My computer was supposed to have shipped by 21 Aug 2004. By 13 Sep 2004 I did not have my computer and had not heard from Velocity Micro. It took a week of phone calls and e-mails to find out whatwas going on. Only then did I find out that the computer had been delayed because the video card was out of stock. Going through the hassle of not getting phone calls returned and having no idea of why I had not heard anything about my order cast doubt on the quality of service of their company. If their costumer service people can't even keep their buyers informed that their order won't ship on time what other areas are they failing to follow through on? I cancelled my order.  
 
Velocity Mirco did NOT offer "...to ship your system instead with the X800 Pro and replace the card with the correct model when available." Please don't make claims that you did not make. The fact that you somehow couldn't contact me via a valid and working e-mail address still does not explain why it took a WEEK of phone calls and e-mails on my part before your company would actually explain to me what was going on.

This review was modified by its author, ss04boot, on 9/29/04 11:11 PM.

The pricing looked good, and so did the lead time they quoted.  
 
Unfortunately they were not able to ship within the quoted lead time. I was dissatisfied with the customer service when inquiring about my order.

This review was modified by its author, Ard, on 6/27/04 7:53 AM.

I am very unhappy and disappointed with these guys. after a lot of research on the net and lot of ratings for these people I put in an order for a new computer with these guys which costed me about 1800$. I recieved the computer in the time frame they promised me so thats good. it came with a binder with just some cds and floppies in it with no explanation what so ever. thats fine too. I felt I could figure it out. but starting second day every time I boot up the computer started saying I did not shut down the machine properly so it has to check for the disk consistency. which was not true, I shut down the computer exactly the way it was supposed to. In about 2 weeks it wont boot up and said it wont recognize the hard disk. A nice lady at the help desk (Znet) walked me thru' the process of setting up my drivers for the hard disk and it started ok for that time. the machine felt a lil stable for about 2 weeks and again same exact problem. But this time i ended up with a jackass at Znet who wants nothing but reformat the drive and reinstall the OS. after plenty argument with him he doesnt have any answer except for reformat I finally gave in did a reformat hoping i should have to do this only once. I had to install all my software and transferred my new trip pictures on this machine and just before I could install backup (ghost or something like that) software it crapped out again. so under 5 weeks it crapped out 3 times on me. the third time it started giving me BSOD. I call in ZNet and ended up with the same idiot as the second time and again he wants to reinstall the OS. I was adamant about not installign OS and he said i have to call Velocity. I did that and velocity people says I got a bad motherboard. (MSI..they say 1 in every 20 got problems) which I later found out a bunch of people had problems with it. They sent me a new motherboard(ABIT) in overnite express and asked me to call znet to make an appointment with their tech to come install it. I do that on thursday and they say someone will call me back within 48 hrs. No one calls till 4 days. I call back velocity and they were nice enough and made znet call me back. so the tech guy says he can do it either tuesday or thursday and tuesday is going to be a lil late. shows up at 9pm and behaves as if he was doin me a favor because he needs to go to toronto the next day. fights with the motherboard for over a couple of hours couldnt fit it in the case properly and even after that he forgets to connect the hard drive to the motherboard and complains that velocity dint send the right motherboard and leaves. While replacing the board he had to clip all the zipties that hold the wiring in place and supposedly improves airflow and the wires are all over the place. I call velocity the next day and explained them what happened. They tried to walk me thru few things on the phone and finally suggested I send the box back to them. They were nice enough to pay for pickup and shipping(or maybe part of support contract). They told me the turn around time would be about 24-48 hrs. I send them an email after a day saying considering what i had to put up with in less than 5 weeks they should do something to make up for it. I dont hear any response from them. not to my email not regarding the status of the machine.. or in regards to the data on the hard drive. I call them again after a couple of days and ask them about the email and the status. they say they are still working on the computer and it still has BSOD. this almost after 4 days they had the machine with them. they cant do anything for me in regards to the hassle that i am going thru except for fixing the machine under warranty(which ofcourse I already paid for). They said they can keep me posted when they ship it back and I havent heard from them still. Its almost 10 days they had the machine with them. I was giving these guys benefit of the doubt until my last call to them. but not anymore. these guys suck!. I would not buy from em again. I am kickin myself now y i paid them instead of building it myself or just get a high end machine from HP. it plly would have costed less and worked right out of the box forever. I guess too many good reviews got to their head... time to wake up.  

my Velocity computer cost $2,502.78.i have "put up" with it for more then 2 months now , i would not buy from this company again.  
i researched components and companies for months.Velocity is 30 minutes from my home, supposedly offered what i was looking for,and THE REVIEWS EARLIER THIS YEAR,WERE A BIG FACTOR IN ME CHOOSING THEM.they are no longer getting ALL great reviews,and i can attest to that.  
until last week ,i had a faulty MSI motherboard in my PC,AND I DID NOT KNOW IT. Velocity did,BUT VELOCITY HAS ANOTHER COMPANY HANDLING THEIR SERVICE CALLS WHO DON'T KNOW IT.(I CALLED znet 2 days ago to confirm this)SO for 2 months i endured CRASHES,ERROR MESSAGES,WINDOWS NOT BOOTING,2 REFORMATS,AND MANY TIMES SAYING TO MYSELF "what is wrong with this thing now" calling znet,all this was blamed on everything from Windows updates to "delicate hard drives".NEVER was i told to contact Velocity by these people. after the second reformatting,i called Velocity and was told within seconds of looking at my invoice that i needed a new motherboard (now an ABIT)they knew of the problem but have tried to downplay just how many of these bad boards are out there. YOU KNOW THESE WORTHLESS MOTHERBOARDS ARE IN PEOPLE'S COMPUTERS BUT YOU DON'T TELL ZNET THIS? no matter what excuse they come up with ,i personally feel this is inexcuseable.2 MONTHS OF HEADACHES ,I KNOW I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS.  
I now have my PC back.it was not ready ontime.software originally installed was left out (they are working with me on this now)the shortcut keys did not work (no driver installed).outlook express at times disappears and the PC must be rebooted.Guru software that comes with new Abit motherboard (to overclock and speed it up ,this motherboard is not as fast as previous bad one) causes it to crash and is worthless. my problems with the Driveclone software (to create a bootable recovery disc) are a story in themself. let me just say ,Velocity gives you a number to call Farstone ,BUT THEY HAVE NO PHONE HELP. YOU MUST E-MAIL THEM ,WHICH I DID 5 DAYS AGO.I HAVE HEARD NOTHING.  
The Velocity Binder you hear so much about is nothing more then cd's in plastic pages.originally I had 4 software programs on my PC for my 2 dvd drives. i had no idea what controlled what ,and no idea which cds contained which drivers.NOTHING IS EXPLAINED and there is nothing personalized about this at all.i have done so much trouble shooting and searching on this "thing" that i have spent little time to actually use it for the creative projects i intended.  
i would like to contrast this with the fact that my other PC is a well over 4 years old C*****, running windows 98.IT has been reformatted only once. I took it out of the box and it worked and i have NEVER had to call C*****.I have had troubles with my cameras, with software ,with a scanner but that PC ,AT HALF THE COST OF THIS ONE ,has been "old reliable".  
i can not say that Velocity has not tried to help and they have been pleasant. as it now stands ,they are promising to send software.ON the other hand ,hearing that THEY TOO have had problems (and i have their e-mail as proof) with some of these same issues does not help. for example, they suggested using a specific brand of DVD-R in trying to create a recovery disc with DRIVECLONE.why not include this information in this worthless binder?  
to sum this up,there are 2 main reasons i suggest you look elsewhere.Velocity has hired another company to handle their service calls and your chances of getting any real help are slim.the first time WINDOWS would not boot ,I had an excellent tech who talked me thru the windows recovery.the second time ,just a month later,when recovery would not work ,i was instructed by a tech with an attitude and a kind of HO HUM ,you have to REFORMAT.(I have ,because of my new motherboard ,now reinstalled my programs 3 times since March ,taking literally days to do).  
the second reason is,to me ,the unbelievable fact that you would hire another company to receive the calls of people who are OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE CALLING WITH PROBLEMS ,BUT you don't tell them you've got bad motherboards installed in some of their computers.(how many? ask Velocity ,i do not buy their answers or excuses concerning this).  
i can not even say that my PC is running perfectly now.i have had it back ,9 days and it does appear to be running better .the worthless Guru software has been uninstalled ,my problems creating a recovery disc(much needed i would say)are still unsolved (software or dvd writer i do not know, but dvd writer will not open some files that other Lite-on drive will)Outlook express still sometimes disappears (PC must be rebooted) and other little quirks.maybe other people can accept some "quirks "for $2500.i think this PC SHOULD have been better and more reliable then an old C*****,it IS NOT.  
AND WHILE I have to be honest and say that they are pleasant and trying to be helpful ,they have in no way AT ALL tried to make up for my first two months of misery with that motherboard.thank you.

This review was modified by its author, hampersnow, on 5/22/04 9:54 PM.

Unless you want your hard earned "milk money" and precious time stolen by Velocity, stay away, FAR away from this company and don't join me in computer hell. In essence, DON'T BELIEVE THEIR HYPE! After extensively researching 10 to 15 computer companies (including Alienware, Voodoo, Falcon, ABS, Ibuypower, Cyberpower, Dell - you name it, I looked at them) I bought a Gamer's Edge 64 with an AMD FX from Velocity for both playing games and to do work from home after their high ratings on this site confirmed my research. The reviews on this site corresponded with their mantra of quality, thorough testing, great wiring, retail vs. oem, etc., etc. I figured if I'm going to pay a lot of money for a computer, I wanted to make sure it was going to run reliably, perform tasks quickly, and not require a lot of hassle. To their credit, the sales and shipping staff were very helpful in getting me my computer before I went out of town for a couple of days. (However, if any sales staff tells you they'll deliver it via UPS without a signature, don't belive it - Velocity requires a signature for delivery because of "insurance purposes", and it even says so on the box your computer will come in! This is a major pain in the butt for someone like me who works far away from home!) When I got my computer, I noticed a little difficulty from time to time in starting up once I began work to install programs in order to migrate info from my old PC, but I thought that was just a quirk of the new computer. How wrong I was! The computer soon wouldn't turn on at all. To fix the problem, I've so far had a new power source and a new video card delivered (at great logistical difficulty to me), and a tech came to my home to try and fix the problem. (The nifty wiring they advertise went out the window after that visit.) All of this hasn't worked, so phone tech support (they average about 40 minutes to get back to you, but are very helpful and seem to be knowledgable) told me today that I need a new motherboard since I have a short in my AGP slot. My options? Ship it from Los Angeles back to Richmond, VA for replacement, or have another visit from ZNet. I'll take my chances with another tech visit to replace it, and hope the problem will be solved. Since I already have spent numerous hours loading programs onto the new hard drive, I can't return the machine to Velocity, or I'll have wasted all those hours and have to start over again. It's been close to a month now that I've been stuck between two computers, but if you feel inclined to shell out 2K plus for a new gaming machine with Velocity, please go ahead. Just know you're taking the same risks as if you bought your machine from a lower-cost computer seller who uses OEM parts. Velocity's no different, as much as they'd like you to believe otherwise. I hope this information helps you avoid the situation that I'm experiencing.

I hear great things about this company BUT. . . I ordered my laptop on Feb. 4th with a ship date of Feb. 18th. After a phone call two weeks later, they gave me a new estimated ship date of March 1. Here it is March 5th, and I have no computer and no message from customer service. If you're in a hurry, I wouldn't buy it here!

I ordered the Velocity Raptor online on 10 Nov and received it on 28 November. Without a monitor I paid $3986.68 and received "free shipping" and a T shirt. Newest Intel board and processor 3.2GHZ EE, 9800 XT PRO, Plextor 52X-CDRW and 708A DVD-RW, 1GB Corsair memory, case with 10 speed fans, zalman copper heatsink and fan, video cooling bus, 2 36gb WD 10,000 rpm hard drives in a raid, 0 config, rounded cables, internet keyboard, winxpro, audigy 2 zs sound. What I received was a system that had a rattle out of the box which was a piece of plastic. Then I noticed the one of the hard drives was installed at an angle with two screws and the other in straight but with only one screw! Their origami wiring was into the front fan and made a noise when I first turned it on. I fixed all these defeciencies myself. I e-mailed Randy, the Pres, many times with my findings and he always had excuses and appologies. He even offered my a full refund if I wanted to send my system back. But with all that had transpired I did not trust him to give me a full refund. On the bright side, I got the parts which I ordered. But it was basically just slapped together and sent on its way. Randy even told me he personally looked at my system. Why did he not see the incorrectly installed hard drive? Did I mention my case has a clear plexiglass side that you can see the hard drive through! As far as the tuning and all the other things they are supposed to do, that is just advertising hype in my opinion. I received no documentation with my grahics card. They sent a multimedia keyboard instead of the internet keyboard I ordered. Not a big deal if it worked. It does not recognize the F keys like F2 for setup, so what did they use? By my estimation, the delta between me purchasing and assembling. Of course I am sure they get better deals then I do on parts. I paid them $800 to pick the parts of the shelf or order, assemble and ship. Then I spent a day making it work correctly. I can only hope that they know what a static strap looks like or I could have problems down the road (I have fears). Also, they farm out the warranty service to a company in California, not surprising. I asked twice if myself or some other customer in the Richmond, VA area could come a visit their facility but they would not offer an invite. Randy touts all the praise from different reputable sources but they must have built better machines for them. I picked this company because first it had an excellent rating on resellers.com, second they were a Virginia company and I live in Virginia and want to support businesses here. Maybe I am an anomally but I was very disappointed for the money that I paid, the product that I expected and the advertised pride in assembly, tweaking and testing. I have witnesses to all my problems with this vendor. If my review sounds slanted, then do the same as I tried to do. Ask Randy to allow you to visit his facility in Richmond, VA. He did allow me to visit after I asked and I am sure he will not allow anyone else. I think that says it all! They did want me to return my computer but they had deducted from my credit card already and if I returned then they could play more games with me. I have purchased from Dell and they do not deduct from your card until they ship. Velocity Micro will not even start to build a system until they have your money. Buyers Beware!

This review was modified by its author, keithrhyde, on 1/28/04 6:59 PM.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On July 8, 2005 I sent in my machine for repair,( Velocity micro gamers edge vx desktop ) Now I have a problem with the power supply and it was told to me that I added more fans to the fan only line which could have caused the power supply failer. On top of that I was sent an email one week after they received my computer which contained pictures of the computer sitting inside the box. It had shifted during shipping. The ups driver who picked up the package said that he would take care of it which he did not. It clearly stated on the box that it contained electrical components do not crush. Someone that I will not mention that works for UPS stated that they throw around alot of packages without taking care. So now I was told by tech support that it was not damaged by shipping, but there is an issue with the way the fans are connected to the power supply and that I added other components to the system which they decided to void my warranty. When my system was upgraded back in 5/2004 the fans were connected the same way, ( the way I installed them) , How come no one fixed it then. It ran ok for a whole year without any major issues. Now all I want is to upgrade the power supply and have them fix that issue. I tried calling back on 7/19/2005 in the afternoon because they never get back to you when they say they are. When I call no one answers the phone. Is that the way to conduct business towards a customer who has spent hard earned money with the company. I gave them a week because they said that they were busy, whats the excuse now that they examined my system.  
They do build good systems but everyone is not on the same sheet of music. It seems like a hit or miss. Right now I will never buy from them after this thing gets repaired. I'm now waiting for the price of the power supply that I chosen but he could not give me a price because the person from control was not there.  
Their tech support contacts me on 7/20/05 to tell me that they will not work on my system since it has too many 3 party components. I was told that they did not turn on my system, they just looked at it. I know that is not the truth, I feel that they possibley recklessly damaged my system. They were going to fix it at first then they change their minds. They have lost a customer and now I have to take other action. NEVER BUY FROM THIS COMPANY THEY ARE NOT AS BIG AS THEY ADVERTISE.  
 
On July 8, 2005 I sent in my machine for repair,( Velocity micro gamers edge vx desktop ) Now I have a problem with the power supply and it was told to me that I added more fans to the fan only line which could have caused the power supply failer. On top of that I was sent an email one week after they received my computer which contained pictures of the computer sitting inside the box. It had shifted during shipping. The ups driver who picked up the package said that he would take care of it which he did not. It clearly stated on the box that it contained electrical components do not crush. Someone that I will not mention that works for UPS stated that they throw around alot of packages without taking care. So now I was told by tech support that it was not damaged by shipping, but there is an issue with the way the fans are connected to the power supply and that I added other components to the system which they decided to void my warranty. When my system was upgraded back in 5/2004 the fans were connected the same way, ( the way I installed them) , How come no one fixed it then. It ran ok for a whole year without any major issues. Now all I want is to upgrade the power supply and have them fix that issue. I tried calling back on 7/19/2005 in the afternoon because they never get back to you when they say they are. When I call no one answers the phone. Is that the way to conduct business towards a customer who has spent hard earned money with the company. I gave them a week because they said that they were busy, whats the excuse now that they examined my system.  
They do build good systems but everyone is not on the same sheet of music. It seems like a hit or miss. Right now I will never buy from them after this thing gets repaired. I'm now waiting for the price of the power supply that I chosen but he could not give me a price because the person from control was not there.  
Their tech support contacts me on 7/20/05 to tell me that they will not work on my system since it has too many 3 party components. I was told that they did not turn on my system, they just looked at it. I know that is not the truth, I feel that they possibley recklessly damaged my system. They were going to fix it at first then they change their minds. They have lost a customer and now I have to take other action. NEVER BUY FROM THIS COMPANY THEY ARE NOT AS BIG AS THEY ADVERTISE.

This review was modified by its author, ronbos56, on 7/27/05 12:30 AM.

I must say, I was very happy with the purchase of this PC from the salesperson on phone to the ETA which was delivered 1 week early. However I have had to contact tech support on 3 occasions, one which was because I was missing the restore CD. That ticket processed just fine and I received my disc in a matter of days. However the other two tickets did not go as smooth. First trouble ticket- My secondary 750GB drive started making a grinding sound both reading and writing. VM support sent me a tool to test the drive. No errors were reported, and VM states that it is not their problem and they will not RMA drive. Mind you this PC was $2500 and the AV model which is supposed to be quite for audio recording. SO, I ate that one. Second ticket - I finnaly got aound to using the on-board card reader, however the thing did not work. Always received an I/O error. I verified the media was good, and this damn reader actually corrupted media with data on it. Luckily I backed it up. VM tech support (I noticed same guy from Hard drive ticket (David Taylor) treats the ticket like I am trying to rip the company off. Like I am making this stuff up. The sarcasm in his replies is absolutely astounding. Taking my replies out of context - just plain rude. The ticket remains open, and I have not heard back in a week. NOW, I was planning on purchasing a laptop from VM, but due to the terrible support, that's a no go. The PC has not had any other problems, except the mentioned, but 2 out of 3 times tickets were closed with the "not my problem attitude" Sorry for the bad review VM, but I myself am in the "computer industry" and I would be fired for providing the inadequate support you have provided.

For the actual performance of the computer I got, I couldn't be happier. For everything else, do NOT go with Velocity Micro.  
 
I purchased my computer just under a year ago and spent upwards of $3,000 on it. I expected a good, reliable computer, and went the extra mile to pay extra cash for a better warranty including on-site support where they would send someone to me to replace parts.  
 
Well, the first problem occurred when my computer first arrived. It wouldn't POST. I sent it back to Velocity, at no charge, and they fixed it by reflashing the BIOS on the motherboard. Why didn't they send someone to me as per my warranty? No idea. It came back two weeks later, still wouldn't work. I looked inside and found that one stick of RAM was improperly installed on the motherboard. Fixing it solved the problem, and my computer began working perfectly and happily -- but a month after I purchased it.  
 
Fast forward to March of this year. My computer began intermittently powering itself off while I was playing games. I initially attributed this to an overheating issue, but temperature monitoring showed this to be false. The problem seemed to fade away, and I assumed whatever it was had resolved itself. A month later, one morning my computer would not boot up when I pressed the power button. All the fans spun up for a split second, then turned off. Tried again, same result. Tried again, it worked. This pattern repeated itself every morning for a week or two, until finally nothing worked and it was dead. After talking to support, they said either a dead power supply or motherboard. I would have to send it in, as the on-site warranty didn't cover this. Even worse, I have to pay for shipping to send my (heavy) computer to them.  
 
I paid EXTRA to get on-site service, and not only have I never been able to get it, I now have to pay shipping to send my computer back for them to fix it.  
 
I doubt I'll be purchasing from Velocity again.  
 
TL;DR version: Had to send computer back to manufacturer twice in first year. Paid extra money to have on-site service, neither problem "qualified." Second repair, have to pay for shipping (will be about $50).  
 
UPDATE 5/6/09: Velocity Micro has contacted me and offered to pay for the shipping for my second repair. While it'll still be much slower than on-site service, being able to not have any additional charges makes me much happier with the process already. Will continue updating as more things happen.

This review was modified by its author, tordana, on 5/6/09 3:31 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.

Absolutely horrible tech support. I had some issues with hardware early on. I was an early adopter of the new Grand Theater CableCard media center system and their handling of those issues was absolute frustration. They continually made promises to me over the phone and via email and then took no actions on those promises. Hardware delays in replacement parts were never communicated to me until I called in to find out why I didn't have them yet. The latest issue is a bug with the IR receiver, again I was told they would ship the part out and today I called and was told there is a note in my file stating that the part was not field replaceable. Now they want me to ship the system back to them to fix that. If this system goes back to them, I never want to see it again. I want a full refund!  
 
5/10/08 Update:  
I did end up shipping my system back and got a new motherboard installed and upgraded the CPU (for a fee). The problem with the IR receiver remained after I received the system back. Turns out it is a software issue and there's nothing that can be done to fix it. I continued to have problems with the Cablecard tuners until a week ago when ATI released newer firmware. Velocity Micro promised that they had a system to notify customers of these CRITICAL updates. I was NOT notified by them and found out about the update via TheGreenButton forums. My experience with Velocity Micro still consists of broken promises. At least I now have the machine stable and set up the way I want. Too bad I had to do most of the work to get it that way.

This review was modified by its author, WscottCross, on 5/10/08 9:36 AM.

I decided to buy a CineMagix™ S85 Home Entertainment PC. I did my research and decided that it was the most versatile media center for the price. I ordered the PC on the 17th and was told that it would ship on October 6th. I belive it shipped very close to that date. My first annoyance with Velocity was when their order tracking system didn't work the two weeks before my order shipped. If I wanted to check status, I would have to call up and wait on hold for the tech support cue. Tech support seems to always have 8 people on hold when I call. I usually get through in about 30 minutes. Expect a 30 minute wait as standard for Velocity Tech support. When you do get through, you speak to a fluent English speaker who appears to be in the states and know what he is doing. Well, my computer arrived and it was almost as expected. I had decided to upgrade my keyboard and mouse to wireless. I placed my order over the phone and trusted the salesperson's judgement on what keyboard/mouse to get. He reccomended some MS one and I agreed. He ended up sending a Infrared keyboard. I have called tech support several times and checked myself. I don't have infrared and I can't use an infrared keyboard. I called tech support on Oct 7th to ask for a new keyboard. I was told one would ship out soon. About two weeks later, I received a second unusable infrared keyboard. I received the exact same MS infrared keyboard. I now have two useless keyboards. I tried to setup My external cablecard reader the other day following the instructions sent by a Velocity Tech. I tried to follow them, but I guess my cablecard reader is one of the bad ones. I called up last week to get a new one and I was told one would ship out. I just called today, a week later and it still hasn't shipped and they don't know when they will get it.  
 
To summarize: The computer and the working hardware are fantastic. Velocity did a great job of cuttting and crimping cables and installing everything well. The computer feels solid. Unfortunately, it has been 2 months since I place my order and I am using my MAC KEYBOARD AND MAC MOUSE because I don't have usable input devices. I also can't watch cable on the computer because my external tuner is broken and they don't have a replacement.  
 
I would be wary of buying from Velocity right now. They just got into Best Buy and Circuit City and don't seem to be able to keep up with the volume. I have about 9 calls and 4 emails into Velocity over about a 2 month time period. I like my computer, I just don't like have to deal with so many small issues.  
 
If anyone from Velocity reads this and would like to help finish my 2 month long sale, please contact me via email or phone. I really want to get this put to bed before the Xmas rush. All I need is a wireless mouse, wireless keyboard, and a replacement for my defective tuner. Someone help, I am sick of calling and waiting on hold.

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.

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.