Should I keep this computer or not?

In My Humble Opinion
1

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?

2

Shipping computers is a lot like russian roulette it seems. I’ve sent machines to family, and they had problems on arrival. Sending them back, they work fine. Then I have a machine that is broken so I send it to dad or somebody and it arrives broken, he fixes, sends back, and it’s broken again.

I’d say keep the machine, play with it, if you’re not happy on day 25, send it back.

Or send it to me :slight_smile:

3

Sounds like a classic intermittent hardware failure which may or may not be related to the memory. For $4000 I would not hesitate for even a second, cancel that order. Let them ship that machine, or its parts, to someone else and have them build you a brand new one. I’ve been doing desktop support and building PCs for more than 10 years now and one thing I know exists is the cursed PC. No matter who you are or what you do fixing certain stubborn PCs is next to impossible. You shouldn’t have to deal with that if you are spending a super premium price on what should be one of the world’s best gaming PCs.

4

If I were you, I’d contact their excellent tech support people, and explain once again your misgivings about their resolution to the problem, given your own numerous attempts to do the same thing they did. Ask them to continue looking for another possible source of the problem. If you’ve been dealing with one guy, ask for another tech support guy’s opinion there.

Given their fabulous reputation, I’d trust them for now. Stuff happens, and you know they’ll back their work. And if you speak up before they ship it, you might end up more satisfied in the long run.

Good luck, Athena. I feel for you.

5

Or better yet, ask them to replace the part before shipping it. You don’t trust that the part doesn’t have an intermittent

6

(That didn’t go through right )

Or better yet, ask them to replace the part before shipping it. You don’t trust that the part doesn’t have an intermittent failure. If they trust the part, they can use it in someone else’s machine.

7

I ended up calling them shortly after posting the OP.

I explained the situation much like I wrote the OP, and asked the guy “would you be comfortable with this computer if it were yours?”

He didn’t miss a beat and said “I understand exactly what you’re saying. You’re worried you’re getting a lemon.”

Bingo.

He said “Let me talk to the support manager and get back to you.” He called back a few minutes later and said “OK, I’ve got permission to build you a whole new machine. You’re at the top of the queue, and the company president is aware of this problem and keeping an eye on it.” Not sure I believe the bit about the company president, but hey, it is a small company, maybe he is aware of problems when they happen.

I asked him if he thought they could have it done and to me by next Friday. He said he thought they could do it but wouldn’t guarantee it. I’m still not entirely happy with that answer - given that he said they have the parts in stock and going by their own estimates, I figure a day to build it, 3 days burn in, then overnight shipping should easily get it to me by next Friday.

We’ll see if that happens. Worse case I’ll have it in a week and a half.

What really burns me is that it’s been so long that I have the credit card bill in front of me. $3800 owed, but no computer. I wonder if I call the credit card company and explain the situation if they can delay it or something until I actually have the system in hand (I don’t actually want to dispute the charges (yet)).

8

You’ll have time to dispute the charge if they don’t deliver on time. I’m impressed with their response, that’s the way it should be handled. Let us know how you make out.