5/5

posted Mar-13-2002

"Hello everyone...this is the second time I've rated iBuypower, the first apparently having been lost in the transition from the former management to the current management of resellerratings.com...this is also the seventh rating of an OEM I've completed, having previously rated computers from Micro Professional and Proteva (two now defunct companies), as well as products from Toshiba (2 laptops), HP and MicronPC...right off the bat, it's important to note that ALL manufacturers have SOME problems at some times -- even for the most contentious OEM, an occasional "bad" piece of equipment slips through and can sully the reputation of the OEM...so much depends on how well (or how poorly) the OEM deals with the problems as they arise...

Now, as for iBuypower...I initially configured the machine online and than called in my order via telephone...the service agent, Gordon, was knowledgeable, courteous and friendly...as I ordered the computer during the Christmas 2001 rush season, I also paid extra for 5 day delivery and it was well worth it...the machine arrived precisely on time and was correctly configured, no mistakes, but was DOA...that's right, it didn't work right out of the box...now, I'm no novice, but I'd paid an extra $119 for a 3 year onsite service warranty, so I didn't want to open the box...thus, I called the tech support agent (service having been farmed out to a third party agent) and was informed that they would provide onsite service only if THEY decided that there was a hardware problem...consequently, I had to open the case and, with careful and knowledgeable instruction from the courteous tech support person, I was successful in correcting the simple problem (the power supply had worked loose during shipping) within 30 minutes...in the now near 3 months that I've had the computer, it has worked flawlessly and I'm very happy with it...FYI, I chose to buy from iBuypower due to my prior experience working with some of the "big names" in the OEM business and finding that they offer very little more in terms of product quality and service than the so called "second tier" OEM...plus, the "second tier" OEM really do offer so much more from the money...my machine is an Athlon XP 1600, 1024 mg DDR/RAM, 60 gig HDD, nVidia GeForce 3 w/64 mg RAM, 19" true flat Viewsonic monitor, etc., all for $1728...a similar configuration (not exactly the same as Dell doesn't use AMD processors or have a motherboard which supports so much RAM, etc.)from Dell, my second choice for purchase, would have cost me a thousand dollars more...again, I'm quite pleased with my purchase from iBuypower and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone who has at least a little experience...BTW, iBuypower doesn't provide much documentation so a "newbie" computer user may have some difficulty...anyway, if anything crops up in the next year that's worth reporting, I'll get back to resellerratings.com..."

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5/5

posted Apr-11-2002

"Other than having to pry the availablity of the components I had selected out of them, the order was processed quickly, and arrived promptly after being shipped."

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5/5

posted Apr-15-2002

"I saw an advertisement for Ibuypower in a pc magazine, and did extensive research for complaints before ordering. I re-configured a base system online, and placed my order. The ship time was slow (almost 3 weeks), but I didn't pay extra for expedited shipping. It arrived, I set it up with now problem, and everything worked right out of the box. I had requested that the 60GB hard drive be partitioned into 3 20GB sections, which was done. I'd upgraded the speakers to Altec Lansing's 4.1 surround sound setup, and after about a week, I discovered that front channel sound was coming through the front AND rear speakers, while rear sound didn't come through at all. I called tech support, and after about 5 minutes on hold, I was informed that all techs were busy and they'd call back shortly. Yeah, right. I was amazed when my call was returned in under an hour. The tech was very courteous and knowledgeable, and had me try switching cables and input/outputs around to isolate the problem. He came to the conclusion that the wiring had been done wrong in the subwoofer, with front sound being directed to all four speakers, and rear not even hooked up. He said he would notify Ibuypower and have them send me a new speaker setup. This was on a Thursday evening. Monday, I received the new speakers via Fed-Ex 2nd day air, along with an RMA and prepaid packing label to return the defective one. The new speakers didn't solve the problem, so I emailed Creative Labs tech support to see if maybe there was a known issue with the sound card and Altec Lansing 4.1 speakers. After two days of suggestions from them, I downloaded the complete Altec Lansing product specs/manual and discovered that they had to be set on GAMING to utilize four discreet channels.

Last night, I installed a USB scanner, and every time I would reboot, the scanner would disappear and become an "unknown device". The same problem had occured with a printer, so I was afraid the USB ports were defective. Another call to tech support solved the problem, he just had me uninstall the USB ports and let windows recognize them again. I'm extremely impressed with the level of customer service they offer, and the fact that the computer is filled with name brand components instead of generic cheap ones. A similarly configured model from Dell or Gateway would have been almost twice what this one cost."

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5/5

posted Apr-29-2002

"I bought an AMD Athlon XP 1700+, 60GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, GEforce 4 TI4600 video card. The salesperson was very helpful and told me that the motherboard that I originally wanted seemed to be having a lot of problems and their were a lot of returns on it so he recommended a new one, which I'm glad he did. I got an excellent price on the computer also.

It took a little longer than normal for them to ship it because they were short on the GF4 ti4600 cards which had just came out, but I didn't mind waiting. They even gave me a different brand video card than they normally use and the one they gave me had a better software bundle so I was very happy with that. I ordered a V.90 modem but they upgraded it to a V.92 modem at no extra cost which was also a pleasant surprise.

However their customer support was a little lacking. I had problems with the CD in not wanting to recognize CD's that were placed in it. After calling tech support (they use a 3rd party tech support) they didn't have a clue on why and only could recommend reinstalling the OS, which I had already done. I sent an e-mail to Ibuypower saying that if I couldn't get this resolved I wanted a refund. Victor from Ibuypower actually called me on the phone to try and help and told me there was a problem with Windows XP and the particular CD I was using and that they would exchange it. I went ahead and shipped the system back to them so they could repair it. They sent a shipping form beforehand so I wouldn't have to pay for any shipping. They replaced the hard drive and shipped it back. They could have shipped the CD and let me install it, but I was not comfortable doing that so I just shipped it back to them. Overall I am satisfied with the computer and the company but a little down on their tech support but they were helpful in resolving the problem and making me happy. I would recommend buying from them. The system runs great now and they use quality parts in their systems.
"

This review was modified by JimJRJ on July 12 2002 10:06:55 AM

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5/5

posted May-03-2002

"After researching several online vendors I decided to order my first custom built computer from ibuypower.com. Within 24hrs I received confirmation. A couple of days later I was able to track the status online and estimated shipping date. The computer was actually shipped 2 days earlier than promised. It arrived exactly as I ordered and started up okay. I've had it now for about a month and it continues to run without any problems. I highly recommend them."

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5/5

posted May-24-2002

"PLEASE READ UPDATE FURTHER DOWN:

My business with iBUYPOWER is a direct result of resellerratings. Few companies sport a 9+ rating here and system prices the envy of larger OEMs; this one qualifies.

I ordered a decked out Athlon system about a week ago. Assembly and burn-in took roughly seven days, and oddly enough, 5-10 day ground shipping took only a day to cover 3000 miles to my house. Impressive.

Tech support seems to be a strong suite. It took two rings to get through, and the Tech with which I spoke was knowledgeable and prompt. More than I can say for Dell’s tech support. As for the PC, the interior work is better than I've ever seen. Stray cables and cords are nowhere in sight, all neatly wrapped and sorted. The case is at least the quality of Dell's 4100 ensemble. Very professional.

Actually, perhaps the only issue I have is that iBUYPOWER didn't setup the RAID array I specified, nor include the necessary drivers among the various disks packaged with the system. I had to root around a bit on my motherboard manufacturer's website to find them.

I'm in the process of installing Windows 2000 as we speak. If I don't notice any glaring defects upon entering the OS, consider this a solid recommendation for iBUYPOWER. Otherwise, I'll update accordingly with a second rating.


UPDATE 6/12/02:

Unfortunately, all hasn't gone quite to plan. General instability has plagued this system from day 1, causing me a great deal of grief. No iteration of Windows runs correctly at the moment; it's almost certainly a hardware problem, likely the 512 MB RAM DIMM. Tech support was quite helpful and offered to send me a new DIMM and whatever else I needed, no questions asked. They seem to be flexible with the 30-day return policy should I be unable to fix it. Until the RAM arrives in two days, my PC waits in silence.


UPDATE 10/02:

Everything works, and it has for quite some time. I'm thrilled.

I have updated my ratings to reflect the current situation.

D. Indech
"

This review was modified by KnightRT on June 02 2003 10:48:00 PM

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5/5

posted Jun-13-2002

"Outstanding support and product. No hassles. Delivered ahead of schedule. Video card started having trouble 6 months after I bought the system. They shipped me a new one immediately and paid for the return shipping on the bad card. Outstanding technical support."

This review was modified by Dom Larkin on June 13 2002 07:26:20 PM

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5/5

posted Jun-23-2002

"I bought this comp. for mainly gaming purposes and it's definately a good machine for the price. Recieved the comp in A-1 condition, no problems so far. It took a while to get here, but I expected this as I had it shipped Airborne ground from West Coast to East Coast. This system is fairly fast and very stable. So far, it has been a very good experience dealing with Ibuypower"

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5/5

posted Jul-04-2002

"Very well organized CPU"

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5/5

posted Jul-06-2002

"Recieved my computer several days early. Runs great except for a few scratches in the window when it arrived. Had problems with CD-RW and they sent me a replacement free of charge but it turns out the the CD-RW drive was not to blame, it was actually the CD-Rs, so I sent the replacement drive back. Very easy to work with."

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