Maingear Owners fill in the blanks please?

[Trashman00]

Hello all. New to the community here. I love high-end gaming pc's. I've been looking hard at Maingear and I'm thinking about buying a pc from them in the near future. I'm waiting for the new gpu cards to be released and saving up for a real kickass machine. I currently own an overdrive pc and I've had it for 3 yrs and I'm happy with it. The itch to buy something different and up to date is hitting me hard!!!! Can you gents please tell me how you like your maingear machines and would you buy from them again? Any regrets? How does customer support treat you when you have problems? Would you wait for the new gpu's or buy now? Thanks for all your input.

[theDreamer]

Can only help with the last question, sorry.
Waiting at this point could be the right thing to do if you are wanting the best up to date GPUs, but the tough question is though that how long are you going to be waiting? See no official word on the next GPUs has been announced so you could be waiting until next spring, unlikely, but if there are delays you will be.

By that time we are looking at the first round of DX10 games, plus other DX9 games that will be pushing the limits of gaming machines, current & old. Also are you only waiting currently on the GPU? Are you also thinking of waiting for Penyrn or the AMD next chip (sorry the name escapes my mind right now)? If you are waiting definitely or heavily on the CPUs also that would sway me to not be buying until those both come out around the same time, one after the other.

What do you plan on using this high power machine for? Just gaming or we looking at other applications such as video/photo editing, other stuff?

[Trashman00]

I definitley want to go with a new cpu as well as the gpu. I'm using the pc primarily for gaming. I'm expecting AMD will comeout with an awesome chip when it's finally released. I'm in no rush and I'm willing to wait for quality. I want the system for Call of Duty4. Right now I'm bored with COD2 and have switched to tactical servers to keep me interested. My current system plays games just fine for now but I'm sure COD4 is going to need a system upgrade to enjoy it to the max. I was going to go with another overdrivepc system but they were acquired by V.M. and they are having some struggles right now. From what I read on Hardop and reviews here it seems Maingear might be the right choice. I certainly hope so because I can drive there to pickup my Rig when its ready. I'm only 35 minutes from Maingear's offices. :wink:

[Eternal]

Sorry to butt in here but I was just wondering if there was anything besides rumors regarding the release of the 8900 series of GPU's? I know computer tech changes so damn frequently, but I would really rather not buy a full system just to have the new line of GPU's come out in 2-3 months. It's not the other components I am concerned about, basically just the graphics card. Back on topic, I really don't think you can go wrong with MG bud. I have been a die hard Falcon NW guy having 3-4 PC's from them in the last 7-8 years and I am definitely going with MG this time. Their customer service is second to none, these boards are great for alot of different things, and for the sick build quality of their rigs you really can't beat their price. I can't wait to finally order mine :).

[RottynDawg]

Welcome to the boards Trashman!

I have had nothing but a great experience from Maingear on ALL fronts. I've said it here before...there are a few who might be able to reach the build quality, though I question that, but NONE who can match the build quality AND service that Maingear offers. I would buy from them again and I will buy from them again :)

If you want a new computer and have a reason to buy one, I would not wait. The "should I wait" question is always present when buying computer gear and I haven't heard of any upcoming CPU or GPU technologies that would make me want to wait. I like buying new computers though, even when I don't need them, so my advice may not be the best on this point :)

[flyingphish]

im with dawg. just bought my new f131 today. playing the waiting game with PC tech is futile...

nothing better than buying a new computer when you dont need one.

[spincut]

"sometimes" it is good to wait, but its usually unlikely to know when those times are.

I waited (not by choice though) for about 6 months and all i got out of it was a FSB upgrade out of a core 2 at this point.

And yeah, since there havent even been rumor mill stuff about a new GPU and the new CPU stuff is still a ways off it may not be all to poignant to wait.

The new Penryns i think will still utilize current platforms for the most part, not sure about the new AMD CPU's.

Basically just wait until you see the first actual need to get a new computer (so, COD4???) and then get it.

At the worst nothing new will have come out but prices for things may have come down at least.

[blindem]

I'm with RottynDawg on this one too. If I waited every time I thought something better would come out (sooner or later), I would never buy a new computer. In my case, I wanted a new computer, my old one was 3 years old, so I ordered a couple weeks ago. If something new comes out, oh well, it's not going to make me regret my new computer if the new one still rocks! I can't answer the other questions so much, as I haven't received my system yet.

[ElAntonius]

I've been in the same boat.

I'm holding out till November...every rumor on new nVidia cards I've seen points to November. Now, if new cards aren't out (or officially on the pipe) then, I'll probably just break down and buy 8800s. At the very minimum, November will give a pretty good indication of how the current generation will really perform in true DX10 games.

((Oops, somehow this replay ended up on another thread))

[theDreamer]

Rumors are only available for what the specs might be, beyond that everything is unknown.

Waiting is the hardest question, if you buy now I am sure you will not regret it, but if you really really want the next best thing set a date on if it is out by then with both parts grab it and do not look back. The problem will come when it gets close or at your date and no product is out, but they say it will be out in another month so then you have to wait a bit longer.

[ElAntonius]

That's why I picked November. I have seen speak of Q42007 and November (and of course it's all rumor)...but the bigger answer in November lies in the games coming out: a batch of high profile DX10 games. November will be the test of the current generation in DX10...which will serve a pretty good purpose to tell us whether the current generation is truly a worthwhile investment (that, of course, is subjective).

[theDreamer]

Very true.
Many people are saying that the first round of DX10 games are going to be sub-par to what we are use to, no comment really since we have no clue other than CGI videos.

Though also this could be true since the first round of DX10 have no true comparison of a DX10 game so we are a bit shooting blind.

[RottynDawg]

By no means is the following review enough information to say how DX10 will really perform, but it is an interesting read for those of you making decisions to wait or not :)

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTM3MSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

[ElAntonius]

That review was actually a big part of my decision to 'wait and see'...otherwise I'd probably be sitting on a new PC now.

[Trashman00]

Thanks to all for your response. I'm leaning toward waiting because my OPC is working fine. The release date for COD4 is november but we all know how that can change with pc games. I'm excited about Maingear and I haven't found any other builders to choose over them. I really like the fact that I'm located 35 minutes from Maingear so that is definitley a factor for me. I'm torn between red and yellow paint jobs. They both look awesome in the pics. Where do the pc's get painted at? It sure is exciting buying a new pc even if you cant afford it!!! :lol:

[theDreamer]

Yeah, if you are waiting for X game it might be best for that game to come out to see what you really need, because if it comes out and you end up need to upgrade again you will be upset or regretted.

I believe it was stated once that they stated they have an in house paint facility, but I am not 100% on this.

[RottynDawg]

They did indeed setup their own paint shop so since you live close, you could check it out and see the paint colors in person before deciding :) One vote for yellow from me!

[blindem]

Yeah, that yellow is awesome. I would have gone yellow, but it wouldn't have looked right in my office. I'd add a second vote for yellow!

[Trashman00]

That review was actually a big part of my decision to 'wait and see'...otherwise I'd probably be sitting on a new PC now. WOW!!!! Thanks for that wonderful link. That review really solidifies my decision to wait for the next generation. I dont know if I can wait but I'm really going to give it a try.

[Eternal]

We're in the same boat. I've been waiting about 4.5 months to save up for mine, and it's still going to be at least another 2 months while I wait for the new GPU's. I know some people would rather wait so they don't have to upgrade as often, and others like to do exactly the opposite. If there is still no concrete news by mid-late November regarding new Nvidia cards I will probably just go ahead and order a rig then. In the meantime, all this waiting is just going to lead to even bigger excitement once my new system finally arrives :).

[theDreamer]

Well, the plus to waiting I have found is you can set aside some more money. Instead of having to "settle" for something and hope it meets your needs, if you wait you are able to get that extra awesome far-out extreme 1337 system. (Had to sound corny. :D )

[Nickleby]

I'll just add my endorsement of MainGear to the list. I received my delivery of my F131 in Februrary.

Order Time/Customer Service:
The wait time was a bit more than expected; but I can't say enough about the customer service. I actually received a personal phone call from Wallace to apologize for the delay. The MainGear crew threw in some extras as an additional show of good faith.

I was also pleasantly surprised that the MainGear reps who take your order on the phone actually have extensive hardware expertise. In addition, no heavy handed sales pitches were employed. In fact, you'll get tailored advice based on what you want - just make sure to let the rep know what you need your rig to accomplish.

Product:
I was impressed with the overall performance of the F131. My F131 is an OC'd E6600 (air cooled), single 8800GTX, 2MB/XP unit. I can't heap enough praise on it's stability and high performance. I usually play MMO's and I can play most of these types of games on the highest graphic settings with no problems (except Vanguard Beta and release - probably more due to the game's network code and the 8800 drivers).
Temperature runs at a consistent 47C under load.

I've only performed routine maintenance so far (dust removal). No major problems.

Edit: I went with Yellow as well.

Nickleby

[Trashman00]

AWESOME!!!! Yellow will be my choice as well. What monitor are you using?

[Nickleby]

I settled on a 22" ViewSonic which for the money was a good choice ($298 on Newegg). I would've rather upgraded to a 24"; but I had to maintain some semblance of a budget.

Nickleby