Best computers around

[Plunge]

Although I am an AVID Macintosh fan, I do have to use PCs for certain things.

Not knowing much about PCs, I started to do some research to find the best computer on the planet. One that won't give me problems, and if it does, has some awesome tech support.

I found the company (http://www.totallyawesomecomputers.com/). The owner is a bit of a nutball, but his computers are awesome and the tech support is unbeatable. Lifetime service warranty. A real person answers the phone 24/7 and do whatever is needed to help.

I also purchased a laptop from their sister company (http://pclaptops.com/). When I had problems with it in Korea that they couldn't get fixed over email and phone, the owner of the company called me, in Korea and FedEx'd a new laptop to me, one model better than mine, for FREE. When I got home, I took him my old laptop and was met by massive apologies for my problems. They even took me out to lunch to say they were sorry. Talk about customer service!

Anyway, with all the problems people have with their PCs and the constant questions being asked, I thought I would offer my two cents.

Of course, if everyone would just get a Macintosh, we could avoid all of this. ;)

[Domh]

Alot of these little boutique builders are fantastic, and for the user with enough smarts and interest, I suggest alot of these guys over Dell etc. for sure.

Of course, the user with a bit of smarts and interest really should just build their own PC, learning so much in the process that calls to tech support go away forever because you can do your own... and the machine costs literally THOUSANDS of dollars less.

If everyone would just do this, well, Steve Jobs head would blow his brains out... finally! He is a genius to be certain, and a scam artist as well.

;)

[Colin]

I'll just ignore the Macintosh stuff in Plunge's post for right now, as I am an avid ANTI-Macintosh fan :)

But Plunge makes a good point about smaller computer dealers. I build all my own desktop and server systems and I usually buy components from small guys like the one Plunge mentions. My current primary machine is a laptop I bought from a company called PcTorque (http://www.pctorque.com). They too have superious customer service with a personal touch.

If you're ever weary about buying from a smaller dealer you can always look them up on ResellerRatings.com (http://www.resellerratings.com) and read feedback from previous customers.

[Plunge]

I like these guys because, for one, they've been in business for years and they have shops now all over Utah.

The guy at Totally Awesome computers has a challenge, if you can bring in a similar model computer that is faster than their system, they will pay you $1000. They use a standard bench marking program to do it.

So far, they haven't lost, although he did pay $1000 to a guy that brought in his custom system that has some tweak that he liked and wanted to use for theirs. It was still slower than theirs, but paid the guy for the cool idea.

They also dare you to be able to build a system for cheaper than theirs that is as high of quality.

Anyway, like I said, for the PCs in my life, I won't buy from anyone else anymore. My brother in Hong Kong even buys from them for his business now.

[ethics]

Well, I just found a place where my new PC will be built. Thanks Plunge. :)

[Fiona]

well I hate to be redundant... but... AWESOME! did you look at their parts page? :drool:

[Plunge]

And all the articles (http://www.totallyawesomecomputers.com/tac_accolades.htm) about them.

[Copzilla]

Of course, the user with a bit of smarts and interest really should just build their own PC, learning so much in the process that calls to tech support go away forever because you can do your own... and the machine costs literally THOUSANDS of dollars less.

If everyone would just do this, well, Steve Jobs head would blow his brains out... finally! He is a genius to be certain, and a scam artist as well.
That's true, and the proof is in the pudding. An example of how Apple scams is in the hardware. Their highest end machine sells for three grand, and comes with a 64MB Radeon 9600, half gig of RAM, sans monitor. Their overpriced $1800 machines come stock with a 64 MB GeF5200 graphics card (probably sets them back a whopping $25), and a stunning 256 MB of RAM. This when 256 MB 5900 series graphics card is standard for higher end PCs, and for the $1800 Mac price tag, you can build a MONSTER Windows machine.

But Apple enthusiasts suck it up like spaghetti, mostly because they don't know current hardware specs and realize they're being suckered.

This coming from a Mac owner. I own a Powerbook and an older G3.

[Neo]

There is one thing that is unique to buying a computer. With most items you decide how much or how fancy you need and then within your budget you buy whatever item we are talking about--car, microwave, whatever!

That is the wrong strategy for computers. You should realistically start with assessing your budget without any regard for what type of system you want or think you need. Then buy as much computer as you can for your realistic budget, even if it seems at the time to be two or three times better or more fancy of a computer than what you think you will need.

And in the U.S., buying from "Mom & Pop" shops is great if you really know computers. (Or build it yourself.) If you do not really understand computers then buy from someone like Dell.