[GLLUG] Best local place for custom built computers?

[Richard Houser]

Clay Dowling wrote:
> Al Puzzuoli wrote:
>> Just shopping around for a new system, and seeking recommendations as to
>> options in the Lansing area.  I haven't decided yet whether I want to
>> buy online or locally, but would like an outfit that will let me
>> customize the machine down to the type of case fans being used, etc. 
> 
> I've been happy with the machines that I bought from Digilink.  They
> aren't necessarily the most reasonable, but they are professional and
> they are easy to work with.
> 
> For good prices I've found I/O Software in Flint to be very hard to beat
> if you can pay cash.  I've never bought a full machine there, but their
> components are extremely inexpensive.  Professional isn't exactly the
> word I would use though.  Getting the owner to stop playing his online
> poker game while he rang my order up was something of a challenge.
> 
> Clay

My past experiences with DigiLink in Flint weren't the greatest.  The 
machines weren't always assembled the most intelligently and the 
hardware could be a little iffy.  Overall, I'd say perhaps a notch below 
a Dell, but with at least standard form factor hardware.

I'd always thought the IO Software hardware prices were too high myself, 
sometimes approaching 70-100% markup (granted, I stopped going there 
about 6 years ago), but they very well might have been more reasonable 
if buying a complete system.

Then again, I normally compare the prices against the increased effort 
of dealing with a pre-assembled machine, too, so on that aspect, 
pre-assembled machines typically carry a much higher support cost for 
someone like me unless you can specify each component for the shop to 
include.