Monarch?

Can anyone give any feedback on monarch I've seen so many mixed reviews, saw where some people have had to wait 35+ days to get their computer.

Let me know

i spoke with those guys on the phone, they were very honest with me.

info?

Not to step on anyone's toes questioning the rep of a company, but with so many OEMs that are less expensive and have well-documented records of good customer service, why look at an unknown to you?

I'm mostly asking out of curiosity...

The only OEMS that are less expensive are Cyberpower PC. Monarch is pretty competitive pricing, I don't know what your talking about. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews, so I'm looking for someone with some experiences, that is why I'm asking. I've priced 4 systems, 2 out of 4 Monarch beat the pricing from NewEgg. I'd say thats a pretty good average, why not go with something already built, so that's another reason I'm asking, if you know any other OEMS, please do not say, ibuypower, dell, alienware, falcon, velocity, let me know.

I've ordered parts from Monarch and have always been pleased with the speed and price of orders, if you're having a machine built call them and simply request an estimate of build time.

FWIW they have a 9.03 out of 10 on resellerratings.com, major OEM's like Dell, HP, and IBM have around 5's, that should be a good indicator people are happy with Monarch

tycoot said:

The only OEMS that are less expensive are Cyberpower PC. Monarch is pretty competitive pricing, I don't know what your talking about. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews, so I'm looking for someone with some experiences, that is why I'm asking. I've priced 4 systems, 2 out of 4 Monarch beat the pricing from NewEgg. I'd say thats a pretty good average, why not go with something already built, so that's another reason I'm asking, if you know any other OEMS, please do not say, ibuypower, dell, alienware, falcon, velocity, let me know.

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They're on our list to evaluate, so hopefully in the near future we'll be able to give you the [H] run-down. There's been a lot of interest in Monarch ever since this sub-forum started up and we started the OEM evals.

I have ordered from monarch and have gotten good prices and haven't had any problems.

dariob said:

I have ordered from monarch and have gotten good prices and haven't had any problems.

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Well that's on parts. This thread is about entire computer systems built by Monarch. I've had my own experience with them, as I had to service one that was having issues for a customer of mine.

Sir-Fragalot said:

Well that's on parts. This thread is about entire computer systems built by Monarch. I've had my own experience with them, as I had to service one that was having issues for a customer of mine.

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Ok.

I had the system in my sig built by them. It is a very good system, runs great, almost as good as something I would've built myself, but they fixed any problems I would've had along the way. Overall good build quality, very fast computer, good parts etc. Make sure to keep updates on the build time, for me it took around 3 weeks to receive it due to build times before school started. Be sure to order soon before xmas rush or afterwards so you dont get caught in the swamp of new computer orders.

ill just phone them tomorrow and ask.

I've had excellent tech help from monarch on a mobo cpu combo I purchased from them. the first one arrived and it kept rebooting, even after reseating the heatsink, etc.. all the normal rebooting causes checked. I had read that it was a bios issue so I emailed monarch and after several emails, all very friendly and understanding, the tech said to update the bios. I tried but the board rebooted before I had finished updating and even though there was a bios recovery protection it failed and the board was trashed. the tech said I did everything correctly and gave me an RMA and they paid for shipping. To end the story it was either a bad board (MSI) or just a freak thing. I got emails from one tech who was handling my case exclusivly who installed my cpu into my exact board, with my exact heatsink and tested it. They sent it right out to me with no issues. Their tech support was fantastic, I would easily use them again and recommend them with no doubt they'll work hard to fix any problems if you should have them.

I can't blame them for the bad board becuase the second one worked flawlessly. I also don't think that their tech support for whole systems would be any different. they were so into fixing the problem that it seemed like the combo was their personal parts.

I've talked with a few guys @ Monarch and they seem pretty dedicated to their trade. They were very honest with me and told me that yes, they are experiencing long build times right now while they get some internal things worked out...

Just be willing to put up with the fact your order, if it is a complete system, may not arrive for nearly 30 days after they accept it.

Sorry, but no one who has sufficient people and parts takes that long to build and ship a system. Worse they will not guarantee anything, even rush jobs which they have the audacity to charge and extra hundred for just to ship in a reasonable time.

I read their forum, one guy asked if his rush job was refundable if they didn't ship on time and the Monarch guy said "not in all cases" or similar.

Shivetya said:

Just be willing to put up with the fact your order, if it is a complete system, may not arrive for nearly 30 days after they accept it.

Sorry, but no one who has sufficient people and parts takes that long to build and ship a system. Worse they will not guarantee anything, even rush jobs which they have the audacity to charge and extra hundred for just to ship in a reasonable time.

I read their forum, one guy asked if his rush job was refundable if they didn't ship on time and the Monarch guy said "not in all cases" or similar.

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Fair enough...there are definitely smaller companies out there that are able to deliver a pc faster than 30 days...

About 6 months ago I had to order from them and they turned the system around in 3 days. Just one experience to add to the bucket.

Not sure where 30 days came from. I ordered a system last year and it was on time. It's never as fast as you would like, but it was within the 3 day build time. They do take the time to check things out for stability, so that is a good thing in the long run. I bought from Monarch because of their strong pricing and for PEACE OF MIND. Their tech support has always been informed and dedicated to working through my problem, 24/7. Their ResellerRatings should speak for themselves. One bad side to their personal level of dedication is that their tech support people take their time to problem solve. This can mean waiting for 10-20 minutes on the phone during a busy day, or waiting for a callback since they are busy with someone else.

I'd say that if you order from them, plan on 1-2 days for the order to get processed on the front end and then 1 day on the backend for processing and shipping.

I called they told me 10-15 days build time.

Its a normal computer store so it has limited resources. the build time is just going to depend on what time of the year you call. I would expect it to get high from here on out to christmas then again in July (when GA does a tax free weekend on school supplies, includeing computers) and normal back to school time.

Personally, i've never had any issues from them, but then again I can drive there too to get the stuff.

Ryokurin said:

Its a normal computer store so it has limited resources. the build time is just going to depend on what time of the year you call. I would expect it to get high from here on out to christmas then again in July (when GA does a tax free weekend on school supplies, includeing computers) and normal back to school time.

Personally, i've never had any issues from them, but then again I can drive there too to get the stuff.

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Dude, they have 140 employees. That's bigger than most boutique builders and even bigger than most online etailers like directron.com.

tycoot said:

I called they told me 10-15 days build time.

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It seems to fluctuate based on how busy they are, parts, and how much money you are dropping.

I've known monarch for years. Since they moved into their location here in Georgia.
I've been to their tech shows.
Im cool with their owners. I know their techs.

I trust them as a Good company.

tycoot said:

I called they told me 10-15 days build time.

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I bet that what is happening is that they are becoming victims of their own success.
More business and not enough of the right people available to ramp up for the growth. These things have a way of balancing themselves out in the end.

Well I am in the same position as you, I am planning on buying a nice desktop very soon, and was either going with Monarch or Puget, although I got much better prcing at monarch, Puget seems to have OUTSTANDING service, I made a quote and emailed Puget and I literally exchanged 10+ emails upgrading, and configuring my system, and ever time I had a response within a few hours from Dan one of the techs over there, BUT I also called Monarch and talked to (Forgot his name right now) and he was extremley honest and took his time and did not rush me whatsoever and answered all of my stupid questions, and most of the time you sense the other person is trying to just get you off the phone to get other calls or whatever, but Monarch took their time, which im sure is how they run their business also. But dont let reseller ratings fool you, the reason Dell and HP have lower ratings is because they do ten thousand times the amount of computer sales in a day that Monarch does in a year, but even though Monarch has a 9. something I have ready every post about them and if you look the only problems were people were NOT satisfied is when they just bought parts that were defective, NOT one on there is a bad rating on a custom computer. I would no doubt go with Monarch or Puget, BUT Monarch gives you much more options though, which is why im probably going to go with them.

The pc in my sig was built by Monarch. It arrived with a dead 3.5 floppy drive. Everything else did and does run like a darn dream. I did pay for the "so-called" extra tech support. I called Moarch the next day after my system's arrival to let them know about the dead drive. You would think that they would suggest, approve, allow, offer, etc an RMA but heck no. All I got was Joe Tech on the phone telling me more or less to remove this and check that.

They would not, and I repeat would not allow me to return it after 2 days of ownership until I had removed and installed parts, or the mobo and s88t. I told them I knew absolutely zip about computers but that meant didly. The inside of my case is a darn maze of wires and cables and I had just spent over $3000.00, yes $3000.0 and those b-------s wanted me to work on my own system.

OhYea, they were very nice and honest while they did not do s88t to help me but they already had my money. They are paid to be nice to you, most companies practice this as good PR.

BEWARE. Case in poimt. Have you ever met a beautiful blonde in a bar, bought her many rounds of drinks, be very very nice to her, told her exactly what she wanted to hear so that you can get what YOU want.

Beware of all PC builders as you would any stranger with your "hard earned", not just Monarch. MAKE SURE & MAKE SURE AGAIN that you fully understand their policies concerning tech support and RMAs on systems. Just be sure you know all before you give them your money.

Monarch got their high rating from parts, not putting together rigs.

I do not want what happened to me to happened to someone else.


I have mentioned this before. Linkage below.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=913993&page=4&pp=20
Let's define "tech support" and what it really means regarding a Full Comp System(OEM) and the purchaser. What this really means to the buyer.

I bought the E-System (in sig below) from Monarchcomputer.com and the 3.5 floppy did not work on arrival. I also purchased the extra "tech support" that made me "feel" safe. Well all you get is a guy in a hell of a rush on the phone(most of the times). After 2 weeks it was determined that it was the data cable from the mobo and not a bad pwr connection. So I was told to remove it, check my manual and good luck.

For example when you are not an auto mechanic and some rushed guy over the phone says "just change your fuel induction thermistor and you'll be ok, thanks, buy, click". This is virtually what I got and what you will get as well. If little Billy, your neighbor, uncle Fred or sue wants to game but are not PC savy, removing mobo cables, fan cables, etc might as well be brain sugery.

jacked said:

Well I am in the same position as you, I am planning on buying a nice desktop very soon, and was either going with Monarch or Puget, although I got much better prcing at monarch, Puget seems to have OUTSTANDING service, I made a quote and emailed Puget and I literally exchanged 10+ emails upgrading, and configuring my system, and ever time I had a response within a few hours from Dan one of the techs over there, BUT I also called Monarch and talked to (Forgot his name right now) and he was extremley honest and took his time and did not rush me whatsoever and answered all of my stupid questions, and most of the time you sense the other person is trying to just get you off the phone to get other calls or whatever, but Monarch took their time, which im sure is how they run their business also. But dont let reseller ratings fool you, the reason Dell and HP have lower ratings is because they do ten thousand times the amount of computer sales in a day that Monarch does in a year, but even though Monarch has a 9. something I have ready every post about them and if you look the only problems were people were NOT satisfied is when they just bought parts that were defective, NOT one on there is a bad rating on a custom computer. I would no doubt go with Monarch or Puget, BUT Monarch gives you much more options though, which is why im probably going to go with them.

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Why is everybody infatuated with more options? To me that scares me, there is absolutely, 100% no way that a company tests all those configurations...

Our best rated systems actually had LESS available options at the point of purchase.

tycoot said:

I called they told me 10-15 days build time.

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You do realize that that is 10 to 15 BUSINESS days?

2 weeks to 3 weeks, considering their forums I would lean to the latter if not more.

Thanks David for sharing your expeirence from them, looks like I will be going with Puget after all.....

Shivetya said:

You do realize that that is 10 to 15 BUSINESS days?

2 weeks to 3 weeks, considering their forums I would lean to the latter if not more.

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How many happy people go to any support forum and say how great x,y or z is?

The fact that they are there in the 1st place says it all.

You are welcome Jacked, just be careful wherever you spend your money because these kinds of problems do not start or end with Monarch.

Good luck!

Monarch?

I planned a workstation replacement project for my R&D department earlier this year. Very heavy CAD and modeling needs, with failure analysis and rendering thrown in. I picked some parts together, and Monarch was very helpful - even offering to beat NewEgg's pricing and assemble, test and burn-in the systems for $59 more.

Needless to say, I spent $22,000 on the pallet of systems from Monarch, and they have performed flawlessly. The pre-sales service was good, and I have not had to contact tech-support for anything.

As a matter of fact, my feedback to them ended up on the top of their testimonial page.
Take it as you may...