Where is the best online place to get a custom pc?

ControlS

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I want to buy a custom built pc, customized from processor to hds, and what would be the best place to buy one from? I heard that ibuy, cyberpower, and ava direct are not to be trusted, but mfpc, puget, and maingear pc are far more expensive for the configuration I want. Im really trying to boil it down to the best place to get one, and ava direct has exactly what im looking for, and its price is reasonable, but after hearing the reviews, I dont want to buy a 2-3k pc with a messed up motherboard, constantly showing the bsod, and bad cs.

So if anyone can suggest another place, thats just as affordable as ibuy, ava, etc, that would help me out 110%.
 
Not to be counter productive, but have you considered building a pc? I built my first pc in june, and until that the only experience with computer hardware I ever had was adding ram. To be honest, it is extremely easy. Find an online guide I used the techreport.com one and mainly I used it for just tips on how to do the cpu. I figured out how to apply thermal paste by watching youtube tutorials. Also your mobos manual is your bestfriend. Just take it slow read the manuals, hook things up correctly the first time, make sure to double check, think about what you are doing and you shouldn't have any problems at all. Plus it is really fun.
 
I've thought about building my own. Even found all the parts on new egg.com, and the price came about the same as these online custom pc builders. So I figured I would have warranty, and not have to worry about making a big mistake building the pc.
 
Aren't they located in CA? Then how can come diagnose my computer if I live 1200 miles away?
 
AVA Direct has had some bad publicity lately.

Maingear
Pugot Systems


They wouldn't come out to diagnose. You call them. They try to walk you through troubleshooting.
 
Go on enough PC forums and you will hear people rave about Dell and you'll hear people scream about Dell. That's all I'm trying to say, let the forumers judge for themselves.
Dell is infinitely larger than AVA Direct.

If you want to be pretentious and sign every post, do it in your SIGNATURE.
 
I want to buy a custom built pc, customized from processor to hds, and what would be the best place to buy one from? I heard that ibuy, cyberpower, and ava direct are not to be trusted, but mfpc, puget, and maingear pc are far more expensive for the configuration I want. Im really trying to boil it down to the best place to get one, and ava direct has exactly what im looking for, and its price is reasonable, but after hearing the reviews, I dont want to buy a 2-3k pc with a messed up motherboard, constantly showing the bsod, and bad cs.

So if anyone can suggest another place, thats just as affordable as ibuy, ava, etc, that would help me out 110%.

I don't know where you got the idea that MFPC is more expensive than AVA.I got the system in my sig from Max for far less than what AVA wanted,including the overclocking.
 
Hey guys, I haven't posted on here since I shared my experience with AVA Direct a few months back. I just want to add my two cents about AVA as a previous customer. I will admit that Copperhill has a very nice build and Ava Direct did a really nice job with the wiring on my computer and I was initially pretty impressed with the machine I got from them. Where I had a problem with AVA Direct was when something (or multiple things possibly) went wrong with my machine. Although they responded quickly by e-mail, I could never talk to someone on the phone except for one time. The trouble shooting I was offered by e-mail was most of the time brief and required a fair amount of knowledge on my part to complete. The most important thing however was they were never able to get my computer to running correctly even after 3 months of working with them and waiting 5 weeks for a replacement video card. I will admit that they do offer the most extensive customization of any of the boutique builders and their prices are generally pretty good, but their service after the fact makes it difficult for me to say anything but to avoid these guys. I did eventually get a partial refund for my less than 6 month old system but ended up out $600 from the orginial purchase with the shipping and restocking fees however. If your still interested in AVA Direct I have a pretty detailed thread floating around in this forum that you should at least take a look at.
On another note, I still haven't replaced my rig with anything yet (running a Dell latitude e6400 through my 24" monitor is getting kinda a ghetto though) but I've still been doing a lot of looking around. Puget and Maingear do seem to come highly recommended and I have been strongly considering getting a Maingear, but also take a look at Vigor and Digitalstorm, particularily the latter. Digitalstorm seems to have some really nice pre-builts right now for back to school that look awful tempting given their price/performance. Both companies offer completely customized systems as well.
Just my two cents.
Dave
 
is it just me or is there something strange about CopperHill - glad he had a good experience with AVA but something strikes me as odd about his posts. maybe I'm just reading too much into it?
 
Here is what I want exactly:

COMPUTER CASE
CORSAIR, CMPSU-620HX HX Series Modular Power Supply, 620W, 80 PLUS®, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Triple +12V, Multi-GPU Ready
GIGABYTE, GA-EX58-UD3R, LGA1366, Intel® X58, 6400 MT/s QPI, DDR3-2000 16GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI CF /2, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /8, HDA, GbLAN, FW /3, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ i7-950 Quad-Core 3.06GHz, LGA1366, 4.8 GT/s QPI, 8MB L3 Cache, 45nm, 130W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
COOLER MASTER, Hyper N520 CPU Cooler, Socket 775/1366/754/939/940/AM2, Copper/Aluminum
OCZ, 6GB (3 x 2GB) Platinum XTC PC3-10666 DDR3 1333MHz CL (7-7-7-20) 1.65V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
ASUS, EAH4650/DI/512MD2, Radeon® HD 4650 600MHz, 512MB GDDR2 800MHz, PCIe x16, VGA+DVI, HDMI, Retail
WESTERN DIGITAL, 1TB WD Caviar® Black™ (WD1001FALS), SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
WESTERN DIGITAL, 1TB WD Caviar® Black™ (WD1001FALS), SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
SONY, AD-7241S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ Lightscribe, SATA, OEM
MICROSOFT, Windows XP Home Edition

Is there any other place better than ava direct, cyber, etc that I can build this same type of build? I just went to Max Force PC, and for some reason, I couldn't get to the customize page, it kept saying "Page Not Found" and the tab boxes kept saying "Please Select".
 
If you go to their Reseller Ratings, you'll find a bunch of fake reviews posted by Masha himself. Actually they were probably removed.

AVA Direct has many steps to climb to redeem themselves. Sorry you disagree.
 
Hey ControIS, the best way to get a price from Max for the exact parts you want is to post in the forum under Configuration Questions and Comments. Just start a thread and tell him what you want and he usually gets back pretty quick.
Also just wanted to ask about your specific configuration and what you'll be using the computer for. It seems to me that the money would be better spent on an i7 920 and a better video card. Just a thought.
Dave
 
I've thought about building my own. Even found all the parts on new egg.com, and the price came about the same as these online custom pc builders. So I figured I would have warranty, and not have to worry about making a big mistake building the pc.
Every component you buy should have a warranty.
 
Hey ControIS, the best way to get a price from Max for the exact parts you want is to post in the forum under Configuration Questions and Comments. Just start a thread and tell him what you want and he usually gets back pretty quick.
Also just wanted to ask about your specific configuration and what you'll be using the computer for. It seems to me that the money would be better spent on an i7 920 and a better video card. Just a thought.
Dave
My thought as well,an i7 920 overclocked to 3.6 would give you equal performance for hundreds less.And the configurator pages at MF are being overhauled,so the forum is the place to go for quotes as Porsche suggests.
 
why are you wanting windows xp home and 6 gig of memory? i would use windows 7rc1 or vista premium 64 bit if your wanting to use that much memory.
 
Control,

First of all, if you have any questions specifically for Maingear, I'm here to help. Just drop me a PM or email me. I'd be happy to work with you.

Secondly, if there's a builder you REALLY like and they seem too pricey for you, call them. We can't list everything on the web (how tedious would that be to navigate). The awesome thing about working with a custom PC manufacturer is that they can work with your budget, and can do things that may not be on the website to help you get the best machine in your price range.

Don't assume you can't afford a build from your favorite custom manufacturer...call and you may be pleasantly surprised. :D
 
I've noticed that Maingear has updated their website since the last time I checked them out. Still a frontrunner for when I replace my PC when Windows 7 is coming preinstalled, but the premium over a similarly equipped Dell system is hundreds of dollars. Dell prices on i7 rigs has dropped a ton over the last three months and I don't think any of the small places will be able to compete on price. Since I really like the Maingear cases (like the cube style) it could be worth it to me.
 
I've noticed that Maingear has updated their website since the last time I checked them out. Still a frontrunner for when I replace my PC when Windows 7 is coming preinstalled, but the premium over a similarly equipped Dell system is hundreds of dollars. Dell prices on i7 rigs has dropped a ton over the last three months and I don't think any of the small places will be able to compete on price. Since I really like the Maingear cases (like the cube style) it could be worth it to me.

I have to disagree,if you look at the components that go into those cheap Dells,you're really only getting what you pay for.Not to mention the worst customer support possible.The system I got would have cost me at least a $1000 more from Dell,without the overclocking.The smaller custom builders will still get the business of enthusiasts who know what it takes to make up a really good system.
 
What I meant was that if you go by the specs in terms of chip type, amount of RAM, hard drive size, etc. It's difficult to do apples to apples with PC construction since companies rarely offer the same hardware brands, and of course you sacrifice something for that lower price. What I was getting at was with the i7s the price difference has become dramatic, more so that over the last few years I've done price comparisons.
 
I think the price differences are due to the fact that Intel isn't that worried about competition from AMD anymore.But where the boutiques can level the playing field with Dell is in overclocking,which Dell doesn't do.An i7 920 properly overclocked can give you the same performance as one of the Extreme models at a fraction of the cost.
 
building pcs will always be cheaper than purchasing them new. Also, ibuypower.com and cyberpowerpc.com are both good sites.
 
Every component you buy should have a warranty.

Yes, every component HAS a warranty.
But, the builder (read guy at home) would be responsible for RMA and contact of the supplier.
If you have someone build it for you, that SUPPORT is what you pay for.

To the OP.......in this venue, you really do get what you pay for, and in buying a pre-built system you are paying for service after the sale. Cheap gets you cheap, period.
I have seen and heard nothing constructive about iBuy and Cyberpower.
The time honored best around here has/have always been Maingear,PugetSystems,VelocityMicro, and a few really like MaxF.
AVA has a bad taste in alot of mouths.
OverDrive may also be worth looking at.
 
For less expensive PCs Dell and especially Dell Outlet are very attractive. You get regular coupons (15%) when you sign up and that helps.

Dell Outlet small business also has US based support, 3 years warranty and Dell does put high end components in its Precision line.

Dell Outlet Home will not provide a wide range of choices that another builder can offer, But for a vast majority of users a system like XPS435 or XPS730x (for gamers) will do just fine.
Dell does overclock the XPS730x.
A colleague recently bought a XPS435 Core i7 with 6GB RAM etc for way less than would take for someone to even build it with newegg prices - thanks to the coupons.

Yes you cannot choose a Lian Li case and a particular brand of CPU cooler etc. But that is actually fine for many users who will use the PC for fairly intense work (esp non gaming) - e.g. running oracle, vm etc
 
ControlS,

Sorry for joining the thread late. We'd love to be able to work with you on your new system. Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you.

jcovington [a] velocitymicro.com.
 
the vast majority of people here build their own. it is what drew many of us here to begin with. enthusiast who found places like [H] that covered computers without being flamed about overclocking or modding to get what you wanted from or out of your build. so its not surprising to me that, most will build their own, or encourage another to build their own system.

there are many guides and how to's out there and it really is not difficult. the fact that you are here demonstrates to me that you lean toward this anyway, buy quality components from a trusted vendor, and gain the added satisfaction of knowing the system is not just what you wanted, but you built it.

there is no shortage of knowledgeable and patient people in the forums that will assist with question or troubleshooting if you encounter a problem. the possibility that i would mess up or break something was not a a negative so much as it was motivation to learn more about what i was doing and dealing with...but thats me, and i guess i'm strange like that.
 
I'm looking into buying a new PC in the near future, and will probably be buying from Puget or Maingear (leaning more towards Puget). Both of them seem to be reliable with very good reputations. After my experience with Dell, I will never buy from them or anyone who uses overseas tech support. When my Dell ran into problems, I was endlessly given the runaround by polite, friendly but utterly useless tech support people in India.
 
I'm looking into buying a new PC in the near future, and will probably be buying from Puget or Maingear (leaning more towards Puget). Both of them seem to be reliable with very good reputations. After my experience with Dell, I will never buy from them or anyone who uses overseas tech support. When my Dell ran into problems, I was endlessly given the runaround by polite, friendly but utterly useless tech support people in India.

Not to mess up this guy's thread...........but I second that 100%.
I bought my daughter a Dell Studio Laptop, very nice one at that.
Less than 3 months in, the Disc Drive broke.

I spent 90 minutes on the phone trying to convince some guy the drive was broken and it wasn't a software issue he could fix over the phone................I finally insisted on a supervisor, who tried the same canned troubleshooting.

Finally they broke down and sent me a replacement drive...........not new, but refurbished.

I installed it myself and aside from a pain in the butt to take the laptop apart, it's all good.
 
There's a whole lot of people out there that would strongly disagree with that,to put it mildly!

Yes, I also stated that.......read some of the old [H] Consumer write-ups......those companies got the lowest scores around.

Secondly, I think we should get off the build it yourself soapbox here.(general statement, not pointed at anyone in particular)
This subforum was put together primarily for people just like the OP who want to buy a pre-built system.
They either don't have the time,don't know how,don't care to know how, or want someone to handle support and troubleshooting/RMA for them.
The reason one buys a prebuilt computer is for the open the box and go aspect as well as a warranty they can depend on.

The mantra of "build it yourself" isn't helpful for those people who are not ready to do so.
 
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