Very bad experience with velocity micro. Two weeks and computer still does not work

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.  

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.

Velocity Micro is a very good company that wants to do the right thing - the problem is that they struggle doing it. Since I originally purchased my system in November, I have needed to ship it back for repairs twice. Additionally, the original shipping date was late, and the company accidentally charged my credit card for $500 in shipping charges that hadn't even taken place for shipping on one of the returns. In their defense - each and every time a problem has occured they have gone out of their way to help (all the way from the President to the Senior Technician). Unfortunately my system once again experienced blue screen crashes (for the third time), and after working with a technician it locks up upon booting with a ROM BIOS checksum error message.  
 
After having spent over 30 hours packing & unpacking, installing and unstalling and on the phone with technical service over the past 2 months I have decided to part ways with Velocity Micro. As I said - the company wants to do the right thing and is extremely responsive. Unfortunately, responsiveness and customer service does little good without a functional product. I spent $8,000 for this top of the line system, and now I have spent an additional 30-40 hours trying to get it to work.  
 
While I have greatly appreciated how willing and eager everyone at Velocity is to help, I unfortunately will be parting company with them with a very sour taste in my mouth and will not be a returning customer. However, I have enjoyed working with the Velocity Micro staff and wish them nothing but the very best of luck. Unfortunately sometimes in life you have to give good people bad reviews. I feel like it is my duty as a consumer to honestly report my experience despite the fact that everyone I have worked with at Velocity appear to be very good people.

This review was modified by its author, ksjhawk4444, on 2/12/07 10:35 AM.

This is the review EVERYONE needs to read.  
 
As you look through these pages you will see reviews from those who are either very happy with their Velocity Micro system or very dissatisfied.  
 
First of all, you must realize everyone will post an initial positive comment on just having received their Velocity Micro computer. How many dissatisfied remarks would you expect in the first few months?  
 
This review is from someone who has owned a VM computer for nearly two years.  
 
Count me in as one who is highly dissatisfied.  
 
As you look through the less than stellar reviews, see if you notice things in common that tie those complaints together....  
 
First, all reviews agree that VM Customer Support contains a bunch of nice people. This is true. Customer Support will bend over backwards to address complaints.  
 
Second, you'll find that many have machines that worked for a while, but suddenly now have problems. Count me in as one of those people. I bought a $4k computer back in 2005 that worked great for 17 months. Suddenly, the computer went bonkers and VM had been unable to identify the underlying problem after nearly 8 weeks.  
 
My machine has gone through no less than 3 hard drive failures in the past 6 months. Sound familiar? These were common complaints as well.  
 
Finally, it seems that VM often blames SOFTWARE as the cause of the problem. In my case they blamed a piece of software I had been using for 17 months prior on this and 2 other PCs with no problem.  
 
I applaud VM for trying real hard to fix the problems. They rebuilt my computer from scratch and even gave me FREE hardware upgrades. Thing is, they still could not find not fix the hardware problems.  
 
No kidding -- I have returned my PC to VM for repair no less than 5 times in 6 months. Each time the computer came back, it was just as bad as when it went in.  
 
Since it took VM nearly 6 months to stabilize my computer, I was without a desktop for my business. I was forced to go out and spend another few thousand on a new computer...and guess what...I bought my first Mac Pro. My experience with VM taught me that I should never again buy a custom built computer that is built with a dozen different components that don't want to play nice with each other. Even VM Customer Support admitted software stability on a custom machine is far less reliable than running on a brand name like Dell. Additionally, now that the Mac Pro will run Windows within the OS X environment, the switch to mac was a no-brainer. I couldn't be happier. For the same price of a VM custom computer, I bought a loaded Mac Pro that (with the use of PARALLELS) runs Windows and MAC OS X at the same time. It's amazing! Furthermore, my Mac presents none of the problems I experienced with my VM PC.  
 
VM is a great company with great customer support but I don't trust custom built PCs anymore!  
 
I give a great amount of credit to VM for all the effort they put into trying to fix my computer and upgrading parts at their expense. Heather, Jason and Ben were all first-rate at addressing my problems, but this entire situation (coupled with similar reviews of similar experiences) has left a bad taste in my mouth. You don't pay $4k for a system and have it continually go through hard drive failures and blue screen crashes in this manner.  
 
I urge people to consider a Mac Pro if you are looking to spend a lot of money on a custom built PC. After owning a Mac for 3 months now, I find it far superior and easier to use.  
 
Please ignore the company reply below as it is outdated. This review was updated 2/3/07

This review was modified by its author, NJRonbo, on 5/15/07 8:54 AM.

On August 26, 2006 I purchased a Velocity Raptor™ DCX Custom Gaming Computer System I pretty much maxed out the specs on it. The total was around $6400 I think... This was by far the worst computer company I ever delt with so far and I've dealt with them all.  
This company is ruthless. They make dell HP and Gateway seem like angels. Although to be fair the tech guys were great its upper management I had trouble with once I wanted to return the system. Here is what has happened:  
 
To make a long story as short as I can, I am no longer a client with Velocity micro. Their second computer that was supposedly "completely rebuilt". After the first computer arrived "Doa". The second one they sent arrived with problems from first boot. Random blue screens, error messages and so many other small annoying problems. Calling Velocity They offered 2 options either to fix it again or return it for a refund. The next day I called and told the rep I opted for the refund. He apologized numerous times and told me they would take care of everything. I thanked him hung up and thought everything was ok.  
 
5 min later I get a call from velocity from the same rep I talked to, he told me he talked to his boss and they said that because they suspect software to be the culprit (specifically blaming "Norton anti-virus" as the cause of all my problems) it's not their fault. Because of this, I would not only be required to pay for shipping but also be subject to a 15% restocking fee. Now on a $6500 computer that I've only had 6 days in my position you do the math. I was enraged! I told them there was no way I would do that and that if I don't get every cent of my money back I would take appropriate actions against them.  
 
They then suggested they sent their tech over to take a look at the computer if he discovers that it's hardware based I would get 100% of my money back. I agreed, tech arrives at 10am next day. by 2 in the afternoon he encountered 4 random blue screens yet still he tried to place the blame on software. It was insane. He then completely reformatted and did a clean install, just as he was about to start reinstalling things on my system the system blue screened again.  
 
After restart the system would not boot in to windows. The tech called then proceeded to call his friend for advise and said something along the lines of "It does indeed seem to be hardware based, this company is going to hate me. I hope they don't give me a bad rating". Then proceeding to write he thought it was either a bad motherboard/and or ram.  
 
Calling velocity with the news, they told me they would call me back with a decision. 5 min later I get a call back telling me the they will give me 100% minus shipping. They had the audacity to ask me to pay what turned out to be $70 on a computer with nothing but problems, not to mention the fact I had the computer a total of 6 days in two months time.  
 
I had no choice but to ask for American Express's help, (the company I paid the computer with). Because this company had treated me so badly. All they cared about was the money and they tried to do everything in their power to keep it, or keep a portion of it. I wanted nothing to do with them anymore. Once AMX got involved they took care of everything. They truly stand behind their customer. I don't know when or if I would have got my money if it wasn't for AMX.  
 
Although it still took almost a whole moth for velocity to return my money. American Express actually contacted me and told me the sent velocity a letter giving them until the 19th of November to issue a credit or appropriate action would be taken. I got my credit on the 14th. So much headaches and aggravations. Rest assure they have forever lost my business. My recommendation to all customers buying a computer I strongly advise against Velocity, especially if buying a high-end system. If you must by from Velocity I recommend using AMX or Visa as insurance and do not pay for it until you really try and test the system out. Otherwise I recommend going with Puget systems or virtually any other company.  
 
G-d bless,  
 
JZ  
 
This is in response to Velocity Micros's response to my review: I don't know where they got their information regarding my system being "non-refundable."  
 
To be more specific, the system that I bought from VM has not now nor has it ever been a "non-refundable system. I made particularly sure of this when I bought the system. Just in case something like this would happen.  
 
I also have proof to the contrary of what VM said both in my invoice sheet as well as the emails that transpired while we were in business together. Now that I have clarified that you  
guys take care  
 
G-d bless,  
 
JZ  

This review was modified by its author, jake232301, on 12/1/06 9:13 PM.

starting to get concerned....here is a list of issues to date  
1- on initial purchase...wrong monitor listed on website and wrong monitor sent.  
2- discovered after first attempt that floppy drive did not work...didn't notice this right away since I don't use floppy's much....new floppy sent...wasn't the real problem..it seems the install at the factory was out of alignment...I had to re-align it myself...issue due to facia on tower...should have been discovered before shipping during "rigorous testing"  
3-speakers arrived...wrong ones  
4-had to inform them that their website states the wrong amount of USB ports....they corrected their website...but only on this model....am I working for them now?  
5-discovered that the hard drive is not the one that was supposed to be installed...it's a different model Western Digital...no-one told me this..I discovered it myself while looking in device manager...their website still lists the wrong one  
6- attempted to play a dvd in my dvd drive...not working..plays CDs but not DVD's....should have been discovered at factory during "rigorous testing"...am I working for them now?  
7-minor issue..but....2 screws were missing from the side panel when I got it...I had to put them on...am I working for them now?  
Hey...I started out OK with this company...but now I am holding my breath.....the testing before shipment seems to be overstated a bit....it looks as if they are just throwing these things together as fast as they can.....sorry VM....I gave you a chance...but I don't want to keep replacing parts...I even do it myself so it costs you nothing...in spite of the fact that you don't overnite my parts...I have to wait the usual 3 day ground  
and last but not least..."I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY OWNERS MANUAL"...COME ON GUYS!!!!!

This review was modified by its author, ant117, on 10/26/06 1:19 AM.

Hello,  
 
I ordered a ProMagix™ PCX High Performance Home & Office PC on August 13. All of the people I have spoken with, including Scott and Trace have been polite.  
 
 
There is a small problem of many missing manuals in my 'kit'. Specifically there are no manuals or documentation for the Intel Motherboard, the CPU, the graphics card, the ATI TV Wonder Card, the Plextor drive, the RAM, the case, the heat sink fan, or the hard drive.  
 
 
 
I was told that Velcocity uses mostly retail parts and that I would be shipped all included items (minus the boxes).  
 
I spoke to Scott yesterday about this and he is looking into it. He tried to tell me that the retail Intel motherboards shipped without a manual, but that would be ridiculous and the NewEgg page for the same motherboard shows a manual.  
 
This is the first system I have not built myself in about 14 years. Before I retired due to a medical disability, I taught students at a local community college how to build and repair computers and prepare for their A+ exams.  
 
It's nice for a change to let the building go to others. I researched this company long and hard before choosing them.  
 
So far so good. Now I'm just awaiting my manuals. When they arrive I'll update this.  
 
Update (Sept 28 2006: Still no manuals.  
 
I have called Velocity micro numerous times since my first post here. At least three of the times I called I was told that the retail parts such as the motherboard didn't ship with manuals. When I told them that the Intel site as well as other sites included a manual with their lists of what was in the box, they promised that the manual would be shipped to me along with all the other manuals for my system.  
 
I spoke to Trace and he said that he would forward a list of the components that were used to assemble my system to someone who would gather and ship me the manuals. He also promised that she would email me to keep me posted on the progress. That was over three weeks ago and I have heard nada.  
 
Today (Sept. 28) I called again, gave my order number and was again told that manuals weren't s part of the retail parts that they used as the manuals were available on the cds that were shipped. I mentioned that I had been promised all the materials (including manuals) that came with the retail parts BEFORE I had purchased the system.  
 
I no longer have a good feeling about this company.

This review was modified by its author, pmcg, on 9/29/06 4:52 PM.

What I really dislike is repeatedly being told that the computer is going to ship and then NOT being notified when further delays are incurred. My patience is at an end and I must strongly discourage readers from doing business with Velocity Micro until they work out the obvious problems related to their new corporate partnership. I spent too much money on this system to receive department store customer service.  
 
Note: The reply from Velocity Micro is incorrect. The computer was NOT shipped on the 23rd. UPS was given "Billing Information" but not the package. The computer was actually shipped on the 24th, 27 days after the re-order was initiated. The purchasing experience was terrible and I cannot recommend this company. Hopefully this will be the last problem I have and I can finally enjoy the computer I initially ordered on June 12th.  
 
Update: This is the WORST computer I have ever owned. It's a $4000+ headache! I sent back the sound card, disconnected the faulty card reader, and am considering replacing the loud DVD drive. Now I am having trouble with the motherboard, as the machine does not want to boot. Every component in this computer, save the processor, has caused some problem. A quick look at many support forums show that VM selected, at the very least, known problematic motherboards, card readers, and sound cards. Why am I not calling them about this? My experience has been that a customer with a problem is a problem for them. I'll have better luck fixing it myself. Fair warning to potential buyers.

This review was modified by its author, ogman, on 12/29/06 10:35 PM.

DO NOT BUY FROM VELOCITY MICRO!!! THEY ARE COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT!!!  
 
I ordered a computer from Velocity Micro in early March and they delivered it in late March. The computer did not boot. On the advice of their tech support I tried using the "System Restore" cd they had provided. It didn't work. They told me to reinstall windows from scratch. It blue screened on install. They asked me to run the WD problem diagnosis program on the hard drives, both failed. They shipped me new hard drives and promised to send a guy to install them because trying to fix this computer had already consumed many hours of my time. The guy never showed up so I ended up doing it myself. The new hard drives still failed. At this point they asked me to ship the computer back to them for repairs which I did. They kept the computer for nearly a month and when I called to check on it they gave vague excuses like "we have got the games working but the video in the games still doesn't work" (?!) Eventually, I got notice that they had sent me a package (overnight, no less). Thinking that they might have finally fixed the computer, I eagerly awaited it. It turned out that it wasn't the computer though, it was a bunch of random cds and a note from Heather to Steve (not my name) saying that she enjoyed talking to Steve. I told the company about their mistake, they never responded.  
 
Eventually, they shipped me back the computer (ground). It again did not boot. This time though I managed to get it into windows by using "VGA mode" which didn't work the previous time. But once in windows, I found more problems. 3d applications caused the screen to scatter into garbage. I tried to use the system restore cd which actually worked this time but was no help in fixing any of the problems. I tried reinstalling windows from scratch and got the same blue screen. I investigated the blue screen and found out it was a known problem with the motherboard they had chosen to use. Velocity Micro had no solution for me except that they were taking up the issue with ASUS (now? how about two months ago when they must have first realized this problem?). I managed to get windows to install by disabling some important parts of the bios but still 3d applications will not work and the computer blue screens or reboots itself at the slightest provocation (e.g. leave a bootable cd in the drive at boot up? reboots itself even if you tell it NOT to boot from cd).  
 
The only solution Velocity Micro has offered me after they have twice shipped me a severly defective computer is to send it back to them so I can wait for god knows how long to ship me another probably defective computer. They refuse to return my money even after three months of being unable to ship me a working computer.  
 
BEWARE OF VELOCITY MICRO!!! GO WITH SOMEONE THAT KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!  

This review was modified by its author, JonSnow, on 5/30/06 12:02 AM.

Stay away from Velocity Micro!!! I had researched this company & all the good reviews. It was a nightmare for me! I purchase the PC in late Nov. Returned it twice. It took weeks in between for them to return it. This is March 2006 & I became so fed up that cancelled everything with them. They walked away with $200 (restocking fee) for lousey service. I lost $$ & gained months of frustration. When I made a purchase in Nov. That meant I needed a working PC soon after. Not the following spring. They have punished me for their poor performance. BEWARE!

First, The support and shipping were great. I recieved my gaming laptop in a matter of 3 weeks, right on schedule. This is where things went bad. Four days after opening the computer, the ethernet adapter simply stopped working. No error messages, no system messups, just a complete and utter stoppage of a four day old adapter. I decided not to return the computer as I decided that buying a pcmcia ethernet adapter for 30$ was more viable option then losing a computer for a few weeks. Then, 3 weeks later, the hard drive stopped working. The load up screen would start, then turn black and load nothing. The velocity micro tech support people were baffled. One week later, on a whim, I turned the computer on one last time before sending it back in and it loaded fine like nothing happened. Then the computer worked great with no problems for a few months. Then the Motherboard had a serious problem, and wouldnt let me play or load any sort of game and even stuttered on flash games and banners and loading Itunes was a chore for it. I finally turned it into repair on December 17th, 2005, and now it is February 8th, and they still tell me its being repaired. It nears two months from the send-in date and their only response is that laptops are hard to repair. Being a college student with no computer is a sad situation, and have already missed 2 physics assignmnents that were sent through email. I will be happy once the computer comes, but until then, as my grades suffer, I am angry.

Ordered a basic, inexpensive business system. The PC took 3 weeks to build, and came with a problem out of the box. The problem, which turned out to be with the hard drive, took 5+ calls and never got resolved. I was offered the option to send the unit back to Virgina for 2-week-turnaround service.  
 
The PC is well-constructed, and uses top-shelf parts, but I can't recommend them based on my support experience.  
 
The on-site tech who I had has no training or knowledge of their systems; didn't identify himself as the tech assigned to my Velocity order; broke the power switch during our work; mis-configured the front panel leads; was ultimately unable to solve my problem.  
 
The phone techs were friendly and helpful but were stumped by this problem.  
 
I really, really WANTED to like Velocity. I WANTED to like a business with US based tech support. I WANTED to do business with them. But the support experience has already cost ME one of MY customers and I really can't excuse (or afford) that.  
 
UPDATE 12/13:  
I got a new hard drive from VM, this one doesn't work either (the Maxtor that I bought for testing works fine).  
VM responded to my resellerrating but has not responded to e-mails that I sent asking for help with this situation.  
Because I am now more than 30 days from date of purchase (still a non-working computer), they will not refund my money.  
I had bought this machine to resell to a client of mine. My customer cancelled their order with me, so I am now stuck with this machine. I hope the techs in VA have better luck than the phone support folks.  
I was hoping for some flexibility on the return process, because I TRIED working thru tech support to get this fixed.  
 
*** UPDATE 1/29/06 ***  
I've got a credit on my card. I'm not sure if it's AMEX or Velocity. I don't have return instructions or anything yet.  
 
In case you choose to buy from Velocity, you may want to use American Express because they offer Return Guarantee; if the vendor won't take their product back they will make it right.  
 
Someone at Velocity took the time to reply on this forum but no one helped me fix my problem.

This review was modified by its author, GregCgen, on 1/30/06 12:41 PM.

I was excited to order the SX-V; it had gotten very good reviews on Cnet, in PC Mag, etc. What a disappointment and frustration the experience has been. The initial communication re: the order was excellent, tracking the progress of the system's building and shipping. But it all fell apart after that.  
The PC came without the Ethernet adaptor installed; despite my purchasing the 24/7 Tech Support package, this situation (on a weekend, when I had time to unpack and set up the system) was reportedly not judged to be an "emergency" -- so there was no response despite several calls. There was also no follow-up, until I called Velocity that Monday.  
The monitor was never shipped, until I called them a week after the tower arrived, and they finally got it sent out.  
Then the system kept crashing. Memtest showed that there was a problem w/ memory; the tech offered to send me a new "memory stick" for me to install. What happened to the on-site service contract? A couple of the techs' manner on the phone suggested that these things were not a big deal, and basically sounded like Stepford Techs. The only one who was of any real and appropriate help, K., agreed to send me a UPS return shipping label and also acknowledged that my 30-day return period was ticking away and should be extended.  
The mailing label arrived a day late despite their promise that it would go out that day. I drove 30 miles in a rainstorm to my work PC to print it out, only to find it had not been emailed.  
I sent it back on 10/26, having been told there would be a week's turnaround. I called today and learned that it was still "in queue" because they had had so many ("unusually large number of") systems returned for repair in the past month.  
I think this company is in over its head, and am sorry I ordered from Velocity Micro. And am VERY disappointed to have to say this.

I bought VM VectorPC in 2004. It works O.K. as of today, but it always had this nasty habbit of hitting me with CPU fan error, although not too often. Recently, this became kind of frequent  
occurance, so I decided to investigate. To be short, I've found that it's actually caused by BIOS, and updating BIOS would fix it. Well, I could not update BIOS for ASUS P5GD1-VM, which was supposed to be installed in my Vector.  
I digged a bit more and discovered that Velocity Micro cheated on me - they installed P5GD1-VM/S, instead of P5GD1-VM. Although VM/S is not a bad mobo, ASUS does not support it at all, as it was made for OEMs and not retail. At some time in the past, ASUS dumped a bunch of these VM/S for a fraction of the cost of "normal" VM mobo. You figure the rest - it's called cost savings. However, Velocity did sent all proper paper work with my PC showing that mobo in my PC was P5GD1-VM. ??? And now, I can not update BIOS - no available ASUS BIOS updates is compatible with that OEM version.  
 
I e-mailed Velocity asking them for help, but  
I do not think they know what to do, judging by their reply, which was, in all honesty, pretty quick, but produced no useful response. Not putting a right mobo in PC is a serious offence. My advice is to be very careful with Velocity Micro, and check everything they install in your system. In other words, if you want brand name retail components in your custom PC, do not buy from VM.  
 
I'm very disapponted and do not recommend them as a trusted vendor if you plan to upgrade your PC system in the future.They are not bad, but they are not good either.  
 
 

This review was modified by its author, oristep, on 6/23/07 9:06 PM.