Best Computer Companies

MarcS wrote on 6/10/2004, 2:02 PM
I remember reading this forum where a number of companies were recommended for puchase of a high quality desktop for editing. Unfortunately I cannot find the posts.

Can anyone recommend hardware companies which have produced strong machines with good prices and service? I'm reluctant to spend the time building my own machine and would rather get an established box to replace my 3 year old Dell workstation.

Thanks,

Marc
http://www.clayeyecenter.com

Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 6/10/2004, 2:57 PM
If you want a prepacked box, Dell and Gateway are the two major players via the mail order/ off the web channel. Sony and others make retail versions. Many companies will custom assemble to your specs for a modest fee.

The downside with any branded box is OEM parts. They ALL cut corners to keep prices down. So even though it might say you're getting a super fancy video card, it rarely is the full blown retail version and unless you ask they rarely reveal what if anything is missing, changed.

The downside with custom shops is they too unless you are very specific as to exactly what you want may stick in a cheap motherboard no-name or low quality video card, cheap memory, power supply, etc..

So the usual buyer beware.
RangerJay wrote on 6/10/2004, 3:08 PM
http://www.xicomputer.com/

This company built me a dual-Xeon box. Delivery was very prompt, and I've never had a single problem with it -- after almost two years of continuous operation.

All of their boxes are highly customizable. They focus on the CAD market, not necessarily the video/audio market, but if you do a bit of judicious component selection, you can get a really good computer at a reasonable price.

About the only disadvantage I can see is the rather short, 1-year warranty, compared to the 3-year warranties offered by others.
craftech wrote on 6/10/2004, 3:17 PM
Dell is getting worse every year. The help is getting dumb and dumber. They are basically an assembler these days and trying to live on what was once above average tech support. Gateway has remained consistently bad and hasn't varied from that dubious distinction.
Promax has always been good and they actually know something about video editing.
Boxx Computers is also good I have heard although they haven't been around long enough to have developed a reseller rating.
If you haven't committed to Vegas yet, Apple has always had a high customer satisfaction.

Whatever you do, dedicate the computer to video editing only. Far fewer problems and easier to diagnose problems by reducing the variables.

John
skibumm101 wrote on 6/10/2004, 3:23 PM
If interseted, we sell very high quality machines. with great warrenties
rbrewer at netassociate.net
DavidMcKnight wrote on 6/10/2004, 3:24 PM
"Whatever you do, dedicate the computer to video editing only. Far fewer problems and easier to diagnose problems by reducing the variables.
"

Amen to that. I built a pc just for editing, and it's one of the best decisions I've made. No temptation to put any software or hardware in there that doesn't need to be there, and it's clean and fast
craftech wrote on 6/10/2004, 3:24 PM
http://www.xicomputer.com/
=============
Seem to be mixed reviews on this company although seem to have been more favorable.

John
JohnnyRoy wrote on 6/10/2004, 3:34 PM
I agree with BillyBoy, I would stay away from Dell and Gateway as they use OEM versions of name brand parts with lower specs and missing features. (like Audigy 2 cards with no MIDI!) They also use non-standard motherboards and power supplies that make it difficult to upgrade.

I’ve found Micron Computer to be very reputable and they use industry standard parts. I had a Micron before I started building my own and I loved it. Also ABS Computers is good and uses high quality parts that you can pick yourself.

~jr
busterkeaton wrote on 6/10/2004, 4:26 PM
If you wanted to get your computer from folks who specifically built systems for video, here's a list.

Boxx computers is who Sony chose to demo Vegas with at NAB. The current Sony products tour is also being demoed on a Boxx workstation.

They chose a really powerful dual Opteron system. You may not need something as powerful ( and pricey) as that, but you can get one of their lower end systems and put Vegas on it. Rumor is the when Vegas starts to work with BlackMagic cards they are going to point folks towards a Boxx system.
Promax, mentioned above, is a longstanding NLE reseller. After the enthusiastic reception of Vegas 5 at NAB, they added Vegas to their line up.
PCnirvana.com is mentioned in another forum as making excellent Vegas computers. Earle Foote, who is the head of the company, moderates a Vegas forum at another website.
DVLine makes Vegas systems and are reputable.

Boxx Computers is also good I have heard although they haven't been around long enough to have developed a reseller rating. Boxx has been around since the 90's (Remember those days?). It's not that they haven't been around their market was mainly 3D/CAD, so they just aren't that well known.
JJKizak wrote on 6/10/2004, 4:45 PM
I wish Western Electric Ma Bell would make a computer. In the rare case it failed after 20 years of use with the monthly upgrades a spare would pop out and down time would be minimal and it would be ready to operate at the failure point of the other unit. It would also be ambidextrous ---if you put the card in the wrong slot it would still work--- and a panel light would light up saying that the card is in the wrong slot. Every contact would be gold flashed and of course the program would never fail (UNIX). The unit would be tested by being dropped from a two-story perch to make sure it still worked ok. And of course it would be field tested for 10 years before being sold to the public. You would never have to tell the programmers (Bell Labs)
what to create as they were three centuries ahead of mankind's thinking.
But alas, its all down the tubes now that fair play was introduced by congress.

JJK
DavidMcKnight wrote on 6/10/2004, 4:56 PM
uh....and it would cost $8000...and not even be touch-tone dial
JJKizak wrote on 6/10/2004, 5:23 PM
That's optional.

JJK
bjtap wrote on 6/10/2004, 6:49 PM
Sorry I can't give you a 'positive' here but I can give a warning. Stay away from Alienware. Their support is less than always knowledgable, many a problem I had to 'fix' myself. In under a year the included DVD player and memory boards went. They also dropped me from warranty coverage when I updated the BIOS (using ASUS's own update program and getting confirmation before and after that it was a proper BIOS update) even though on Alienware's website they stated it was okay to do that. If that was not crazy enough it was the BIOS update that fixed my problems with external USB and Firewire items... and Alienware even acknowledged this as being so.
Barry
MarcS wrote on 6/11/2004, 5:30 AM
Thanks for all your suggestions!

- Marc

www.clayeyecenter.com
Spot|DSE wrote on 6/11/2004, 5:56 AM
I'll highly recommend BOXX for video-related use. They're far overkill for running Office or Doom, but beyond that, they really are solid and smooth. HIgh priced, but they are the only mass-manufacturer I've found that I think is worth a damn. I prefer building my own if for no other reason that the fact that I get a clean OS rather than a pre-packed mess of additional useless ware like Spybot.
MadMikey wrote on 6/11/2004, 11:04 AM
Well I have to add my 2 cents. I have had an Alienware system for a year now, and a friend bought one on my recomendation. I have had no problems at all. My friend messed his system up installing and uninstalling drivers, his own fault, but by his account Alienware spent more than 2 hours on the phone with him stepping him through the process of getting everything reinstalled properly. He said they were very professional and knowledgable.

I'm very happy with my Alienware.
3Ghz P4
800 Mhz FSB
2 Gb Ram
2-160 Gb SATA hard drives
Audigy2 Soundcard