mwave's $10 assembly charge worth it?

lspyderl

Distinguished
Jan 25, 2007
28
0
18,530
ok guys, i've been on the hunt to build an E8400 based systems and Mwave as of now show it in stock. I was going to get the E8400/ gigabyte ds3l board/ 2 gig ocz reaper ram. Mwave has the option of $10 for assembling and testing, is the $10 worth it. It would eliminate getting a DOA board right? or bad sticks of ram right? Or if you have a better suggestions on the build i have about $500 for just cpu/mobo/ram, mostly the system will be for gaming, its going to be paired up with a Evga 8800gt

thanks
 

rochin

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2006
210
0
18,680
10 bucks to put togeather a system and test it? Sounds like a hell of a deal. I mean is it putting the computer togeather from scratch? If it is and the build it all the way up to its ready to put the OS on it, then yes that is very worth it. Make sure they stand behind thier work so if something does not work, they replace it at no charge.
 
If it makes you feel better go for it. Generally haven't received and DOA boards from Gigabyte/ASUS and never any DOA CPU (As long as you use FedEx to ship you should be fine.)* My question is exactly what will they be testing and how will they be testing it.(ie [RAM] Memtest86+ vs just booting it up,etc)

*I use Newegg 90% of the time
 

lspyderl

Distinguished
Jan 25, 2007
28
0
18,530
i was just checking their policy and it states:

*Assembly and testing option includes installation of memory, processor, and cooling fan. CPU settings will be set, and inital boot will be performed. Please note: Assembly and testing option does not guarantee the product is free from defects.


so is this a good thing or useless option?
 

carver_g

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2007
341
0
18,810
First, that's a super cool avatar.

$10 is a good deal for assembly, but make sure they still send you all of the original boxes in case you ever need to RMA a part. If you feel comfortable with your own skills, do it yourself. I agree with other posts that you have a low probability of getting DOA parts if that's what your main concern is.
 

resonance451

Distinguished
Feb 13, 2008
426
0
18,780
It still sounds kind of useless to me because if they don't guarantee the product is free from defects, what are you paying them to do? $10 to do something that would take you a few minutes to do?
 

michiganteddybear

Distinguished
Oct 4, 2006
325
0
18,780
basically, you have to figure what YOUR time is worth.

in my case, for 10 bucks, I would be able to spend about 5 mins on the job before I start to loose money (note: this is NOT what I make/hr at work, but what MY time away from work is worth to me).

On the other hand, since its NOT total assy of the system, then I would NOT opt for it myself.
 

caamsa

Distinguished
Apr 25, 2006
1,830
0
19,810


Ditto, I would say it is a waste of 10 bucks. So this means that some tool is gonna take all your stuff out of their packages and test them and then put them back in the boxes and ship them to you>>>? Doink!

That is like having someone taking any thing, TV, DVD or whatever out of the box and making sure it works........................

The damn thing should work period. You should not have to pay extra for them to tell you that.

BTW I get 99% of my stuff from the egg.

Here is a link to Mwave's ratings

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Mwave

Check this out, they certainly don't have the best ratings.

 

lspyderl

Distinguished
Jan 25, 2007
28
0
18,530
i usually shop at the egg as well but they dont have the E8400 in stock so i was just shopping around and seen it. I was thinking my self that its kinda a waste of $10 but when you dropping $500+ does $10 really matter? Hopefully newegg will get it back in stock soon.
 

FrozenGpu

Distinguished
Dec 8, 2007
986
0
18,990


yup, sure is useless, so in other words lets say they test it, it doesn't boot up, do they send you it out, and just say, well it was working when it left us...judging their reseller rating I would say pass...besides $10 to do what you can do in a few minutes...? Are you a CEO of a huge fortune 500 company or something? :lol:

Every opportunity to put something together, build something...is a chance to improve, I would say if you have to ask, it's worth more to you to just do it yourself, for any of the reasons mentioned by me or others...now if they could put some gurantee on it when testing it then thats a different story all together...
 

StevieD

Distinguished
Jun 29, 2004
548
0
18,980
The local custom shop will charge $60 or so.

At least with the local guy you can check the unit before it leaves the store and if it is really FU you can take it back.

I know a guy that will come to your home and hand hold you through the process for $40.

There are options.

But support after the sale goes downhill for each drop in price.
 

StevieD

Distinguished
Jun 29, 2004
548
0
18,980


agreed.

Or buy a stock box from Dell and then modify the RAM, GPU and HD's yourself
 

caamsa

Distinguished
Apr 25, 2006
1,830
0
19,810



Hey wait! I think he needs to be sending all of us ten bucks for our invaluable advice. :D

I checked a couple sites and they all seem to be sold out. I would just wait and by one from a place you are familiar with and trust.
 

azimuth40

Distinguished
Feb 13, 2007
102
0
18,680
I pass by mwave every day on the way to work, they are the eggs main competitor in the area. Their real advantage for us locals is they will let you pick up an order of any size for $5 saving on shipping. They will also undercut the egg when they start gouging like when the Intel quads and the 8800gt came out in short supply.

Other than that they get supplies from the same places so I'm not sure it makes any difference other than they offer the $10 for people that are concerned. I say save the 10 and do it yourself. While not as big as the egg it is still a substantial company, two stories maybe a half city block or more square. If I need something now and Fry's does not have it then Mwave is my next stop (no window shopping, you order online even if you go in). Other than that I generally use the egg simply because they have better pictures and I can read the reviews. Mwave would probably do better if they worked on the web site more.
Just my two cents.