i had another topic earlier about getting a new desktop but for some reason im getting errors opening the thread as well as some other stuff. but anyways i got this site mentioned to me by a few different people and i checked it out tonight and looks pretty credible. they have warrarnty options that include onsite service up to 2 times a year, parts, labor, 24/7 tech support.

the prices on there are pretty nice.

i had a good computer specced out at 1200 and bumped some other stuff up and had:

AMD athalon-64 3700
2gigs of corsair RAM
[S-ATA] Maxtor 200 GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive
DVD-RW/CD-RW
17" Flat Panel LCD monitor
256 MB GeForce 6800 GT

+extra 4 port usb hub
+built in Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps PCI Adapter
+2 year warranty

around 1600

they def have some really good deals so i wanted to check on what people thought about this site. i looked online and they had a mix of good and bad reviews on reseller ratings. might not be worth risking the money but i wanted to see if anyone on here has dealt with them personally

10/21/2005 2:59:42 AM

($267.00 newegg)AMD athalon-64 3700
($100ish) Mobo
($140ish not on sale)2gigs of corsair RAM
($90 with mail in)[S-ATA] Maxtor 200 GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive
($40-$99)DVD-RW/CD-RW
($99-$149))17" Flat Panel LCD monitor
($250)256 MB GeForce 6800 GT

($15)+extra 4 port usb hub
($50)+built in Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps PCI Adapter
+2 year warranty

Total=$1160

Windows XP costs $99 upgrade, $149 new (if non student).

This means you could order the parts seperately... NOT on sale... and come out cheaper. Better deals out there. The warranties you see are just not worth it in my opinion.

If that setup is your target you want to see all that for around $1200 or less.

10/21/2005 8:24:16 AM

I'd agree. Sounds pretty much like a ripoff to me.

10/21/2005 8:48:42 AM

true. i mean ibuypower assembles it for you so it arrives put together.

but if im gonna do that i guess i should just go with someone more trusted like dell or so.

ive dealt a lot with computers and have experience replacing parts so im sure i could figure out how to put one together from scratch.

10/21/2005 2:00:49 PM

Take a look at these:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/generic_subcategory.do?storeName=computer_store&subcat1=rts&catLevel=3&landing=computers&category=desktops/hp_pavilion/ready_to_ship

I bought a prebuilt HP this summer because it had everything I wanted and I couldn't beat their price by building it myself. At least worth a look.

10/21/2005 3:55:43 PM

because they are shit boxes.

And check out the reviews of ibuypower on resellerratings and bizrate. Not just the scores, but read the notes.

Buying prebuilt custom machines is a TERRIBLE idea mail-order.

10/21/2005 5:51:08 PM

putting a computer together is easier than anybody that hasnt done it before seems to believe...there's no way you can do it wrong for the most part. put in motherboard, put in processor/ram/video card/fans, install hd/cdrom. done.

im sure i left something small and insignificant out but you get the point

10/21/2005 6:30:47 PM

actually there are about 1000 ways to do it wrong.

10/21/2005 6:54:40 PM

Quote :

"because they are shit boxes."

Right, because MSI makes crappy motherboards, Seagate SATA drives suck ass, Hynix RAM totally blows...

[Edited on October 22, 2005 at 3:43 AM. Reason : ]

10/22/2005 3:43:38 AM

hahahha, because you know a lot about the OEM market right...

oh wait.

10/22/2005 4:58:13 AM

And what exactly do I need to know about "the OEM market"?

Considering that (1) I know exactly what's in my PC, (2) they're all quality components, (3) it's very well-put-together and easy to upgrade, and (4) it would be impossible to build that myself for the same price

Please, feel free to explain to me why this PC is a "shit box."

10/22/2005 5:56:15 AM

because with the components you have there, bought retail, they would all have 3+ year warranties. Instead you are saving a FEW dollars, getting 1/3 the warranty, a crippled motherboard, a VERY lackluster power supply, all the HP preload shit, and more than likely not even a full retail windows CD to go with it.

Are they decent deals for the AVERAGE consumer? Absolutely.

Is it a good deal for a power user already trying to get a custom configured machine, for the obvious performance gains? No.

10/22/2005 6:55:54 AM

Thing is, a "power user" can easily get past basically all of that.

Only things I've noticed disabled in the stock BIOS are the ability use the new dual-core Athlons and change latency timings. Both of those are easily rectified with a flash to the MSI bios.
HP preload shit? Gone in minutes.

I agree with a couple of points--if I had built it myself, I would've gone with a power supply higher than 300W (although it was plenty of power even with the 6800GT I added this week, before I had to RMA that). And yes, it would be nice to have an actual Windows CD instead of restore discs, but again that can easily be dealt with.

But when it would have cost me 1.5x what it did, plus shipping costs and my time, to build a comparable box, I would still make the exact same choice now.

10/22/2005 7:17:46 AM