Why You Shouldn't Treat Yourself To A $4100 Computer

Four thousand, one hundred dollars. This is what I spent prior to leaving Iraq on a computer system that can beat up your computer and take its lunch money. Of course I expect you, dear reader, to be unable to fathom the reasons why I would spend so much on something that doesn't kiss me on the cheek and tuck me into bed at night. It is likely that 2.83 Ghz quad core processors, 64 GB solid state and 300 GB Raptor drives, 4GB of DDR3 1600 random access memory, ATI video cards set up in Crossfire for a combined total of 4GB of video memory, sound cards that would quite literally 'blow your mind' if given the chance, and frame rates so high they make Cheech and Chong look sober might not be your thing. I assure you that this kind of thing is my thing. Needless to say that if you understood that last run-on sentence, that we share similar interests. Welcome to the ever-growing fold, nerd.

I thought (and no, it didn't hurt), in my logic, that when you spend as much as I did on anything (with the exception of a car, or a house) that it would work flawlessly. I mean, this isn't a toy from the dollar store or anything made in Taiwan. Those things you can count are of shoddy workmanship at best with materials that might give you lockjaw. You can't possibly think they hold any value other than sentimental under unique circumstances. You spent a single dollar bill on it, not 4,100 single dollar bills. Without going into too much detail of why I have failed as a consumer and without flying off the handle into a prolonged dissertation about capitalist America and the pros and cons of the Laissez-faire economic theory, I will attempt to explain the headache I've had with this purchase.

In talking to the customer service of the guys (and girls for the sake of political correctness, which I abhor) at ibuypower.com, I have been made aware, first-hand, of how we are all slaves to the system. 'The Book' or 'The Man' has us all by the proverbial balls and he is squeezing. And when it comes to corporations, there are no exceptions to the rules. No small business 'Hey, this guy spent a lot here, why not throw in a free key chain/sticker/coupon for a free whatever?' But in relation to my dilemma it reads that when I have a product that is defective and must ship it back to whatever company I bought it from, I may be covered for the shipping cost, but not packaging. If, when you receive a product in the mail and the box it came in is 'jacked up' you assume the financial responsibility of re-packaging the goods for shipping. Harsh...

I am just kinda cheesed off that I need to spend more money than I already have trying to make reparations for something that is of no fault of mine. On top of it all, FedEx doesn't carry a box big enough to fit the dimensions of my computer tower and as it stands I now have to troubleshoot my own system and send two busted parts back to be replaced individually. No packaging cost inclusive in this deal either, just the cost to mail them. Either I pay a deposit to get the new components first then mail the old ones back or I mail the old ones and wait for them to be received before the new parts get sent to me. No guarantees that when I replace them the computer will work. Just a lot of extra money out of my pocket.

In closing I will address the title of this unnecessarily prolonged thesis. Computers are very finicky pieces of equipment and when you ship one, even though insured, you take a risk. Do yourself a favor... build your own computer if you know how. You wont have to deal with all the nonsense that undoubtedly accompanies any dealings with big companies and postal services. You might actually learn something new and tangible in the process.

Also it might be worth noting that I am not a commie and that I support free-enterprise. It just occasionally presents frustrating situations. Please don't label me in that weirdo PETA/Greenpeace/Hippie/Anarchist/Emo category. I am however in the awesome category.