Trying to figure out a new system to buy

I

IrishFamine

n00b
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
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So I'm looking into getting a new system. Grew up with Gateways in the 90's and Vaio's and Dell's through school and have decided I want to go the custom built route this time around. I'm fully aware of the possible savings of building your own, but the social/emotional/mental anguish/time costs are not worth it to me in any way, shape, form.

I've put together 5 different systems at 4 different dealers and was hoping to get some reaction to them in terms of bang for the buck, intangibles of the companies, etc. All thoughts, comments, suggestions are welcome (except for telling me to check out newegg :D)

Cheers!

Puget
Asus P7P55D
i7-860
(8 GB)4 x Kingston Value RAM DDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5850
WD Caviar Black 1.0 TB
Pioneer 22X DVD-RW Sata
Lancool PC-K7B Black
Corsair TX 650W
Gelid Silent Spirit
Lifetime Labor, 1 Year Parts
$69.31 (FedEx Express Saver)
$2,018.29

Falcon-Talon
MSI P55 GD65
i7-860
8 GB 1333 MHz RAM
Radeon R5850
1 TB 7200 RPM
22x DVD +/- RW
Talon-Standard Black
700W Modular
Heatsink/Fan
1 year warranty-parts and service
UPS Ground- $121.36
$2,273.54

Maingear-F131
Intel P55 DP55WG
i7-860
8 GB Kingston Hyper-X RAM DDR3
ATI Radeon HD5850
WD Caviar Black 1.0 TB
22x DVD RW Drive w/Lightscribe
F131 Chasis
Maingear Certified 650W
Intel Retail Cooler
Lifetime labor/phone-1 year "Angelic"
UPS 3 day select- $70.83
$2,109.82

Maingear-Vybe
Intel P55 DP55WG
i7-860
8 GB Kingston Hyper-X RAM DDR3
ATI Radeon HD5850
WD Caviar Black 1.0 TB
22x DVD RW Drive w/Lightscribe
VYBE Compact Chasis
Maingear Certified 500W
Intel Retail Cooler
Lifetime labor/phone-1 year "Angelic"
UPS 3 day select- $70.83
$1,890.82

MicroVelocity-Z30
P55 mATX
i7-860
8 GB DDR3 1333
ATI Radeon HD 5870
1 TB 16 MB Cache
20x DVD RW Dual Layer Burner w/Lightscribe
Z30 chasis
550W Velocity Micro Power Supply
Intel Certified Heatsink/Fan
1 Year labor/phone support
3 day delivery- $104
$1,843
 
You really could just use any of those as a parts list you know :p

Sorry, I just could never handle paying so much for those type of systems when I know how simple and how much less it costs to DIY.
 
I'll assume that the last one on your list is actually Velocity Micro,I'd avoid them if I were you. They were good once,but have really gone down in quality and customer service. Puget and Falcon are good,but very overpriced. Maingear is probably the best on your list from a price/quality standpoint. I almost picked them for my system,but they they were a bit higher in price to Max Force,and didn't offer the wide selection of component choices I wanted.
 
Don't buy a Velocity Micro. I own one and I agree with above. They used to be one of the best. Now they ignore their customers after they get your money.
 
As someone who bought a new PC from Puget several months ago, I have nothing but good things to say. If you choose to go that route, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
 
I can't really give you much advice regarding the companies. I wish Velocity Micro was getting better reviews as I grew up in Richmond VA.

The advice I would give after looking at your system choices: get a different hard drive if you care about noise. I just purchased a 1.0 TB Caviar Black for an HTPC, and it was so much louder than the 500 GB or 640GB Caviar Black that I had. So I swapped it out for the 640GB. I suppose it would be OK for a gaming rig with all the cooling fans, but I would go smaller and quieter and save some money. And use that money to buy a 1TB Caviar Green for $79 if you think you need the storage.
 
Rule #2 in the guidelines for this sub forum:
" NO "I can build it myself for $$$ less!" posts. NO "I priced checked at Newegg/ZipZoomFly/ClubIT/etc and can build it for $$$$ less!" threads. These posts will be deleted and your account will be permanently banned."
This rule is violated in just about every post by someone looking for a pre-built system,twice in this post alone.
 
Most of those systems are coming with only a Radeon 5850 and not at least the 5870. Considering the cost that doesn't sit well with me.

I don't really have experience with any of those companies but I would say to try to get at least a 5870 if you are getting this mainly for gaming. I'm glad I did.
 
My thought was, from the various reviews I read, that the 5850 was a nice balance in terms of cost and performance, as in the 5870 was a *pulling numbers out of the air* 40% increase in cost for a 15% increase in performance.

do you think the 5870 is really that needed? (I don't own Crysis or play Aeon)
 
Puget FTW. Great company, good support. Had a friend go the prebuilt route and worked out well for them.
 
Irish, the issue with the 5850 isnt related to it not being a good card (it very much is) but more related to the price of those systems with ONLY a 5850 instead of a 5870.
 
I don't know from video cards, I'll admit. I defer to the experts as far as parts go :)

The VM is least expensive, but as someone who owns 2 of their computers (older one now has dead hdd, one in sig is making weird slightly rattle-y fan noises (like a ball-bearing isn't right?) that I swear is the psu and they're saying it can't be), my first experience with them was fantastic. The second? I'm still paying for something I wish I'd never bought. Mobo's been replaced, front panel (usb, etc.) has been replaced, ordered with 2 optical drives - dvd/cd burners - only 1 of the drives is a dvd burner - and that was just replaced, had to buy a soundcard because the onboard sound is beyond horrific, and I think the graphics card is going. And I treat my computers like they're gold. I've had on-site techs tell me I keep mine in better condition and cleaner - inside and out, what's on the hdd and inside the case (dust) than they do! Don't leave it on 24/7, etc. Just don't buy from them. I heard a rumor? that many of their machines, the barebones part is now made in Mexico, then shipped to VA for finishing. Don't know if that's true, but after my and some others' experience it wouldn't surprise me.

I'd say company-wise? Maingear, though Puget also has a good reputation.
 
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