Quote:
Originally Posted by sostpm  Sure wish I checked the ratings here before buying from Portatech, whom I found on Pricewatch.
Prices were not that great but here is what I didn't like: - Expected good customization for what I purchased.I wanted a barebones system, with no basic troubles to contend with. I wanted to be able to slap in a few cards, and other components that I already had without any hassles. I bought an AS4Rock mobo with an Intel 945 chip. Not a neat job inside the case, as if done by a total novice with wires and cables just slapped in.
- Memory selection with Motherboard without forethought
. Rather than a single 1GB of memory, I got 2 sticks of 512 MB with no room for expansion. When I called on why they did that. Said it was a dual core motherboard. I should have been given the option to decide from the order selection. As a consequence, for me to do a memory upgrade, I would have to discard the 2 sticks, and replace with two 1GB sticks, very bad choice on their part. - Service was courteous but ineffective. They shipped a standard case with front side cables to some mobo audio pins for hi def. sound. Problem was the pin markings did not match the motherboard documentation. I could have blown the motherboard since they did not provide any additional documentation on how to hook those cable pins to the mobo. I found that out when I called ASRock support.
- I could probably send the system back but ... It would destroy any advantage that I had in purchasing the system from them. If I read the comments posted here, I never would have bought the system from them.
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I've read over your post, and having put together many computers myself I sort of feel that you are being extremely nit picky.
1) I'm not sure that they should be able to read your mind that you would want to upgrade. 2 sticks for a dual core computer = better than one (except for upgrades).
2) Did they agree to professionaly wire the case (tied, rounded cables)? If not, then they did their part. If they were going to spend plenty of time to build the system, would it really be worth while to offer it cheap?
3) You state that the mobo and case did not have matching pins/cables. This happens all the time. I find that sometimes some cables do not even get used (hdd light, audio, 2nd usb). They cannot magically make these match each other, and they definately should not have to consider whether a customer will go in and mess with items and destroy the motherboard.
I hate to disagree with you, but it definately seems that you are expecting a LOT for a barebone pc, especially since you seem to have enough knowledge to handle these issues yourself.
My question is:
If you had just opened the case to pop in a hard drive, cd drive, and processor, and not fiddled around, would the computer have worked? If yes, then it seems they did their job.
Did they offer professional installation, cases that match exactly to the motherboard, and customer proofing? If so, then you should be unhappy with them.
I know its not often that a reviewer is disagreed with, but without more information, it seems that some of your disapointment is unwarranted.
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