Tommy L Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I'm looking for a reliable, stable, reasonably priced company to buy rendering/workstation pc's from. Anyone got a happy story to tell me? Im in Chicago, someone local would be great but not essential. Just dont want to buy from a rip-off merchant or someone who doesnt know what theyre doing, but at the same time dont want to buy from someone as expensive as Boxx. Any advice much appreciated! Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhite Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 No happy stories here. Tri Star advertised heavily back 6-8 years ago and I order a work station from them. At the time they didn't know whether they were coming or going. Took about 3 tries to get the correct configuration, but at least the computer worked. I then bought an 'off the shelf' Sony Vaio at CompUSA which other than the stupid Millenium OS from Microsoft, the fact that they don't give you actual OS CD's, and the 'Sony' power supply would cost about $300 to replace it has been a good computer. Still is running - the only comp I have on the internet. Wipe the hard drive every 2-3 years, reinstall W2K and keep going. Then I went to a local supplier and had them build a workstation for me. Took a year to figure out the memory couldn't handle the heat while rendering. After that the computer has run well except now the capacitors on the MoBo are starting to bulge which probably means its life is limited. After the nightmare at the local supplier, I went with Xi Computer. That has been a 3-4 year joke. Just figured out this summer that they mixed memory on my MoBo which is not good on a dual processor I have been told. This not only screwed up my video card but caused the computer to constantly crash. Among a alot of things issues with Xi, the most annoying is that they NEVER logged a single call into tech support. So everytime I called to try to resolve things or start trouble shooting a new issue, they were starting blind. Unbelievable. I am going to send the memory and video card back but based on the last conversation I don't expect much. They said it was too late to do much of anything. It was too late because the idiots at tech support did not have a clue what was going on. Given the status of their tech support I doubt they would ever have been able to solve the problem if I did not tear things apart on my own and isolate the problems. Of course I could have sent the $3,500 computer back after I had it for week but when you blow that much you count on the fact that they built it correctly, that it will work and usually you can't afford to loose it when you should be making money. My recommendation - by cheap at the middle of the tech curve and expect it last a few years. After that something will be on its way out, memory will no longer be available, or there will be some new standard that will let the next generation of systems run an order of magnitude faster. Another associate that I work with did not have good luck with Dell - all they new how to do (not very well) was swap components. But at least he did not have to send the thing back and someone else dealth with the issues. Good luck, I certainly haven't had much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipxstudios Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Try Dell re-furbished - you can get some good deals. The machines are decent and include Windows OS and other software. http://search.conduit.com/Results.aspx?q=dell+refurbished&ctid=CT415433&octid=CT415433 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kainoa Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Ever considered saving your money and using an online renderfarm? I've been using one for about four years now with good results. All my rendering fees (anywhere from $8-$120 per frame) gets reimbursed back from my clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted September 18, 2007 Author Share Posted September 18, 2007 Ever considered saving your money and using an online renderfarm? I've been using one for about four years now with good results. All my rendering fees (anywhere from $8-$120 per frame) gets reimbursed back from my clients. Thanks, I will be using online farm for animations, but could do with at least one other machine in the office for rendering whilst I work and my main need is a workstation itself. Im not looking for a farm, just a couple of good pcs with no nasty surprises. Has no-one got a recommendation for a firm? All good advice so far and its always good to know who to avoid! Thanks Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I've been happy with Dells for the past few years, but I'm probably going to start building my own. I've never had major problems with my Dells, most of the issues have been Windows related etc if any. You can get a 2.4 ghz quad core with 2 gb of ram, 8600gts card and a 22" monitor for under $1500. I think that's a pretty good deal. Those new quads are a really good value for people like us that can actually put them to good use... To be honest though, I don't think I've used a PC other than a dell for the past 4 years... Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimpleSimon Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Dells are pretty nice. The new Intel Macs are a good deal too for a PC. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 I haven't bought a computer from these guys for many years, but they did good work when I did: http://www.polywell.com/us/index.asp Their website is as ugly as ever, I see. Do a spec compare. Alienware might be worth a look, also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksee Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Have them custom built. By far the best way to go. There are many companies out there (I know of one if you want there info in Michigan) who I had gotten mine from, beautiful performance and no surprises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 Mark, would really like to know who that company in michigan is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksee Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 The company is Driven Technology http://www.driventechnology.com mikesee@driventechnology.com Send an email to Mike, he will help you with whatever you need - oh, and he has experience with the demand of 3ds max. Email me if you want his cell # 95.3lse@gmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F J Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 hey, u'r goin' for the Q6600 again, rite? still an awesome deal, but.. the new 45nm Quads r commin' out January.. /me eyeballs the Q9300 ;p~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now