You might want to confirm which "Essential Computer" you are talking about. A google search on that term comes up with at least 3 possiblities.
I dealt with "Essential Computer, Inc." at: <A HREF="http://www.essencompu.com/" target="_new">http://www.essencompu.com/</A> earlier this year. I had an excellent experience, including their replacing a retail Radeon 8500 that died after a couple days of use. Due to my travels, I was technically out of their official return period when it died. They RMA'd it with the only caveat being that if it wasn't really bad, I'd get it back at my shipping cost. A few days later, I had a new card.
Check out their rating on RessellerRatings here <A HREF="http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2011.html" target="_new">http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2011.html</A>
I'd also second the good experiences with newegg.
BW