In my trials and tribulations with computers over the years I have come to accept there are generally two kinds of help with broken machinery: 1. The highly tech focused person who speaks in a mashup of conventional language and tech such that I am not quite sure what they said. 2. The person who has a competence in tech and good translation skills, and patience, explaining things in a way that a fiftysomething who remembers when TV had 4 channels and life with a rotary phone can get it. Dave at PC Direct is one of the latter. I found Dave through word-of-mouth after the NMT and others attempted a computer build that never did work. NMT was now ready to give up and take to a pro for help and so we loaded up the various bits and bobs and headed out. The shop itself is in the rear of a home, though there's a nice U shaped driveway (no having to back out onto busier 113 yay!) and parking spots. Dave was personable, knowledgable and helpful. He spent time talking with the NMT about what the computer would be used for, and not just "gaming" but which games were to be played as this makes a difference in configuration. What he had. What worked. After about 45 minutes they had worked up a plan of attack that was reasonable in price and in execution. It's worth the drive for this. read more