Specifications

Non-Essential Computers
DEAR DOG: Essential Computers, a fine web-
based retailer, doesn’t seem to be in business
anymore. While its web site,
www.essencompu.
com
, can be accessed, you can’t do anything
on it. It’s like the lights are on but nobody’s
home. The only time I ever came close to hav
-
ing a problem with the company was when a
CPU I wanted to buy had to be back-ordered.
But it was delivered to me in a reasonable
time when it became available. Otherwise,
I’ve always gotten exactly what I ordered at
good prices.
—HOWARD CHAN
THE DOG RESPONDS: By all indications, Essential
Computers of College Point, New York, is dead
meat. At press time, EssenCompu.com was still
offline but it was obvious from complaints on
ResellerRatings.com as early as last summer that
the company was going under. Up until May, many
users rated Essential as a reliable web store for PC
components. But just one month later, consumers
started reporting problems obtaining orders, get-
ting refunds, and having orders mysteriously can-
celled. One consumer wrote: “I have purchased
from this seller three times before with great
results, until recently, when I ordered a Radeon
9600XT graphics card and a free mouse pad (for
return customers). It was supposed to be two-day
shipping, but it took seven days for my package
to arrive. And I only received the mouse pad! No
graphics card. I’ve been leaving messages with
customer service and sending e-mails, but I have
not been able to get in contact with anyone. I’m
getting a bad feeling about this....”
When the Dog tried to call the company,
most of the numbers for it were disconnected,
and in a more ominous sign, a phone call to
the owner of the company also resulted in a
disconnected number. So it’s probably safe to
assume that Essential Computers is essentially
dead. Woof.
SilentMaxx a Little
Too Quiet
DEAR DOG: In December 2003, I
purchased a SilentMaxx Fanless
power supply for $240 directly
from SilentMaxx.com. A couple
of months ago, the PSU died.
According to its web site, the PSU
has a one year warranty. Since
then, I have tried multiple times
to contact SilentMaxx, but to no
avail. I have tried contacting the
company via e-mail (no response),
phone (no answer), and through
its web site (no luck).
According to SilentMaxx’s web site,
I cannot return the PSU for replacement
without an RMA. However, no one there
ever returns my queries. I’m worried I’m
stuck with a dead PSU and I won’t get a
response from SilentMaxx before the one
year warranty expires.
— KEVIN TATTERSON
THE DOG RESPONDS: Kevin’s e-mail was the
second we received complaining about service
from SilentMaxx. Another reader reported
never receiving product after ordering and
paying for it on SilentMaxx.net (that’s right,
.net). While the .com site continues to live,
the .net site has all but disappeared. We man-
aged to contact a spokesman for SilentMaxx.
com in Germany who said the .net site was an
authorized reseller that had permission to use
the SilentMaxx name but was not a subsidiary
of the German company. “This company is now
closed and we have lost a lot of money to this
company,” the spokesman said.
SilentMaxx.com is in negotiations with
another U.S. company to carry its products. The
spokesman offered to RMA the power supply
for Kevin, but because he purchased it from
Germany, the cost of shipping the power supply
overseas probably isn’t prudent. Instead, the
spokesman suggested that the reader exchange
the power supply when SilentMaxx’s new U.S.
partner is online.
Is My 6800 Only Good
for Gaming?
DEAR DOG: There seems to be quite a bit
of noise on various message boards claim
-
ing that the video features on nVidia 6800
GPUs don’t work. To quote nVidia’s web
site: “Another important factor is that the
GeForce 6-series GPUs are completely pro
-
grammable and can handle formats such
as WMV9 and MPEG-4. The nVidia motion
compensation engine can provide decom
-
pression acceleration for a variety of video
formats including WMV9, MPEG-4, H.264,
and DivX. As with motion compensation
for MPEG-2, the nVidia video engine can
perform most of the computation-intensive
work, leaving the easiest work to the CPU.”
This testimony was a major factor in my
decision to buy a 6800-series card. But now
everyone is saying the card cannot do what
the company said it could. Am I, along with
many others, stuck with just a great gaming
>Essential Computers >SilentMaxx >nVidia >Toshiba
Say hello to Gypsy,
WatchDog of the Month
WatchDog
Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear
MAXIMUMPC JANUARY 200526
“
”
IT’S LIKE THE LIGHTS ARE ON BUT NOBODY’S HOME.
SilentMaxx.net has shut its doors, but the
German-based company hopes to sign another
vendor to distribute its products again.
THIS MONTH: The WatchDog goes after...
“