Maingear Prelude Evaluation @ [H]

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nigel.pinder said:
you mentioned an `overclock` tick box, I assume you ticked it? maybe not, but I cant see reference to it later in the review.
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We didn't click the Overclock box. Maybe next time.

nigel.pinder said:
Call me picky, but if the Dell had failed on the 24 hour test, would you have given that the same mark (3d mark after 22 hours)?
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It was the -way- that the computer failed this test. Only 3DMark05 had quit, the other two programs were running fine, and the quit occured because of an out of memory error,not because of heat or some sort of build error. We've actually had the same exact problem with 3DMark05 and two other systems in our test queue, and in the future we'll be going back to 3DMark01, which, for whatever reason, doesn't have this problem.

The Dell failed the torture test because it did indeed lock up the system, although considering that was our first run with Windows MCE, we didn't really make a big deal of it. (Everything -else-, though...)
 
Love the evaluations, keep them coming as they give a very good insight into the fact that there are system builders out there that do look after their customers.

Btw does MainGear know of the evaluation that you did on them?

I know in previous one's you have done you mentioned in the eval that you contacted
them at the end of the review and RMA'd the system back.

Also I think it nice for the Vendor to know of the feedback in this forum.
 
I second GAZZA's request...it'd be nice if a company representative (perhaps even the CEO?) left a quick comment in here. :)
 
Maingear is aware of this evaluation, and I just got an email back from them confirming they read it.

I invited Maingear to come participate in this thread if they so wish...
 
I didn't see much mention of apps that came pre-installed with this machine, apart from EZTrust A/V. What else was put in here? Any junkware/spyware etc? I am sure you would have mentioned spyware if it was there, but you know what I'm talking aobut (AOL, etc etc)
 
These Reviews are how all System reviews should be done. I look forward to them and check back often. I am seriously considering them for a new purchase after reading this.
 
GAZZA said:
Btw does MainGear know of the evaluation that you did on them?
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They already have a link to the review on their front page, actually - proudly proclaiming the highest [H] score given to an prebuilt system. Dunno if they will show up in the forum, though.
 
Wallace from Maingear just let me know that he registered but is awaiting registration approval.
 
name said:
They already have a link to the review on their front page, actually - proudly proclaiming the highest [H] score given to an prebuilt system. Dunno if they will show up in the forum, though.
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Gotta give props for their webmaster then :p

And being in a computer store means surfing during coffee breaks right? Heck I do that and I'm not in a computer related job, or on coffee break :D The boss even showed us a funny site once lol
 
That was a super review on what looked to be a super machine. The only glaring thing of note that caught my eye was this:

It booted up straight into an error message: "The system has recovered from a serious error." – more on this in our Stability and Support section.

and

Bad hardware can happen to any vendor, and shipping accidents are simply one of the risks of ordering a computer shipped to you. We don’t think that Maingear deliberately slipped bad RAM into our system, or sold us something we didn’t order, and they rectified all the problems that we had. This greatly outweighs the problems we had with memory and we decided to judge the computer’s performance based on what we received when we got the computer back from them.

In short, we think that whatever happened with the memory happened in-transit, and not as it left Maingear’s benches. Maingear then had an opportunity to shine by fixing this problem, and they did so. Scores for stability and performance were determined after we got back the repaired system.

I'm normally not a picky kind of person on these reviews but the error you received is generally ONLY found with XP when it shuts down or reboots itself due to error. Whichever the case may be. If it were a problem that happened with the memory in-transit I'm pretty sure that's not the error you would receive.

Now I'm not saying they knowingly sent you bad RAM infact I commend them for how they handled it and even the score you gave them in regards to this.

Here is my issue though: it seems to me that possibly this PC failed in their shop and then once shut off (when it bombed out/crashed/rebooted) the machine was then boxed?

At this point I feel maybe I am being over critical and I'm sure this was probably a one-off type problem that occured with just this box because if anything it just cost Maingear a few extra dollars off their profit margin for selling you this system.

Once again great review and a great looking vendor and PC.
 
Grimmda said:
That was a super review on what looked to be a super machine. The only glaring thing of note that caught my eye was this:

It booted up straight into an error message: "The system has recovered from a serious error." – more on this in our Stability and Support section.

and

Bad hardware can happen to any vendor, and shipping accidents are simply one of the risks of ordering a computer shipped to you. We don’t think that Maingear deliberately slipped bad RAM into our system, or sold us something we didn’t order, and they rectified all the problems that we had. This greatly outweighs the problems we had with memory and we decided to judge the computer’s performance based on what we received when we got the computer back from them.

In short, we think that whatever happened with the memory happened in-transit, and not as it left Maingear’s benches. Maingear then had an opportunity to shine by fixing this problem, and they did so. Scores for stability and performance were determined after we got back the repaired system.

I'm normally not a picky kind of person on these reviews but the error you received is generally ONLY found with XP when it shuts down or reboots itself due to error. Whichever the case may be. If it were a problem that happened with the memory in-transit I'm pretty sure that's not the error you would receive.

Now I'm not saying they knowingly sent you bad RAM infact I commend them for how they handled it and even the score you gave them in regards to this.

Here is my issue though: it seems to me that possibly this PC failed in their shop and then once shut off (when it bombed out/crashed/rebooted) the machine was then boxed?

At this point I feel maybe I am being over critical and I'm sure this was probably a one-off type problem that occured with just this box because if anything it just cost Maingear a few extra dollars off their profit margin for selling you this system.

Once again great review and a great looking vendor and PC.
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Those are very valid questions and I'm sure Wallace would love to answer them when his registration is authorized.

As to my own opinion, if Maingear had tried to dodge responsibility, been unable to diagnose the problem, or been all around asses about it, I would probably have questioned the state in which the system left their shop.

However, I don't believe any company wants to spend $200-$300 on overnight shipping when some extra TLC in the shop would have prevented that, so I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is what we did in the evaluation.
 
And the way you handled it I couldn't agree more... I guess I'll grab some popcorn and wait for Wallace to get approved and logged in :)
 
Grimmda said:
That was a super review on what looked to be a super machine. The only glaring thing of note that caught my eye was this:

Here is my issue though: it seems to me that possibly this PC failed in their shop and then once shut off (when it bombed out/crashed/rebooted) the machine was then boxed?

At this point I feel maybe I am being over critical and I'm sure this was probably a one-off type problem that occured with just this box because if anything it just cost Maingear a few extra dollars off their profit margin for selling you this system.
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Chris Morley said:
However, I don't believe any company wants to spend $200-$300 on overnight shipping when some extra TLC in the shop would have prevented that, so I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is what we did in the evaluation.
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I'm with Chris here on this one. I don't think the DIMM failed in the shop; it's far more likely to have failed during transit. There's so much that can happen in shipping, even with the most overpadded box you can imagine. I've had two instances where crated systems suffered problems during transit. (Yes, systems that were not only surrounded by padding and wood, but securely bolted into it.)
Point being, try getting this kind of service from anyone else. You can't and won't get that kind of support from just about anyone else. Not on a $1,500 system, not on an $8,000 system. My favorite is a customer story where a customer had a defective motherboard that should have been caught in testing - the chipset fan wasn't turning. Rather than try a reasonable repair (such as replacing just the fan,) the vendor wanted them to ship the system back at the customer's expense and wait till they could get an entire motherboard - which was backordered a week.

Darn you, Wallace. It's companies like Maingear that keep me out of the gaming segment. Such stiff competition makes it too expensive for little old me to play in that segment. Guess I'll just have to stick to extreme-high end workstations and servers. ;)
 
Great review. You guys [H] are getting better at writing them.

Also I like all the extra little stuff they did to make you feel valued as a customer.

Chris_Morley said:
And no, none of the games were patched...which I'm sure is part of the reason this system didn't score higher than a 9.5.
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Did they offer to patch the games? Or better yet why should they patch it; some people may not want their games to be patched...(could be like us not wanting bloatware installed but for different reasons).

[The reason I say this is I have been burned by patching my favorite games and after I do they are unplayable because the code or something gets screwed.]

Even if they did not offer to patch the games that they offered to install..... omg THEY OFFERED TO PREINSTALL YOUR GAMES?

This blows me away... talk about above and beyond. :eek:
 
JOESKURTU said:
Great review. You guys [H] are getting better at writing them.

Also I like all the extra little stuff they did to make you feel valued as a customer.



Did they offer to patch the games? Or better yet why should they patch it; some people may not want their games to be patched...(could be like us not wanting bloatware installed but for different reasons).

[The reason I say this is I have been burned by patching my favorite games and after I do they are unplayable because the code or something gets screwed.]

Even if they did not offer to patch the games that they offered to install..... omg THEY OFFERED TO PREINSTALL YOUR GAMES?

This blows me away... talk about above and beyond. :eek:
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Yeah, it was a balance between something they offered to do above and beyond, and the fact that they did 90% of it...they offered to install AND patch, but didn't patch...really, we didn't mind much at all and it didn't weigh heavily in the outcome. We all goof, and this wasn't serious.
 
This was well done and speaks very highly of the maingear company. Ive never heard of them before this.
I dont quite get the memory issue. I cant think of how a memory stick could go bad in transit if it tested out OK before it left the factory, but that seems to have been well worked out.
The maingear techs have it goin' on. The company handled your problem in a fashion that you would like all problems to be handled.

I see here what USED to be the case at Alienware and Gateway but seems to have been lost over time, and never was the case at many pc builders.

Congrats to Maingear. If I was in need of a computer, Id go there FIRST!!! :D
 
magoo, don't forget old-skool Dell also. I have an 9-yr old, 450mhz p3 that I got through dell (rofl...was an xps back then too :eek: ), and their tech support about 7-9 years ago was unparalleled.

one time, I called them up when my keyboard broke asking for a replacement. The lady on the phone said 'Oh yea man...I'll send one our right away...I bust a keyboard almost every 3 months with my games...sometimes i'll even hit it off the monitor, which is why i keep a pillow ontop of my monitor' and she sent out a brand new (at the time) Microsoft Natural Keyboard free of charge and with an apology note from Dell....

I hope this company keeps up this wonderful support. With my dad a bit sceptical about my computer, he'd rather have one with tech support this nice. Good job :D
 
magoo said:
This was well done and speaks very highly of the maingear company. Ive never heard of them before this.
I dont quite get the memory issue. I cant think of how a memory stick could go bad in transit if it tested out OK before it left the factory, but that seems to have been well worked out.
The maingear techs have it goin' on. The company handled your problem in a fashion that you would like all problems to be handled.

I see here what USED to be the case at Alienware and Gateway but seems to have been lost over time, and never was the case at many pc builders.

Congrats to Maingear. If I was in need of a computer, Id go there FIRST!!! :D
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ESD's a mofo. BOXX has anti-static pads, testing stations, and requires each tech to test their anti-static footware each time the put it on, but you still get failures - it happens. We like it when the unforeseen strikes - gives us a chance to really test their warranty.
 
Chris_Morley said:
ESD's a mofo. BOXX has anti-static pads, testing stations, and requires each tech to test their anti-static footware each time the put it on, but you still get failures - it happens. We like it when the unforeseen strikes - gives us a chance to really test their warranty.
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Absolutely.
I really am impressed by not only the article but the company's response.....plus all the little extras you received......the CD with UTD drivers, the company LOADING your games!!! that was really nice. Alienware will do that ,too, if you spend 5 or 6 thousand dollars.
I didnt consider static.......thats why you guys are the pros.
again, super article and series......I enjoy reading everyone of them.
 
evilKat said:
I didn't see much mention of apps that came pre-installed with this machine, apart from EZTrust A/V. What else was put in here? Any junkware/spyware etc? I am sure you would have mentioned spyware if it was there, but you know what I'm talking aobut (AOL, etc etc)
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EZTrust A/V and NERO Suite were preinstalled.

No junkware/spyware/bloatware.
 
JOESKURTU said:
Did they offer to patch the games? Or better yet why should they patch it; some people may not want their games to be patched...(could be like us not wanting bloatware installed but for different reasons).
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They told us that they would patch the games but when we booted it up for the first time, the games weren't patched. It's not a big deal and it looks like something that just slipped the builder's mind. We mention it, don't really think it's all that big a deal, as preinstalling the games is already above and beyond, and the rate that game patches come out these days, chances are somewhat good that there will be a new one by the time the system gets to you - indeed, the Quake 1.4 patch came out while in our transit.
 
Guys just a couple tips from my experiance/what I have read, 3dmark isn't meant to be looped, a failing 3dmark doesn't neccesarily mean an unstable system. Even 3dmark coders have stated this several times. Also, idk but, when you guys run memtest do you just have it pass 1 loop of testing with all the default tests? What seems to work best for me (and others) is just running test #5 as it seems to be the most hard on memory. 10-20 runs and you're set. Dont know what you guys do with memtest though :p So take my advice with a grain of salt :D
 
sabrewolf732 said:
Guys just a couple tips from my experiance/what I have read, 3dmark isn't meant to be looped, a failing 3dmark doesn't neccesarily mean an unstable system. Even 3dmark coders have stated this several times. Also, idk but, when you guys run memtest do you just have it pass 1 loop of testing with all the default tests? What seems to work best for me (and others) is just running test #5 as it seems to be the most hard on memory. 10-20 runs and you're set. Dont know what you guys do with memtest though :p So take my advice with a grain of salt :D
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We're considering a switch over to 3dMark01 for the torture test, and memtest was used to test the memory to see if there was anything wrong with it. There was. Memtest is not part of our normal battery of tests.
 
Brian Boyko said:
We're considering a switch over to 3dMark01 for the torture test, and memtest was used to test the memory to see if there was anything wrong with it. There was. Memtest is not part of our normal battery of tests.
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Something you may want to look into is passmarks burn in test software. It tests a bunch of different things at once and seems to work good for getting units to lock up/overheat. I found out about it at my last job as a notebook tech because HP's repair center uses it to test notebooks. Everyone once in a while you would see it on the computer where there tech forgot to remove it(the version they had was registered to compal). I ened up getting a version of it and used it to test units to get them to overheat.
 
Hello Fellow Forum Members,
My name is Wallace Santos, CEO of MAINGEAR. Firstly, I'd like to extend a warm thanks to the crew at [H]ard | OCP for their dilligent efforts to sincerely review machines as potential consumers would get them. Real world reviewing, I'm in love with the idea and it seems to be getting real world results. Secondly, I'd like to welcome more questions or comments on our current lineup and this posted review. I've always been good for taking criticism as well, so if there's something you think might need improving or have some fresh ideas, please don't hesitate to share your thoughts. Once again, thank you all for your genuine interest in our products and services.

Best Regards,

Wallace Santos
CEO - MAINGEAR
www.maingear.com

p.s. What does OCP stand for anyway?
 
MaingearDude said:
p.s. What does OCP stand for anyway?
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Overclocker's Comparison Page

It is what the site use to be called years ago.
 
Off the wall question...

For my next rig, I am seriously thinking about your company now, but I also like the looks of your F131 case, will it be possible to buy just a case alone?

Thanks :)

k*
 
Brian Boyko said:
We're considering a switch over to 3dMark01 for the torture test, and memtest was used to test the memory to see if there was anything wrong with it. There was. Memtest is not part of our normal battery of tests.
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well... you could, and this is just a suggestion from a 16 year old in the moutains of cololrado,
use rthdribl [see link to figure out what that is] agin just a suggstion that you dont have to use
 
shig said:
well... you could, and this is just a suggestion from a 16 year old in the moutains of cololrado,
use rthdribl [see link to figure out what that is] agin just a suggstion that you dont have to use
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That's a good suggestion, and I'll definitely explore it.
 
got a question for yah chris, is [H] going to review laptops because im extremely lost in what in mobile computing and dont know how whats reall good. I would enjoy reading a review on one or many laptops.
 
Dan3290 said:
got a question for yah chris, is [H] going to review laptops because im extremely lost in what in mobile computing and dont know how whats reall good. I would enjoy reading a review on one or many laptops.
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I wouldn't mind a few of thoes, problem is you have so many diffrent catagorys and one laptop is never a good in every category.
Example:
Game Laptop: they exist, most weigh 8+ lbs
Portable: my style but you try and run anything more than the Sims or Morrowind and the puter chokes
Econ: Medium weight but normaly less power than the portable in some cases
Few others but you get the idea.

I could see [H] doing some mid to high end game lappys. I'd realy be interested if we see some modles with interchangable vid cards hit the market in force.
 
i want them to compare multiple laptops at once im sure they can sperate them into catagories
 
Nice review guys, and props to Maingear for a great build! I'll remember your name when asked about the best OEM solution.

Off topic: Have you ever considered reviewing tablets? It would be great to get a honest review on one around here.
 
I'm not much into the looks of a rig but I must admit the case interior is stunning. Seems like a shame to put the cover on.

Surprised to see [H] give the vendor the benefit of the doubt on the rig arriving unstable out of the box. No way it should have left the dock in that condition. That said, the remedy went off without a hitch and the rest of the evaluation's and performance seemed reasonable given the hardware used. Maingear gets through the evaluation virtually unscathed.

Looking forward to a little brutality on the next review. ;)
 
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