Do you recognize all of these parts and know their functions? If not, you probably wouldn't even attempt to diagnose and repair problems when they occur. We can troubleshoot and repair (if necessary, usually within 24 hours), and at about half the price you would be charged by the big chain stores!*
We aren't Geeks or Nerds, but then we're not trying to be. We have over twenty years of experience building, maintaining, and repairing computers, and we know what our services are really worth. Some of the "Big Box" chains depend on the fact that you don't! We'll do our best to get your computer up and running and back to you as fast as possible- without charging an arm and a leg. Whether you need an upgrade, a repair, or a whole new system we can do it for you. Contact us and we'll talk- until you're convinced that we're right for the job.
*Service and repairs available only in the Raleigh, NC area. Email us at
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Have you ever heard the term "refurbished"? Read on and we'll tell you why this may be the way to go when you're buying a new system.
Q: What is a refurbished PC? A: There are lots of things that can happen for an item to be labeled factory refurbished. They range from being damaged and repaired before purchase all the way to a brand new item that is simply overstocked. Some examples:
Consumers taking advantage of a stores' return policy. These items are returned to the manufacturer, repackaged and sold as "refurbished"
Sometimes an items' packaging is damaged and not accepted by a store or customer, but the item works perfectly. Often these are inspected and sold as refurbished.
Sometimes an item is returned to the manufacturer because of a small defect of some kind. The part that is defective is replaced, tested and then repackaged just like new. These cannot be sold as new items, so they are marked "as is" or sold as refurbished at a discount.
A box that was opened, nothing more. Since many customers will not accept merchandise without its original, sealed packaging, these items are marked down and sold as refurbished.
Demos from a stores shelves are inspected, tested and repackaged; then sold as refurbished..
Brand new overstocked items are also labeled factory refurbished. There are stores that specialize in selling factory surplus as refurbished or highly discounted even though they are brand new and still in the box.
We don't always know the history of each item, but if it is labeled factory refurbished it is inspected & serviced by the manufacturer then tested and repackaged to meet original product specifications. All merchandise is warranted by the original manufacturer unless otherwise specified. There are other situations in which brand new merchandise is marked as refurbished and selling these items at huge discounts is becoming a fast growing niche in the industry. Look around this website; almost all of our vendors sell refurbished products at very low prices.
We know that sometimes a new or refurbished computer is just not in the budget. Believe it or not, we have the answer for that, too! We are always acquiring used computers and parts that are in perfect working order. An example of this is what is called a "working pull". These are parts that have been removed from perfectly good systems in order to install newer or different ones. An example would be a company that decides to buy flat screen monitors in order to save space on employees' desktops. Now they have a whole bunch of perfectly good monitors that would cost them money to dispose of. We can take those monitors off their hands, and recycle them ourselves! This may sound too good to be true,
5/14/08, EA Springs "Spring Break" Games, Posts $454 Million Loss»»
You know how E3's dead (long live E3!) and all the game publishers were supposed to veer off and stage their own annual "personalized" media events? Well EA held its annual "Spring Break" games showcase on Monday night in San... Read more..
5/14/08, Penny Arcade Adventures game due May 21st»»
Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One will be released on May 21st. Read more..
5/14/08, NY’s “Amazon Tax” Takes First Casualty: Overstock Affiliates»»
Overstock.com has terminated its contracts with affiliates based in New York in response to the state’s recently enacted “Amazon Tax”. The drastic move is likely the first of many, as online retailers display their objection to the new law.
The backlash comes in response to New York’s misguided attempt to collect taxes from online shoppers. Up until now, online retailers have only had to collect sales tax in states in which they have a physical presence. This meant that Overstock, which only has a tax nexus in Utah, wouldn’t have to collect tax from customers in the rest of the country - it was left up to consumers to declare the goods as out-of-state purchases (which few people do).
New York has decided it wants its cut, and has enacted a law that treats affiliates of online stores as extensions of the store itself. Because Overstock has a number of affiliates in New York, it is considered (through some very creative logic) to be physically in the state too, which means that it has to collect taxes from all NY customers.
Rather than collect these taxes, Overstock has decided to cut New York affiliates entirely, removing their “physical presence” from the state. The move sends a message that will likely be echoed by other retailers: If you want to be an affiliate, move out of New York.
Overstock isn’t the first retailer to respond to the law - Amazon has filed suit against the state in an attempt to get it overturned.
DDR2 is getting some rather oddly clocked modules as it matures, like Aeneon's newest XTune 2GB kit which is clocked at 1142MHz. It is built to DDR2-800 CL5 specs, but is able to go faster if your board can handle it. Big Bruin's could handle those speeds and more, the kit toped out at 1242MHz with the default 5-5-5-15 timings.
... Read more..
5/14/08, From the Lab: Comparing new iMacs to older models»»
When Apple releases new hardware, it’s usually not owners of the previous models that are looking to upgrade—rather, it’s people who own older systems. With that in mind, Macworld Lab compares the test results for the latest iMacs to some older models, including a Core Duo-based iMac and an iMac G5. Read more..
5/14/08, OCZ Technology Group Introduces Do-It-Yourself Gaming Notebook Solution and Initiative»»
Sunnyvale, Calif.—May 14, 2008—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today unveiled their pioneering Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Gaming Notebook Program. Under this program, users ranging from hardware enthusiasts to mainstream gamers can partake in configuring and building their ... Read more..
The In Win Metal Suit GD has a lot of nifty things hidden inside it, at the cost of space. The pair of 120mm fans are placed normally, the swing arm with a pair of 80mm is not but they are intelligently placed to move air out of the case. Overclockers Club was a little disappointed with the cooling power of this case, but they did point out that ... Read more..
5/14/08, GhostReader assistive software adds new voices»»
GhostReader, AssistivWear's text to speech software, adds new voices for some languages and enhances others, and also features other changes. Read more..
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over twenty years of experience building, maintaining, and repairing computers, and we know what our services are really worth. Some of the "Big Box" chains depend on the fact that you don't! We'll do our best to get your computer up and running and back to you as fast as possible- without charging an arm and a leg. Whether you need an upgrade, a repair, or a whole new system we can do it for you. Contact us and we'll talk- until you're convinced that we're right for the job.
called a "working pull". These are parts that have been removed from perfectly good systems in order to install newer or different ones. An example would be a company that decides to buy flat screen monitors in order to save space on employees' desktops. Now they have a whole bunch of perfectly good monitors that would cost them money to dispose of. We can take those monitors off their hands, and recycle them ourselves! This may sound too good to be true,
