Best custom pc builders?

ddgnclg

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Apr 8, 2006
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Hello everone, i have been checking tom's hardware out for sometime and decided to make a name...

I have been researching for 2 weeks now and was wondering if any of you could name some other custom pc builders..

IbuyPower
CyberPower
XiComputers
addict
digitalstormonline
vigorgaming
MonarchComputers
Falcon nw
Alienware
Abs
Hypersonic
Puget
Vicious
Voodoo

Has anybody had any dealings with any of these companys?

I will spend up to $2550 for a PC, i want SLI and AMD 57fx and up i play alot of older games and i have read where people have had trouble with older games while using the duel CPU's...
 

timberwolf1

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Mar 24, 2003
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Hi ddgnclg

Here's my personal opinion on Puget Systems, based on one of my friend's experiences with them. These guys are the best in the business.

My friend has been going to their website for over a year now, and building machines that could cost 10K elsewhere.

Here's the background on one of the machines my friend wanted to build: He wanted to use the PC for video editing. Puget systems recommended an upgrade to the CPU based on the possibility of video editing in the future, and suggested a trade off in hard disk configuration to make it cost about the same (actually slightly less.)

Throughout the building process, my friend emailed Puget and their response was very fast. Those guys also modified the standard system testing to include the VIVO of the graphics card.

And there was this 2:00 AM email my friend sent - which was answered in less than 15 minutes! I guess your mileage may vary :)

My friend was overjoyed when the system arrived in a very sturdy package that protected it perfectly.

So far, the new system has not had any issues with the build or hardware.

My friend could have built the system himself (or asked me) but the standard one year of full warranty INCLUDING SHIPPING was worth the slight amount I could have saved.

All of the accessories from the RETAIL version of the components (not the OEM) were shipped in a box clearly labled "What's all this stuff?"

I've heard a lot of good feedback on Puget from other friends in the US as well. Keep up this level of service and quality, and they will be getting more and more customers.
 

mfurse

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Dec 8, 2005
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from the reviews I have seen in computing magazines I would say that if you can afford it - go voodoo.

Think voodoo have the edge as they machine EVERY case and custom route all the water tubing and cables to make some of the cleanest PC's ever.

Check this (slightly old) review out to see what I mean: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/custompc/reviews/71452/voodoo-pc-rage-f5.html.

Matt

P.S. Savrow are also supposed to be extremely good and a little cheaper than voodoo, unless u want to spend 10K+ then they can go silly with their Diamond range!
 

shadowduck

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Jan 24, 2006
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I just priced systems from Falcon NW, Pudget, and Alienware, and you are not going to get what you want at $2550.

Build your own and you might be able to pull it off. Lets see:
It comes to around $2636 but this includes 20.1" Widescren LCD.

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM
Model #: ND-3550A BK OEM
Item #: N82E16827152058

$37.99 $37.99


ATX Computer Cases
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Antec Performance I P180 Silver 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis, 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: P180
Item #: N82E16811129154

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

$124.99 $124.99


Internal Hard Drives
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD2500KS
Item #: N82E16822144701

$93.00 $93.00


Monitors - LCD
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: FP202W
Item #: N82E16824014105

$399.95 $399.95


AMD-compatible Motherboards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: LP UT nF4 SLI-DR
Item #: N82E16813136157

$168.00 $168.00


Video Cards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
2 eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N553-AX
Item #: N82E16814130283

$15.00 Mail-in Rebate

$189.00 $378.00


Sound Cards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Model #: 70SB046000007
Item #: N82E16829102188

$121.99 $121.99


Power Supplies
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: TPII-550
Item #: N82E16817103931

$89.99 $89.99


Keyboards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Logitech Media Elite 967559-0403 Black USB + PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail
Model #: 967559-0403
Item #: N82E16823126178

$5.00 Mail-in Rebate

$26.98 $26.98


Mouse
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Logitech G5 Laser 931376-0403 2-Tone 6 Buttons 1x Wheel USB Laser Mouse - Retail
Model #: 931376-0403
Item #: N82E16826104191

$51.89 -$5.00 Instant
$46.89


CPU Thermal Paste / Grease
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: ARCTIC SILVER 5

$5.99 $5.99


Memory - System
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
Model #: Twinx2048-3200c2pt
Item #: N82E16820145575

$50.00 Mail-in Rebate

$192.00 $192.00


Processors
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 San Diego 1GHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADAFX57BNBOX - Retail
Model #: ADAFX57BNBOX
Item #: N82E16819103558


$811.00 $811.00

Operating Systems
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2 - OEM
Model #: E85-04026
Item #: N82E16837102062


$139.95 $139.95
Subtotal: $2,636.72

Shipping: $81.14

Total: $2,717.86
 

ddgnclg

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Apr 8, 2006
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Anybody ever heard anything on Vigorgaming? I have tested alot of these companys by asking questions and seeing the wait time by email and phone..

Vigorgaming has responded very quick on both the phone and email and they have a very high resseller rating...
 

ddgnclg

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Apr 8, 2006
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I should have stated that i already have a mouse and keyboard, plus my NEC 1770GX moniter i just need the box with the goodies in it LOL...

I have my eye set on atleast one 7900GTX and upgrading to another later..
 

shadowduck

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I should have stated that i already have a mouse and keyboard, plus my NEC 1770GX moniter i just need the box with the goodies in it LOL...

I have my eye set on atleast one 7900GTX and upgrading to another later..

Unless you plan on doing that within 90 days, thats not really worth it, plus 2 GTXs will cost you 50% of your budget to start with.
 

ForzaItalia4

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Mar 11, 2006
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get the non sli asus mobo, a8e-n or something, 93 dollars plus a 7900 gtx, 2 gigs of corsair xms or ocz gold / platinum, and whatever processor you prefer be it single or dual, probably dual in this budget, so you could get a 4400+ or something higher.
 

NumenorLord

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Mar 13, 2006
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Vigor Gaming and ABS are also very good. My friend got a PC from ABS... oh what was it... Christmas 2001... PIII 1.0 GHz, 256 mb Ram, GeForce 2 TNT gpu... and it still works (slightly slower than when he got it), and he hasn't really had any problems with it.
 

ddgnclg

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Apr 8, 2006
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The way i look at it, since i play older games and if i get the 7900GTX that will spend alot of the 2500 right there, so i came up with this setup and if i want to upgrade later to the bigboys i can, plus i want a really nice case..

See what you think of this setup..

80870 Monarch Nemesis Custom Modded Desktop (PCI-E w/SLI) 1 $99.00 $99.00
Cases: 100171 - No PS - Lian-Li PC-V1200B Plus Aluminum Q $225.86 $225.86
Power Supply: 100996 - PS 650W - Silverstone SLI ATX 2.01/EPS Po $162.62 $162.62
Case Fan: None
Motherboard: 110707 - Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Audio/G $199.89 $199.89
Processor: 120243 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual-Core 1MB Per $632.00 $632.00
Thermal Grease: 800018 - Shin-Etsu G675 Thermal Grease (Cools CPU $14.99 $14.99
Heat Sink Fan: 800083 - None - Fan REQUIRED - except with RETAIL
Memory: 140178 - DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair $87.55 $87.55
2nd Memory: None
Hard Drive: 150351 - SATA - Western Digital 150 GB 16 MB Cache $283.76 $283.76
2nd Hard Drive: None
3rd Hard Drive: 150360 - IDE - Western Digital WD3200JB 320GB/8MB- $110.99 $110.99
4th Hard Drive: None
RAID Controller: None
RAID Setup: None
CD/DVD-ROM/CD-RW: 160800 - CD-ROM - Lite On LTN-527 52X CD-ROM (Blac $19.00 $19.00
CD-RW/DVD-RW: 160022 - Combo - Lite-On SHW-160P6S-05 16x8x8x/16x $46.51 $46.51
2nd CD-RW/DVD-RW: None
CD-RW Software: None
DVD-ROM Software: None
Floppy Drive: None
Sounds Card: None
Video Card: 190818-2 EVGA GeForce 6800 XT 256MB DDR/PCI-E/HDTV $271.38 $271.38
Video Capture: None
TV Tuner: None
Modems: None
Network Card: None
Wireless Network Card: None
Mod Kits: None
Round Cable: 270152 - Round Cables Kit 2-24" IDE 1-18" FDD 1-18 $23.95 $23.95
Case Light: None
Case Function Add On: None
Operating System: 210111 - Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/Servi $165.72 $165.72
Additional Software: None
Antivirus: None
Warranty: 800094 - 24/7 Tech Support, 2 Year $149.00 $149.00
Hot Rush: None - Standard Order ( ships within 10-15 busines
Nero 7 Promotion: None
Lance Armstrong: 270447 - Lance Armstrong LIVE STRONG wristband
Free Giveaway: None
Monarch Logo Stickers: 800058 - Nemesis Logo (pictured above)
Lance Armstrong Jersey Contest: None - Do not enter me in the giveaway
Monarch Visor: None
Subtotal for 80870 with your selected options: $2,492.22
Order Total: $2,492.22
 
I build the best systems for ME! If something breaks I send the part back RMA or under Warranty. It's ALL on me. I safe a bundle and get EXACTLY what I want.

Build you own, it's the best PC you can buy!
 

AverageJoe_20

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Nov 16, 2009
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I have gotten two machines from Talon Knight Enterprises now. They saved me quite a bit of money on both. And I had no problems with them. They answered all my questions again and again. Will definitely being buying from them again.
 

jenco60

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Jan 28, 2010
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I will build it for you with my students in A+ Class. We will only charge you for parts and software, no labor.

Jennifer Cohen
jcohen@swfc.edu
 

jackjoson1205

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Jun 11, 2006
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iv seen many pc from ibuypower and i would highly reccomend them pretty good price 2 and if you use things like falcon and alienware yr not getting anything more for yr $$ then some fancy bells and whistles witch u could spend on ram,gc,cpu and make yr pc twice as fast....

a $4000 AW pc cane be self bit for $2000-$2500
 

dragonspeace

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Aug 29, 2010
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As this question has been here since 2006, I recommend researching such resellers at www.resellerratings.com.

Don't be fooled by those builders you see in the computer magazines and assume they're a "grade A" company just because they're in the magazine. Research customer experiences for any company you're considering at the above website...just enter the company name in the appropriate block.

You'll be able to view the total number of customer's rating the company, the companies lifetime rating, the companies' six-month rating, the customer reviews, and the companies' website. You can further break the ratings down to pricing, likelihood of future purchases, shipping/handling, customer service, and return/replacement issues.

After such research, I settled on Avadirect.com and am about to buy my second computer in two years from them. (My first was given to my younger brother and still works flawlessly.)

Here's a sample you'll find:

Cyberpower: lifetime: 7.74 (2924) 6-month: 8.94 (240)
Ibuypower: lifetime: 7.50 (1454) 6-month: 9.06 (104)
Vigor Gaming: lifetime: 9.07 (318) 6-month: 0.00 (5)
Puget: lifetime: 9.93 (858) 6-month: 10.00 (60)
Avadirect: lifetime: 9.56 (612) 6-month: 9.87 (38)