"These guys are awesome! There tech support is incredible. I purchased my MAINGEAR pc back in May of 07, I called them on Feb 19 2010 for CPU upgrade advice and Gus answered all my questions about the upgrade and then he logged onto my PC and loaded my bios. All I had to do was sit back and watch. When I need a new PC I will always purchase one from these guys. Great job MAINGEAR you get a rating of 10."

"Received my first Maingear computer today, the Shift model, and it is one massive and impressive machine!!!! The case is nearly twice as large as any computer I have ever owned and is well built. My only complaint on the design of the case is that two screws have to be removed with a phillips screwdriver to access the main peripheral plug-in panel. The system is otherwise somewhat intimidating to behold. You should read the Computer Shopper review on this model which rightly holds itself out as the personal supercomputer. If you look on their website I suppose you could easily spend a good five figures to configure this system but $2,500 to $3,000 will get you a nicely equipped model that will daunt most other systems out there. I came across their website quite by accident as I was shopping HP and Cyberpower.

The computer arrived well packaged. I connected it up to my peripherals but was so eager I did not read the one page of instructions thoroughly. DO NOT CONNECT YOUR PERIPHERALS WITHOUT BOOTING UP FIRST THEN SHUTTING DOWN. Avoiding this may do away with the call to their excellent customer service which guided me through the correction - starting with pressing the CMOS button to do a system reset. The customer service was the best I have ever experienced. Since the Maingear office is closed after 7PM, I sent them a customer service email describing the problem. Gus, the guy who built my system, called and left a message on my answering machine with his extension no. I then called the Maingear office at 9PM CT and ignored the recording they were closed and entered Gus's extension no. He talked me through the setup and it took about 5 minutes. Maingear ships the computer with the builder's personally completed checklist and signature. I am a big fan of both their Shift computer and their business and service models. My best wishes to them for continued success. "

"Placed an order for a Vybe on Jan 22 2010. Was contacted by Maingear two days later to confirm, and was told the system would be sent out in two weeks. They shipped my system a week later. Very happy so far. System is dead silent, stable, and the cabling is the best in the business. With Maingears quality and fast build times I can't recommend them enough as a boutique PC builder."

"This was my first order with Maingear.
I went with the SHIFT.
So far, nothing but positives.
The PC arrived exactly when it was supposed to, the packaging was slick, the unit was well protected and had zero defects or cosmetic damage.

It booted up perfectly the first time (and every time since) the machine is incredibly well put together with excellent cable management, and no bloatware on the system.

Also, nice to know if I have issues I can call someone who speaks english and is not reading from a script.

I will edit as needed, but from 1 week of constant use, I can honestly say that I see no need to ever buy a high-end PC from another company. Maingear will surely get my business again. "

"Maingear did a great job. Everything was in great shape when it arrived and the computer ran great from the moment I booted it up. I highly recommend Maingear for anyone looking for a powerful high-end computer. I finally found a great boutique computer shop that meets my high expectations."

"The below quote is the exact post I made about my computer a day after I received the computer. No words can really describe how I felt after 24 hours of computer use including the set up time. Its been three days now of continual computer use and none of my thoughts have changed for the worse but have changed for the better.

With all the power I have I cant hear a thing coming from the computer. The Alienware ALX I bought a few years back sounds like a jet taking off. I thought the noise was ok because it is a powerful machine. The MAINGEAR machine is way more powerful and yet I can barely hear it and its right beside me. Amazing.

Here is my post after I received the computer.

BEGIN QUOTE
"OMG! No Shakespearean Adjective can describe the sensation I am feeling right now. My MAINGEAR has a permanent aura over the top of the machine and the smell... o the smell... sweet sweet New computer smell..

Alas... I must snap too...

As I stated before I am a disabled vet and I as I was talking to Chris this morning I asked him about the configuration of the MG Case and how the mobo connections are on top of the machine came to be. Its pure genius for those that are disabled.

I'm sure when they were designing the rig, they didn't think how the quality of life could be improved by a simple design feature on a computer case. Now I don't need to attempt to get behind the computer, with poor lighting, to connect peripherals to the back of the computer... now all I do is connect the items to the top of the machine... absolute brilliance.

I cant tell you how much easier it is for me to connect my peripherals now. I don't have to leave the front of the computer to change out USB connectors, Sound Card connections, etc. Such a simple idea and implementation really has helped those with bad backs, limited mobility, and wheel chair bound.

Thank you MG. Thank you.

I have had a poop eating grin for that last few hours. My wife thinks I need therapy. She just doesn't understand what a kick ass computer can do to the male ego.

Again, thanks for the kick ass set up and for all the extras. It wasn't expected and I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone I have talked to at MG has been as helpful, professional, and friendly as possible. Every question and every concern was answered with the same commitment to customer satisfaction.

I feel like I am home now with MG. MAINGEAR now has a loyal customer for life. I have felt welcomed with open arms with a personal touch in the past month. The 10 years I was with Alienware, not once did I get the same customer satisfaction. It feels like MG was making this computer for one of their family members. That my friends, is how Customer Support/Satisfaction should feel like.

Ok ok enough gloating... I just cant help it.

Thanks MG,

Arthur"
END QUOTE


Here is the 8th Wonder of the World:

http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz251/Gtorn/ComputerLoadout.jpg

I will have more to say after the weeks go by. Ive only had the time to load up Far Cry 2 and I am amazed at the beauty of the game.

The computer loads up wonderfully fast. The ease of use the over all function of the computer is amazing. I will check back in another few months to update my story.

Right now and I feel in the future as well, I highly, HIGHLY recommend MAINGEAR computers. Their Customer Service and Satisfaction is beyond any other computer company I have ever dealt with before. They set you at ease from the start. They understand you are spending a good deal of money and want you to feel that your making the right choice. You feel like your a family member right from the start. Not one time did I feel pressured or guilty. I made the right choice. I could keep talking and its only been a few days of use.

Thank you for listening.
"

"I am extremely pleased with my ePhexX58SLI.
System performance is incredible and well worth the expense.

Tech support is the absolute best. They are friendly, knowledgeable and patient.

I have had to call three times with problems and each time it was an issue that was unrelated to the hardware. Each time, Maingear support good-humoredly solved the trouble for me.

If you're looking for a new gaming system, buy Maingear."

"So I'm the guy who never writes reviews but decides where to buy stuff based on other customers' reviews. And because I have no review-writing skills, I'm going to leave it at this:

If you find yourself wondering if Maingear actually lives up to the stellar reviews of both customer service and system performance, they do.
"

"MAINGEAR Exceeds Expectations!

My Prelude has arrived so here we go! Packaging is substantial, outer box is double thickness and no damage noted. Whew! I unbox my Prelude and see that the finish on the Lian Li case is beautiful! Appears to be waxed, I'd like to know what they use. I remove the side panel to see the neatest, cleanest, best organized computer I have ever seen. Great job Kevin! Cable management is superb, the blue HyperX memory looks great on the blue Intel motherboard, and there's even a card keeper on the 5850 graphics card to keep it secure. But where Kevin has really outdone himself is with the masterful job he has done installing foam insulation inside the case for me. Outstanding!

I'm dying to get it set up but first I have to spend the day saving files and then formatting and reinstalling Windows XP, drivers, endless updates, and a bunch of software on my old computer so I can give it to my sister-in-law. Finally I set up the Prelude and I'm up and running in a flash. Windows 7 doesn't see one of my DVD drives so I put in a call to the support line. In less than a minute I have Gus on the line. I explain my problem and we set up remote access. In a few minutes he has me check the SATA cables to the DVD drives and it seems one had come loose. Plugged it in and it's good to go. My old but still kickin' speakers weren't working so he helped me make sure I had the right connections to the onboard sound and that problem was quickly solved. I was grateful for the help but was most impressed by Gus himself. He's a good listener, very patient, knowledgeable, helpful and had a great way of making me feel welcome. Just an outstanding customer service experience!

It's been over a week so I've had a chance to configure my settings and run several programs and games and I couldn't be happier! I really appreciate that the system bios and all the drivers were the very latest versions. Very thorough! The system is almost completely silent at idle and still very quiet when gaming. This will make a great HTPC! I'm getting more than satisfactory frame rates with good eye candy and excellent image quality. The i7-860 and the 5850 seem to be a great combo for my 22' monitor. If anyone is interested in the specifics of my build please refer to my post last month in Systems Discussion. The Lian Li case fans are barely audible and the blue lighting in the front fan is very subtle and looks great, not at all gaudy. I was a professional musician for most of my life and I am very satisfied with the quality of the onboard sound. Thanks for the tip Chris! Installing my old TV card was a breeze with no clutter of wires to move around. I will be adding an ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner when they become available.

To wrap it up, my Prelude and the service I have received from Chris, Kevin and Gus at MAINGEAR have exceeded my expectations in every way! So Mr. Wallace Santos, keep up the good work! "

"I had a stellar experience with Maingear. They responded to my many emails in under an hour, which is quite impressive, and always answered the question and helped out. On top of this, the system I got, F131, is amazing--superfast bootup due to SSD, very quiet, and everything worked right out of the box. A+ to Maingear!"

"We purchased an F131 and we will probably replace our other computer with a Maingear.

The Maingear sales model is the best I've experienced. The machine is also darned good, there being only a couple of quibbles (and they are very small): the wiring isn't quite as clean as I thought it would be and the filter on the top air-intake of the Silverstone case looks like it's going to be a pain to take out and clean.

The original version of this review was posted to the MG forums. MG quickly responded to it, asking for photos of the wiring, which I provided offline, along with a comment that the immaculate wiring that was advertised wasn't so very immaculate. After a week without receiving an answer, I posted to the MG forums, asking for follow-up to the email that I had sent. A big plus for MG is that the posting was responded to in (probably) under an hour. A not-so-big plus for MG was the reply that the photos sent had been primarily of the dirty side when in fact there were two photos of each side sent to them. The explanation for the dirty side wiring was reasonable and the explanation for the pretty side, might have been reasonable too; however, my Dell XPS is definitely cleaner and that was the baseline I used (and in my view, a boutique machine that's advertised as immaculate, should certainly beat the Dell).

That said, the MG machine is much better than the Dell and despite the slightly sour exchange, highly recommended.

We got the non-overclocked i7 950 w/12gb ram, ASUS P6T X58, 2 X 10K HDD raid 0 + 1 X 7200 HDD, a single GTX-285 (driving a pair of Dell 2408wpf monitors) and the 1000 watt power supply. With the Zalman 9500, the system idles (according to coretemp) at 35C to 40C, which given how warm the office is (we live in AZ), isn't too bad.
"

"I purchased a computer through Maingear in late Sept. The day after I placed the order online I got a call from a sales rep to confirm my order and answer any questions I might have. He even helped me tweak my configuration to better suit my needs, and in the process knocked $1000 off the price. Not many companies would do that for a customer. Was told it would be 3-4 weeks before they start building it. Almost 3 weeks to the day, a tech calls me up, introduces himself and tells me he's the one that will be building my rig and asked if I had any questions, comments, or requests. I also emailed him the image I wanted laser-etched on the side window. The next day I get a shipping confirmation that the computer was finished and on it's way. The computer is beautiful. The attention to detail is amazing. Everything works as expected. Grade A experience. Only hiccup in the whole thing was a missing power cable. Luckily I had an extra. MG has sincerely apologized for the oversight. Not a big deal for me, I would buy from MG again anytime."

"I ordered a ePhex x58 system pretty much maxxed out except for a custom paint job,over the web.A day later I received a phone call from Maingear confirming my order.I was told it would be a 4 week wait.Some people have a problem waiting that long for a computer.I don't,just as long as it's worth the wait.
Well let me tell you it was definately worth the wait.Not only was it well packaged,but it was hand delivered by the tech that built it.Now that's what I call smoking customer service.The ePhex runs WOW at the highest settings with no problem.It's also very very quiet,no mean feat considering what's under the hood.I'm very happy with my purchase and will look to Maingear for any future purchases."

"Was worth the Money. My only complaint was the long build time and ship time as it toke 5 weeks for me to get the system. They worked within my budget and helped me choose what would be best for me for what I was using it for. I will purchase from them again in the future. A great company to work with.
Exterior Finish: Black Brushed Aluminum Finish
Power Supply: 650W MAINGEAR Certified Ultra Quiet Power Supply
Graphics Accelerator: ATI® Radeon™ HD 4870 512MB GDDR5
Motherboard: Asus M4A78 Plus AMD CrossFireX Chipset
Processor: AMD® Phenom™ II 965 BLACK EDITION (3.4GHz x 4)
Processor Cooling: AMD Retail Quiet Cooler
Memory: 8GB Kingston PC2-6400 DDR2-800 (4x2GB)
MAINGEAR Redline Service: yo, Redline my system!
Hard Drive One: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache - SATA I
Optical Drive One: 22X Dual Layer DVD�RW Drive w/ LightScribe Technology
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit) SP2 with FREE Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon!
The Final Finesse: Flawless Hand-crafted Wiring and Cable Management
Warranty: Lifetime Labor and Phone Support with 14 Month Hardware Warranty "

"I have had my computer for 5 days now and I can say I am so far, very happy with MainGear's service and quality of their workmanship.

I originally purchased a PC from Velocity Micro located in Richmond Virginia. Their machine worked for about 20 minutes before the mother board fried itself into oblivion. Being a superstitious guy and having run through the Alienware gauntlet I was not about to let this happen again. I returned it for a loss of 10% and shopped elsewhere. After a few weeks of research and through the use of [H] forums I arrived upon my decision to use Maingear.

I purchased their ePhex gaming rig for about 4300.00. Their sales team helped me purchase what I needed by explaining my original configuration for SLI duel cards was unnecessary for the size screen I would be running my PC on.

Also they threw in a free upgrade to the new Window's operating system coming out even though my order was placed before their special offer.

After that came the wait. I was told well in advance it would take 3-4 weeks before my PC would be shipped and they were right on the mark. The wait may be long but the results were worth it.

The PC arrived swaddled in protective shipping armor and did not appear damaged in anyway. Upon hauling the 50 pound juggernaut onto my desk I connected all of the wires and cords and fired it up. Start up was flawless. There was no bloatware on the PC and everything seemed to run smoothly.

The interior is laid out with precision based wiring that only human cyborgs could have possibly done. Really nice.

The only flaw with the machine was the 7 in 1 card reader. It was dead on arrival. This was quickly remedied with a call to the tech support staff who shipped out a new one using UPS next day air. Once it arrived I talked with tech support and they explained what I needed to do. I am no tech geek by far but with such a cleanly laid out wiring job I was able to replace it within 15 minutes even using my ham-fisted approach to electronics.

I have to say so far I am very happy.

The only gripe I have is with the size shirt they mailed me. I am not a fat ass but I have to imagine much of the gaming culture might be. If only an XL or XXL shirt was sent I would say my experience with MainGear was like touching the face of God.

If I could make any recommendations it would be.

1. After a purchase you are sent an email with what you purchased, itemized. Included is also a link to check the status of your order. However when pressed it took me to a dead page. Just my experience I am not sure if this happens normally.

2. Larger t-shirt sizes.

UPDATE: I have had the computer now for about six months now and I have to say I have been pretty happy with it.

I did have one issues which was resolved quickly with one of my RAID drives. I called up MG and they quickly shipped me out a new one and helped me install it over the phone. Because the wiring is so damned clean it was a snap.

The PC is awesome so far. I have been playing COD2 on it for about a month and it blows through the game at the highest settings. I also use it for my work PC doing graphics and web development and it nary has a problem. Thanks MG for giving me a nice experience.

For those of you sitting on the fence over whether to buy one consider this my endorsement. Alienware and Dell are crap and their customer service stinks on ice. MG may be more expensive and the build time is longer but when it is on your desk running smoothly you will be happy.

JPBELLAVANCE

P.S. Can you guys send me a new shirt please?
"