Alright, i am heading off to college, and i need a pretty powerful computer for what i am going into.

i could build a system if i truely had to, but i want to avoid that at all costs.

i want to go the 'build to order' route, but there seems to be so many companies out there that are crap.

some of the ones i have considered are ecollegepc.com, avadirect.com, and buyxg.com. Out of all of these, ecollegepc seems to have the best reviews, but they dont have much of a selection.

i guess what i really am looking for is some more guidance to a good site that will let me customize a pc, and build it for a fair price.

thanks,
joe

Actually, between the three of them, AVA Direct has the best ratings:

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/XtremeGear_buyxg

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/eCollegePC

However, besides AVA Direct, I would also recommend Puget Systems. However, be aware that they are more geared towards High End machines.

Another good one is Digital Storm: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Digital_Storm

I'm about to do my first DIY build, but before that I got my last system from cyberpowerpc.com. My father-in-law, brother-in-law, and two other friends have all bought there with only one issue among all of us. Dad's MOBO was DOA, but the returns process was easy, fast and professional.

They have a pretty broad selection and lots of options for any budget or performance level.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

Most of the folks here might scoff at me offering this next bit of advice, but it can't hurt to at least browse the offerings at the Dell outlet. A buddy of mine in TX got a great deal on a general purpose system there. They have all sorts of systems at pretty good discounts off retail of the same system. Open box, scratch & dent, refurbs, etc. Read carefully to be sure what you're getting though.

http://www.dell.com/content/segmen [...] l=en&s=dfo

Hope that helps,

- SS

Re: Dell - I spent over $1 million on Dell systems when I was CIO for a Wall Street Investment Bank back when Dell was a good company, before Michael Dell was ousted (he's back, but things are not the same) - my personal experience with my 3 Dell home systems in the last 2 years has been so horrendous, that I would buy a tank just to blast a Dell to Hell if someone gave me one for free. Remember: You are not just buying a box, you are buying tech support from India and Pakistan where they read from scripts without understanding or thinking. Even when I explained how to fix the problem, I couldn't get the right replacement parts. Good luck.