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How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:29 pm
by Hrothgar
I know several people around here have gotten new rigs in the past couple of years. How would you rate your system builder? Would you recommend them? Anything you'd change?
I'm knocking on wood, but it looks like a new rig will be in the budget this year. I'm starting the research. I thought I'd check in with you guys first. Thanks in advance.
I have built rigs in the past, but my patience is not what it used to be for troubleshooting hardware. I look at that "New build will not post" thread and just nope right out of there.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:42 pm
by LordMortis
after kraken recommended ecollegepc.com, I shopped around for like three recommended builders for PCs within my budget. They had the best pricing and the fastest delivery for custom built rigs. The machine was as advertised and it's been perfect for about six months or more.
I'm so glad I got a surge protector. We had ice storms this year that wreaked havoc on power for 24 hours straight. Not an outage but spikes and fluxuations. As I'm pretty sure the power supply is what killed my last rig and the power grid + 70 year old wiring and panels is what killed my power supply, that frustration likely saved this machine. My UPS was going crazy with clicks and buzzing for a whole day.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:10 pm
by Kraken
Still happy with my eCollegePC after five years. Would buy another.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:17 pm
by Daehawk
Im my own system builder. Im pretty happy with him. Usually knows his stuff and is available 24/7 for tech help.
But I too have looked just for fun and ecollegepc seems a good place if you dont want to go the big name fancy places that are kinda outlandish in style and price. The big guys in other words.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:04 pm
by Kraken
My PC has to fit under my desk's fixed shelf, and the last time I shopped all of the cases I looked at were too tall. eCollege support found me a short squat one that I had overlooked. They also told me I didn't need the extra fan that I added because my previous PC used to overheat. They were right. They saved me a few dollars and a lot of unnecessary noise.
Point being that their machines are highly configurable and they'll help you if you ask. Or they did 5 years ago, anyway.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:04 am
by Lassr
Digital Storm was bit pricier than others, but I like the burn in testing of the system. Going on a year, the system has been flawless and super quiet. Best PC I've owned.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:36 pm
by Hrothgar
hepcat wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:50 am
Got my new Alienware R15 yesterday. I used a kill-a-watt meter to measure the voltage and amperage output before doing anything with the UPS and was pleasantly surprised to see it hover around 100 to 200 watts while just downloading steam games. I restarted a few times to make sure it didn't have issues with the inrush limiter mentioned earlier and it did not. So I plugged it into my UPS and started playing some games in earnest this morning before work. The max I saw was about 500 watts when playing Metro Exodus enhanced on ultra with all the DSSL stuff maxed. Never hit higher than 550 ever though, and there's about 50 to 60 watts of other things on that UPS too.
My only issue is the alienware thermal control sees the CPU fluctuate between 40 to 80c when just downloading games/idling (it's stabilized this morning to around 40 to 50 after downloads though). But when heavy gaming, the fans kick in and the temps hover around 70 to 80c.
How are you liking your Alienware after breaking it in?
I think there were a couple more people who had Digital Storm systems as well.
Re: How happy are you with your System Builder?
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:45 pm
by TheMix
gilraen and I have had multiple Digital Storm computers/laptops. We've been happy with every one.