"The web site neglects to inform you that all parts are OEM and dissected, even if it can only be gotten in a retail package.

They use the old bait and switch fraud scheme to sell their products. A lady will call you after your order to ask you to spend $15.00 more to get the product that you originally ordered. Which is 15$ more than retail at any other store. This is stupid in my opinion, besides being illegal and unethical- I would have purchased from them again, had they not screwed me.

Now I will never buy from these con artists. Just another vendor I can't rely on. So, is the $15.00 worth it? I purchase $200,000.00 per year from retail stores. Let's do some math. So far I've got NewEgg and PcConnection/MoreDirect as reliable vendors. I can recommend them as the better option.

Short rating: Computer Brain are using bait and switch tactics to scam customers. Do not purchase from them. End."

"WARNING!!
I purchased an asus p4c800 deluxe from these guys that stopped working without any obvious reason. I then requested an RMA and sent it back. After they had it for over 2 weeks without any feedback from them I decided to call and see what's going on. The lady answering the phone told me that the tech was busy and would call me back in a few hours. Of course I never received a phone call from them so the next day I called again. The store manager, Sam, told me that they just tested it the day before and would send me a new one. Two days later I received the new(???) motherboard with exactly the same faulty behavior. Unfortunately I did not write down the serial number to check if it was really a new one. I suspect it was exactly the same one. Having checked the new motherboard in two different computers with different processors without any success I decided to call them back. Now the manager was RUDE, RUDE, RUDE, without any manners. Sam himself has a very broken english, as all the other people there (except the lady that picks up the phone first), which of course should not matter. However, if they hardly understand an educated answer or statement, then it is definetely a matter of buying again from them or not. I WILL DEFINETLY NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN!!

(I have been a very satisfied customer of asus and hope they will continue to keep me as a customer by exchanging the motherboard thru RMA.)"

"Bought an asus Mobo from them, sold as OEM.
Spam called me the following day before shipping to ask if I'd like to upgrade it to a non OEM version with cables (An option I'd already said no to on their site).

Item arrived and was simply the original bag from a full box (What on earth do they do with the accessories?! - Might as well include them).
Bag wasn't taped shut and was full of foam packaging by the time it got to me (can you say static).

Intermittent posting problems with board meant I was half considering returning it and half keeping it.
Their return policy is utterly ridiculous and they told me that if they were to test the board and it worked they'd charge a 25 dollar fee and return the board to me anyway.
A problem like this is easily not detected so they were pretty much telling me they'd simply return it and charge me...

Just everything about the purchase reeks of penny pinching and ridiculous measures to ensure they don't have to stand behind their products.
I could probably have leapt into it and got my CC to refund me the money, but the time spent probably wasn't worth it over a 100 dollar mobo that is (nearly) fully functioning.

You enjoy those cables and manual, guys...Very classy."

"July 6, 2004
I ordered a number of PC parts from different online retailers; I ordered an ASUS P4S800 motherboard from Computer Brain. On the same day, I received an e-mail from Computer Brain confirming my order. That’s the first and only e-mail I got from them.

July 16, 2004
My dad’s credit card statement came. I looked at it. Every store I ordered from appeared on the statement…except for Computer Brain. I thought that was very weird, so I decided to find out why.

July 17, 2004
I sent them an e-mail telling them that their business was not listed on the statement. I also told them to cancel my order.

July 19, 2004
I called their business number and talked to a semi-nice, semi-rude operator. I asked her why Computer Brain wasn’t listed on the statement, and they told me that they have to call you first before they ship anything out. They said they called my house, and that someone who didn’t speak English picked up the phone. I think they’re telling the truth about that because my grandmother, who doesn’t speak English, usually picks up the phone first. They also said that they sent me two e-mails, which I know is bull because I received only one e-mail; I check my e-mail everyday carefully for messages pertaining to online orders. I kept telling her that they sent only one. She kept telling me that they sent more than that. When I realized that the conversation was going nowhere, I told her to cancel my order. She complied. Now I’m waiting for an e-mail telling me that they cancelled it.

Conclusion:
Unless you have time to wait for a call that may or may not come, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH COMPUTER BRAIN! This was the second-worst online retailer I’ve had the misfortune of doing business with. I don’t understand why they have to call me before shipping my order. Why didn’t they just wrap it up and send it out? Everything else I ordered (RAM, Graphics card, and CPU) came right on time, if not earlier than expected. Now, I have to wait a little bit longer for my motherboard. This time, I’m ordering from a business that achieved a staggering 9.75/10 – and it’s in the same state as me!"

"This is the worst company I have ever done business with online. I saw these guys on Pricewatch and they were pretty cheap on an ASUS PC DL Deluxe Motherboard and Xeon processor combo. I normally do not order stuff online from people I haven’t done business with before but I was in such a hurry I did not check reseller ratings. I wish I had.

Seller was fast to ship, however the shipping method was the worst thing I have ever seen in my experiences. I received the motherboard in the original box, PROCESSOR STILL ATTACHED TO THE BOARD! with the box taped shut over the top. It was wrapped with packing around the outside, but the box was quite small. I put the board in my computer and the computer would not post. I called Computer brain and the stupid woman on the phone said that their RMA department closed at 4 pm CDT.....I called at 4:01pm CDT and there was no hours for their department like that on the website and I believe they are open on the phone until 7:30pm. Well I called back and the tech was very rude, assuming I was an idiot. I did everything he asked and eventually received an RMA number....this is after 3 hours of talking on my cell phone because they have no 800 number.

Board was shipped back to computer brain. They received it on Thursday 6-17 at noon according to UPS. Told me they didn’t receive it until the next afternoon; however some guy with an Indian name signed for it on Thursday. They tested it and called me today telling me it was my fault, and they were shipping it back to me, and that they had no problems with it and it was something on my end. All of my hardware checks out in another system I just built 2 weeks ago and ordered from newegg, the system is identical to what was ordered from computer brain. Then the man blames me for changing the jumpers all around when nothing like that happened, and I changed no jumpers. In other words STAY AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS THEY HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS OR RUN A CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. I have never had anyone be so rude to me over the phone, and if there are still problems with the system I will send it back again and demand a refund.
"

"I called a few days prior to making this order to ask if what I wanted was in stock. Before I even got a chance to name what I was looking for, the man who answered asked me, "Did you see it on our website?" To which I answered yes, and was immediately told, "If you see it on our website, then it's in stock." I thought it was a little off-putting of him to not even check on what I was looking for, but I decided to give them the benefit of doubt and hold them to that guarantee.

I made the order and the next day received a confirmation email. I noticed that the payment type was listed as Mastercard when it should have been Visa, so I emailed them the correction. Two days later (today) I called to see if they had made the correction. I gave the lady who answered my order number, then my phone number as asked. She called back ten minutes later as promised, and told me the correction was noted. She then gave me bad news - the motherboard I wanted had not been in stock for some time. I told her about my phone call the week before and she said it was because the website was not updated. Come on, they sell systems with this motherboard! At least they had not charged my card yet, so I canceled."

"THEY LIE TO YOU ON THE PHONE, called asked for shipdate (4-6/7) said goin out that night well it went out 4-13 A week later. oh and they desided to charge my card 4-6. (week b4 they shipped)"

"Has been over a month since my order was placed and still have not received it. I have left numerous emails to thier support staff and have yet to get any response. I have been shopping & auctioning online for years and this is my first encounter with such terrible service. Do NOT deal with this company, it will only leave you with a bad taste in your mouth."

"I ordered a Athlon XP 2600+ and a Audigy 2 Platinum, got the email order confirmation, had 7-9 days shipping, and waited, and waited till 16 days later and I finally emailed back. 1 day later, no response. So I telephoned their un-free 847 area code, gave them my order no., made me wait for 5 minutes and then they told me it never shipped. The proc was back ordered. Did they ever bother to let me know via email? NO! So I immediately canceled the order."

"This is about an experience I had with this company about 2 months ago. Ordered a XP2500 cpu from them. Called 3 days later to check order status they say it hadn't been shipped out yet. So I ask to cancel my order because I wanted it quickly. Immediately they change their story and say it may have been shipped out but the shipping department has closed. I call again the next day, after being bounced around among 3 people and demanding a tracking number, finally they admit it hasn't been shipped and cancelled my order.

If you want a hassle-free online shopping experience this is not the place to buy from, but if you enjoy talking to dodgy people on the phone, be my guest ;)"

"I had a problem with their shipping, but it ws ultimately resolved in the quickest way."

"Very happy with this company. I bought a complete windows XP black system from them in July. System works like a champ. GO COMPUTER BRAIN!!!"

"08/19/03

I TAKE BACK EVERY BAD THOUGHT THAT I HAD ABOUT THIS COMPANY. IT TURNS OUT THAT MY FRIEND HIT THE JACKPOT BECAUSE COMPUTER BRAIN SENT A PRO VERSION MOTHERBOARD USING DDR RAM AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THIER SITE ADVERTIZED:

"CBI AMD_Athlon_XP
Complete System -Biostar M7VKQ w/XP-1900/128MB RAM/20GB HDD
**** Configured and Tested by CBi ****
* Biostar M7VKQ Motherboard.
* AMD Athlon XP-1900+ 1.6Ghz Processor.
* 128MB PC133 SDRAM Memory."

IT ALMOST CAUSED ME TO BE COMMITED FROM ATTEMPTING TO INSTALL AND ORDER INAPROPRIATE RAM BUT HEY, SWEET. A COUPLE DAYS AFTER RMAing HDD, RECEIVED SEALED OEM EXCHANGE. QUIRKY M'BOARD WAS TEST FOR NERVES WITH RESPECTS IDE AND DRIVER INSTALLS BUT WILL NOT BLAME CB. I'LL JUST DOWNLOAD PROPER DRIVERS AND MANUAL.
*************************************************

A FRIEND CALLED ME UNEXPECTEDLY FROM A USED CPU SHOP WANTING MY OPINION WHETHER I CONSIDERED HER $300 PURCHASE OF A USED DURON 850 PCU A GOOD BUY? I INFORMED HER THAT SHE MIGHT CONSIDER PURCHASING A NEW AND CHEAPER MODEL ONLINE. THE LOCAL SELECTION THROUGH PRICEWATCH WASN'T GOOD SO I CHOSE XP1900/BIOSTAR M7VKQ 128 MB SYSTEM FROM COMPUTER BRAIN. WHEN INFORMED BY COMPUTER BRAIN THAT $25 WOULD BE ACCESSED TO A PHONE IN ORDER, I FRONTED ONLINE PURCHASE. A MISHAPS ON MY PART DELAYED ORDER FOR A WEEK; COMPANY'S EMAIL TO INFORM ME OF CREDIT PROBLEM DID NOT SIGNIFY IT WAS FROM (CB) AND WAS DELETED AS SPAM.
CPU DID ARRIVE IN TIME BUT WHEN I MANAGED TIME TO SET UP CPU, FOUND HDD D.O.A.. THAT HAPPENS OCCASIONALLY BUT I WAS INFORMED BY CB, THAT THOUGH THEY WILL ALLOW RMA OF HDD, IF IT IS FOUND TO BE WORKING, I, WHO'S INSURING THIS SETUP, WOULD BE CHARGED A RESTOCKING FEE FOR A WORKING DRIVE.
***************08/06/03 EDITED COMMENTS***********
CONTACTED COMPANY AND CLEARED UP ISSUE WITH WHAT I THOUGHT TO BE MISSING RAM WHICH IS SHARED WITH BOARD VIDEO AND CAN BE ALTERED IN BIOS. RAN WESTERN DIGITAL DIAG. DATA LIFEGUARD WAS UNABLE TO RETRIEVE DRIVE PARAMETERS.

THUS FAR, CONTACT WITH COMPANY SEEMS POLITE AND SOLUTION HOPEFUL. RECEIVED CALL BACK REQUEST THAT I CHANGE COMMENTS.

ard"

"Computer Brain blew me away when I saw there prices! They were so low. When i called the people that work there were so nice. I bought a video card for a price so low you would not have to search around for any other video card. Everyone who loves low prices shop here!!!!!"