Thank you for showing more interest than the average person. Here are some of the reasons why we think you'll be happier with a Baker-Tech machine.
Most people want to know why our machines are better than somebody else's. Fair enough.
Branded box machines (Compaq">
Thank you for showing more interest than the average person. Here are some of the reasons why we think you'll be happier with a Baker-Tech machine.
Most people want to know why our machines are better than somebody else's. Fair enough.
Branded box machines (Compaq">
Thank you for showing more interest than the average person. Here are some of the reasons why we think you'll be happier with a Baker-Tech machine.
Most people want to know why our machines are better than somebody else's. Fair enough.
Branded box machines (Compaq">
Thank you for showing more interest than the average person. Here are some of the reasons why we think you'll be happier with a Baker-Tech machine.
Most people want to know why our machines are better than somebody else's. Fair enough.
Branded box machines (Compaq, Dell, Gateway, etc.) are made to be as cheap as possible. Even the expensive ones. Some examples include cheap chipsets, lack of proper cooling, no upgrade path, and worst of all very bad and/or very expensive, tech support (OFTEN LOCATED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES).
Cheap chipsets: What ARE chipsets? Chipsets are the series of
little chips that make everything on the computer talk to each other.
Consider them the biggest, baddest traffic cop. Things happen so fast in
computers that the chipset can make a HUGE difference in how your machine
performs. A bad chipset set will not only slow everything down (by 20% or
more), but it might have cheap integrated video, too. The only chipsets
recommended, at this point, by Baker-Tech are the N-Force2 chipset for AMD Athlons,
and the N-Force 3 or 4 for Athlon 64s.
Why? Simply the fastest for each type of
processor. The N-Force2 has other advantages such as on board sound, and integrated Geforce 4 MX graphics.
Lack of proper cooling: We have had several machines come in from various manufacturers without any cooling of the processor. How they get away with this is beyond me. All Baker-Tech machines come with heat sinks and fans to prevent overheating.
Bad, expensive, technical support: I have moved this to a separate page to save you, but if you really want to read horror stories click here
So how do we decide what components to use?
Baker-Tech's Head Technician is actually paid to spend several hours a day on the internet. He spends most of that time visiting different review sites. These sites receive several hundred products per month for testing and evaluation. They then post their results on their own web sites. Baker-Tech recommends Anandtech, Hard OCP, and ArsTechnica, among others. Running through several different comparisons we then determine the best components for our customers.
The Motherboard. In Baker-Tech's opinion, the single most important component in your computer. Baker-Tech spends a lot of time making sure that we get you the best, most stable motherboard made. We are currently utilizing a range of motherboards based on specific needs. More and more items are being built directly on to the motherboards such as RAID, audio, video, SATA, and more...
The Processor. Baker-Tech recommends the AMD line of processors. Yes, we can build Intel based units, but don't see the extra cost being worth the money. We specifically recommend the Sempron or Athlon 64 line of chips.
The RAM. Baker-Tech uses PC 3200 DDR RAM. This means when you upgrade, you don't have to replace it to use any of the current processors. Baker-Tech's lowest priced system comes with 512MB of RAM. More than enough to handle most customer needs.
The Sound Card. In most cases, we utilize the on-board sound that comes on the motherboard. Recently, integrated sound has seen a boom, thanks to very fast CPU's. The amount of CPU utilized to run the sound subsystem has become fairly irrelevant, and with the advent of integrated Dolby Digital sound, so have separate sound cards. In some very high end audio applications, there may be the need for one.
The Video Card. Baker-Tech uses the integrated Geforce 4 graphics on our AMD Athlon systems. This is powerful enough for everybody except the [H]ardest game players. The motherboards however, do have an open 8X APG slot for future expansion.
DVD/CD-ROM. Baker-Tech CD-RW/DVD-ROM drives in our lowest priced machines. This allows you the flexibility to enjoy DVD movies, while still being able to burn CDs with your favorite music.
Hard Drives. All new Baker-Tech computers come with at least a 160GB hard drive. Plenty of room.
Thank you.
If you made it this far, consider yourself an educated consumer. Now, go forth and spend.