I had ordered a very expensive M17 Ultra gaming laptop from Velocity Micro as my little gift to myself this holiday season. Well, I got it last night...  
 
To start with, I was a returning customer. My desktop is a Velocity Micro rig, bought in 2007, and I've had nothing but good karma with it. Velocity Micro service is located right here in Virginia and they were always very professional. Their computers are hand-built to your order, too. That's why they're expensive.  
 
Flash forward two years... now I'm going overseas soon, so I need a laptop. Of course Velocity was my first choice. The first thing I did when I got it out of the box was call Velocity for their legendary service and ask how to get connected through WiFi. The tech support I got was horrible. Things have changed at Velocity, and I think it's going the way of Alienware... trying to make more money by selling at the big boxes (yup, Velocity now sells their rigs at the local store) and sacrificing in the service department. The tech rep had an attitude and the first thing he had me do was mess around in the command prompt. God knows what we did; I don't even remember. When that didn't work, he said he'd e-mail me the drivers to the WiFi (wtf... didn't they do that when they were building it?) and then told me good luck and pretty much hung up on me. Updating the drivers didn't work either. So I decided to wing it and use Microsoft's diagnostic tool. It turns out that all I had to do was make sure the WiFi was powered on with the switch on the laptop cover. Doh.  
 
Then I get on the computer and start looking around... oh, no. Crapware. MS Office trial verson, LiteScribe, etc. all hogging my resources in the systray. Let me just say that there was zero crapware on the machine I bought in 2007. Forget this. I sent it back today. Whatever you do, don’t buy a Velocity Micro computer today. They are not the same company they were a few years ago.  

Delivery within 3 weeks, excellent machine, better price than Dell, many options, extreme performance. Staff was always available to answer questions by email and phone.

This review was modified by its author, ward_ja, on 2/9/08 5:10 PM.

Very unhappy customer here. I paid $4,000 to Overdrive PC for a "custom" gamer; Shortly thereafter, Overdrive PC was purchased by Velocity. I've had nothing but problems with the machine and little sympathy from VM despite numerous emails and telphone calls to the service department. The machine freezes during game play requiring one to crash the system. It won't reboot; it doesn't recognize the dual video cards; frequently, it won't even boot to windows unless I walk away for several hours. The machine was returned, the hard drive wiped and returned to me. Once the games (Witcher & Crysis) loaded, the machine continued to freeze and crash. No one really seems interested in either fixing the machine or replacing the core parts. It is suggested that I have introduced a "Virus" somehow; I have spent $400 of my own money on IT person in Seattle to inspect the machine. There is no virus. And, there seems little interest in fixing the machine on VM's part despite my "platinum warranty" contract.  
 
February 12th: I have had several contacts with service and am satisfied thus far on the troubleshooting aspect of the problem. Aaron Palmer is doing a good job trying to work me through it, although I'm a complete novice. More to come.

This review was modified by its author, mint427, on 2/12/08 11:05 AM.

Had the system for 4 months now. Very frustrated w/ Velocity Micro. Complaints are:  
 
iTunes locks up, cannot be killed; writes disk error messages to the System log ... ONLY itunes ahs this problem. Vista had numerous other problems, rebooting every hour, crashing, not allowing my legacy software to run, disk seems to run constantly. VM told me to do a system restore, I did, it failed. When I complained about VM selling an unstable OS, they told me they were sorry that I was 'unhappy with the OS I chose' and they could/would not help solve any problems with software that was not sold with the machine e.g. the iTunes problem... which of course they sold the system with Vista for 100 bucks less than the one with xp ... so I foolishly bit on that.  
 
Before I pruchased the machine I asked if it came with the regular vista cds, not some modified version they said it did ... one of the suggested fixes that I use to fix vista is from http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/101393-repair-vista-options-preferred-sequence.html  
 
However it appears that the VM vista cd is an OEM version not the retail one, so I feel that I was lied to.  
 
While their support is friendly on the phone they do not offer the premium system and support that they advertise. In my experience you can get the same level of support from any company.  
 
If you are computer knowledgable and can solve the simple stuff yourself, then find the cheapest machine you can buy because the type of problems you will encounter with VM/Vista will try your patience and if VM can solve the problem, you can too but if you can't then you will not have the frustration of finding out that VM has no answers ... and be disappointed in their promise of a quality system.  
 
Microsoft and VM have both proven to be disappointing in the quality and stability of their products.

I received my new NoteMagix M57 Ultra Desktop Replacement Notebook just over one month ago. I set out seeking a gaming PC that could easily be carried around the house or taken on the road. My 5 year old desktop PC would be kept in service as my main platform for home office tasks, internet surfing, and other activities where limited PC capabilities do not impede the task. I seriously considered several brands before I deciding upon Velocity Micro.  
 
I chose VM for several reasons.  
1. Many online reviews described the high quality and neatness of the build.  
2. I was able to get the components that I wanted.  
3. Tech support is located in my home country.  
4. When I called to get additional information regarding potential configurations, Trace Dixon was extraordinarily helpful, professional, and patient in helping me choose what I needed.  
5. Customer service: my online research indicated that VM strives to satisfy their customers.  
6. Good BBB rating.  
7. Less significant, but notable to me, the VM website's PC build configurator was easy and fast to use, and website wasn't distracting with flashy graphics and unnecessary clutter.  
 
After I ordered my notebook, I decided to change the order slightly, and confirmation of the change from VM was rapid. I liked that I was given updates along the build and shipping process.  
 
The notebook has exceeded my expectations. Upon receipt, it was packed extremely well and arrived in perfect shape. The chassis styling is clean, elegant, and very understated. It booted flawlessly. The 17” screen is crystal clear.  
 
Gaming use: I mostly play Sims 2 with all EPs, and with a download folder of almost 4000 items. On my older desktop (vintage 2002, 2.4 GHz P4, upgraded to 1G ram, Nvidia Geforce4 MX420) the game stutters/pauses on lots with more than 9 characters. On the new notebook, this lot runs smooth as silk. I've played as many as 25 characters at once on a lot with minimal stutter. I didn't expect this level of performance from a laptop.  
 
Graphics and performance for other games (WoW, Galactic Civilizations) is superb.  
 
So far, I couldn't be more pleased with this notebook, and will return to VM when the time comes for upgrades or another purchase.

This review was modified by its author, rx63787, on 5/18/07 9:19 PM.

Amazing service. I talked to Jay Lewis and had a few questions via email and they were promptly returned the next day with my questions about the 1500 Gamers tower answered. He helped me to customize my PC tower and it was made and delivered in about 12 days. I had one issue with some incompatible memory that caused me to reinstall the OS but the customer support was good during this time. The gentleman who helped me the first night gave me some incorrect advice but the guy the next day fixed my problem. But the main thing? Every conversation with them was a pleasure and didn't make me feel like I was a burden on their time. I would surely do business with Velocity Micro again ...in fact I did. I bought memory from Jay Lewis again Sat. and first thing Monday morning, I got an email from their Accounting department confirming my order. Prompt and courteous service. And most importantly, the computer was well put together!

This review was modified by its author, CraigP, on 3/28/07 1:52 PM.

I have tried Dell and HP and this is the only company who actually cares about their customers. Tech support will bend over backwards to provide you with quick and very friendly service.The computer itself is flawless and is as fast as one would only hope to receive from other companies.  
Roger Glen

Firstly, let me preface this review by saying that I normally build my own computers, but now that I have a job, I thought I might take the plunge with a reputable custom builder. Well, let's just say I won't be taking the plunge again. I chose Velocity Micro primarily based on HardOCP's glowing review of them and also for the price (as compared to other custom builders). Ordering and initially receiving the computer were smooth as can be.  
 
But that evening as I was installing a wireless card (VM should get with the program and starting using MBs with integrated wireless) I plugged the power cord and poof, a puff of smoke and a flash of light came from the power supply. I knew instantaneously that the power supply have been fried. So I called up tech support and I will give VM credit, a human eventually answered the phone even though I called at 11pm at night CST. The guy was polite enough and agreed to send me a new power supply. And he also said he would send a tech out to install it.  
 
Now a power supply is not that hard to install, but I figured that hey, I'm paying for this, so what the hey. Well, the tech came...butchered the wiring (so much for the "neat wiring job") and what do you know, computer still refused to power up. So to make a long story short, after a month and after replacing mobo, hard drive, and video card basically myself, the computer is now running. Don't know how stable it is because I just got it booted last night. In short, I could've built a computer and paid less in the time it took to get that thing running.  
 
Granted, tech support always had a person answer (usually took at least 10 minutes for somebody to answer) and they were relatively polite, but VM never offered anything to compensate me for the absolute hassle and now they want me to return all the dead parts to them. What the heck for? I called and explained the situation and they refused to make an exception even after all I had gone through. If a company truly valued customer service they would do something to make up for this crappy experience. But, unfortunately, I won't be able to recommend VM to others after this whole fiasco. If you are at all tech savy, just go and build your own computer. Less hassle, less time, and its cheaper.  
 
Update: I'm still disappointed by this response. What kind of computer can't handle the installation of a wireless card? Perhaps my expectations were too high for VM as this was my first experience in purchasing from a "custom" builder. Yes, the computer is now running and stable, but not because of VM "build quality" as I basically installed all the hardware myself and also re-installed the software myself i.e. built my own computer. This being said, I will adjust my rating because the customer service reps were never jerks to me and they did send me new parts ( well like one part per week for three weeks). However, next time I will pay more for a more boutique builder like Puget perhaps.

This review was modified by its author, akshung, on 2/27/07 8:38 AM.

Last year October I decided I wanted a quality gaming rig. Did some research, and saw the VM machines at Best Buy. They were sold out so I decided to order it online. 3 weeks later it arrived.  
The first day my computer froze several times, but I figured it was the game I was playing, not the machine. Then it did the same with about a dozen different games. I contact customer support, I get a friendly tech support guy to help me, but none of the suggestions work. He sends me a new motherboard, and I get a tech to put it in for me. As he checks the hardware inside, the CPU heat sink is loose, and the protective sticker on the graphics card that says "REMOVE BEFORE USE" is still on the graphics card.  
He firmly attached the heat sink and removed the sticker.  
He proceeds to install the motherboard, and closes up the case. Computer does not even start at all. After a while he puts the old one back in, so at least it starts up.  
I contact tech support, they tell me to send it back, which I did. A week and a half later I get a phone call saying the computer is on its way (a wednesday. The following tuesday it's still not here, so I call and apparently it hasn't been shipped out yet. They ship it out the same day with next day air.  
The next day, I open the box and hear something loose inside. I check but can't find anything. Soon after, the computer crashes. So I call Tech support again. I asked what exactly they did to my computer, and they told me they replaced the CPU. (Why not the motherboard, that they sent me to begin with, I don't know).  
The tech I had been in contact with also disappeared from the face of the earth, not responding to any emails.  
Suddenly my mouse stops working after another crash. I contact tech support, and the guy is downright rude to me. I file a complaint at the front desk (Very nice lady by the way).  
 
Finally a tech they chose is sent out here. He finds the CPU Heat sink loose AGAIN, a capacator off of the graphics card is laying loose in the bottom of the computer (with pins bent which means it didnt just fall off), and also the USB ports were not connected he said.  
At least the computer works now, but not thanks to their testing.  
 
This is the worst experience I have had dealing with a computer builder.  
I understand my case may not be the norm, but certainly not unheard of when I read the other reviews here. Last time I will ever buy from them again. Hearing their 'refer a friend' program, and how their products are so great, while waiting for tech support, definitely made me laugh.  
The only thing I commend them on is the speed at which the parts were delivered. But that shouldn't have had to happen in the first place.  
Hope you have a better experience.  

After doing quite a bit of research on what sort of computer I want and who to buy it from, I decided to go with Velocity Micro. It got some great reviews from [H]ardocp, and I was looking forward to a great computer at a decent price.  
 
I'm well aware that Velocity Micro isn't the cheapest builder out there, but when I'm buying something of the $3000 quality with the 640 mb 8800 series video card and Vista Ultimate, I want someone that will build my computer with care and concern, and offer a great warranty.  
 
So after placing my order, I received a confirmation order. Unfortunately, my shipping and billing address are different, and in my wisdom I mixed up the states for both of these. This messed up my order and it was marked as fraud.  
 
--On a side note, a company that's dedicated enough to stopping fraud to catch something like this is great. Though it caused me a bit of a hassle, I brought it on myself. I'm reassured that this company took it upon itself to try and stop fraud where it could.  
 
So while my estimated ship date was the 10th, it ended up shipping on the 12th. Again, after I messed up something like this and had to fix it, it only shipped two days late. Another part of the reason the computer shipped late was because of my sound card being on back order. But they let me know, and when I asked, they even told me why exactly my shipping date was delayed.  
 
That's what I call customer service!  
 
Now, I just received my computer (Feb. 14th). I haven't had any hardware problems, just the standard problems arising from NVIDIA not having its vista drivers out yet for its 8800 series video cards.  
 
Again, great buyer, great customer service. A little pricey, but considering the experience, I say that I certainly got a great deal. After all, anyone could build their own computer, but the main point of these sorts of builders is the warranty and rest of the service. Velocity Micro certainly delivers.

Apparently, Hp software for a scanner fouled up the registry file on my Velocity Micro computer. Velocity Micro Technical service was superbly helpful in solving my problem. They even downloaded, separately from the "poison" HP software, the proper driver for the scanner and installed it (remotely) on my computer for me. They set the computer up so that Microsoft scanner software would control the scanner.  
 
Both Heather and Ben worked to make this the most pleasant and satisfactory Tech support experience I have ever had.

After years of buying "behind the curve" PCs I decided to reward myself with a top of the line Velocity Micro Gamers Edge PCX with the very latest Intel processor, NVidia graphics card and Creative Labs sound card. I opted for additional graphics tweaking (along with beefed up cooling) and separate OS and application hard drives. VM emailed me regularly regarding order status (very nice touch after dealing with Mr. Dell for the last 10 years!) and my unit arrived in less than two weeks. Setup was the easiest I've ever done and I own/run a chemical testing lab with 6 servers and 50 work stations! A small issue with my analog mic sent me to the VM tech support guys and after less than 5 minutes on hold on a Saturday afternoon I was speaking with an AMERICAN who was not working from some tech script from hell. The issue was a Creative Labs problem and NOT a VM problem. A $50 USB mic substituted for my old one did the trick. Their sales staff has followed up with emails asking about my experience with VM and, as for the new rig, well let's just say IT SMOKES!! A great company and one that will be getting all my future business.

I have had my Vector SX system for just over a year, and just out of warranty. (actually purchased on 12/23/05) I have been very happy with Velocity Micro and the computer until today. There have been no problems, but I just found out I cannot add more RAM to what I already have. I upgraded to Windows Vista and wanted to upgrade RAM, adding another 1 gig to the 1 gig already installed. THERE WERE ONLY TWO RAM SLOTS, OCCUPIED BY THE DUAL CHANNEL CHIPS! I would have to take these chips out and by new 2 gig chips to replace them, wasting the money that I paid for these chips. And these were more expensive RAM chips with a heat spreader. When I ordered this computer, there were two places on the order form to add RAM, suggesting there were at least 4 slots for dual channel chips. Velocity's tech support person was very polite and understanding, and found that my mother board was one of the rare ones with only 2 slots for RAM chips. I never would have purchased a computer with only two RAM slots, especially for dual channel chips. I didn't think to look when I bought it, so now I'm screwed. Frankly, I think that Velocity Micro should sell me a set of 2 gig chips for the price of 1 gig, but the guy wouldn't go for it. He was sympathetic and apologetic, but I'm still screwed.  
 
So if you purchase from Velocity Micro, whom I no longer trust, be sure to check on your mother board's RAM slots.  
 
Addendum: 2/5/07 - Velocity Micro contacted me and agreed to buy back my RAM chips and sell me a new pair. I am now back to happy with Velocity Micro and my Vector desktop.  
 
Kirven Weekley

This review was modified by its author, Kirven, on 2/5/07 10:36 AM.

I bought this Velocity Micro Raptor in no small measure because you promised superb support—plus all the components of the system were highly-rated. I had only a couple of months ago purchased a Falcon Northwest desktop, which turned into a nightmare: constant, random stop error messages (the dreaded “blue screen of death”) and returned it within the 30-day period after hundreds of frustrating hours of trouble-shooting, many hours consulting with their support, & they never came close to identifying the apparent hardware-related conflict producing these errors. I lost about $500 on the shipping charges alone. Because VM promised extensive “24/7” support by knowledgeable technicians, on-site servicing where needed, no out-sourcing etc., this was a major consideration in purchasing a fairly expensive desktop, especially given my prior experience purchasing from a seemingly highly-rated “boutique.”  
 
The first indication that this wonderful support was not close to what was promised was the fact that the records indicated that it went from production to shipping in less than 24 hours—so much for extensive pre-testing & burn-in. Also, the so-called certificate verifying this testing & affirmation that everything shipped in good working order was conspicuously absent from the docs that shipped—contrary to your assurance that this was an added virtue of purchasing from your company. Since that time, I’ve had a host of problems where, when I could actually get through to a tech, they were unfailing polite but never able to find a solution or deliver a promised follow-up to the problems described below  
[won't bore you with the specifics: the main point here is that the computer sort of runs OK, but "customer support"? Functionally, doesn't exist.]  
 
I've tried every option offered--no response. Maybe you'll be lucky, but read a review about 3 down, it's my experience exactly: if something needs support, go elsewhere.

My recent purchase is actually my second from VM. My first purchase was about 2 years ago. That machine suffered from overheating problems from the start. Calls to VM’s then technical support company (Znet) never resolved the issue. I finally took it to a repair store located in a strip mall. When the guy got done criticizing the inadequate cooling design, he installed two fans and the machine has worked pretty well ever since.  
 
When my son’s old Dell’s motherboard croaked, I passed the old VM on to him and wnet to upgrade my machine. Despite my wife’s protestations, I settled on VM again (primarily after reading very poor reviews Voodoo had been receiving).  
 
The ordering process went smoothly. VM’s web-site is well designed and user friendly. I had a couple of questions. When I called, I was greeted in a friendly matter and my questions were handled clearly. Soon after the order was processed, I received a call informing me that I could not have both video cooling and the TV tuner card. After being assured that the video cooling was superfluous, we eliminated the video cooling.  
 
When the machine arrived. I discovered that there was no tuner included on the machine. Obviously, an MCE PC without a tuner is pretty useless so I called immediately and was again greeted in a very friendly and helpful manner. I returned the machine for a rebuild and they agreed to upgrade the motherboard for my trouble. Since they were doing that, I asked if I could upgrade the CPU and was told that I could. The price of the machine now eclipses $4,000.  
 
After the new machine arrived, I had a Windows MCE registration problem right away. Once I got beyond that. When the machine finally booted up, I was confronted with a (now all too familiar) Media Center Service error. Moving on from there, I attempted to configure Media Center only to learn that the tuner was either not installed or malfunctioning. Device Manager shows the card was there but that no drivers had been installed. After installing the drivers, I still found that Media Center could not find or could not use this tuner.  
 
I then tried any number of reinstalls of Media Center and the tuner card as well as so many suggestions from various Microsoft and Hauppauge web-sites and even a few blogs. Nothing worked.  
 
The holidays made contacting VM difficult (thankfully, the infamous Znet is no more), at best, but I finally got a response after the 1st of the year. They sent a new card but installing that has done nothing positive. Device manager shows its there and functioning properly but Media Center still can’t use it. I am now convinced that the Hauppauge tuner VM has chosen to use (it is a different one than the one used on the HP Media Center PC we have in the family room) is obviously not compatible with Media Center PCs.  
 
One thing I cannot resolve is VM’s claim that they test each machine before shipping. The first time I received the machine, it was missing a critical piece of hardware. How could it have tested out? The rebuilt machine has shown the same error since it was first booted up. How could it have tested out or am I supposed to believe that this magically occurred during shipping?  
 
Given that I ordered the PC in October, I am not about to send it back (especially since that didn’t work very well the last time I did that) and it generally seems to perform its other PC functions fairly well (though any improvement in performance over my old 3.4 ghz Pro Magix is not obvious). My own best guess is that, like my previous VM PC purchase, I am pretty much on my own again. I will probably use the web and find some way to disable Media Center entirely and then try to go with an option like Beyond TV.  
 
I am very conflicted about my interactions with VM. On one hand, the people you deal with are very friendly and the company itself seems to genuinely want to do the right thing. On the other hand, wanting to resolve problems is positive but not the same thing as actually possessing the ability to resolve problems. To say this is disappointing is beyond words when I think about the $4,000+ VM purchase price compared to the much lower price (and almost complete absence of problems) I have encountered with my HP, my daughter’s Compaq and the Dells I have purchased over the years. Unless you are a budding DIY type, I would steer clear of any VM Media Center PCs. There are companies who are able to configure those types of machines so that you can actually use the PC to watch television.