Advice on PC Builders

[cbair3]

Hi all, I am about to buy a new gaming PC - this site has been great for figuring out exactly what I want. I initially thought I would build my own, but after doing some research it seems there are a few places that can give me exactly what I want and beat the price on components. I am wondering if anyone has experience with any of these makers (in the order in which I am considering them)

- Monarch (http://www.monarchcomputer.com)
- ABS (http://www.abspc.com/)
- Polywell (http://www.polywell.com/us/index.asp)
- Velocity (http://www.velocitymicro.com/)

All of these seem to be able to sell me what I want already assembled for about the same price (or a bit less) than I can get the parts at Newegg. (Specs follow)

I also looked in to some "high end" builders. These can also sell me what I want, but there seems to be a significant premium attached:

- Voodoo (http://www.voodoopc.com/)
- Hypersonic (http://www.hypersonic-pc.com/2001/index.asp)
- Falcon Northwest (http://www.falcon-nw.com/)
- Alienware (http://www.alienware.com/)

However, as far as I can tell they charge a healthy premium and the main benefit is slick looking cases.

I am wondering if anyone has good or bad experiences to share about any of the first 4 builders, or can give me reasons to consider the more expensive ones. I am also open to recommendations of others.

What I am after (probably)
- SLI motherboard (prefer Gigabyte from what I have read)
- AMD 3500+ CPU
- 1Gb RAM (not sure what to buy here - very confused on how to match performance of other components)
- Nvidia 6800 GT (one for now)
- One 74 Gb Raptor drive for system
- One large storage drive for music, pix, and video (about 250Gb)
- Dual layer DVD-RW
- Card reader of some sort
- Audigy 2 ZS soundcard
- Plenty of USB and Firewire ports (lots of gadgets)
- Thermaltake Tsunami Case (prefer silver)
- Whatever I can add to make it quieter without breaking the bank

I think this gives me a good upgrade path (faster processor, more RAM, additional 6800GT) while giving me strong performance right now.

The prices I am getting from the first 4 builders are around $2300-$2600. The latter ones seem to be around $3000-$3500. I greatly appreciate any experience or advice you can share.

 

[imported_Salvatore]

Your linking skills are sub sub-par.

 

[Waylay00]

ABS is very reliable. My friend is ordering from them.

 

[Sqube]

Yeah, your link-fu is weak. I had a friend go with http://www.ibuypower.com and he seemed satisfied with it.

It would go under your non high-end builders.

 

[Fern]

Hi cbair3 and Welcome to the Forums!

I've used this company for the purpose you described. At the time, they had better prices than those you list.

They gave 3 yr warranty with onsite. Other than the phone help being Engrish, no problems

 

[crazycarl]

i like monarch

 

[Hilandertheone]

You might be better getting a DFI lan party. ANANDTECH rated it better than the GIGBYTE . Even better you might want to think about an MSI diamond it has a 24bit CREATIVE 7.1 sound intergrated. That will save you money
.http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=638
The CPU excelent choice!!!!
Memory AMD runs best on 2-2-2-5 it is also best for overclocking some are:
KINGSTON hyperx KHX3200ULK2/
GEIL ULTRAX PC3200

hope this helped and good luck

 

[1457]

i would go with abs

 

[cbair3]

Let me try this again (it looked good on paper)...

- Monarch
- ABS
- Polywell
- Velocity

And the pricey ones...

- Voodoo
- Hypersonic
- Falcon Northwest
- Alienware