Boutique Gaming Brands (Part One)
by Nico S. on 2012-08-17
Hi there. Back in April, we took a look at some of the best laptop gaming brands, such as Alienware and Origin.
These brands are popular because they provide highly configurable laptops that can probably fit a variety of income brackets.
Of course, there are many other brands that provide similar products. In this article, we’ll take a look at them.
Before we begin, know that boutique gaming brands offer services other than just picking the hardware to install in your laptop.
One of the best things about them is that they don’t load you down with bloatware. In fact, the laptop doesn’t even come with antivirus software or any other programs. You can even order the laptop to come without any operating system! You’ll have to provide your own.
You can also order a bunch of other stuff for them to install, such as a TV tuner in your laptop, external hard drives and extra monitors. They even send in a free shirt. Now that’s service!
If you can afford it, go with boutique manufacturers because customer service is impressive, and they throw in loads of other stuff just to sweeten the deal.
Let’s take a look at some brands that you might want to check out.
Maingear
Based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, Maingear is a popular boutique manufacturer besides Origin and the like.
Known for their insanely powerful and monolithic desktops, they also have very capable gaming laptops. Currently, they have four models, the Pulse 11, EXL – 15, VYBE 15, and the EX – L 17. From the numbers in the name alone, you can already guess the size of the laptop.
They’re particularly known for their tech support. You can talk directly to the technician that assembled your computer if you run into any problems. They can also employ a 3rd party to service your laptop.
One customer near their office also pointed out in the Maingear forums that one of their technicians went to the customer’s house and fixed the laptop. If you live in Jersey, consider yourself lucky.
Digital Storm
From the East Coast, we head to sunny California, where you’ll find Digital Storm, a company that offers a similar service to Maingear.
Since we’re on the subject of laptops, they offer laptops of different sizes in different configurations. The screen sizes come in 11, 15 and 17 inches.
Similar to Maingear, you can customize practically everything in a variety of ways. You can pick the CPU, GPU and hard drives. There are also choices for the OS and a bunch of other stuff installed on the laptop.
Some of their laptops also have changeable backlighting, and some of the most powerful parts known in the laptop world.
Continuation
While the company names may look like a gimmick to you, their products don’t joke around. The laptops they have are consistently on top of the best laptop sites.
In the next part, we’ll take a look at plenty more brands for you to discover. We’ll look at the classic Falcon Northwest.
TThomas Sagan is a resident blogger of Cash for Laptops. His love of video games led to his passion for desktops, and eventually laptops. Occasionally, he tinkers with his computer too. During his college days, he was a writer for his college paper, focusing on music and film. These days, you’ll find him studying hard for his MA in Communications and passionately playing Team Fortress 2.
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