Why should I order through Blue Aura Computer Systems instead of a larger company?
A:
There is a lot of competition in the custom computer market, a lot of companies anxious to get your business. First, lets establish what we are. We are a small custom computer builder. We are not a large corporate machine manufacturing computers on an assembly line. What we offer over the competition is a "personalized" shopping experience. What does that entail? For starters, if you call us to ask a technical question you will be speaking directly to the technicians that will be building your new system and not some "customer service" employee with little or no training. Since we are a small business with lower volume we can take the extra time to get everything right with your order. This is our main strength over the competition. Most, if not all of the companies you'll encounter online deal with high volume - lots of customers, hundreds of sales per month and little patience with their most important asset - you the customer. We'll stop at nothing to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your order. Additionally, we do not spend thousands a month advertising in magazines, radio & television. All those advertising costs get passed directly to the consumer in the form of higher prices on their products. Since our cost overhead is so incredibly low, we can provide the best prices in the industry.
Q:
What are your shipping costs?
A:
In order to simplify things and avoid confusion we came up with a flat fee shipping scheme for all of our systems. We base our shipping on quantity of systems purchased, not on weight like most other companies do. We offer UPS Ground at $39 per system, FedEx Ground at $49 per system. We also offer UPS 2nd Day Air for $220 per system & FedEx 2nd Day Air for $230 per system. All systems are fully insured with the shipper. Once shipped, most systems via UPS or FedEx ground arrive in 2 to 6 business days. Why do we offer such a low ground shipping rate? Most companies charge by weight, so as you configure your system and add more components the weight of the system will go up along with the shipping cost. We don't "punish" customers by charging more for shipping as they configure their system and we definitely don't attempt to make a few extra bucks off of excess shipping charges. Many companies charge as much as $70 or more to ship out a single computer system via FedEx or UPS ground! What about companies that advertise "FREE" shipping? We all know there is no such thing as "FREE". Those shipping costs are simply factored into the cost of the systems so they can bait the customer with "FREE" shipping offers. We don't employ free shipping "gimmicks" or bait and switch practices at Blue Aura - we operate with integrity, honesty and respect.
Q:
What locations do you ship to?
A:
We ship to any address in the United States. We do not ship internationally.
Q:
What is your testing & "burn-in" process?
A:
"Burn-In" is a testing process in which the components of a computer system are exercised and stressed to determine which components are prone to failure. Our goal is to ensure any component that has been damaged or has hidden manufacturing defects is found and replaced. Our experience has shown component failure to be rare, and if it does happen it usually happens sooner rather than later. Most components that fail do so within the first day or two of usage, so extensive stress testing becomes very important in our process to deliver a quality & dependable product. So how do we test? First, we use a very common software tool called memtest86. Memtest86 works by methodically checking all sections of system memory for errors. We don't settle for simply running memtest86 for a few hours. The systems we build run memtest86 for an entire night to allow several passes over the memory modules to ensure they are 100% rock-solid for the customer. The testing doesn't end there - 3DMark Vantage is used to stress test the CPU & Video Card. Most companies still use 3DMark 2005 for testing, but not us! We use only the newest and most reliable testing methods available. 3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware. All throughout this testing, we continuously monitor system temperatures & voltage levels. Most companies would stop after this level of testing - we take it several steps further. We believe real-world testing is important as well. Several game demos & test software will be installed and tested (& removed prior to shipment.) We also physically test the optical drives for proper functionality as well as any other component the customer configured in their build. Every single port on the system is tested as well. The bottom line - we go above and beyond to deliver a 100% stable system!
Q:
After I place my order, how long will it take to receive my system?
A:
Most of our computers ship out in 2-4 business days. On rare occasions delays can occur with any business, but these delays typically only slow an order down by an additional 1-2 business days. We keep the majority of parts we list in stock. Any out-of-stock part is shipped overnight to complete the build. Shipping time can vary depending on the method you choose. Transit times for orders shipped via UPS or FedEx ground are around 2 to 6 business days. We also offer 2nd Day Air services for shipment but we don't generally recommend them because of the high cost involved given the size and weight of the boxes. All systems are fully insured through the shipper.
Q:
What payment methods do you accept?
A:
We accept all major credit cards, bank transfers & cashiers checks. We do not store any customer payment information - all payments are processed through either PayPal or Google Checkout and the details such as credit card numbers and bank account numbers remain confidential. Alternatively, customers can mail payment to us in the form of a Certified Bank Cashiers Check or Personal Check. Certified Bank Cashiers Checks can easily be obtained through any bank. We do not accept money orders.
Q:
Do you offer financing or payment plans?
A:
No, not at this time.
Q:
Your products & website look great, how long have you been in business?
A:
We've been in business since 2002, selling mostly on eBay, over the phone & locally. In 2007, we officially launched our newly re-designed website. After over 10 months of meticulous work we are proud to offer our website as a tool for customers to build the system of their dreams! Have you ever noticed how most custom computer websites appear cluttered, unorganized & lack the amazing asthetic appeal that Blue Aura Computer Systems has? Creating a visually appealing and well organized website is not an easy task. A website is how a company presents itself, and a poorly constructed site says a lot about that company. If they are unwilling to put the time and effort into a site then do you think they will be putting a lot of time and effort into their customers products? It really isn't that far of a stretch. We recommend really taking this observation to heart when trying to decide which company to go with. If a company is proud of itself and confident in the work they do then they will show it with not only a quality product but also a quality built website!
Q:
How do you package your systems?
A:
Our packaging methods are far superior than that of our competition, in fact we do not know of any company that packages their products in quite the same manner as we do. All systems are double boxed & electrostatically packaged to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) from damaging the system during shipment. ESD is a big problem when shipping electronics, particularly computers. Interestingly, most computer companies do not package their systems to protect against electrostatic discharge. In fact, we do not know of any computer companies that actually wrap the ENTIRE system in anti-static packaging as we do. It seems like a no-brainer to us. ESD is a serious issue in electronics, because integrated circuits are made from semiconductor materials such as silicon and insulating materials such as silicon dioxide, which can break down if exposed to high voltages. Your system will arrive fully wrapped in high quality static shielding - this will prevent any ESD issues during shipment. Click here to see a picture of a system wrapped in our anti-static packaging. On systems that contain heavier video cards and heatsinks we also use an expanding foam product that fills in the dead air space "inside" the computer system. This prevents the heavier components from moving during shipping, the foam completely molds itself to the interior space, and removal is quick and easy.
Q:
How do I check the staus of an order?
A:
Log in then go to your My Account page. Under your My Account page click on the "Order Status/History" link. You will then see a list of all the orders you've placed with us, clicking on the order number will display all information on that order. There are 3 key pieces of information here regarding the status. First, the "Payment Status" will show either "PENDING" or "CHARGED". We do not proceed with an order until the payment status shows CHARGED. Next, the "Order Status" will show either "PROCESSING" or "SHIPPED". If your system has shipped, the relavent tracking information will be displayed, along with a tracking link.
Q:
Where can I download drivers for my system?
A:
Please visit our Driver Download Page When you first receive your computer the operating system and all drivers have already been installed. You should only re-install drivers if you are having problems or in the event you must re-install the operating system.
Q:
Can I make changes to my order after it has been submitted?
A:
If you need to make any changes it is best to call us the same business day you place the order. Please call us at 1-920-344-5642. It is best to call us directly instead of sending an email so we can discuss the options you need changed and any pricing adjustments resulting from the changes. Since we work so hard to get these systems out quickly, please do not wait 2 or 3 days after placing your order to call and make changes, it will most likely be too late. The sooner you contact us the better.
Q:
Where are you located?
A:
We are located in southeastern Wisconsin, near Milwaukee. Many computer companies are located either on the east or west coasts of the US. Our more centralized location gives us a huge shipping advantage over these companies. Whether the shipment is going to Florida, California, New York or any of the lower 48 states - our location gives all our customers ultra-fast transit times with both UPS & FedEx.
Q:
I am having problems viewing your site, what do you suggest?
A:
You need to have "cookies" enabled and javascript enabled on your browser. If cookies are not enabled then our shopping cart will not function properly and you will not be able to login or create and account. We use javascript for much of the functionality of our site, in particular our computer customization forms. For optimal viewing, please use Internet Explorer 7 or newer. Many of the images on our site are PNG images that don't display well if you use IE6 or lower. We've also tested our site with the new Google Chrome browser and Mozilla FireFox 3. We are happy to report our site works great under those browsers as well.
Q:
There are so many systems and components to select from, what should I buy?
A:
Every customer that visits our website has a different level of knowledge and experience with computers. One of the biggest challenges we have as a custom computer builder is presenting our products in an understandable way. Customers with a high level of computer knowledge will easily be able to configure a system the way they need it with our system configuration forms. We understand for some customers that don't eat and breathe this technology the large number of components and options can be confusing. Let us say first that we are always here to help! Please feel free to call anytime at 1-920-344-5642. It is important to explain that we've put an immense amount of time and effort into the parts we select and the specific combination of parts you'll find in a particular system. We would never list, lets say, a DDR2 Motherboard and also list DDR3 memory for that system in the same configuration form. A choice like that would indeed be confusing for customers and we've thought through all of these types of compatibility decisions. So feel confident that the parts you are selecting will all be compatible and "play nice" with each other. Some of you may now be asking - "What is DDR3 memory?" or "What is a Motherboard?" It would be in the best interest of all our customers that have limited knowledge of components and hardware to read our "PC Technology Explained" article. This article provides a brief overview of all the major components in a computer system. After reading this article next ask yourself - "What will I use this computer for?" Also take into consideration your budget. We have 2 types of system categories - "Gaming Computers" & "Trading Computers". Our "Trading Computers" are primarily for people that want multi-monitor setups (such as 4 to 12 monitor arrays for stock trading.) If you are looking for a computer that can do everything, such as gaming, audio editing, video editing, email, internet and office software (and much, much more) then we suggest going straight to our "Gaming Computers" section. Please don't hesitate to call or email if you have any questions!
