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Costco No Longer Sells iBUYPOWER Computers

After six months my iBUYPOWER S915i continues to run flawlessly but, sadly, Costco has removed all iBUYPOWER computers from the Costco.com website. There is no longer any reason for further updates to this site other than to say that, after six months, this computer, running Windows 7, is the best computer I've ever owned.

iBUYPOWER Computer iBUYPOWER computers are sold as gaming systems and I am not a gamer. However, I develop web sites and edit videos and photos, and I often have multiple programs (Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Outlook, Photoshop, Word, and other applications) open at the same time, so I need a fast processor and a lot of RAM.

In December, 2009, I was considering the purchase of a computer from Costco Wholesale and the iBUYPOWER S915i looked like a lot of computer for $1,299.99 (price is subject to change), It included an Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz processor (liquid cooled), 12GB of DDR3 SDRAM, a 1GB NVIDIA GTS 250 graphics card, a 1TB SATA II hard drive, a 22x double layer DVD+/-RW optical drive, and a 700W power supply. The computer looked interesting but I was not familiar with the brand. In the distant past, I built my own desktop computers. Later, I purchased desktops from Dell or Gateway, and more recently from Dell or HP. I decided to try to learn more about iBUYPOWER computers.

I searched the Web for information. Professional reviews of iBUYPOWER computers were generally favorable, and the overall customer satisfaction rating on resellerratings.com was good, especially the the last six months (8.52 out of 10 as I write this). However, user reviews varied from "Great" to "Terrible". The user reviews of the iBUYPOWER S915i on the Costco.com site were especially confusing. One user said it was "...loud like a vacuum cleaner" while another said the "...watercooled CPU and fans are so quiet." Another user on the Costco site said, "Don’t ever buy from IBuyPower! Less than 30 days after my warranty expired my system died, the processor and graphics card fried." That was interesting because Costco offers a 2-year warranty. Has Costco carried the iBUYPOWER computer for two years, and what would cause a processor and graphics card to fry after 25 months?

After a lot of study and thought, I ordered an iBUYPOWER S915i from Costco.com. On this site I'll explain why I buy computers from Costco, I'll describe the features of the iBUYPOWER S915i, and I'll give you my opinion of the computer I received. If you have questions or comments, please use the Contact page.