"I purchased a barebones system from Magic Micro last July - I regret the purchase as it has been a huge time sink (and money pit) but I will say that Magic Micro has respond well to my issues and now the system is working well. (To anyone who is nostalgic for the days of self-built PCs I think it is best to leave the past behind).
The computer I purchased had issues from day one in terms of stability and would frequently freeze or die (every 15 minutes or so). I installed various versions of Windows to no avail. Eventually I had to send the system back to Magic Micro. They ended up replacing the mother board and sending it back to me. In the process, the installation of windows I had put on the box became invalidated so I ended up buying another copy of windows to install (anyone who has ever dealt with Microsoft, they basically don't let you talk to a person, you dial a number and somehow the two motherboards flagged a license violation that the automated person wouldn't budge on).
To be fair to MagicMicro, they offered to handle getting a new license for me but at that stage my wife had given me an ultimatum. I had half a day to fix the computer or it was going on the street with a "free" sign on it and we were buying an all-in-one from Apple.
In the end, I probably spent 30 hours and $250 extra on operating systems. It was an interesting side by side comparison as over the same period I bought three apple products for the house. All three of them worked out of the box immediately without any drama.
To recap, the original PC did have a flaw. I do wonder whether they put enough testing in on new builds (there have been some other reviews to that effect). Magic Micro did everything they could to make the situation right once it was flagged. And only buy barebones systems if you are mentally stuck in the nineties and really want to avoid your family.
I would use Magic Micro again for any components I require, but my days of buying PCs are over."
"Fast professional service; I will buy all my computers from Magic Micro from now on, and I will recommend Magic Micro to friends and family as well."
"Just an ok outfit.
The staff is friendly and technically astute and the website informative and well laid out. However, while ordering a quad core cpu, I fully expected the fan to be included (and the thermal paste). CPU manufacturers specify fans of a certain capacity for their units, and so generally include them with the product. However, MM just shipped the cpu, which is worthless without the fan. And then delayed another 3 days in shipping a fan. At least they promised they shipped; the fan has not arrived yet! Also, they do not ship some of their products in manufacturers' packaging, but just in bubble wrap. So my graphics card -- I'll have to search online for the manual. Something strange about that."
“Dear Customer
We apologize for any inconvenience. As custom PC manufacture we offer wide range of cooling system for our custom build PCs. In order to give customers options to select aftermarket cooling systems all our processors are advertised separately form their cooling system. By not bundling OEM fans with processors we give customers option to choose other cooling options at reduced price. Unfortunately it may not always clear when you order just a processor and not assembled PS.
We already mailed OEM CPU fan. It shipped out the next business day after we received you phone call about missing CPU fan. Package shipped on Friday Feb 8 VIA USPS priority mail tracking# 9405510200883674198602. I should be delivered today Monday Feb 11th.
Since it was not entirely clear that CPU fan was not included in processor price we would like to offer you credit for additional charge you paid for OEM fan. We alredy procesed $10 refund for CPU fan back to you credit card.
Thank you
Magic Micro Customer Service”
"The system I ordered came a week later than I expected it. The reason is this: On the barebones customization drop-down menu, the last selection has two options, one for express ordering (which I did not choose) and the other which states "standard assembly and test 3 - 5 business days."
Anything but. After one full week, I emailed customer support and found out via reply, the next day, that it was in the build and test phase at that point. That was 8 days later, NOT 3 -5 business days. It was then shipped two days later (though my credit card was charged immediately, upon order, which is okay, except that SHOULD be noted on their website!). It finally arrived 11 days later. So... I guess I misinterpreted something? Yeah, I guess so.
Second issue is that the outer packing carton contained peanuts (naturally) that smelled so horridly like SMOKE that I had to immediately upend the carton and get the inner box out so I could remove the outer carton and peanuts to the garage. I mean, no kidding, it STUNK and that is no exaggeration. Just beware. I was very concerned that the system itself would reek as well, but it did not.
Lastly, once all of these hurdles (unnecessary, IMO, to top-quality service!) were cleared, I began work on the barebones kit I ordered, and it is now performing flawlessly. The internal work was complete and clean, neat and correct.
Just be warned of some sloppy service on the part of MM, though the overall quality of the product was just fine. However, for the cost, I could have purchased a different bb kit with more than I needed for much less and stripped out what I didn't want. My bad for wanting to keep money local, like, in the next state over, in America, instead of ordering from Tiger or Dell and having the chassis assembled in Asia!"
"First as a canadian, you should avoid dealing with Magic Micro. They have never heard of brokerage fees. I was struck with a $76. COD bill from UPS. They will not ship via the US postal service in order to avoid those charges.
To top it off, They constructed the Hardware case wrong. They installed all the fans blowing out. The screws on the HD cage were stripped.
Then, I found out they didn't even try to burn the unit, to see if the OS would work. Because, I was unable to make window 7 or XP work or boot. They obviously only made sure the BIOS came up on the screen. Of course, they deny this.
Yes, thank heavens , they offered me a refund minus their shipping cost. So it ended up costing me over $150. to deal with this horrible company.
"
“First, we would like to thank rocam13 for his feedback. We encourage all of our customers to post on reseller ratings, as one of the best methods to share their experience with those interested in hearing the experience of others who have purchased from Magic Micro. While we appreciate the participation, there are some inconsistencies within this review that we wish to point out and share our side of this particular experience as well.
Two week ago customer placed order on or website for barebones system. This was international order when item had to be shipped outside of US to foreign country (Canada). Order was shipped to customer using USP world ship service. Upon item’s arrival in to Canada customer called Magic Micro office complaining that he has to pay customs and brokerage fees. He told our representative that if Magic Micro does not cover those fees he would refuse the shipment. Customer also criticized our choice of shipping carrier suggesting that if we would ship order VIA USPS it would help him to avoid those fees.
We tried explaining that due to lack of tractability and process time we can’t use USPS for international shipping. USPS only delivers to county’s border when the rest of the delivery is made by local postal services. To insure correct and speedy delivery we have to use carrier that has ability to delivery directly to final recipient and provide us proof of delivery.
We do not know why customer has this idea that receiving package VIA different carrier would help him to avoid Canadian customs and brokerage fees. Just about everything individuals import into Canada is subject to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). They also have to pay the applicable Canadian Provincial Sales Tax (PST) or Quebec Sales Tax (QST).Our shipping policy specifically says that each customer shall be solely responsible for all sales taxes, or other taxes, on orders shipped to any other state.
Trying to keep customer happy we offered to pay 50% of the UPS brokerage fees and issued credit for those fees back to customer’s credit card. Unfortunately customer continues to complain about brokerage fees even when we covered half of customer’s cost.
After receiving credit for brokerage fees customer finally accepted delivery but called us next business day requesting full refund for the item. The reason for return was that after installing his own 4 memory chips, hard drive, video card and CD drive customer had trouble to boot in to his Windows XP. We tried to explain that some components he added could be incompatible or he may simply need to reinstall his OS which was transferred from another PC. We asked customer to speak to our technical support so we could assist him completing his build. Unfortunately customer refused our help insisting that we did not fully test barebones system even that he only ordered motherboard, CPU, case and power supply. Customer also complained about direction of the case fans. Even after our explanation that power supply and case fans (in exception of the front intake fans) have to blow air out customer continue to insist on wrong fan direction.
Magic micro does everything within our power to provide acceptable solutions for issues our customer’s may face. As a small business, we can easily make a largely positive impact through the quality and extent of the assembled products we carry. When it comes to working with international shipping carriers, we are limited to what we can do but still offer options such shipping charge credits or reduced fees. It is shown in this response that Magic Micro did offer options and solutions to this particular customer that were, unfortunately, not to their satisfaction. We pride ourselves on satisfying our customers as much as possible, but regardless of our effort that is sometimes not possible, as every business faces.”
Thank you
Magic Micro Customer Service”
"Hard drive was installed blocking the PCI slot. Had to move it as soon as I got the machine in order to install my graphics card."
"The Barebones computer I ordered is all I could expect. Very good job. Thank you MagicMicro"
"I am very happy with the system I bought from Magic Micro. They answered my questions before I placed the order, and the system was shipped quickly. When I had trouble (power switch had become disconnected during shipping) they sent me another power supply that it turned out I didn't need. I recommend Magic Micro if you want a custom machine, barebones or complete."
"most everthing was ok ecept that when i received the computer i did not get all the info,all i got was info on the case that you had put togeather already it took me 20 min to find out how to turn it on, after that i went to bed got up the next morning installed windows and been having fun so far.you should show more of the apevia computers that i seen on apevia.com,i could have spent more money on those computers.... thanks conrad G"
"no comment
---------------------------------------"
"Shipping was fast considering the holiday mail. I had problems loading the OS on the SSD drive but the tech department was very helpful in resolving the issue. The fix was to install a 64 bit OS which I ordered form MagicMicro. Good job all around. "
"Priced the same items online and would be the same as I built it. Just wihout the hassle of loading everything. This comes with a warrenty also. Like the setup of these computers. "
"The assistance was extremely prompt amd advice was excellent. I received my order in less than 5 business days. I definitly recommend MagicMicro for your barebones system.
"
"I purchased a bare bones system which was delivered promptly but some parts on the motherboard were loose and the system wouldn't boot. I contacted tech support and was teken care of very well. I'd recommend magicmicro to qanyone."
"System Arrived quickly and was easily set up and connected to the network with no problems great deal and will buy when need new system again."
A rep from MagicMicro, MaxPikovskiy, has responded:
“Dear customer
We apologize for any inconvenience and we are terribly sorry your experience with Magic Micro did not live up to your expectations.
Unfortunately we did not receive any prior communication from you VIA phone or email regarding any issues with purchased item. All our barebones systems are covered by one year warranty and free life time technical support. This system was purchased over 6 months ago. Unfortunately, because we were not aware of any problems we could not take care of this issue earlier.
We already emailed UPS return shipping label to send system back to us for warranty service. System is covered under our one year warranty so all diagnostics and replacement will be free of charge. Once we receive your system we should quickly identify and fix a problem and return system back to you in good working condition. We hope our undivided attention to this issue may somehow improve you satisfaction with our company.
As side note we want to assure you that all our systems are professionally assembled and fully tested before been shipped. Unfortunately, sometimes systems can develop problems during shipping or shortly after been received. Even after extensive testing, electronic components can still fail for no specific reason. Because all unforeseeable circumstances all our systems are covered by 30 day money back guaranty and at least have one year parts and labor warranty.
Thank you
Magic Micro Customer Service”