The Computer Buzz

March 6th, 2008

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

Buying a new desktop PC

When we opened The Computer Factory in 1995 we often had to explain the difference between buying a new PC from us and buying a "package PC" like Dell, Compaq, Gateway and others. Now days it is much easier because everyone already knows what "Package PC" sales and service is like. Now all we have to do is explain how we operate and people understand the difference.

We can build a PC for just about any application. High-end gamers, network file servers, graphics and engineering design stations, basic home PCs and business workstations. There are ten major systems in a PC. The power supply, case, optical drives, hard drives, motherboard, video, audio, CPU, RAM and, of course, the operating system. There are also several lesser options like floppy, dial-up modem, card reader, firewire, E-SATA, TV tuners, RAID drives, etc. These are the components we mix and match to create the most cost effective solution for each user's particular applications and needs.

Determining the configuration that will best meet a particular customers needs usually requires face-to-face interaction. Even if a customer isn't sure what they want or need, we know which questions to ask.

The PC configuration should accommodate the customer's present needs yet allow the flexibility to upgrade if or when user requirements change. Users should not be required to pay, up front, for features, capabilities or applications they may never need.

Once we agree on a configuration and operating system, it takes us one to two days to assemble and test the new system. The customer can either pay us to install it on site ($80 locally) or come in and "test drive" it before taking it home.

We often copy files from a customer's old hard drive into their new PC so we encourage customers to check out their files and install their own applications in our shop where they can ask for help if they run into any problems.

Our new PC goes home with everything we used to build it but the screwdriver. All the software, drivers and operating system discs are included.

When our customers have a question about their new computer, they can converse (in English or Spanish but not Hindi), directly with the person who built it, either on the phone or in person. We won't force you to wait in a phone queue or charge you a fee to talk about your PC just because it's more than a year old. When your PC needs upgrade or repair service, it can almost always be in and out in one day.

There you have it. That's the way we do it. If you have bought a PC recently then you know how the other guys do it. Even if you do buy one of those retail "package PCs" like HP or Dell, we'll probably see you sooner or later anyway. Where else can you take it when it goes "sneakers up?”