Builds Better Computers

Alden Computers have a lower defective rate than most manufacturers. Our defective rate for computers over the 2-year warranty period is less than 2%.

Our 2-year, on-site warranty is only $30.60 or $61.20 for 3 years per workstation. This is the lowest of any manufacturer and a testament to our overall reliability. Repair work is supervised and performed by eleven A+ certified technicians, ensuring that the work is done correctly the first time. All repairs are completed within 72 hours of the reported problem, 60% within 24 hours.

Alden can install your custom hard drive images at the time of production. This can include all of your legally owned software and custom setup and configuration. This can save you hours of time setting up each of the computer systems you purchase. There is no charge for this service under the WSIPC or KCDA contracts for K-12 school districts.

All Alden computers are true ATX clones using industry-standard layout and components. This allows inexpensive future upgrades and repair.

All computers are FCC class A and B approved with UL rated power supplies with long lasting Intel® or CoFAN® ball bearing CPU and ball bearing power supply fans.

ISO 9002® Standards. The motherboards, video cards, hard drives, floppy drives, and RAM used in Alden's computers are all produced at ISO 9002-certified manufacturers. ISO 9002 is an international quality standard that ensures proper quality control at all levels of manufacturing for component manufacturers.

We purchase our motherboards from the most compatible, most reliable manufacturers. These manufacturers of motherboards include: AOpen®, Acer, Supermicro and ASUS®. All motherboards are certified for Windows, Windows NT/2000, and Novell. Before use in our products, all types of motherboards are tested by Alden with the following additional operating systems: SCO Unix/Xenix®, and Red Hat Linux®. Each has a written 5-year compatibility guarantee from Alden and the manufacturer covering even future versions of these operation systems. All 586 ATX boards accept Intel Pentium® II and III processors from 233 to 1000-Mhz. Our defective rate for motherboards is less than .25% (1/4 percent) over a 2-year warranty period.

Western Digital® and IBM® IDE hard drives are recognized as the most reliable available. Industry studies show these brands of hard drives are twice as reliable as the next closest brand and are unsurpassed for performance. All of the hard drives come with a 3- to 5-year factory warranty. Our defective rate for hard drives is less than 1/2% over a 2-year warranty period.

NVidia® graphics adapter are our standard video cards. These are 100% compatible and are 200% faster than most standard video cards. For high-end video boards, we recommend, carry, and support NVidia M64 and Ultra Models, and the complete ATI line of graphics boards.

NEC and Futura are two of the largest manufacturers of monitors in the world. The monitors used on all our contracts are purchased factory-direct in container lots with no middle man. All of the monitors come with a 3-year factory replacement warranty. The defective rate for these monitors is less than 1% over a 3-year warranty period.

Additional features of computers from Alden

Each computer system burn-in includes these tests:

• The operating system is installed/set up for all peripherals purchased and the specified printer.
• Optimized BIOS settings for maximum performance. System speed is checked against a standard that ensures the BIOS has been optimized correctly.
  
• Ten complete cycles of 10 different extended RAM tests are run.
• Extended hard drive tests including butterfly read, random read and sequential read.
• All serial and parallel ports are tested with loop back, and the printer port tested to a printer.
• Modems are tested by logging on to an on-line service at the maximum baud rate.
• If you specify type, network boards are set up to your needs on our Workgroups/NT/Novell/TCP/IP/Unix network.
• Sound board, CD-ROM, and their drives are tested with Audio CDs.
• Video boards are tested in 13 different modes.
• TV capture boards are tested with VCR.
• Tape drives are tested by doing a tape backup and comparison.

Each computer system is shipped complete with these inclusions:

• All software purchased or provided is installed and tested. (There may be a small charge for this service.)
• Correct complete system BIOS settings documentation is provided.
• A setup sheet showing all interrupts (IRQ), and memory addresses used.
• Hardware diagnostics installed on the hard drive in the /setup directory or on bootable floppy.
• Drivers installed for all devices purchased.
• Driver disks and manuals for all devices purchased such as Network cards & sound boards.
• Packaged in special double box and padded shipping container to prevent loose components.
• All I/O ports are labeled on the back of the computer for easy installation.

Special computer hardware includes these features:

• All Pentium computers come with 256K or 1024K level 2 cache.
• CoFAN Ball Bearing CPU fans are used on all systems for quieter and longer life operations.
• Thermal tape or compound is installed on CPU for better heat transfer to the heat sink preventing overheating should the CPU fan ever fail.
• All Cables tied to prevent parts from coming loose during shipping.

Problem handling:

• Alden won the 2001 national "Customer Care Award" from the System Builders conference.
• Alden technical support and repair staff is rated No. 1 by our customers.
• We have on staff ten A+ certified and seven Network + certified technicians.
• We provide advanced RMA replacement of parts in warranty.
• On staff is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and five Microsoft Certified Professionals.
• We are certified experts in Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Novell, and SCO Unix/Xenix.
• All problems are tracked by ISO 9002 procedures.
• On-site warranties for workstations are always completed within 72 hours, 90% in 24 hours.
• Depot warranties for workstations are completed within 72 hours, 70% in 24 hours.
• On-site warranties for file servers are always completed within 48 hours, 95% the same day.
• Ninety-eight percent of replacement parts for repairs are shipped on the same day requested.