I ordered a Voodoo Omen water-cooled with SLI in late February 2007. My experience since has been ongoing aggravation. It took over 2 months to receive, was delivered defective with dent on front of chassis, leaking water cooling, bad memory, motherboard defects, etc. Sent back to Canada for repairs, received back with out of box defective GForce 8800GTX cards and corrupted video. Sent back a 2nd time in Sept 07, with many calls to Voodoo staff, Chuck, Devin, Brendan, Romana, etc. Received it back last year and it seemed to work for awhile. Over past 2 months(May-June 08) multiple nonresponsive programs, freezes, slooow performance, disk drive errors, despite multiple clean reinstallations of Vista. This past week, the case lights do not come on, clicking on any file on both drives leads to "program not responding". What I thought was software appears again to be progressive hardware failure.  
Despite polite customer service, I cringe at the thought of sending it back to Canada (from Providence RI) and the many delivery problems encountered before, let alone the defects out of box. For $8000 I bought a heck of a lot of aggravation and lost time, and I'm afraid it's not over.  
6/27/08 Addendum: I looked into the darkened case with a flashlight, and note pink dried drippings on the water-cooling hoses,cards and processor they connect to, and the surface below them. Obviously the worst has happened. Supposedly the leaking cooling system had been replaced on the 1st return repair trip. This could well explain CPU temps in the 70 C degrees I have been getting for awhile. I have communicated this again now to Voodoo and found that many of the staff have been replaced, and am assured that with HP now involved procedures are improved. It is likely that I was unfortunate enough to have ordered an Omen during a period of poor technical quality in midst of a company change. This hardly eases my pain, however. All I wanted was an out of box satisfaction. At best, all I will get back is a 3 times repaired expensive computer and the need to cross my fingers. Do they have a lemon law to protect consumers from plain bad computers? How would you feel driving a new car that's had to have major repairs 3 times within its 1st year?

This review was modified by its author, ikb, on 6/27/08 3:52 PM.

I returned my computer to Voodoo to have a failed hard drive replaced (3rd one)and to trouble shoot a ram failure. Voodoo received the machine on 17 May 2007. As of today, 23 June 2007, It has not been picked up by UPS.  
 
I made repeated phone calls and several asking for status. No phone calls or emails were ever returned.  
 
On the rare occasions that I did get a real person on the phone the responses were given by people that didnt want to be bothered. Here is a list.  
 
1. Havent received it. (over a week after they had received it.)  
 
2. Waiting on parts (my most frustrating call was on Monday, 18 June. I was told they were still waiting on parts, after I had instructed them the week before to install what they had in stock and I would pay for the parts, just get it fixed. The did not do that. Once it was supposedly repaired, it failed QC check, it will another 3-4 days. I got a call back in 30 minutes and was told it was ready to ship but wanted my credit card to pay. I gave it and it still hasnt shipped. Just amazing.  
 
Maybe I am an isolated case, but I also own a Dell, which I have been using since I sent the Voodoo in for repair and Dell's customer service on a few issues I had was OUTSTANDING. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.  
 
I guess in the end it all boils down to BUYER BEWARE.  
 
I purchased the machine soley based on comments in this website. (their prices would not attract any customers) The customer service was supposed to be the best in the business. Maybe it is, just not in my case.  
 
Glenn Lentz

Voodoo PC OMEN Review  
 
So – it took Voodoo 4 weeks and 4 days to build, and ship my OMEN to me. This is my review of the Voodoo OMEN.  
 
Ordering Process  
 
Param was my sales rep (although Devon actually took the order). Money was sent by credit card to Voodoo and that was that.  
 
The Voodoo website has become much better recently, although they should still have more information on the components of their products. All Voodoo employees phone manner is excellent.  
 
In summary, the ordering process was remarkably easy for me and I would give it a 8 / 10 – the point docked for the slow answer to my power supply question and the not-so-hot website.  
 
Packaging  
 
So the computer arrived on Friday. The packaging was on a different planet.  
 
Overall for the packaging I have to give a 10 out of 10. Simply outstanding in every respect. There are not many companies that can make opening a box an experience!  
 
OMEN Aesthetics  
 
The OMEN is quite simply, stunning. This is not just some random box. The case is absolutely fantastic - but big.  
 
The main feature of the case is the windowed panel on the side. Above the panel sits the Voodoo logo, and below that, you can see the innards of the computer. Normally the inside of a computer is horrifically ugly with wires everywhere. Not in a Voodoo.  
 
The BAM (brushed, anodized, machined) finish looks great, and combined with the colours and lights that are all over it, it’s a machine that looks fantastic in light, and looks even better at night.  
 
I would give the OMEN a 9.5 out of 10 for aesthetics – the half a point being docked because of the sheer size of it.  
 
OMEN Startup / Installation of Programs  
 
The first thing I noticed was that a strange sound came from the PC. I was worried, but everything happened normally, and then I realised that it was the water moving around the PC. It was kind of eerie at first, and then I realisde that it would be necessary.  
 
One thing that surprised me was that the OMEN was louder than I expected.  
 
Boot-up time into Windows was is extremely fast. Voodoo’s systems don’t come with bloatware. So, the initial setup of the OMEN – I would give a 9 out of 10 – with the point being docked for the noise of it.  
 
Audio Application Performance  
 
So far, I’ve been using Sonar. I’ve been using Cubase for so long I’ve lost track of time, but Sonar is one of the few workstations that can seriously utilise 64-bit computing, so until Cubase comes out with a new version – I am using Sonar.  
 
In short – the audio application performance is outstanding – though – I want to see how it does over a period of time for better judgement.  
 
For now, I will give this a 17 out of 20. I need to leave room for improvement, because it hasn't been tested on a 64-bit platform.  
 
Gaming Performance  
 
It didn’t disappoint. Whilst I had a few problems with installing mods for Oblivion, in general, the experience was outstanding. Oblivion looks fantastic, and plays fantastic. It simply is absolutely stunning. Other games I’ve tried out are Prey, and FEAR. I’m going to try out Command and Conquer 3 soon when it gets here.Loading up Half Life 2 was also a joy. This game now looks like it might completely replayable due to the enhanced graphics experience. It looked simply stunning – especially with the levels they’ve set up HDR for.  
 
Gaming performance is a 20 out of 20. I simply haven’t experienced games like this before. It’s a whole new level.  
 
Stability  
 
Well, to put it simply, not a single crash, not a single random exit to desktop. Not a single driver fault. Nothing. 10 out of 10.  
 
The Voodoo Experience  
 
Voodoo claim that buying a computer from them is an experience. That is true every step of the way. From ordering the computer, through to paying for it, the wait (I was very lucky in this department!), the packaging, the opening of the box, the first time you turn on the machine, the first game you play. Everything is just a great experience. Add into that the superb level of support, the Mutthaboards, and the fact that basically your computer has come from a small family, rather than a huge corporate entity (technically not true anymore!), and that it has been hand-made, it makes you feel special.  
 
For most computer buyers, this isn’t important. But then, most computer buyers don’t spend $8800 CAD on a PC.  
 
10 out of 10.  
 
Final Thoughts / Conclusions.  
 
Pros.  
 
Stellar performance.  
A thing of beauty.  
Rock-solid stability.  
It’s a Voodoo.  
 
Cons  
 
It’s big.  
It’s loud.  
The price.  
…but do I care??  
 
The Voodoo OMEN rightly is the flagship of Voodoo’s systems. It is simply an outstanding system, and whilst it was an awful lot of money, I don’t feel that a penny of it was wasted.  
 
Final Scores.  
 
Ordering Process – 8 / 10.  
Packaging – 10 /10.  
Aesthetics - 9.5/10  
Startup – 9/10  
Audio Application Performance – 17/20.  
Gaming Application Performance – 20/20.  
Stability – 10/10  
The Voodoo Experience – 10/10.  
 
Total – 93.5 / 100  
 
Congratulations Voodoo.

This review was modified by its author, garethcoker, on 6/11/07 2:49 AM.

I ordered a Voodoo Rage F:5 on 1/29/2005. The  
estimated build time was a month. I received  
the computer on 3/23/2005, almost a month late.  
 
There were two problems with the computer right  
out of the box. First, the rechargeable  
wireless mouse had no battery. Apparently,  
their extensive system testing doesn't include  
things like "Will the mouse work?" Worse,  
Voodoo didn't have any of those batteries and  
wouldn't credit me the cost for buying one.  
Worse still, the mouse required batteries with a  
non-standard power consumption rating,  
necessitating a bit of calling around and too  
much driving to find.  
 
Second, because of inadequate packing, the SLI  
connector on the graphics cards had been shaken  
loose, but not so loose as to look disconnected.  
After abortive attempts to get support over  
e-mail, I called and was eventually told to  
check that. Sounds easy, right? Well, another  
thing Voodoo neglected to pack in the box were  
any instructions for opening their boutique  
case. In fact, there's no information about the  
case, the power supply, the cooling pump, the  
radiator, or plenty of non-standard components  
in the machine. I was expecting a ream of  
manuals, spec sheets, and diagrams. I guess I  
should be happy that I got a motherboard manual  
and a copy of Windows.  
 
So a week after I get the machine, it's finally  
working. I proceed to play games on it. And  
the experience is...well, underwhelming. I've  
jumped through all the usual hoops like  
adjusting drivers and tweaking graphics  
settings. But Half-Life 2 still couldn't run  
well with the highest graphics settings.  
Oblivion still burps when I enter big open  
expanses. It's really disappointing.  
 
Earlier this year, my wife's laptop hard drive  
crashed, and our backup solution turned out to  
also be somewhat broken. Because the Rage has a  
RAID controller, I decided to throw a few hard  
drives into it and use it as a backup device.  
That's when I discovered that the hard drive  
SCREWS were special - lathed at the head to fit  
into the case's hard drive rack. And of course,  
no extra screws came with the machine. So I  
call up Voodoo and ask for eight fancy screws,  
mentioning that it's pretty important as it's  
for my LAN's backup RAID. Voodoo proceeds to  
fumble around for a few weeks. I called  
repeatedly and kept getting the runaround.  
Despite offering to pay for shipping, they  
insisted on sending the screws via USPS instead  
of via some shipper with a tracking number. My  
favorite incident from that period was calling  
and being told to call back on what turned out  
to be a Canadian holiday, when no one was around  
who could help me. Genius!  
 
Then the overheating started. The machine would  
start up, and the CPU temp would skyrocket. I  
called Voodoo up, and they told me to add  
distilled water to the reservoir of pink  
antifreeze. I did that.  
 
A few days later, the machine overheats again.  
I start looking around for leaks, and lo and  
behold, there's a little pink crust forming  
around one of the reservoir screws. I call them  
back, and after asking me some questions about  
my system, they tell me that they'd identified a  
design flaw in my machine's separate pump and  
reservoir setup, and the thing to do is to  
install a unified pump and reservoir. Of  
course, since my machine is out of warranty,  
they had to sell me the part, so he arranges to  
have sales call me to pay for it the next day.  
The tech support person tells me this on  
December 12. I end up getting the part on  
1/3/2007, despite paying for it promptly. Seems  
that they sent the part to my old address, even  
though they sent the screws to my new address  
just months ago AND that I confirmed my current  
address as my billing and shipping address when  
I bought the part, then was told that it was  
being changed in their system. They never saw  
fit to give me a tracking number (again!), and  
they never noticed that the part wasn't  
successfully delivered.  
 
And what do I get when I get the part? Do I get  
the complete installation instructions, as  
promised? I get two hastily-photocopied pages  
describing installation into a bare machine,  
full of uselessly blurred diagrams. Nothing  
about the RAGE. Nothing about how to drain my  
system. And all this for a markup of 50% above  
what it would have cost me to buy this part  
myself online and have it shipped to my correct  
address. And all this, remember, because of  
Voodoo's design mistake.  
 
I've told Voodoo repeatedly that I'm frustrated  
with them and that they need to make this right.  
They've done nothing.  
 
For the amount of money I paid for this machine,  
I could have purchased a car, driven to a big  
chain store on the day after Thanksgiving,  
bought a commodity computer and two games,  
waited in line for hours to pay for it all, and  
still come out happier and wealthier.  
 
Please, please, PLEASE don't make the same  
mistake that I made! If your experience is like  
mine, the only thing you'll get when you open  
that box "Sealed with a Hex" is a curse.

This review was modified by its author, mrarba, on 1/7/07 11:55 AM.

After three months of trying to fix my Omen PC I gave up with VooDoo as I could not leave it with them indefinitely.  
 
I asked for my money back but they refused.  
 
Basically, the computer continues to experience stability issues when one uses the front USB ports. As it sits now the front memory card readers are connected with a USB cable which loops to the external back USB port where it now takes up one of these ports. When I recently tried to do an update on me Garmin Street Pilot the system crashed. I ended up having to do the update with my old Dell.

THe purchasing experience was incredible. Never have I seen such customer service. They were the ones that called me, not the other way around. They kept me in the loop and answered me my questions. When they were not sure of a component they called me to double check. The timing was precisely the time they gave me, ETA of 30 days. Beautiful notebook and amazing preformance. Voodoo PC has won a loyal customer! THANKS GOES OUT TO PARAMJEET!

As with most so-called "boutique" manufacturers, this company is a RIP-OFF. They charge you a 50% (or greater) premium for shoddy tech support (Only available 9-5 mon-fri and I've often called to recieve nothing more than an answering machine that was FULL), crappy warranty coverage (they max out at 3 years and PCs must be shipped back to Voodoo HQ in Calgary, Canada at the owner's expense) and they offer NO incentives for returning customers on the grounds that doing so would "cheapen their brand".  
 
DO NOT buy from the company, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. They only care about their image and their ego. I feel like a fool and a sucker for wasting the kind of money I did on one of their machines.  
 
The offer nothing to justify their extreme price and fail in many areas where much cheaper companies succeed. Do yourself a favour and avoid Voodoo at all costs! Ironically, it will end up costing you a heck of a lot more if you don't.  
 
Summary: All style and no substance. Don't be seduced by their fancy webpage and glossy photos. While their PCs may look special on the outside, on the inside they are nothing remarkable and certainly not worth anywhere close to what they charge. That and the customer care is ABYSMAL. They will excuse everything on the grounds that they are a "boutique" company. Allow me to translate. Boutique = A Scam to mark up thier products and provide inferior support because they are too small and greedy to compete with the big manufacturers.  
 
If you wonder why they sell ANY machines whatsoever, remember what P.T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute." Don't be that sucker. Stay FAR FAR away from Voodoo PC.

I'm the 1st one to receive a nickel plated case omen, and I can't express in words how beautiful, amazing and gorgeous this computer is. It's not a computer at all; it's a work of art. Everyone who see's this thing of beauty is awe struck by it. I am entirely satisfied with it's stellar performance. I also am thoroughly satisfied with my entire experience with Voodoo. Lance helped me design my omen and made sure I was updated on its building and status at all times. He also made sure it was perfect before shipping it to me. I hope he gets a fat commission or a huge raise for all his hard work! Thank you Lance and Thank you Voodoo for building me my dream machine and making it totally worth every penny to have the pimpest computer and greatest service in the computer industry! If you demand the best like I do then Voodoo should be your one and only choice period ;) Scott Shropshire 5 time Voodoo customer

At Voodoo you will pay a little more for a premium package. The product is the utmost of clean and organized craftsmanship with impecable wiring in a strong detailed and very slick case.  
 
From my first call to discuss the pc configuration I felt like I had a friend at Voodoo. Lance Davis took good care of me responding to all questions and emails with fast responses as well as phone calls to make sure I got my questions answered.  
 
These are not the guys that you go to looking for the bargain basement offers, and if you don't mind paying a fair price for a total value with easy, fast and friendly service?, you just found some new friends.  

Working in a high-end "custom" environment myself I can honestly say that I know a little bit about what kind of client Voodoo PC is attracting. Just like our own clients, Voodoo Clients are expecting customer service before, during and after the sale. I'd like to share my own experience with Voodoo and hopefully I can help educate them in the art of the high-end client.  
 
We decided to buy a hot pink laptop for a gift for someone who was graduating high school. After picking out the options we wanted we called to make sure the laptop would be ready for graduation which was over 8 weeks away. We were told that it shouldn't be a problem and we placed the order.  
 
6 weeks came and went so we called to check the status and after many calls we were told that the laptop would be done soon. A week prior to graduation we called again and were told that it would be express shipped to guarantee arrival. Three days before graduation the machine still had not shipped so we called again, this time we were told it would not ship in time and that we should print out a picture of it to give to the person who was graduating. What kind of customer service is that?  
 
Two weeks after graduation (a full 10 weeks after ordering the machine) it finally arrived. I thought we were done dealing with Voodoo once and for all until we started having a battery problem.  
 
The recipient of the laptop, a week before college classes were to start, flew cross country to go to school. While flying she decided to use her computer to watch a movie and it wouldn’t turn on. When she landed she tried shore power (mains) and it worked fine. This began a 5 week process to get a replacement battery.  
 
I called tech support on 08-15-05 and told them we needed a new battery. I was told it would need to be ordered and that they do not stock things like that. (Who doesn’t stock batteries for a laptop they sell?) I asked that someone call me back with an ETA. I also said it needed to be shipped to the college, not to Arizona. I never got a call back with an ETA so I called back on the 17th and was told that the battery was backordered from the vendor and that I would need to wait. I asked that it be drop shipped and I was told it could not.  
 
After emailing and calling for 10 days (literally every day!) I finally got a hold of the COO, Trevor. He told me who the manufacturer of the computers (and thus the batteries) was so I could find it on my own. After making a half dozen phone calls I found out the exact model number I needed and had a battery fedexed from a the manufacturer. I was also able to find out that these batteries were chronically bad and that was why they were out of stock. I was displeased, as you can imagine, that I had to do the leg work for Voodoo and that they were not willing to work outside of the scope of their original provider/distributor. Soon after I secured a battery on my own I went back to Voodoo to press them for a replacement for the one I paid for. (Not a bad request in my mind since I had to shell out $150 of my own money for the battery I found myself) This time I spoke with Lance who said he would get the battery and send it directly to the college dorms for me. I was promised a number of times that I would get a return phone call or a tracking number and never did. I finally got an email today from Lance, after asking him to have his COO call me again, that the battery had shipped. This process took 5 week. 5 weeks for a battery! 5 weeks this poor college student could not use her laptop unless plugged into the wall. This is by far the worst customer service I have ever received on a “high-end” product. I figure once I calculate my time I spent over $1000 to get this battery replaced. This is unacceptable. The worst part was, and I told this to Trevor, that when they didn’t have an answer instead of calling to tell me they didn’t have the answer yet, they simply did nothing. I tried to explain this basic concept to Trevor but it didn’t seem to register. Bad information is better than NO information. Voodoo will see no future business from us, which is sad because we buy 10-12 laptops a year and don’t mind paying for the “good stuff.”  

Purchasing process was very easy. I basically custom-built my laptop on the website with great ease. When I needed to check the build status, it was very easy to contact someone via email. I didn't try over the phone, but the reponse over email was very fast. Also, after I received my laptop, I still get expedited customer service whenever I need anything or have an issue. I strongly recommend VoodooPC laptops. The laptop performance is nothing but superior to anything I have had so far...and the baby blue color is definitely unique.

Purchased a flawless gaming PC from Voodoo. Pricey, but I've had it for a year without a single hardware problem (pretty rare with PCs!). This is my second perfect out of the box experience with Voodoo after a MISERABLE purchase from Alienware. Voodoo will likely be my only source for fully built gaming PCs and workstations in the future.

*Update 3/19*  
I've had this system up and running for about two weeks now, so I think I'm able to provide an accurate assessment of how the system turned out.  
On the plus side, its very pretty, and the attention to detail is fairly obvious. However, I'm having some issues with the system that make me hesitant to purchase another system from Voodoo, or to recommend them to others.  
When I first tried to boot my system, I experienced an annoying problem that has continued to this day. When I try and turn the system on, the system hangs at the company logo. Sometimes I can turn it off and on again and it will load, but as of now it seems that 9 times out of 10 it will continue to stay frozen when I reboot. I spent half an hour on the phone with tech support and was able to temporarily solve the problem, but it returned that evening.  
There is also an odd noise, similar to a squeaky door hinge of some sort, that the system randomly makes without any obvious pattern. Other minor issues include the case's door, which is unusually difficult to close, but also gets a little stuck when trying to open it past 75 degrees. Lastly, the case has an annoying aluminum grill on the back of the system which must be removed before the case can be opened. This completely negates the ease of use of thumbscrews, and makes the case a hassle to open.  
I don't know what I was expecting when I bought my system. I suppose I thought that paying twice as much for a computer as I would have if I built it myself (literally; I crunched the numbers), I figured that it would be more polished than any other system I've ever had. Sure, the PC is very fast and pretty, but there are some issues (specifically the boot problems) that I would not expect to escape the testing phase.  
 
 
 
*Update 2/28*  
I spoke to Rahul and he explained just how busy they were this year. Due to the fact that Voodoo has demonstrated that they will go the extra mile for their customers in service (what other company's president is willing to answer a customer's complaints on the phone?), I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for Voodoo to get me my system. I'm sure I won't be disappointed, and that it will be worth the wait.  
 
 
 
I ordered a Rage on January 13. When I ordered, the website stated that the average time before a system shipped was 30-35 days. When I was deciding on a system to buy I spoke to Voodoo techs several times on the phone, and one of them said that at the moment the wait was more like 35-40 days due to a higher than normal demand.  
It has been 43 days and as of earlier this week, I was told to expect my system in two more weeks (after being told the same thing two weeks ago). I can understand that there is an increased demand for these systems at the moment, but the long wait is aggravating.  
However, even with the wait, I have every confidence that the team at Voodoo will do what they can to get my system to me as soon as they can while maintaining their level of quality. Even with my optimism, my experience so far is making me a little nervous. I'll post more once I get my system or I get more information.

This review was modified by its author, DedEye, on 3/20/05 1:51 AM.

I bought a RAGE F:2 and the computer is truly a work of art. The case is a beauty. I get so many compliments on it from people who have seen it, that this is the finest computer I have owned. I did have one problem and that was promptly fixed by Voodoo and the computer has been trouble free to date. The president of the company personally oversaw this. He also proved quite helpful in advising me on the right computer for my gaming needs when I initially put my order and I am most appreciative of it. I look forward to another Voodoo when the time comes for a new system in the future.

Fantastic, the person I spoke with then communicated via email with was very quick to respond. Patient and helpful, more so than all other companies I called and tried to get information from. Every department I dealt with even 3 days after the arrival of the Envy m790 has been quick to respond and helpful. If only every company could be this way. It made the difference of buying their notebook vs. the other companies.  
 
Further questions about possible needs and wants for a desktop, computer has made me decide that Voodoo PC WILL absolutely have my desktop order.  
 
People whine about the price, I did too, but the quality and support are beyond reproach so far, with nary a hint of it declining. People say you get what you pay for. Well, if quality, service, and courtesy are of any importance Voodoo is at the top. I live outside of Austin, TX, ordinarilly DELL country, but even with many friends that work there, and great discounts, some employees will say quietly that customer service is pitiful, all done off a flow chart usually ending with reinstall the OS. I've also been told that every machine leaves with flaws, the question is how many or how serious.  
 
I believe in Voodoo and if anyone out there is considering it, do it. Yes it might be expensive, just back off the system a little and get the Voodoo, their performance and quality will be astounding. Packaging as well. I can't say enough positive about my experience to date.  
 
System is an Envy m790  
P4 3.6  
2gigs ram  
80G HDD  
DVD RW Dual layer x 2.  
 
Delivery time was about 5 weeks. Every inquiry I made about the build status was quickly answered and I was told the exact day of arrival in time to make arrangements. I will say that the DHL driver rang the door bell then stood at the back of the truck waiting for me to come get the two boxes. Cold, windy, rainy. I'm barefoot with short sleeves and watching a two year old. The driver just stood and waited, didn't care a bit. Not Voodoo's fault, but I personally would never use or recommend DHL.  
 
Color was Monza Olive. Perfect paint job. The shade is a bit off from what was on the website, at least on my monitors. But still a good color. Haven't needed tech support yet, so no opinion there.  
 
I will always be a Voodoo customer. I've already planned out an f:50. If there were local I'd buy the whole company lunch they've been so helpful. Even knew my tshirt size and never asked! I'd even like to get the light m:50 if I could just afford it with the others to round out all of my needs.  
 
If the staff of Voodoo reads this, they have an open invitation if ever in my area for a free lunch/dinner on me for thanks.

This review was modified by its author, tranch, on 2/4/05 2:00 AM.