quick computer buying question

[ayman]

I was 99% certain I was going to purchase a combo from monarch for the msi neo2 and a 3500+ 90nm. My question now is, what do you folks out there suggest?

Should i buy the combo which is "pre-tested and setup" or should i buy the parts seperately with free shipping but excludes my free hl2 and farcy promotional offer aside from the pre-test and setup.

The reason i'm asking this is because i just went through their forums and i was seeing lots of complaints about people having overheating problems after buying the combo. I dont want to end up getting a bad shipment and end up waiting 3-4 weeks for a complete RMA.

In your opinion, for the guys here at AT, do you think it is safer to go with the combo or buy them seperately. In all honesty, the only reason i was going to get the combo was because it is pre-tested and setup before shipment so i wouldn't have to worry about having problems later. Now i see people complaining about not only the slow RMA service but the fact that they are receiving parts that arent working right out of the box.

Also, a question about the heatsink/fan. Another one of my concerns is wether or not I should buy a stock heatsink and fan if i go with the OEM combo. I did order a zalman 7000B AuCl w/leds and do intend on using that, so should i just forget about buying an 8 dollar heatsink/fan so i dont have to worry about breaking anything and just go with a 1 time installation?



Edit: also i was wondering, if the combo is purchased, do you still receive the retail box and original packaging with manuals/drivers/cables for the motherboard?



Thanks again very much from all the guys here that help out at AT forums.

- Ayman

 

[DaveSimmons]

The HSF is pretty easy to install, you could buy from Newegg instead and install and test it yourself.

 

[ayman]

yeah i already bought myself that zalman from ZZF. should be easy to install myself. thanks

but still what do you think is safer, combo or self build?!?! idk just need some opinions plz thanks

 

[XooooX]

Don't buy the combo sir.

 

[ayman]

why?

 

[ayman]

any suggestions anyone ???

 

[Philippine Mango]

1. Don't buy the combo because it's a carpy MSI board.
2. It would make more sense to just build the rig from scratch your self because if you get the rights parts, it's more than likely to work.
3. If people are complaining of overheating problems, thats just another reason NOT to get it.
4. Clearly thier "pre testing" doesn't do jack sh!t because people are having problems, anyways most parts ARE pretested before the leave the factory so why bother.
5. I'm going to fart if you don't do what I say.

 

[karma4jake]

I don't have one of the new athlons yet but am about to purchase, one thing I like about the new athlons it the fact that it appears that the core isn't exposed like the old ones. Used to be if you put the HSF on wrong then you'd end up chipping the core and kill the CPU, now they appear to have a metal heat spreader to protect the core. I say if you feel more comfortable get the combo, although if you're gonna overclock make sure to get somethign other than the retail fan. ZZF seems to have better prices on the mb's and CPU's than monarch because I was pricing them, although they don't give you free games.

 

[Aspenth]

I would NOT buy the combo, because as mango said it is a crappy mobo, however the 3500 is an excellent processor and I would highly recomend it with the zalman b/c of the superb overclocking potential.

Hope that helps

 

[ayman]

yeah thats true. lmao thanks man. I Will DO EXACTLY as you say! and as far as the MSI board being crap. its either gonna work GREAT or be defective. i'm taking a chance on that but the same goes for every other motherboard even the asus. it may be true that the asus are more stable but the msi is a better overclocker with features that are better for me. aslo the reason why people complain about this board is probably because of how many are out there right now. its just like saying ford sucks and they break down a lot, but here in michigan thats probably the #1 kind of car you see around here so thats why ppl will complain. the rest of the people with no problems love ford.. btw i am not a ford fan hehe... gettin off topic but n e ways, thanks MANGO!!

 

[ayman]

you know what karma, i just checked their prices right now and they do seem to be cheaper and have the great shipping offer. i really do like their service so far, i put in a shipment from them last night and everything seems to be smooth so far. i think i've made up my mind and i'll be getting the amd 64 3500+ 90nm for 289$ and the neo 2 platinum for $139 from ZZF!

much thanks fellas :beer:


edit: grrr the msi board is outta stock, if its not in by tomorrow i think i'm just going with monarch cuz i've delayed this buying process for way too long now hehe

 

[Ike0069]

Okay ayman, here's my take. I bought the combo for the exact same reason (same MB also). I just wanted it pre-tested. When they were testing mine, they had problems and determined it was a bad MB. So they got another one, retested and shipped. If they had just sent that MB, I would have had to RMA it, AFTER all kinds of troubleshooting that can take a while.
So that part was good for me. Now I'm sure you can guess I'm not gonna recommend Monarch. I do know that Mwave.com has a very large selection of CPU/MB combos that they will test for a $9 fee. I suggest that if you do want to buy from Monarufuked, you call them and tell them about the HSF you already have and will be installing. Then see what they say about that affecting your warranty. Probably should do the same from whomever you buy if going with a pre-tested combo.

 

[ayman]

lol ike, i was keepin up with your thread and your posts, i seen what happened to you and itsi rediculous. i duno what to say, as far as that pre test crap, forget it. i'll buy a motherboard the way its mean to be shipped from the manufacturere, if its bad i'll ask them for a new one and i'm all set as for heatsink i just bought one and its gonna be a 1 time install so i dont have to worry about breaking anything

thanks tho, again sry about your situation =/

 

[Ike0069]

Thanks. I will be sending the CPU to AMD directly in the morning. Absolutely no problems getting an RMA from them. They will at least test it to see whats wrong. Funny thing is, they currently don't have any winchesters in stock. So he said that if I didn't want to wai (could be several weeks), he could send me a 3500+ Newcastle. Not the Winchester I wanted, but hell, that's a pretty good free OC right there. Of course this is all dependant on what they find when they test it. They still could refuse the warranty so I'll have to just wait and see.

 

[ayman]

Yeah. You say they are out of stock? On their site it currently says they have it in stock.

 

[Ike0069]

I'm talking about the AMD RMA dept. Monarch isn't gonna give me crap.