Maingear F131 @ [H] Consumer

J

Jason_Wall

[H] Consumer Managing Editor
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Messages
2,138
After winning 2 of the 4 categories it was up for in our recent 2006 awards article, Maingear is back with another desktop. It turns out our high regard for Maingear's commitment to the consumer was well-founded.

Maingear’s F131 was a fast, stable PC, and the Maingear name means a lot in both quality and customer service. Their personalized service is a great value-added feature, and the technical savvy that Maingear’s staff possesses - from the great internal wiring and hardware installation to the handling of support issues - place the company head and shoulders above much of the competition.
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Thanks for reading!
 
I don't think I've ever seen that high of a score for an OEM company. I know which company I'll be recommending to people.
 
Great read. Just a quick question, you seem to have problems with the credit cards quite often, any particular reason why?
 
I'm kind of disappointed that you didn't try out their free overclocking. Why did you decide to pass on that?

Given that I'm looking at Maingear vs Overdrive to build my next system in Feb it would have been a very useful comparison. Do we have any info from the company as to what sort of stable speed increases they're able to achieve? I see they also overclock the videocards.
 
And no dead video card? What about the ancient burial ground below [H] HQ. Great to see Highly Recommended.
 
onetwenty8k said:
And no dead video card? What about the ancient burial ground below [H] HQ. Great to see Highly Recommended.
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Somehow I've had an immunity to all these video card issues. While everyone else is beating their head against the wall, I just quietly sit in my corner and game away.
 
Nice to see Maingear still kicking ass.

One question though. When I saw Giovanni's name mentioned in the article, first thing I thought was, "Shit, their cover's blown in the support part now.". Then I saw you mention the fact that he was your previous support contact later on.

Leads me to the question...did Giovanni know/remember you guys? Or did you guys swap off/on for the support calls? Seems like paranoia really though, since the support was the same as the first time: hassle-free & flawless.

I wonder if all their techs are like that...
 
I'm also quite interested in how well their overclocking works out especially for the QX6700. Any information from the company regarding their numbers would be very welcome as I'm trying to choose between Maingear, OPC and VM for my next system.
 
I have to say, if I order a PC from Maingear over the holidays, I will definitely call over the phone and ask for Giovanni. I wonder if they let you do that?
 
You Stated that their site is from the 2000s they have been updating it all this week so you may want to fix that. Unless it's when you ordered it. Anyways glad to see another MainGear Stellar Review! I so impressed..... :cool:

As always keep up the great Work both MainGear and of course HardOCP for your Superior Quality Reviews
 
Once again, quite impressive. Would definately recomend these guys for an OEM solution. I too would be curious about their overclocking options, as I may opt for an OEM on my next computer.
 
What I want to know is... when you order this computer, do they know it's [H]? Because if they do, then it would be easy for them to go to great lengths to get a good write up.
 
Great article. I am really impressed with Maingear.

From article:

The Creative X-Fi drivers weren’t up to date when we received the computer, but they were the most current at the time of shipping.
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They Fedexed it [F131] overnight and the drivers were current as of shipping? :confused:
 
ChiZZad said:
Great read. Just a quick question, you seem to have problems with the credit cards quite often, any particular reason why?
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It's all a part of the veil of anonymity that we have in place to protect ourselves. It's an unfortunate side-effect. We're working on making it a bit more fluid, as delays are an inconvenience to us, obviously.
 
Beerio said:
I'm kind of disappointed that you didn't try out their free overclocking. Why did you decide to pass on that?
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I can't really think of a good reason why we shouldn't try it, so we'll do that for next time. I'm rather interested, as well.
 
movax said:
Leads me to the question...did Giovanni know/remember you guys? Or did you guys swap off/on for the support calls? Seems like paranoia really though, since the support was the same as the first time: hassle-free & flawless.

I wonder if all their techs are like that...
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It was a different person calling under a different name than previous times. There's no way he could recognize the voice or anything. Even if it was the same person, it's been 4 months since our last article. That would be a hell of a memory :).

We've also had Raphael as a tech, and he was equally as impressive.
 
JOESKURTU said:
Great article. I am really impressed with Maingear.

From article:

They Fedexed it [F131] overnight and the drivers were current as of shipping? :confused:
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Yeah, talk about bad timing - the driver was released the day it shipped. Only at [H] Consumer! This has happened on a video driver release date previously.
 
Chylee:

~Not everyone has the time or knowledge to build a system themselves.
~This reviews are for both sides of the fence to see how companies are dealing in the market.
~I myself can easily build a computer, but have not time in my life right now. So I look for reviews such as this to choose who I go with.
 
You're not paying JUST for the parts. You are paying for the wiring job, the tech support, the quality. You're paying for the extras.
 
I know it got a gold award and all, but could you go into a bit more detail as to why it got a 9 out of 10 for gaming. It appears that you docked maingear a point since they did not offer you an affordable crossfire setup? You did the same thing to the Overdrive PC as well but only took off half a point.
 
Killer lian li sharp edges of doom?

Another reason to go maingear.
 
Bbq said:
Killer lian li sharp edges of doom?

Another reason to go maingear.
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Ha, ha. Kidding aside, the exterior edges on the Lian-li from Maingear are significantly more dull than they were on the AVA--most likely due to the layer of automotive paint that Maingear has applied to their case.
 
That paintjob from Maingear is [H]awt shit. I'd trade in my entire system just for a case that sexy.



Question for Maingear if the rep is on the forums:

Do you do your own custom painting or have a 3rd party company do it like Falcon Northwest?
 
Tim_Roper said:
Ha, ha. Kidding aside, the exterior edges on the Lian-li from Maingear are significantly more dull than they were on the AVA--most likely due to the layer of automotive paint that Maingear has applied to their case.
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my friends (soon to be mine :p ) lian li v2000 didnt have killer edges... i lifted it from the panel and it wasnt too bad at all... (had handles, but couldnt lift it high using the handles :p )

wheres the maingear rep? :D
 
Nice review.
Great system.
That custom paint is very nice.
I 'm not sure why the comp got docked in gaming???? Did it not do what it was supposed to???? You bought a single card, it worked very well, it runs the most up to date games.

I dont think its fair to dock points for what it might could do if it had crossfire.......if you're docking for gaming value......performance vs. price...........maybe there's an argument, maybe.
Computer performed in games flawlessly......10/10. It isnt the computer's fault the games require more muscle than your wallet could afford.

just 2 cents.
 
Hello All,

Firstly I would like to thank [H] for this opportunity. If I were to give out an award for best review process/site, it would def go to [H]. You guys are doing a spectacular job.

Secondly, if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to direct them toward me. I apologize for not posting earlier, I was out of the office today. I'll try to aswere the best I can.

Regards
Wallace Santos
 
Hi. A very glowing review and well-deserved! Very nice, Maingear.

If possible, MaingearDude, could you touch a bit about your overclocking? I can't seem to find anything about it on your website. Great system you have here and I'm glad an OEM has finally gone with the X1900XT card. That card kicks some major ass, yet everyone resorts to the 7900GT series, which is clearly slower.

~Ibrahim~
 
We also had an issue with the anti-virus solution while running Prey. The game itself ran great, but the wait time while loading each level was in the 2-minute range. Uninstalling eTrust Anti-Virus dropped this down to 26 seconds. We’ve seen eTrust cause some issues previously, and we repeat our sentiment that the only package we have seen not impact general use or gaming performance is Grisoft’s AVG package. If you prefer eTrust, we won’t stop you, but keep in mind that you may experience abnormally long load times in your gaming.
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Put eTrust into sleep mode before launching any Doom 3 engine based games. Problem solved.

Other than that, great review, and im shocked there was no busted vid card ;). Shoulda yanked that puppy out and played cubicle hockey with it for a while then thrown it back in the machine ;).
 
MaingearDude said:
Hello All,

Firstly I would like to thank [H] for this opportunity. If I were to give out an award for best review process/site, it would def go to [H]. You guys are doing a spectacular job.

Secondly, if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to direct them toward me. I apologize for not posting earlier, I was out of the office today. I'll try to answer the best I can.

Regards
Wallace Santos
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How are you guys this awesome and everyone else does so poorly in terms of quality? A better question would be, how big is your company? Most CEOs don't take the time to talk to the general public much less a forum, that's awesome.
 
ikjadoon said:
Hi. A very glowing review and well-deserved! Very nice, Maingear.

If possible, MaingearDude, could you touch a bit about your overclocking? I can't seem to find anything about it on your website. Great system you have here and I'm glad an OEM has finally gone with the X1900XT card. That card kicks some major ass, yet everyone resorts to the 7900GT series, which is clearly slower.

~Ibrahim~
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Hello Ibrahim,

Thank you for your praises, we're trying everyday to make our customer experience better and better. About our overclocking, well to put it clearly when we do overclock by request on our F131 systems we do it with the longterm experience in mind. We don't push every sytem to it's thermal limit or try to get all the juice out of it. We'll set a nice boost that is noticeable and beneficial to your gaming experience and/or whatever else it is you may use the PC for. For example, we'll overclock QX6700 Extreme Edition chip to 3.2GHz. It makes for a much faster than stock machine, but you won't lose any sleep over worrying about losing lifespan on the chip or worrying that when there's a bit of dust in the machine and the fans spin a little slower it sets your house on fire. =) We'll overclock the E6600 to to 3.0 GHz, giving you more than Extreme Edition speeds at the E6600 price point and it'll run at more or less stock temps in our chassis due to it's airflow characteristics.
 
clockworks said:
How are you guys this awesome and everyone else does so poorly in terms of quality? A better question would be, how big is your company? Most CEOs don't take the time to talk to the general public much less a forum, that's awesome.
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Thank you. :D . We are very fortunate to have a talented staff here at MAINGEAR. The guys who work here, really love what they do. It's like they say, when you love what you do, you do it best. I won't talk about how many machines we ship per month, let's just say we're very comfortable. We've been in business for 5 glorious years.
 
Riddlinkidstoner said:
That paintjob from Maingear is [H]awt shit. I'd trade in my entire system just for a case that sexy.



Question for Maingear if the rep is on the forums:

Do you do your own custom painting or have a 3rd party company do it like Falcon Northwest?
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We do our own painting now. We have a facility dedicated to that part of our build process. That's why we're offering it free of charge with our F131. Why should a nice paint job cost you an additional $600-$800? True, it adds a little cost to the bottom line, but the outcome is amazing.
 
Chylee,

There are other companies who charge a much bigger premium, and offer way less value. We do not overcharge. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. I won't go into detail as to what percentage we make in each box, but it's definetly not what you stated before. As a matter of fact, it's not even close.

If you're looking for value, check out some of these guys ;-)

SystemaxPC
[H] Review of Systemax

Ibuypower
[H] Review of Ibuypower

Monarch
[H] Review of Monarch

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.

Regards
Wallace
 
MaingearDude said:
Chylee,

There are other companies who charge a much bigger premium, and offer way less value. We do not overcharge. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. I won't go into detail as to what percentage we make in each box, but it's definetly not what you stated before. As a matter of fact, it's not even close.

If you're looking for value, check out some of these guys ;-)

SystemaxPC
[H] Review of Systemax

Ibuypower
[H] Review of Ibuypower

Monarch
[H] Review of Monarch

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.

Regards
Wallace
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Hahaha...so true... 3 computers from any one of those companies aren't worth a single maingear, or Overdrive PC, or any of the excellent guys out there who are worth the cash.
 
MaingearDude said:
Chylee,

There are other companies who charge a much bigger premium, and offer way less value. We do not overcharge. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. I won't go into detail as to what percentage we make in each box, but it's definetly not what you stated before. As a matter of fact, it's not even close.

If you're looking for value, check out some of these guys ;-)

SystemaxPC
[H] Review of Systemax

Ibuypower
[H] Review of Ibuypower

Monarch
[H] Review of Monarch

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.

Regards
Wallace
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Well played, sir. Well played.
 
MaingearDude said:
Chylee,

There are other companies who charge a much bigger premium, and offer way less value. We do not overcharge. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. I won't go into detail as to what percentage we make in each box, but it's definetly not what you stated before. As a matter of fact, it's not even close.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.

Regards
Wallace
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I tend to agree. My only beef would be that the review does a bit of "double dipping". Maingear gets a 10/10 for Tech Support, but tech support is then cited as a reason for the 9.5/10 for value. Seems to me that rating great support a 10, as well as other features of the system a 9.5 or 10 should exclude the "value" rating from depending on the other areas.

You CAN get a similar system for less, elsewhere. The question you have to ask yourself is, "Do I want to spend the extra money to be sure I won't have to call for support, and so that if I do have to call Tech Support, I get outstanding support in a timely manner.

I guess I'm really nitpicking, but what is the objective standard for "value". What if you pay $500 less and get a comparable system that needs support or an RMA of a video card. You paid less, but got less. In the end, after getting the needed support, and maybe a 3 week lead time RMA, the system is eventually rock solid. You still "got what you paid for".

Value, to me, means getting a lot for a little. Hell yeah if you pay a lot you should get a lot, and on the flip side you should get rated poorly if you pay a lot and don't get a lot.

Anyhow, end of ramble.
 
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