I received my computer just about 1 month after I placed my order. My computer arrived in perfect condition. I must have emailed them about 10 times before handing them my hard earned money. They replied to every single email. I purchased an F131 system. I had to pleasure to speak to Giovanni and Raphael, they were both very helpful. Thank you Maingear!

This review was modified by its author, superstarme, on 11/29/08 4:26 PM.

Hello I want to say sorry it's been quite a while since I ordered and I didn't quite get to writing a review until now. But getting to the point.  
 
Last November 30th 2007 I happened to come across a company called Maingear and overall I am quite impressed of this PC called the "prelude"  
 
1.The staff is very friendly, and is highly capable.  
 
2.My PC arrived in no time.  
 
3.The packaging was excellent for a 600+ mile. journey they took care with preparing it :)  
 
4.My experience with the computer I ordered was awesome I didn't buy a real expensive computer just one in my price range.. but I must say it was well worth my money.  
 
And furthermore I would recommend this highly capable company to anyone who is interested in nice looking and well built custom PCS  
 
My apologies to Maingear for taking so long to write a review for such a beautiful PC.  
 
Peace...  
 

I am 100% delighted with Maingear. They met and exceeded all my high expectations.  
My expectations were; 1) the best high-performance specifications for my needs including customization if necessary, 2) superb build quality 3) polite, courteous, knowledgeable salesmanship.  
Maingear delivered 100% on all of these, and believe me, I am not that easy to please or impressionable.  
Maingear is for real and know how to do everything right. I cannot remember a better customer experience in my entire life.  
Here are my ratings, broken down by category;  
10/10 for the salesmanship and service provided by Raphael.  
10/10 for the build quality as executed by Giovanni.  
10/10 for Raphael's patience with me while trying to finalize the specifications.  
10/10 for delivering the system on time relative to promised delivery date.  
10/10 for the quality and effectiveness of the packaging.  
10/10 for working perfectly right out of the box.  
10/10 for customization.  
10/10 for speed.  
10/10 for reliability.  
10/10 for the best looking wiring job I've ever seen.  
10/10 for aesthetic appeal of the machine.  
10/10 for being a complete pleasure to deal with.  
My sincerest thanks to Raphael, Giovanni and the entire team at Maingear.  
For those in love with specifications, my new computer from Maingear included Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 (4.0 GHz X 4), 1200W Silverstone power supply, 8 GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 memory, Asus P5E3 Premium WiFi X 48 chipset and, 4 Western Digital Velociraptors 300 GB 10,000 RPM.  

Buying Experience: In a word Maingear is outstanding! I had my choice narrowed down to Maingear or Digital Storm. The genuine, knowledgeable advice and guidance provided by Maingear (Raphael) was far superior to my experience with Digital Storm. I had a lot of questions and always received practical answers. I was never rushed off the phone as if I were just another customer. It took about 30 days to actually receive my F131 which was exactly what I was told up-front. Another compelling reason I chose Maingear was proximity. I live in Massachusetts so I received my computer in 2 days, (though FED-EX indicated it was an overnight transit time). The computer was well-packaged and there wasn’t a bunch of extra junk and paperwork that tends to overwhelm – just a clean, nicely constructed binder with the critical documentation and a small box with the power cord and leftover connectors, etc. The white gloves (and t-shirt) are a nice touch as well! I also liked the comprehensive checklist that included benchmark scores for my computer. Screenshots of the scores were saved in my document folder too!  
 
Using the Computer – First Impressions: Again, outstanding! Craftsmanship: Excellent! Everything is clean, neat and nothing out of place. See the link to photos and see for yourself. Operation/start-up: No set-up required. I pushed the power button and everything worked flawlessly including the Office software I ordered. All the drivers are up-to-date and everything I’ve tried so far works without a glitch. The only thing I haven’t tried is recording with the DVDRW.  
 
I was concerned about three things during the ordering process: 1) Whether I made the right choice with Vista 64-bit; 2) Onboard sound quality and 3) Computer fan noise.  
 
1) Vista 64: I have to say Vista 64 is impressive and has worked flawlessly so far – no hang-ups, blue screens, etc. The only thing I’ve discovered is Flash Player is not 64-bit compatible however this isn’t a big deal because 32-bit Explorer and Firefox work fine. I did my homework before specifying 64-bit in terms of drivers. Just make sure Vista 64-bit drivers are available for your hardware. While searching the internet for my needs, I found more comprehensive 64-bit compatibility than I expected. Here’s a list of the software I’ve loaded so far – it all works fine. Some of these programs have separate 64-bit .exe files, so make sure you look for that.  
 
MS Office 2007 Small Business  
PC Pitstop Optimize  
HW Monitor (Free)  
Opanda IEXIF 2.3 (Free)  
Firefox (Free)  
7-Zip (Free)  
Adobe Reader 9 (Free)  
Desk PDF 2.5 (Free)  
AVG 8.0 (Free)  
Zinio Reader (Free)  
Ad Aware 2008 (Free)  
Nero Smart Start Essentials (was already loaded by Maingear)  
 
Bottom line: Vista 64-bit is great! Don't be afraid - go for it!  
 
2) Onboard sound quality: I can only compare this to my old computer that had a Sound Blaster Audigy system. I thought that sounded great. The onboard sound on the 780i is just as good to my ears. I personally don’t need anything more. If you’re on the bubble trying to decide, I suggest you save a few bucks, go with onboard sound and see what you think. You can always add a sound card later.  
 
3) Fan noise: I’m spoiled because my old computer is an Antec Sonata that I customized with insulation and a fan controller. It is nearly silent, albeit not nearly as powerful as my F131. In any case, while the F131 is considerably louder than what I’m custom to, I am getting used to it. The TJ10 case is really nice and quite a bit lighter-weight than I expected.  
 
Final thoughts and comments: 1) Do your research before making the investment. 2) Invest wisely and buy from Maingear. You will be happy.

I ordered from them and was very happy! Due to situations not of their doing I had to cancel the order. The staff at Maingear were helpfull, professional and answered all questions in a very timely manner. When I get my next computer, it will be from them!

This review was modified by its author, greggb42, on 8/26/08 4:13 PM.

This is a review of my MAINGEAR F131, 4th of July Special. It has been abridged from the version found on the MG forums at  
 
http://www.maingearforums.com/showthread.php?p=14584#post14584  
 
My 'High-end' Dell melted a few months ago. It had served me well enough for a couple of years, but I decided to treat myself and spring for a boutique gaming desktop.  
 
Unfortunately, I had a price cap of $1,500.00, which a few years ago would have put most boutiques out of my budget. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these days many shops offer more affordable selections.  
 
Pre-Build: 9.9/10  
 
Like many in the market for a boutique rig, I did extensive research before purchasing.  
 
In the end I decided on a MAINGEAR Prelude. MG impressed me with its clean, sleek website and configurator, though a couple of sections needed updates.  
 
I also like the look of the builds. None of MG's builds are over-the-top plastic monstrosities, they all use functional, elegant Silverstone cases with minimalist exteriors.  
 
Finally, MAINGEAR had a great rep both among reviewers and the enthusiast community. Questions on their forums were answered quickly and enthusiastically, usually by other customers but also by company reps. Most importantly when I came across situations where MG had made past mistakes they were very quick to correct them in the customer's favor.  
 
The impression I was receiving was that MG would cheerfully spend a great deal of time and effort to make sure their customers were happy *after* they received their computers.  
 
The Order: 10/10  
 
After receiving great input on build and components at the MAINGEAR forums, I was ready to order my Prelude.  
That's when I got lucky A couple of days before I was to place my order, MG put up a special on the F131 which put it within my budget. The F131 is the Prelude's bigger brother, with free overclocking and sweet components, I jumped at the chance to grab it instead. Again, the MG forums were very helpful with component selection.  
 
I placed my order as follows:  
 
F131 Fourth of July Edition  
Customizations:  
Exterior Automotive Color: Black Brushed Aluminum Finish  
Power Supply: 750W Silverstone Strider Power Supply  
Motherboard: Intel® Bonetrail DX38BT X38 Chipset  
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 (2.5GHz x 4) 45nm 6MB L2 Cache  
CPU Cooling: Zalman Ultra Quiet CNPS9500 LED 92mm CPU Cooler w/ Copper Base  
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR3-1066  
Do you want us to Redline™ your CPU?: YES  
Hard Drive One: Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache - SATA II  
Optical Drive One: 20X Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive w/ LightScribe Technology - black  
Video Card: Visiontek ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 512MB GDDR3  
Do you want us to Redline™ your GPU?: NO  
Sound Card: Integrated Sound  
Network Card: Integrated Gigabit Network Card  
Game: Yes, Give me 3 FREE Games!  
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32-Bit) SP1  
The Final Finesse: Flawless Hand-crafted Wiring and Cable Management  
Warranty: 14 Month Standard Maingear Warranty  
 
With shipping it came in at a bit over $1,700.00, more than I had initially intended to spend, but also a whole lot more computer than I thought I could afford.  
 
The Wait: 10/10  
 
20 minutes after my order I decided to update the order to 64 bit Vista, with the idea that I would upgrade my RAM sometime soon...The MG website made this very easy, and it was changed on the invoice by the tech processing my order, Raphael, the same day.  
 
I was in contact with MG several times during the wait, and each time I was impressed with the friendly professionalism the company reps showed.  
 
I ordered ground shipping, so we would see how well the system held up on its 2k mile journey.  
 
Receiving the system: 10/10  
 
I received the system 3 weeks after ordering it. The chassis was secured in its box by two simple but effective foam restraints, it took a little bit of strength to work it free (which is good).  
 
Along with the system there were several extras, games, backup discs, and a T shirt.  
 
The Aftermath: 10/10  
 
My first impressions of the case were that no pictures could do her justice. The Silverstone chassis is a beast, brushed black aluminum pierced at strategic intervals by meshed venting.  
 
I felt like I had just gotten the Dark Knight's computer.  
 
The side panels are removed by popping handscrews at the back of the chassis. Every stray wire was neatly bundled and tucked up against the chassis wall.  
 
I quickly determined that every connection was solid, and that all cards, etc. had maintained their seating, that, in fact, the PC seemed to be in perfect shape.  
 
Performance (Don't she purr, though): 10/10  
 
Aside from scrapping a Tablet PC application, I couldn't find anything on the normally bloated and inefficient Vista OS that needed tuning, as MG had already done it for me.  
 
So far, my PC handles like a dream. Programs and games load immediately, and the quadcore makes multitasking a joy. I've only had the system for a few days, and I'll update this review if any problems arise in terms of performance it exceeds my expectations and earns a 10/10.  
 
Conclusion: 10/10  
 
Every aspect of the order process, from the useful forum advice to the slick website interface, was excellent. The system arrived on time and in perfect condition. The wiring/cable management is superb and the exterior is unique, solid, and elegant. Finally, every aspect of my interaction with the MAINGEAR staff and technicians left me feeling like I was valued, and could easily come back with concerns or even in search of simple advice.  
 
Minor details of weakness really only serve to highlight the overall fantastic product and service MAINGEAR offers. It's a good feeling, after months of research and careful budgeting, to know you made the right decision after all. It's even better to know you couldn't have made a better one.  
 
Thanks, Kestrel  

I placed the order at Maingear's website. They have a simple and clean interface that many integrators should use. The only problem I could find with it was shortage of parts you could use. For instance, Creative sound cards are available, but not anyone else. Also, they do have a decent selection of processors but all processors that Intel or AMD make are not available, just the mainstream ones. A day after placing the order, Maingear called to confirm the order. After about a month, I received my new PC. Since the PC was made from retail not OEM parts, all the manuals, discs, and equipment that would be in retail packaging was placed into a nice binder to keep it organized along with an order checklist and the typical welcome materials. After unpacking, I opened the computer itself. The internals looked very well done with all the extra cabling tucked neatly out of the way. Once the PC was started, it ran like a charm without any extra bloatware clogging the system. I haven't had a single blue-screen or crash yet. Very highly recommended.

I am now writing this on my brand new MAINGEAR F131 computer which arrived just today. Out of the box it runs great, looks great and was obviously assembled with care and attention to detail. I ordered this computer 4 weeks ago, but since each is hand built and since there is some demand, it has taken a while for it to be delivered but it was worth the wait. the ordering process was easy, any changes I wanted they were able to accommodate me. I wanted to be able to dual boot so they took care of it, setting my up with both Windows XP and Vista 32. I switched two to 2 9600GT video cards in SLI and they were able to handle that also. I probably bugged them once or twice a week and each time they were friendly. The packaging was first rate. the box had some serious dings but the computer is running just fine. Its tweaked well and is a joy to use. I shopped around for over a month at different builders but I settled on MAINGEAR for their quality and their service and the die-hard community that they have built up. I know that if I have any problems, it will be taken care of. I highly recommend them as a builder of quality power machines.

I researched buying a custom PC via magazines, the web, and advice from friends. I priced out systems and read reviews on Puget, Vigor, Digital Storm, Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Vodoo, Cyberpower, and iBuyPower. I even looked at Dell, Gateway, and HP. I kept coming back to MAINGEAR and reading their forum, looking at pictures, and reading reviews on the net. I decided to go with MAINGEAR due to all the positive reviews and now that I have the PC and have gone through the buying experience I have to say that I made the best choice I could possibly have. The staff was very professional and answered all my questions. The packaging the PC came in was first rate. The PC wiring and build quality is just amazing. The performance has been rock solid and fast (I have a Prelude). The wait for the PC was long, but I knew that going in to the purchase so that is okay. I highly recommend MAINGEAR to anyone looking to buy a custom built computer. The price is fair for the system you get and the quality is excellent.

Excellent customer service. You talk directly to the tech and there is no run around. Quality of the computer is over the top excellent.