Very reasonably priced, high performance machines. It's abundantly clear that Christopher is passionate about what he does--and just as importantly, is GOOD at what he does. His machines are reliable and stupidly fast. I hope he stays in business for years to come, because my next rig is unquestionably going to be a MediaWorkStation. read more

So this is actually a twofold review: one for the purchase and one for the fix. Both of these are positive mind you! I was able to meet up with Chris back in February for a workstation that, overall, was a great basic rig. We met up at a Starbucks in Koreatown and he was nice enough to help me through what I still needed to do for the workstation and we were even able to negotiate an overall package that included a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse. The instructions worked like a charm and the extra parts I got for it were able to work with it like a charm. However...about a week ago, there was a weird thing that happened with the computer where it got stuck with a Startup Repair cycle; since I really didn't know who to call, I contacted Chris again just for some advice. Again, it bears mentioning that I wasn't angry with Chris or the company: hard drives fail, that's what they do. I just wasn't sure who else to ask. When the Startup Repair tool came back with the reason being a "Bad Hard Disk", that pretty much stated what the issue was. However, he was able to do me a huge solid and actually offered a 10000 RPM hard drive and installing Windows 7 over again for a great price. So in a way I ended up with a better hard drive out of the situation, which could've gone much worse AND a lot more expensive if not for Chris' help. So this review comes with a super strong recommendation, both in the affordability of the workstation, the guidance throughout, and the huge save when things went wrong with it. Goes to show how much help going the independent route can go for computers. Great job! read more

I have been working in the video games industry for 9 years (Call of Duty - Modern Warfare series). With the onset of next-gen hardware for consoles I wanted to invent some form of future-proof pipeline. Media workstations delivered a highly convenient configuration process which was very progressive for the software I wanted to use on a daily basis. Once I started using my new machine I realized how much more productive I can be - things that take weeks can be done in hours. It has been an incredible experience so far. Chris and his team have been highly responsive to any inquires and extremely friendly from the initial phone call. I got an express delivery for my machine which seemed like a record time for the build. read more

I can't say enough good stuff about Christopher and Mike at Mediaworkstations! I'm what some might call high maintenance, er...I mean a power user. These guys built a machine that MORE than meets my needs. I've been so happy with them that I've referred several friends that have bought machines there as well. And after the sale, these guys really, really take care of you. Customer service is excellent here. The VFX industry is a tight knit group so I don't recommend just anyone...I HIGHLY recommend Mediaworkstations for your power computing needs. read more

Cinebench of 2834 with a dual 10-core set up. The top Mac Pro "tube" maxes out at 1523 for the same cost! So nearly twice the performance for the same money. This is a fantastic machine that is very well designed. It is flexible and compact for the amount of stuff that will fit inside, and with the noise reduction option, extremely quiet even under full load. I'm currently running DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Avid, Premiere and a handful of other apps on this machine and it handles them all very well; even running several things at the same time. Christopher has been great to work with and really caters to the creative industry. I couldn't ask for better service. I highly recommend Christopher and Mediaworkstations.net! read more

I work under hard deadlines with business in Europe, Asia and California and needed a blazing fast uber reliable PC. Sometimes I have 10 or 12 different applications running with dozens of documents. I have burned through computers as pricey as $6,000. Mediaworkstations delivered a custom-made PC that is the best I have ever had and at a fraction of the price. Even when I am working at full blast, opening an application does not take more than a second. They are experts at understanding what you need and producing the perfect custom made beast. read more

I found out about Mediaworkstations on line after reviewing several sites. I was initially attracted to the i7-X as a system for adobe based video editing. They offered the most cutting edge hardware that would be as future-proof as possible (if that is really possible when dealing with computers). I have dealt with other boutique sites and found Chris Johnson to be the most accommodating and available person I have dealt with in such a transaction. It turns out he was working hard behind the scenes getting me the parts I requested and making sure they would operate within the framework of this particular workstation configuration. I learned a lot from him, even as he was learning himself. I ended up obtaining a very good system combining i7 4960 overclocked to 4.4 GHz with a Titan Black graphics, IOFX accelerator, and Areca RAID 0 SSD PCIe cards. This is a quite, stable and fast system and runs well using Windows 8.1 update. I am very pleased with Mediaworkstations and will likely be doing business with them again. If you are wondering why I did not give them 5 stars, it is because I would give 5 stars ONLY to my wife. read more

Paid for 5 day rush service on Monday by Christopher J. @$500.00(on the telephone) for top of the line, fastest workstation possible @13k. "If not done by Saturday then no charge." Monday get email, "were done putting it together and will run diagnostics tomorrow" Back at them, "so I assume this means the rush fee is null?" "No it's not, we're shipping it out two day so it gets to you at same date" I also question the packaging fee of $395.00 which no other boutique PC charges. Email quote : "We charge $395 for Fedex Ground. Our cost double-boxed insured is $282 plus packing materials and labor, which are about $45 + 30-45 minutes packing. Double boxing includes packing of foam standoffs on each corner and biodegradeable peanuts in the outside box, and custom polystyrene for the inner box (the i-X2 case itself). That price is right, and sometimes (shipping to NE US, for example) it costs more than we charge." Computer arrives . No peanuts. No 2" standoffs, Only the 3/4" styrofoam the plastic Corsair case was shipped to them in. This is a 46lb computer costing $13,000.00 shipped illegally according to both Fedex and UPS minimum requirements of 3" of foam. Fans are loose inside the case and have dented the fins on the CPU coolers as well as dented one of the PCUs. Power supply and DVD tray have dented the outside of the case. I start up the PC. It double boots the Bios and takes three minutes to get to screen. Main SSD drive fills to maximum capacity within seconds. Not good. After three boots and a series of windows updates (normally installed in advance by other PC boutiques) I get some stabilization. Windows event viewer shows 60 critical red errors. Loud clicking on hard drive, not good. Like a drive that is failing. Long-short, after four days of trying to work with it and install my programs it enters looping blue screen of death with no system restore options. The components of this computer have been seriously damaged by the insufficient packaging! Request RMA #. "in meetings until 4:30, will get you one then." No RMA given. Call credit card company for refund and inform MediaWorkstations of same. Am finally given RMA # and their policy of a 20% charge on returned computers. In dispute now with Visa and waiting and wanting to be given a FULL REFUND! Do I need to say more? Shop elsewhere...........photos available of everything. A recent development is they farm out their tech support to an outside agent. So if you have a problem with your machine you might as well ask grandma how to fix it. read more