Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

[ODogg]

I'm a pretty knowledgeable guy who has built computers before (although never from ground up), can do my own tech support and etc, I worked for 3 years as a computer technician for internet and pc installation but lately i've been doing all contract work. That means I work for 6 months, make a boatload of cash, then may not work again for another 7 or 8 months. Because of my situation I have decided my new computer will not be one I build personally because I want a warranty (mainly for parts) and also i'm just sick of building, testing, diagnoising.

Also, I am one of those people who analyze the heck out of things. I've been pondering a new computer for about a month and the more I read the more I am undecided about who to buy from. The companies i've narrowed it down to are:

Dell, Ibuypower, Cyberpower and Falcon Northwest.

Right now i'm heavily leaning toward a Falcon Northwest Fragbox with following specs:

Fragbox
Athlon FX-55
520 power supply
corsair 1 gig ram
socket 939 m/board
nvidia geforce 6800 ultra 256mb
seagate 160gig 7200rpm hdisk
16x dual layer dvd +/-
onboard audio 7.1 surround sound
mouse/keyboard
1 year parts/labor, lifetime tech support
$3500

And yes I know that is overpriced a bit but from all i've read Falcon Northwest is a company unlike any other, I've scoured the net and yet to find anyone badmouth them who has bought from them so that is one big reason I am considering them. Also since i'm a contractor and move around I like the portability of this machine so that factors into my decision. Plus check out this: "FALCON OVERNIGHT™ SERVICE, the only warranty policy of its kind in the computer industry. In short, if a serious hardware problem should arise with your system that our technicians cannot resolve over the phone, we will pick up the system and ship it overnight to our factory for repair. We will then overnight ship it back, all at no cost to you. Why does no other company offer this kind of service? Frankly, it's way too expensive. That is, unless you have the most reliable hardware in the industry."

I'd like to hear anyones thoughts, opinions on you guys experiences with any of my companies or any others you may want to think I should consider. Since I have in the past built my own computers I really don't know what company is good to go with and reading alot on the net about them helps some but not as much as i'd like to hear from ppl on OS who I trust more (and consider more knowledgeable).

Thanks!

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Go for Alienware...I have 3 friends who have them and I am VERY VERY impressed.

Incredible machines. Overpriced..but incredible.

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Go for Alienware...I have 3 friends who have them and I am VERY VERY impressed.

Incredible machines. Overpriced..but incredible.

[jmood88]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Go for Alienware...I have 3 friends who have them and I am VERY VERY impressed.

Incredible machines. Overpriced..but incredible.

And they look really nice.

[jmood88]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Go for Alienware...I have 3 friends who have them and I am VERY VERY impressed.

Incredible machines. Overpriced..but incredible.

And they look really nice.

[Knight165]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

I bought a Falcon Northwest Mach V in 1999. Great machine. I was able to use it until this year. It started to get a little long in the tooth...but it was worth the money. Falcon Northwest is a great company.
I replaced that rig with an Alienware this year. I just wanted something different. Alienware is also fantastic. This rig is unreal.
You cannot go wrong with either company...but like you said, you need to be mobile. That Fragbox is nice!

Good Luck and good gaming!

M.K.
Knight165

[Knight165]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

I bought a Falcon Northwest Mach V in 1999. Great machine. I was able to use it until this year. It started to get a little long in the tooth...but it was worth the money. Falcon Northwest is a great company.
I replaced that rig with an Alienware this year. I just wanted something different. Alienware is also fantastic. This rig is unreal.
You cannot go wrong with either company...but like you said, you need to be mobile. That Fragbox is nice!

Good Luck and good gaming!

M.K.
Knight165

[TheLetterZ]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Falcon Northwest is incredible, definitely get it from them.

As a comparison, Falcon Northwest's Six-Month rating on ResellerRatings.com is a 10.00, while Alienware's is a 6.05.

[TheLetterZ]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Falcon Northwest is incredible, definitely get it from them.

As a comparison, Falcon Northwest's Six-Month rating on ResellerRatings.com is a 10.00, while Alienware's is a 6.05.

[ODogg]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Falcon Northwest is incredible, definitely get it from them.

As a comparison, Falcon Northwest's Six-Month rating on ResellerRatings.com is a 10.00, while Alienware's is a 6.05.

That was the largest reason that I ultimately went with Falcon. That and the fact that Alienware wouldn't return my emails and when I chatted with them they seemed as if I was interrupting their day with my silly questions. I loved their machine and parts but it seemed their service kind of scared me, I suspect they've blown up in terms of popularity and they need to get a little bit of handle more on their newfound success.

Falcon not only returned my emails but answered in long detail all of my questions and spent literally hours on the phone answering both basic and very technical questions. Not only that but I really liked the fact they actually told me I could pullback on some features to save money (such as getting the 3800 instead of the 4000) which is something you don't hear too often, a company downselling their products, heh. So that was the bottom line for me is I felt Falcon truly would provide the outstanding customer service I was looking for and I just couldn't trust Alienware in that same respect. Only time will tell if I made the right call but so far I'm pretty confident that I did.

[ODogg]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

Falcon Northwest is incredible, definitely get it from them.

As a comparison, Falcon Northwest's Six-Month rating on ResellerRatings.com is a 10.00, while Alienware's is a 6.05.

That was the largest reason that I ultimately went with Falcon. That and the fact that Alienware wouldn't return my emails and when I chatted with them they seemed as if I was interrupting their day with my silly questions. I loved their machine and parts but it seemed their service kind of scared me, I suspect they've blown up in terms of popularity and they need to get a little bit of handle more on their newfound success.

Falcon not only returned my emails but answered in long detail all of my questions and spent literally hours on the phone answering both basic and very technical questions. Not only that but I really liked the fact they actually told me I could pullback on some features to save money (such as getting the 3800 instead of the 4000) which is something you don't hear too often, a company downselling their products, heh. So that was the bottom line for me is I felt Falcon truly would provide the outstanding customer service I was looking for and I just couldn't trust Alienware in that same respect. Only time will tell if I made the right call but so far I'm pretty confident that I did.

[Stu]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

I built my own for less than $1000.

[Stu]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

I built my own for less than $1000.

[ODogg]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

I built my own for less than $1000.

Ok, I knew someone would pop into the thread and say this so I had my response already prepared, LOL. That machine you could not build for $1000 unless you thieved the parts heh. The video card lists for about $400 on pricewatch and processor about the same, that's $800 right there in only 2 parts, not even including shipping. So yeah you can build it cheaper but you could not build that machine for $1000. Probably more around the $2000 mark I would imagine you could though. But yeah I could have built it for less myself and have done that with my last few machines but there are alot of reasons to buy rather than build that people don't consider such as having better than part manufacturer customer service for your machine, higher quality components than you would buy that are OEM, no difficulty in installing parts that may or may not be mismatched, the time factor you must spend to do it yourself, having to send back a sound card or RAM that doesn't work from the pricewatcher place you found it dirt cheep, etc etc.

There is nothing wrong with building your own machine because like I said i've done it myself several times but there is also nothing wrong with buying a machine as each aspect has it's own pros and cons. I say this because I've noticed from some of my friends a rather obnoxious attitude that I would dare not build it myself. Simply because I can doesn't mean I have to. I read on some site a clever analogy, just because an auto mechanic knows how to build a car engine and can save money doing it doesn't mean he can't go buy a new car, lol. I think that sums up my feelings.

The main reason for me to buy rather than build though is I am a contractor who is sometimes out of work for awhile between jobs and I want a computer that I can rely on and it has issues a company backs it up if something occurs when i'm not working and have limited resources. And Falcon is the best in the business in that regards with their overnight shipping bothways on parts. Plus their company including support is here in America which is always nice unless you speak Indian..lol.

[ODogg]

Re: Got about $3000 to spend on new computer, suggestions?

I built my own for less than $1000.

Ok, I knew someone would pop into the thread and say this so I had my response already prepared, LOL. That machine you could not build for $1000 unless you thieved the parts heh. The video card lists for about $400 on pricewatch and processor about the same, that's $800 right there in only 2 parts, not even including shipping. So yeah you can build it cheaper but you could not build that machine for $1000. Probably more around the $2000 mark I would imagine you could though. But yeah I could have built it for less myself and have done that with my last few machines but there are alot of reasons to buy rather than build that people don't consider such as having better than part manufacturer customer service for your machine, higher quality components than you would buy that are OEM, no difficulty in installing parts that may or may not be mismatched, the time factor you must spend to do it yourself, having to send back a sound card or RAM that doesn't work from the pricewatcher place you found it dirt cheep, etc etc.

There is nothing wrong with building your own machine because like I said i've done it myself several times but there is also nothing wrong with buying a machine as each aspect has it's own pros and cons. I say this because I've noticed from some of my friends a rather obnoxious attitude that I would dare not build it myself. Simply because I can doesn't mean I have to. I read on some site a clever analogy, just because an auto mechanic knows how to build a car engine and can save money doing it doesn't mean he can't go buy a new car, lol. I think that sums up my feelings.

The main reason for me to buy rather than build though is I am a contractor who is sometimes out of work for awhile between jobs and I want a computer that I can rely on and it has issues a company backs it up if something occurs when i'm not working and have limited resources. And Falcon is the best in the business in that regards with their overnight shipping bothways on parts. Plus their company including support is here in America which is always nice unless you speak Indian..lol.