Octopus Overlords

Looks like I might be getting a new system for my wife in the near future. It's been so long since I ordered one last I can't even remember where I got it, and for lack of time I think I'm going to get this one pre-built from somewhere.

Any recommendations on good companies to order from these days?

If possible I'd like somewhere that gives me a lot of control over the details of all the parts, and somewhere that doesn't preinstall a lot of additional programs, but I'm pretty flexible.

Thanks!

Depends how much you want to pay. Kraken has a thread on this here too and just got his PC I think. The regular names come up...Origin, iBuypower, Cyberpower, Falcon. Many others.

Custom PC vendors I'd recommend:

• Digital Storm
• eCollege PC
• DogHouse Systems
• Velocity Micro
• Origin PC
• Puget Systems
• Falcon NorthWest

If quality customer service is important to you, I suggest steering clear of Cyberpower and iBuyPower.

Thanks! Yeah, mostly I just want somewhere that's not too sketchy and isn't gouging me.

Digital Storm and Puget. Those were the ones I couldn't think of. DS and Origin both make nice looking PCs. I always build my own though so dont know the quality.

Sepiche wrote: ↑Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:12 pm If possible I'd like somewhere that gives me a lot of control over the details of all the parts, and somewhere that doesn't preinstall a lot of additional programs, but I'm pretty flexible.

I've bought two Falcon-Northwest rigs and have been very happy with them. They are well known that they ship PCs with all the crapware removed, which I can confirm in the Win XP and Win 7 units I gotten. I've never had any hardware issues with the components they include.

And you get a cool faux-leather binder with docs, the original discs, the cables and connectors not used, plus a recovery USB drive. Or at least all that came in my 2014 rig purchase.

I looked through Kraken's thread which gave me a lot of good ideas and I priced out a couple of systems with Falcon and eCollegePC.

I was able to skimp in a few key areas on the eCollege system and it comes out about $800 less than the Falcon one. The Falcon system is definitely better, but only modestly so. I'm not opposed to paying a little more better service and better quality, but any thoughts if it's worth the difference based on the two companies?

Sepiche wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:22 am I looked through Kraken's thread which gave me a lot of good ideas and I priced out a couple of systems with Falcon and eCollegePC.

I was able to skimp in a few key areas on the eCollege system and it comes out about $800 less than the Falcon one. The Falcon system is definitely better, but only modestly so. I'm not opposed to paying a little more better service and better quality, but any thoughts if it's worth the difference based on the two companies?

That's largely subjective, and difficult to quantify. eCollege PC and Falcon-NW will both provide you with a well-built rig. But as jztemple2 observes above, Falcon-NW definitely aims for a premium service with commensurate pricing. You'll need to judge for yourself whether your budget is better spent on a higher-end customer experience (Falcon-NW), better components/hardware (eCollege PC is hard to beat in terms of custom PC pricing, so you could spend the difference in price on superior components), or simply retained in your wallet.

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:15 am That's largely subjective, and difficult to quantify. eCollege PC and Falcon-NW will both provide you with a well-built rig. But as jztemple2 observes above, Falcon-NW definitely aims for a premium service with commensurate pricing. You'll need to judge for yourself whether your budget is better spent on a higher-end customer experience (Falcon-NW), better components/hardware (eCollege PC is hard to beat in terms of custom PC pricing, so you could spend the difference in price on superior components), or simply retained in your wallet.

I think that tells me what I needed to know. Thanks for the help!

Whats funny is I remember falcon NW Mach V being super expensive back in the day...like mid 1990s. This was back when I got my PC for $850 and most new PCs were $1500..at MOST $2500. Their Mach V was nearly $5000. To be sure I went and found an old magazine ad online from 95 or 96 and sure enough theres the MACH V for $4500. Now the funny part. I went to their site and configed a high end Mach V...cost...$4500. 20+ years and the same price ...wow.

FWIW, I'm thrilled with my eCollege machine so far. Their salesperson was responsive and coordinated with their tech people to answer my questions, it came in under budget, and it shipped when they said it would. Nothing bad to say about them.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 2:45 am FWIW, I'm thrilled with my eCollege machine so far. Their salesperson was responsive and coordinated with their tech people to answer my questions, it came in under budget, and it shipped when they said it would. Nothing bad to say about them.

Thanks for the info! Got a new system ordered for her, now I just have to keep her entertained until it gets here.

New system got delivered this morning and just got finished hooking it up. Everything looks and runs great, and the wife should be happy since this is a pretty big upgrade over her old rig.

Thanks for all the advice!

Edit: For reference... it used to take her old computer about 5 minutes to get through the initial OS load on boot and get loaded to the point where you could actually do anything. New system is on the login screen and ready to go in about 10 - 15 seconds.

Now I just have to keep myself from being jealous and ordering a new PC for myself.

And it was exactly 2 weeks and 1 day after I ordered my wife's new computer that I got too jealous to resist ordering my first new computer in 11 years.

Ill probably be ordering my wife her first rig within the next year. Unfortunately, that also requires remodeling the office to support two.

So many 1st world problems in this thread

What name did your new master give you?