As some of you know, I recently ordered a new computer. A gaming system, to be precise. I ordered it from Falcon NW, a company known for their quality gaming systems.
When I received the computer a week ago, it was faulty: the video didn’t work. I went through all the basic troubleshooting procedures, tried it with a variety of monitors, tried a different video card, reseated all the components, including the memory, at least once. The memory was in and out a minimum of 3 times (I did it on my own, the tech support people asked me to do it, and the IT guy here where I work tried it.)
Finally, after trying everything, I packaged it up and sent it back to Falcon.
I just heard from them, and they said when it arrived, it failed the POST, but all they had to do was reseat the memory and it is now working fine. They are going to keep it and run some tests for a few days. Assuming that the tests work out fine, they are going to send it back to me on Monday.
I’m a little unsure of this resolution. I reseated that damn memory 3-5 times, and it didn’t fix anything here. My IT guy did the same thing. Neither of us are computer newbies, we’ve both built our share of systems.
This wasn’t a cheap system - it ran me close to $4K, and that’s without a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. They do have a 30 day “no questions asked” return policy, so I can return the machine if I want. I could also ask them to build me a new one, but part of me goes “what will keep them from just repackaging this old one and sending it back to me?”
On the other hand, Falcon does have a good reputation. The machine comes with a 1 year warranty, and I know from experience that if something fails, it’s gonna fail quickly. They’ve been very responsive, and logically I know that no company can guarantee that 100% of their machines will work out the door.
I just have this picture of me opening up the box 2 years from now to put new memory in, installing it, and having the @#$@# thing fail POST again.
Whadaya think? What would you do in my situation?