PCTorque

Has anyone bought from these guys?

They are priced just about the same as XOTICPC and are 10 miles from me so they would be much more convenient for support, but to avoid paying 8.375% NY tax I would have to get them to ship it to my parents, potentially having it sit on their porch all day...

Also they have the 485m in stock...

Just wondering if anyone had any good/bad stories since XOTICPC seems to be everyone's favorite reseller...

Malibal is charging ~$30 more than the other two for the same specs.

AVA direct offers many more options but nothing really enticing, they are about $5 cheaper than XOTICPC but don't have anything else really going for them, unless people here recommend that...

 

Hi, our prices are not more than PcTorque or XoticPC. If you are looking at S1 configurations, then you need to look under the "DEALS" link at the top of any page on our site for our S1 pricing.

Also, if you purchase a Sager laptop, it will be serviced by Sager in California - so it doesn't matter where the reseller is located... you will still have to ship the laptop to California, if you ever need service.

 

Wow your right, thanks they're actually quite a bit cheaper at $2,109.00...

Customizations:
Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit GlassView Display
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 485M 2GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300 Hybrid w/ 4GB NAND Flash
Optical Drive: 8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Wireless: Intel® 6300 Ultimate-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN Card
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 USA-Based Support
Extras: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Camera
Extras: PowerDVD & Bison Cam Software Package
Extras: Integrated 9 in 1 Card Reader
Extras: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Extras: MALIBAL Software & Drivers Disc

 

I don't think the taxes apply even if you have the laptop shipped to NY. You can check with the seller before dropping the order. Also ask them about their cash discounts.

 

Glad I could help!

 

Keep in mind whoever you order from, whether Sager or Clevo, they will all ship from California (pls someone correct me if this has changed).

...and don't forget to check LPC-Digital (free shipping)!



[Oh yeah, I've ordered my NP8690 from PCTorque last year, and they delivered with flying colors]

 

Keep in mind that Sager Branded machines receive different levels of support compared to non Sager Branded machines. Nearly all Clevo Machines in the U.S. get serviced at Sager. Plus you will find some Sager resellers bundle their own 24/7 Phone Support with the purchase to provide that extra level of support in case the need arises.

Overall pricing is nearly the same and most sellers match others for the same configuration.

 

PCTorque was pretty popular back in early 2003. PCTorque ran notebookforums.com which was the notebook forum to visit for gaming notebooks like sager and alienware, before NBR took off. A few years later (in 2006) most Sager resellers ran into dark times. Sager offered an extended warranty through a 3rd party, ATS, which went bankrupt. Lots of people were having trouble getting their laptops repaired. It took me 8 months for me to get my laptop fixed. This affected most Sager resellers like powernotebooks and discountlaptops, but these companies tried to help their customers get their laptops repaired. However since PCTorque was changing ownership at the time, they neglected to answer their phone or e-mail from customers who couldn't get their laptop repaired. Their reseller ratings took a nose dive, but apparently they were able to remove those negative reviews, as they now have a 9.88 rating over the past 9 years. Their reseller rating looks good, but they aren't really discussed on this forum probably because of their past.

Also since that ATS fiasco, Sager no longer offers 3rd party warranties. You can get 2 and 3 year warranties through Sager (which is obvious when you visit these reseller's sites, though some resellers offer their own warranty).

 

Make sure you have a confirmed address if you use PayPal. I have heard they are very strict about it.

 

Thanks, that's good to know. I don't frequent this forum as much as I used to (life kinda gets in the way, ya know).

To the OP- keep talking to the resellers and check for yourself who you're most comfortable with. Between this forum and Google, you should be able determine who can give you the best bang for your buck.

The good ones seem to be the most interactive with members in this forum (and if they're not, you'll definitely hear about it here).

The sale is the easiest part- customer support is where just about everybody gets dinged on from time to time.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice, Mythlogical had a pretty good deal they were offering where they'll install OS and software etc for me with my codes for free...

Just out of curiosity, how much service have people found their machines actually need? If I get my new machine early enough I can actually send my XPS in because I do have the 3 year warranty (like 2 months left), however I don't even know what I'd send it in for specifically because I fixed the dead hard drive (even though now its slightly lower capacity), and the video card hasn't died yet... Maybe the fingerprint reader that doesn't work will work as an excuse?

 

Sorry Rickster, but most of what you say here is just plain wrong.

Sager never used ATS for extended warranties, nor did PowerNotebooks.com. PCTorque did, as did Xtremenotebooks and Discount Laptops, both of which are now out of business. You are correct that when ATS went out of business it was a fiasco for all who had sold them. But hey, their pricing was "...too good to be true" and it turned out to be exactly that.

Sager used Philips Magnavox until they started offering their own extended warranties. PowerNotebooks.com never sold an extended warranty through anyone but Sager/Philips Magnavox, and we never had a single customer who did not get proper warranty support.

We have also seen many Clevo resellers (not Sager resellers, except for the 3 mentioned above) who offered their own warranties, usually "...too good to be true", and as could be expected most have already gone out of business. Those who have been around this forum for a while will remember who they are.