Is Monarch slipping?

[michaels39]

I've been shopping for a custom gaming computer for a wile now,and thought based on their rating that Monarch would be a good place.Great selection of components,far less expensive than other places.But after following their forums for a while,I'm beginning to wonder if their rating is really accurate where custom systems and customer service is concerned,a lot of problems with shipping delays,and much worse to me,a lot of problems with systems not working when they arrive.As far as I'm concerned,when you're paying $2000+ for something,it should work out of the box,trouble free.Anything else is a failure.
I'm beginning to wonder if success has ruined Monarch,much as it did Alienware.Perhaps they've gotten too big too fast,and quality is slipping as a result.But I'm really starting to wonder if I should risk my hard earned money with them.

[WC_tech]

I ordered a motherboard combo from them back in March with no problems. I read their forums daily and, yes, you see a lot of people with problems with their new systems. I think they are experiencing some growing pains, but you do see mostly just the bad on forums, not the good.
My recommendation: order system components only and put the system together yourself. It is an awesome learning experience and very rewarding. A little cheaper too, if you're careful and plan the build well.

[Ballast]

In a word ,yes.
In April '03 they had a 9.75 rating and now9.26.

Here's my review:

http://www.resellerratings.com/forum/t75350.html

[ainorwei]

I am still waitting for my money from cyberpower and I am planning to get a system from monarch. After coming here and reading some more of what ppl have to say on their system build by them, I am somewhat thinking it over

Maybe I should buy the parts and build it myself, but the big problem is I don't have too much time (it will take me longer to build it myself then they will + shipping). Man, is there no more good place to have your system build anymore?

[michaels39]

I started researching places months ago,knowing I'd have enough to have a system built about now.In the beginning,Monarch had very good ratings,and was my first choice.But gradually the ratings started going down,and Monarchs' own forums began filling with complaints of long waits,poor support,and most important in my opinion,defective systems that didn't work.Many of the problems I've seen reported should never have gotten past Monarch's supposedly rigorous burn in and testing,in three separate cases,no operating system was even installed.How can you test a system if you haven't even istalled the OS?As stated in an earlier post,their rating has slipped from 9.75 to 9.39,frankly,in the area of custom systems,I'm surprised it's even that high.
Right now,I'm leaning towards Envision or KC Computers,they both have comparable prices,and consistantly score 10.00.

[JimJRJ]

This seems to happen with small companies that grow try and grow too fast. They start to get more concerned with quantity than quality.