week nothing so I called them up this time. They told me their production line was backed up but that they would try to have it out late the next week. So I waited. Nothing. So I emailed them again. This time they said that they would put a rush order on it, which they did and they had it out the door in two days. Three days after shipping the system arrived at my house. It turns out it seems to be a very good system which is good.

So in a nutshell I would say that the company turns out good computers but needs to work on their production estimates.

would you mind posting specs and rough prices so other could compare to the major venders

 

[rebeltf]

Triton , pal.. Not to rain on ya man but if they are slow on shipping what can you expect on service/warranty type issues , hopefully you wont need that any time soon but sadly it is inevitable.
I'll sip this next sip of coffee "here's to Triton's pc running smooth for a long time".

 

[Cutshaw]

I guess it all depends on how you view and maintain your pc. If you bought your "system" as cherry picked parts and components with no OS that you put together and configure yourself, you'll be fine. Most hardware warranties for PC parts are relatively short.

I've built my own PCs from individual components for the last 8 years or so. It's like the hot rod in the garage. I tinker with it, upgrade when I feel like it, and it will outperform Dell/Gateway/HPs costing twice as much and still have ample architecture for expansion. IF you are going to do that Triton, then you'll save money, have a great PC, and never have to worry about not having the skills and confidence to fix a PC problem on your own.

On the other hand, this method may not interest you at all. You might want to buy a Dell/Gateway/HP. The analogy still works: It's like buying a new Ford from the dealership with a warranty. You'll pay a little more and get only the options they offer. Expandability (souping it up) will be limited and performance is pricey (video shared RAM, onboard NIC/audio, limited PCI slots, etc.) BUT - there is nothing wrong with that if you just want a user machine with a warranty. Do bear in mind though, that those great warranties insist that you spend 6 hours on the phone with a gentleman from Pakistan who goes by the name "Roy" before you get escalated to returning equipment for replacement.

I would suggest a supplier like this if you want to build your own! http://www.magicmicro.com/

Remember there is no "right" or "wrong." Only different ways to get online to check out Bladeforums! :thumbup:

 

[Triton]

would you mind posting specs and rough prices so other could compare to the major venders

Sure no problem, you can check out their site though www.cyberpowersystem.com and use their "configurator" tool to get pricing and so forth. However I got:

An Ultra 7500 SE

X Cruiser Mid tower case
AMD Athlon 64X2 4200 Dual Core CPU
16X DVD RW / CD RW combo
Internal 12 in 1 Flash reader
1.44 MB Floppy Drive
Nero 7 Software
3 Extra case fans
160 GB Hard Drive
Multimedia Keyboard
Optical Mouse
19 inch LCD Monitor
2 GB of RAM
56 K Modem
600 Watt Speakers
External USB Hub
MS Win XP
MS Office
Shipped: 1668.00

That' is way the heck and gone cheaper then the equivalent system from Dell (not that you can actually get the equivalent system from Dell)

Also way cheaper then from Alienware or Falcon computers. Not sure it's the best deal in pre built P.Cs but it is a decent deal I believe.

 

[Triton]

Triton , pal.. Not to rain on ya man but if they are slow on shipping what can you expect on service/warranty type issues , hopefully you wont need that any time soon but sadly it is inevitable.
I'll sip this next sip of coffee "here's to Triton's pc running smooth for a long time".

Oh don't I know it. Here's the sequel to the story. After the computer showed up and I got it all up and running I wanted to connect to the web via dial up. (I've got DSL now but had not ordered it yet which is why I went ahead and got the 56K modem listed above). I set everything up and hit "dial" and I got... NOTHING. No handshake no dial no nothing. So I screwed around with it a while uninstalled, from device manager reinstalled still nothing. Well my computer also came with "lifetime" phone support so I thought well... here's my chance to find out how good it is. So I call. <Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring>.... you get the point. NO ONE answered the bloody phone!!! Now my packing slip had the sales phone number on it to and I knew someone would answer that one so I figured I would call them and they could transfer me over to the tech weenies. <Ring. Ring. Hello! >(Just like I thought). I explain to the sales weasel on the other end that I'm having technical problems and... he interrupts me and starts reciting the support line phone number. I complete it for him and tell him that I've already dialed that and no one answered the phone and was hoping he could transfer me. The sales weasel tells me that "he was probably busy. He? HE? You mean you have A tech support guy?!? So much for lifetime tech support I'm thinking... He says "No we have about ten of them." (yeah right.) Obviously there are two guys in their garage... The sales weasel also won't patch me through (claims he can't) so I call the support line again. <Ring. Ring. Hello> Ahh the sales weasel must have told Bob the tech support guy to answer the phone this time. So I explain my trouble to Bob. Bob tells me to get the disk and reload the modem drivers from the disk rather then letting XP come up with some. So I hang up and do that. It doesn't work. I call them back. <Ring. Ring. Hello> This time it's a different guy (who sounds suspicously like the sales weasel) I explain the whole thing again and he decides he is going to have to hand hold me through it as I'm obviously to dumb to load some drivers. So we go through the proces... except numbskull has me load the Win2000 drivers instead of the XP drivers even though it's an XP machine!!! Wonder of wonders that works. I hope I don't have to call again soon... The sales weasel and Bob will track me down...

 

[Triton]

I guess it all depends on how you view and maintain your pc. If you bought your "system" as cherry picked parts and components with no OS that you put together and configure yourself, you'll be fine. Most hardware warranties for PC parts are relatively short.

I've built my own PCs from individual components for the last 8 years or so. It's like the hot rod in the garage. I tinker with it, upgrade when I feel like it, and it will outperform Dell/Gateway/HPs costing twice as much and still have ample architecture for expansion. IF you are going to do that Triton, then you'll save money, have a great PC, and never have to worry about not having the skills and confidence to fix a PC problem on your own.

On the other hand, this method may not interest you at all. You might want to buy a Dell/Gateway/HP. The analogy still works: It's like buying a new Ford from the dealership with a warranty. You'll pay a little more and get only the options they offer. Expandability (souping it up) will be limited and performance is pricey (video shared RAM, onboard NIC/audio, limited PCI slots, etc.) BUT - there is nothing wrong with that if you just want a user machine with a warranty. Do bear in mind though, that those great warranties insist that you spend 6 hours on the phone with a gentleman from Pakistan who goes by the name "Roy" before you get escalated to returning equipment for replacement.

I would suggest a supplier like this if you want to build your own! http://www.magicmicro.com/

Remember there is no "right" or "wrong." Only different ways to get online to check out Bladeforums! :thumbup:

I couldn't agree more. There would have been a substantial price savings on the system above if I'd have bought all the parts and done it myself. However, factoring my time and frustration in I figured it was worth it. To me a computer is a tool that I use for my business and some minor gaming on not something I want to spend a bunch of time tinkering with. I don't work on cars either...