To start let me just say that I was one of those who thought Widowpc was awesome. Not anymore. I will not promote them. I will make sure that all of those that I know, and can influence, stay away from this company.  
 
I have several good reasons for being upset. Now let me just say that normally I dont get upset and I understand certain business practices (like warranties), but my experience with WidowPc has frustrated me like no other. They were suppose to have been a great company back in 05, but they sure have gone downhill since. Customer service is nearly impossible to get a hold of, the website is horrible (when its running), and they dont help their customers who are trying to work with them.  
 
Anyway, let me start at the beginning... I bought a WidowPc on 8/06 and did so because I only heard the best about them. After some frustrations getting a hold of customer service; I was finally able to find out that my pc was shipping in 9/06. Well that didnt happen....I eventually got it in 10/6. To their credit they did give me a pc game for the pain (the only time they did so).  
 
Now I had no further complaints with them for nearly a year (good until than), but in 09/07 the motherboard died. I sent it in for repairs 10/07 (told still in warranty)but unfortunately they didnt have those parts in anymore (nice of them to tell me after I sent it in), and that I would need to upgrade (or send it in to the manufactuers in which they told me it would take months). Well I wasnt happy, but I had been considering an upgrade anyway, so I gave them the go ahead. After weeks of emailing and calling them for updates (rarely got a reply) I finally got my pc back in 12/07. I asked about the charge but told everything taken care of.  
 
Than in 2/08 I check my credit card and randomly see a charge from widowpc. Big surprise its the charge for the upgrade. Let me say that One: I was under the impression I wasnt going to be charged, and Two: they gave no warning but just went ahead and charged me...  
 
About a week later my pc dies again (power saving mode issue) and I again try to get a hold of Customer service. I send in help tickets and call in...finally after days of this I get a reply. They tell me that it sounds like a video card issue and that I am not under warranty for that. Now I just sent this in to be fixed and two months later its busted again.....and they dont offer to help at all.  
 
So now I have to buy a video card and hope that it will fix the issue, or else send it in and who knows when I will get it back plus be charged for shipping. Now why do I have to buy anything? With everything that I have had to put up with I think the least they can do is replace my video card.  
 
Dont you?????  
 
 
I hope that my review might help those that are considering widowpc. Thanks

This review was modified by its author, gburton, on 3/9/08 5:49 PM.

An update: I received the machine and I highly suggest that anyone that orders from them check to make sure you get what you paid for. I did not and am currently waiting for a call tag to return the machine. All I can say is buyer beware.  
 
I have to say so far I am greatly disappointed in Widowpc. I place an order online on 8/25/2007 and got the automatic reply thank you for your order. Since it was the weekend, I waited until Monday to email them to make sure there was no problem and they received my order. There was no response to the email. So, I called them a few days later and was told yes everything is good, it is going into production. The day before yesterday I sent them another email asking and estimated ship date and to be sent an email with a tracking number at shipping so that I could make sure someone was home. Again no response. So, I called them yesterday to find out what is going on. The person who answered the phone didn't know the status of my order and said he would check and call me back. Guess what, he didnt call me back. So, I call again today, talked to the same person and again he didn't know that status of my order and said he would call me back. I told him I hope he meant it this time. A few hours later a different person calls me back, I forget his name but I guess it the person in charge. He told me my order never went into production, they had lost an employee and my order was never processed (of course the payment for the computer was processed no problem right away). I asked how long before the computer would ship if it went into production now in order to determine if I still wanted it or not, or just a refund of my money. He said he would find out and call me back, and guess what, here it is 3 hours later and no return phone call. Plus, when I call now, I get a recording saying we are busy, you are important leave a message and we will get back to you. At this point, I am fed up with them and don't how they can say they have superior customer service.

This review was modified by its author, Catylyn, on 9/18/07 10:43 AM.

Edit: 06-09-06  
 
Computer arrived on June 5th 2006.  
Has been nothing but trouble.  
WidowPC customer support treated me wrong so far.  
As of now I am in despair and am very upset at WidowPc and their "fanatical customer support" and "quality product"  
 
I wish I could post my whole review, but since resellerratings does not allow more than 5120 characters to be posted, this what I have to due with.  
 
However I am more than glad to e-mail to anyone my real review, which exceeds five pages. It is very detailed and explains all the problems, and treatment that I have been receiving in the 5 days since my computer arrived. Send me a PM, and I will glady e-mail them to you.

This review was modified by its author, Facade19, on 6/10/06 1:02 AM.

I purchased a gaming PC from this company on November 26, 2005. It was their top of the line model. I have had a problem with the powering ON/OFF of the computer. The problem was so severe that I had to send the computer back to Widowpc Inc.. Widowpc Inc. has had my computer since the first week of April. One week after another, I had to call to find the status of my computer. First, I was told it was a problem with one of the processor. Second, I was told it was the motherboard. Last, on Monday, April 24, 2006, I was told that the problem is with one of the video cards and that Widowpc Inc. was just waiting for a replacement part. This is poor customer service, a "lemon" for a new product, and I will never recommend Widowpc Inc.'s products to anyone, not even my worst enemy.  
April 28, 2006. I spoke with sales manager, but nothing positive to report. He made no effort to compensate for my loss and all he would say is "great machine". He added that M. and R. were fired because of their actions with customers' products, but that has nothing to do to resolve my issue.  
May 5, 2006: I am still waiting for compensation.  
My credit card company awarded my refund back.

This review was modified by its author, cplguido, on 1/19/07 12:55 AM.

Review Update - April 4, 2008:  
 
My review used to be very positive but WidowPC is no longer the same as it was. Recent communications with WidowPC have lead me to believe they are now affiliated with another company (or even owned by). This other company does not have a particularly great reputation among consumers as far as computer boutique sellers go. WidowPC _was_ bounds above their competitors as far as customer service goes but not anymore.  
 
[Note: All costs listed are in Canadian Dollars and approximated.]  
 
My laptop was a customized high-end Sting 917 (Nov/Dec 2005). Exact specifications withheld to save character space for comments.  
 
RD70911995: On September 8, 2007, my laptop failed due to a burnt-out video card (GO 7800GTX 256MB). Since I am in Canada, WidowPC did not cover my RMA shipping costs. For shipping alone, the cost for me was approximately $425 with insurance. Since it was already there, I decided I might as well upgrade the video card to a GO 7950GTX 512MB to give a boost to the aging system (another $650 from eBay + $200 for shipping here and then to WidowPC). I realize I paid above average price for the VGA card but since it had been discontinued, it was probably my last chance. As a result, there was a delay due to them waiting on my video card (as it would void my warranty if I installed it myself although it is a very, very simple procedure). During this wait period, I was also told that the HDD currently inside the system was failing.  
 
When I received the laptop back on October 26, 2007, I decided to test the HDD with diagnostic tools such as HDTune and SpinRite. I could find nothing wrong, let alone anything that could result in HDD failure. Regardless, I purchased another HDD (200GB for $200) just in case and replaced the 'failing' HDD with it. Apparently DIY HDD installation does not result in a voided warranty (go figure, considering the video card is just as easy to install from my knowledge). Everything was good again until....  
 
RD71112298: November 11, 2007, my laptop failed again. According to WidowPC/Pro-Star, the cause this time was motherboard, RAM, and HDD failure (I swapped back in the old HDD before shipping back, my new HDD was perfectly fine). Again, I still doubt the validity of the HDD failure. So, RMA shipping cost me another $250 with insurance (switched shipping companies due to exorbitant costs) this time around. There was a long delay before I ever saw my laptop again. First reason was the parts needed to be ordered and replaced. Second reason (directly from the WidowPC representive's mouth), they _forgot_ about my system for over a month. It was apparently sitting in a corner of their repair facility for all that time. I received the laptop back on February 26, 2008. Three months and the delay was not even a result of my actions this time.  
 
Everything should be fine now, right? Pretty much everything was replaced. Unfortunately, no.  
 
RD80305863: February 26, 2008 (yes, that's right... same day I got it back, 2.5 hours after booting it up), my laptop failed... again. This time it resulted in a Special Circumstances RMA (208344) where they asked me to send it to a specialist in Arizona to analyze the cause due to 'problems' with their repair facility. In the end, it was determined that the HDD Cable was the cause and replaced/repaired. I should note that the WidowPC representative also nearly forgot that I was still under warranty and almost charged me $60 (one-half of $120 which they would 'help' cover due to my troubles). If I had not mentioned the fact I was still under warranty, I would've paid even more. I finally got my laptop back on April 4, 2008. Yep, another month gone by. >_<  
 
THP135: April 4, 2008... could it be? IT FAILED AGAIN LESS THAN 1.5 HOURS AFTER I GOT IT BACK! My assumption now is that the HDD Cable was not the main problem as the failure was identical to RD80305863 in the above paragraph. Essentially, they sent me a lemon back... again. There goes the $250 shipping from last time and a wasted month.  
 
In all this time, my main contacts were Charlie and Brandon. Charlie left WidowPC shortly after my second RMA process began. Unfortunately, neither of them seemed to be able to do much for me since they had to answer to the 'higher-ups'. They were polite and well meaning as far as I could tell though.  
 
Current analysis (April 4, 2008): I've put around $1750 or so into this system now, including shipping/customs charges. That's not even counting the original value of the system. Any decent computer technician could tell you that $1750 now could build a _great_ gaming system. Six months ago or so, $1750 would give you a system of comparable performance to my laptop. This is not fair in my opinion. If I had not bothered putting any money into this system at all, I could've built a much, much better system on my own with $1750 now. Yet, I'm $1750 out now and stuck with a lemon. I am very, very dissatisified at this point. I had put much faith in WidowPC in the past and it seems it has come back to bite me in the ass.

This review was modified by its author, CWolfCW, on 4/6/08 7:19 PM.

Update of 2005 review. Very sad since then customer support has worsened considerably.  
Most current interaction started when I wanted to upgrade to 8800GTS640MB & was told by factory tech support (then Ryan G. in Georgia) that given other hardware in my desktop computer, I needed new larger power supply unit(PSU)to ensure stable performance. I always contacted WidowPC first before any upgrade as I did not want to void my 3 years parts and labor warranty. Ryan told me if I install PSU I void the warranty. He referred me to sales, Jay P. who took my order for new PSU and install (Silverstone 750W that Ryan G. recommended). Jay P. told me I had to mail desktop to Kent, Washington and should expect computer with new PSU back in about one week. Ryan G. also told me he was too busy to work on my computer. 2/26/2007 WidowPC Kent,WA received my desktop computer. After 2wks no contact nor computer so I called Jay P. & told delay in first Silverstone PSU with electrical problem & expect computer in 1 wk. On 3/29/07 e-mail from Charlie C.(WidowPC Kent, WA) stated delay due to 3 separate new Silverstone PSUs failed & now my 2 HDs damaged. He recommended 700W SeasonicPSU. On 4/1/07 call to Jay P. I asked to speak with Ryan G. and he told me Ryan no longer with WidowPC. I mailed Charlie C. DVD mirror of my hard drive (RyanG. had made in Spring 2006 after prior separate problem from Ohio factory tech) and this DVD mirror received at Kent, WA 4/4/2007. As of 4/13/2007, two emails (address confirmed by Jay P.) sent (4/2 and 4/12) to CEO Joshua unanswered. Between 4/2 and 4/12/07 through my own investigation I discover that the Kent, WA address I sent computer to in 2/2007 is that of Puget Custom Computers. Phone call to Jay P. and Puget tech support 4/12/2007 confirms this. I was told on 4/12/2007 by Jay P. to expect contact from Charlie C. for update on my computer that day. On 4/13/2007 no contact from Charlie C. or WidowPC Kent, WA. So on 4/13/2007 I again call Puget Custom Computer and speak with Perry who takes my information. Within thirty minutes I receive contact from JonB. (CEO of Puget). He tells me Puget just within past few months now manufactures all new desktop for WidowPC. But existing WidowPC desktops like mine are serviced by Charlie C. who is WidowPC employee and separate from Puget Custom Computers. Jon B. sends me total of three e-mails on 4/13/2007 and spoke with CharlieC. to expedite my computer's return. Also on 4/13/2007 I called JayP. and told him I have now file BBB complaint against WidowPC Austin, TX (headquarters).  
Finally receive computer (by UPS overnight shipping) on 4/14/2007. BUT, both optical drives nonfunctional and no WindowsXP certificate of authenticity and desktop setup clearly shows DVD mirror I sent on 4/4/2007 not used. Calls to tech support (at least 10) on 4/14 and 4/15/07 all unanswered. I give up and goto local CompUSA and ask for help (diagnosis-damaged laser). I install new DVD-RW and it works fine.  
 
Facts showing poor customer support:  
(1) 1.5 months to get system back to me (all this for a PSU upgrade) (N.B. I installed new PSU in my son's cheapo computer in less 4 hours  
(2) Computer damaged by WidowPC. CharlieC. admits to damaging two hard drives. Also side panel with the WindowXP COA damaged. They DID REPLACE FREE OF CHARGE with 2 new HD & new side panel. I suspect two non-functional optical drives were damaged by WidowPC too.  
(3) Computer returned to me 4/14/2007 with two nonfunctioning optical drives. And given the DVD mirror not used I suspect optical drives not tested before sent back to me.  
(4) Two emails to CEO Joshua without reply. CEO of their competitor Puget sends me three e-mail reply in same day.  
(5) Ryan G. no longer with WidowPC. Website advertises "fanatical customer support". Ryan G. offered this. Read review by "half lifed" and he would support this opinion of Ryan G.  
(6) website lists 24/7 customer support. Outgoing voicemail states (English accent lady) "will answer your call as fast as humanly possible". No answer to multiple calls left on voicemail since 3/2007.  
(7) review of desktop FX system at http://consumer.hardocp.com/ shows that they do not build their own systems for that computer. They apparently were doing own computers with Ryan G. Now they have others do it. (I have e-mails from Jon B. should anyone wish to question this).  
(8) Three new Silverstone PSU failure is unheard of (per Chalie C., JonB. and everyone else I spoke with).  
(9) This is second time factory tech have damaged my computer. First time was in Spring 2006 when I had different problem and sent computer to factory tech (then in Cleveland, Ohio). I was very upset then and CEO Joshua M. then authorized complete system rebuild by Ryang..  
 
Please tell me how can I trust WidowPC with service of my computer? I have documentation of all above interactions.  
 

This review was modified by its author, mdmvnaperville, on 4/16/07 12:38 PM.

I must agree with a couple of the previous posts. WidowPC is a good company, although I have had some issues.  
 
Everything went fine with ordering and shipping. No delays. The computer was a beast, huge and heavy. Not your ordinary laptop, and not very mobile. The performance was great for a while, until I had a few issues which any computer can have. The hard drive died and there were issues with the video card. Also, the battery does not work anymore, it died also. I had sent it back and it was fixed with no issues. Although, after about a year now it is about dead. My warranty has expired and now the power button has issues. Usually, if you hold it down for 5+ secs. it will turn off (used maybe because it crashed etc). Mine unfortunately, dimmed the screen and powered off the main components and froze the OS. I have to manually unplug the power cable and plug it back in. Then, I have to press the power cable before it passes POST or else the keyboard wont work and the OS wont boot. Another problem I have had all along is the heat. The case was not designed very well to dispense of heat. I didn't notice many problems in the beginning, but now the processor is about burnt out. It has caused the whole computer to crash. The processor is almost smoking because it is so hot and you can definitely smell it. Since it is dying, the computer crashes about every 20-30 mins of usage. I must then wait for about an hour to turn it back on. No dust, no overclocking, not even games now.  
 
In conclusion, WidowPC is a dedicated company and has pretty good support. Although the machine itself (what you should really care about) has some issues over time and is pretty much a desktop. Not something I would enjoy carrying around. If you are a gamer and carry it around once and a while, then ya its ok. But again, if your a gamer the performance is nice, until it starts dying. I have somewhat turned away from games now that I haven't been using them for a while and am going to purchase a Gazelle from system76 (system76.com), which isn't toward gaming. Hopefully this has helped you future buyers in making a good decision about the company and the hardware/case they supply. Good luck!

Well, I've had my "Sting 917" laptop for 1.5 years now. I've waited this long to write a review because I never really felt inspired to, until now.  
 
Recently, my computer has suffered some serious issues like, poor performance and stability issues. Since my laptop is beyond the one year warranty I've always just fixed the problem myself. It's actually great practice for me seeing as how I'm an IT student working towards my A+ cert. later this year. Anyway.  
 
A long story short, about two weeks ago my laptop wouldn't even boot up to the OS. It would pass POST fine, however, when startup BIOS looked for the OS it found NONE. In fact the error message was "Operating System Not Found."  
 
I tried replacing the hard drive, that didn't work, I tried switching out RAM, that didn't work. I tried rebuilding the MBR, that didn't work. Well, in my frustration, I brought my comp. to school and had one of my teachers help. It turns out that most likely, the motherboard is dying, hence the random errors and now... death.  
 
Being a student, I can't afford to buy a new laptop / computer. However, as an IT student I desperately need a computer to run my programs. I'm stuck now with a dead 3200 dollar laptop that my aunt is still paying for. It's amazing that such a "high grade" laptop would die so swiftly.  
 
The problem: judging by Widow's rarely updated website I doubt there's anything anyone is capable of doing. In fact, the website is so out-dated that they mention a "massive" 100gb SATA(!) hard drive as being cutting edge. That was true two years ago. Now cutting edge is an internal terrabyte HD. You get the picture.  
 
If Widow PC is still around I hope they read this. Also, I hope anyone who reads this should take into consideration the long time support that would be offered by indie brands like Widow.  
 
Luckily for me, I now have the world's most expensive (and large) paperweight.  
 
-Jeremy.

This has probably been one of THE most iritating and frustrating experience of my LIFE. First, I ordered the PC prior to the holidays and was promised a ship date before Christmas. Nope....didn't happen. THEN...I was told that the original gfx cards I had ordered...they didn't REALLY have in stock, although their website listed them as AVAILABLE. (These are TWO nVidia 7800 GTX 512 mb cards...VERY expensive at the time, because they were BRAND new). So finally, after MONTHS of waiting, the PC arrived and the XFi Platinum sound card I had ordered did NOT work except through the front ports of the computer. Sound did NOT come from the back connections at all. After HIRING a professional to come assess the situation, I find that they had put the sound card in the wrong PCI slot. So that had to be fixed. To fix that, the media card reader had to be disengaged to make room for the fact that they had oversold the number of drive bays and PCI slots that I had available. So presently, I can't even USE my firewire or media reader. When it finally came time to refill the liquid coolant, I could not get any help from TECH SUPPORT (I supposedly got 3 years tech support with my purchase...HAHAHA), because they now don't use the same tower as they used before, and the gentleman that built MY machine no longer works there. They referred me to Thermaltake for tech support. Well...I didn't pay Thermaltake 9000 dollars for the dang computer. But they referred me to THEM for support. So I go to remove the aqua bay flow regulator with the Thermaltake BigWater SE system and find that the screws had been completely stripped while they installed it, apparently, and I cannot get the drive bay OUT of the machine to refill it. It took about an hour to remove these stripped screws to get out the bay to refill it. I am only listing the things I remember right at THIS moment. The company asked me to give them a nice review on this site. After everything I have been through...I laugh at the THOUGHT of that. I would NEVER EVER AGAIN purchase a computer from WidowPC. If the opportunity ever arises for me to AFFORD another machine (unlikely since I paid as much as some new CARS cost for THIS one), I would certainly NOT purchase from WidowPC.  
 
EDIT after response from WidowPC:  
 
Well that is a lie. I contacted the store only ONCE regarding this problem, so they did not offer me the "opportunity" to ship it back "several times" as they say. Also, you ship back at YOUR expense. To ship a super tower the size and weight of this monster machine costs $250 US dollars! I'm not made of money! I saved for many years to afford this machine. Now, I'm quite sure that WidowPC would honor their promise to fix the most recent problem if I spent the money to ship this beast back to them, indeed. But if I had had to ship this back EVERY time I had had a problem like this, I'd have spent an EXTRA thousand dollars on the machine by now. The heck with that. It was more convienient and cost effective for me to find a local computer company to fix it. As a matter of fact, they build computers very similar to this and they've done a wonderful job each time fixing my issues with this machine. They are able to special order the same parts, etc. and they are a half a mile from my home. This has all taught me a lesson....you pay...BIG TIME...for a brand name or "famous" name on your PC. I wanted a PC from WidowPC to show off. Boy did I get knocked down a notch. Next time I will go local, skip the "fancy name" thing...and get a PC that can be cared for, pampered, and kept running right from my hometown. The liquid cooling issue is fixed now, thanks to this other company, and I didn't have to pay $250 dollars in shipping to get it done. I will add....WidowPC dow put together a machine made with AMAZING hardware. It is a BEAST of a machine when it's all running top notch. To give them the benefit of the doubt...perhaps I just had a run of bad luck with mine at first, because a lot of things had to be readjusted inside the case for it to all run right. AND....the gentleman that built mine no longer works there, for some reason. Hmmm. Anyway, it's a great machine....NOW.

This review was modified by its author, Madylon, on 9/29/06 12:42 PM.

I would just like to say at this point I'm not happy with how things are going. I ordered my laptop on Nov. 1st and I first e-mailed WidowPC on the 3rd or 4th to see how things were going and make sure there were no problems. They e-mailed me back saying everything was great and it would ship out in a couple of days. Waiting...waiting...waiting. It gets to be Nov. 17th and I e-mailed them again and asked them the same question. Did everything go alright and did it ship out fine? I received and e-mail back stating that things were going fine and that it looks like it will ship out tomorrow (The 18th). At this point I'm mad and unsure of whether or not I can trust WidowPC. They said everything was fine in each e-mail, but yet it's now the 21st of Nov. and it's still not here yet. When I received their last e-mail I sent them another e-mail at how upset I was and asked what was taking so long and of course, I received no response. Going through this I can't help, but be reminded of all the Alienware horror stories I have read.

When I finally decided to get myself a true gamers computer I decided on a WidowPC based in part on the reviews I read here, sadly my experience was not as rosy as the ones here. I received my desktop several weeks ago and it would not display video at all. When I contacted customer support I was given another number to someplace else (Ohio sticks in my head for some reason) and they tried to help. I still had limited video but since I was going on vacation for the holidays I did not have time to finish fixing the system. It still had problems (only one video card would work) and it would sometimes not have a video output when started though the keyboard powered up and I could hear windows starting. When I returned from my vacation I could not get video at all.  
 
In addition to the obvious performance issues I was very dissappointed that it took much longer than advertised to get at all and when I got it I did not get what was advertised on the website. I will list the discrepancies:  
 
I have Supertalent RAM, not Crucial.  
 
My floppy drive is simply that, not the 7 in 1 I ordered.  
 
Windows XP was not activated and when I tried I got an error that it had been installed on too many syatems already.  
 
No Windows manual.  
 
The case locks but no key was delivered.  
 
Zonelabs was not installed.  
 
Animated desktop was not installed.  
 
Mozilla Firefox was not installed.  
 
I choose WidowPC based on the reviews I read and their philosphy as espoused on their website and paid $3,700 for a computer that does not work properly and did not include the extras that were advertised. I contacted their support and the other number I was given again and neither time was the person I needed to talk to available. I have not finished dealing with them yet but I do want to make it known so others may see the other side of the coin.  
 
-------------------------------------------------  
 
Update - The computer has been returned to the manufacturer for repairs at their expense. I will update further when it is completed.

This review was modified by its author, Lothlion, on 1/11/06 3:39 PM.

At the moment Widow PC is bending over backward to make up for thier mistakes and providing me a hefty discount and a computer with all the bells and whistles....to be continued.

This review was modified by its author, FORENSIC, on 1/10/06 11:59 AM.

Well, I finally have my 517m system, and I must say it’s a powerful, good looking, and fairly light laptop. My relationship with Widowpc has been kind of a love-hate thing, though in the end I am pretty happy with the system. They have shown a real effort to satisfy the customer, even though I asked a lot of them. Here’s the story:  
 
Now you should now, that initially, on their website they did not offer the “Intel Pentium M” model as an option, and I had submitted, on October 7th, the following order: (Sting 917) 3.0ghz, 3gig ram, 7800gtx, 80gig HD. When talking about payment on the phone, October 10th, me and Joshua, their salesperson (but also manager?), agreed to upgrade the laptop to a 3,4 ghz processor (for supplement of course).  
 
I knew at that point in time, the beginning of October, that there would be a delay, and that I was not to expect my order before October 30th. (It said so on the website) This is because the Nvidia GTX7800 Go graphics card that was to be put in my laptop was not readily available.  
 
However, after a week or so, they offered the sting 517m model online. Without going into the specifics, that system would better serve my needs. It’s a laptop that is some 4lbs lighter, would run less hot because of the mobile processor, and for the same price had a 120 GB Hard drive.  
 
So of course I started doubting, hmmm, maybe I’d rather want this system? So I gave them a call, and after a few days they got back to me stating that it was no problem to change my order. This was somewhere around October 24th.  
 
On Monday, November 21st I received my laptop, and OOPS, it was the wrong one! They sent me the original order, without the 3,4 Ghz processor. So, well, of course I was disappointed, and quite angry. (Well very angry…)  
 
I sent them a few messages via the online system and got contacted after a day or so with an apology stating that they’d fix it ASAP, and make it “better for me”. Of course, it was Thanksgiving so it wouldn’t see the system I wanted that week. But that was no problem, we all like our Turkey and Pumpkin pie, and I had the other system as a “loaner” to play around with.  
 
Now, December 5th, I have my system at last. My conclusion would be that these people are ‘genuine’ in their effort to give personal service. Yes the video card wasn’t coming in until October 30th, but I knew that in advance so I can’t complain. And yes there was a mistake, but well, they fixed it relatively fast. (Nine business days, which is their normal production process I think).  
 
I’d still recommend the company though, as the personal service probably can’t be beat. However Im still thoroughly dissappointed that they never did anything to make up for the mistakes made. No discount, no extras.  
 
 

This review was modified by its author, Bvv, on 1/12/06 1:21 PM.

So far my experience with Widow PC has been absolutely perfect. I ordered a Sting 917D SLI (desktop replacement laptop) on February 22, 2008, and Song, the salesperson, was extremely accommodating, upgrading my order to a solid state drive and Vista Ultimate 64-bit at late notice. I couldn't believe it, but my laptop arrived in about a week's time after I placed my order. They had chosen to ship out my laptop immediately, even though nVidia hadn't yet provided the SLI bridges for the 8800 cards (it would be about three weeks, so they apparently didn't want to make me wait for my laptop). Brandon, the very nice tech support guy, shipped me the SLI bridge/drivers as soon as the bridge became available.  
 
Here is my system configuration:  
1 x Custom Sting 917D SLI  
Chassis & Display: 917D Chassis, including a 17" 1680 x 1050 WSXGA+ ClearView Super Bright Display, CCD Camera, Bluetooth, Carrying Case, Battery  
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X6800 2.93GHz 4mb Cache 1066MHz FSB  
Video Card: Dual nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX 512MB - Preorder only, Ships Mar 16, 2008  
Memory: 4GB - 2 x 2048 MB 667MHz Kingston DDR2  
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (64-bit) with Microsoft CD  
Hard Drive: 2.5" 160GB 7200RPM SATA-150  
Second Hard Drive: None  
Third Hard Drive: None  
Technical Support: Lifetime Tech Support (Toll Free Phone and Email)  
Optical Drive: 2.5" 8X DVD±R/RW Double Layer Burner  
Wireless Network Card: Internal Pro/Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g Card  
Warranty: WidowPC Laptops Three Year Parts and Labor Warranty  
Software: None  
Mobile Accessories: None  
 
In addition, I have 64-bit Vista Ultimate housed on an MTRON 32GB solid state drive.  
 
This baby is a screamer, that's all I can say. So far I've run Crysis and Oblivion on it, and it runs both games amazingly. I can actually play Crysis with very high detail settings across the board at a resolution of 1440 by 900, no sweat. Oblivion runs as smooth as butter. The system runs so quiet, I can't even hear it purr.  
 
I'm just incredibly happy with this screamer of a laptop. It came without any bloat-ware and has run without a hitch since I received it. Other applications, like MS Word 2007 are incredibly responsive (due to solid state drive?), as is iTunes. I am elated with Widow PC, their very responsive customer support, and the fastest system I've ever used.  
 
-Brandon  

I think my first order was in late 2004. Received a keen system (better than expected, in fact) that time and came back recently for another. In 2004, I had not heard of this company and found them via a search. I've since read about them in several mags and congrats on the recent PCGamer review! Couldn't have happened to a better group of fellows.  
 
This time around I wanted to find a great system for my son. Of course, he plays World of Warcraft and several other computer games and has done well in school. I felt he deserved something more than a local big box special and remembered my good experience with this company. I have very little doubt that this company may be one of the best in the business. Every time I call I get someone who understands what I'm talking about. I don't have to explain to them like I have done with other companies in the past. I work as an IT professional and there's quite like trying to explain a detailed technical desire to a sales rep who doesn't understand IT.  
 
In the case of Widow, I've always found their people to be very knowledgeable and very personable. In fact, Josh, the company founder emailed me recently just to check up on me and see how my experience had been. Well, I thought it couldn't have gotten any better until that happened. I was shocked by the amount of effort taken to ensure my happiness with a purchase that occurred quite some time ago.  
 
When I get home from a day of work, I'm often stressed and need time to just bash things. Although I spend most of the day at a computer, I certainly don't see my Widow system that way. I see it as a source of stress relief as I bash, fire and slash my way through hordes of monsters. How many games have seen life on my Widow system? Half Life, World of Warcraft, Doom 3, Civilization (all of them), Sim City, The Sims (not me), Gun, Counter Strike, and the list goes on... All without a problem and at very nice performance. Some of those on a system purchased in 2004, no less. It's very nice to know that, even for a system purchased nearly 4 years ago, I can call up a tech at Widow and get advice on how to upgrade and even trade gaming stories. To even think of that kind of service at any of the Big Boy computer companies is laughable.  
 
The people of Widow really make the difference, I say. Perhaps that is really the case with all companies. The people make the difference. If they really care, the customer will have a good experience. If they don't care, the customer will not be happy. Why can't everyone care about what they do the way this company does?  
 
Specifically, Josh, has always been someone that said "yes" when I wanted something. In my professionaly status I've participated in purchases of IT equipment. So, to have a computer company say "yes, we can do that." when I ask for something out of the ordinary really made me feel like a VIP.  
 
Also, Ryan, hand built our system and we got to talk with him while he was working on it. To think that I would get to talk with the actual person who built my system was a shock, by itself. To know that the person building the system was so intelligent and perhaps even more knowledgeable than I am about how high performance gaming systems run was absolutely jaw dropping.  
 
These are just a couple of the MANY exceptionally good people I’ve me at Widow during my phone and email discussions with them. When I need a computer beyond something just for work...ie something that I know will play the games we play, I will continue to think of this company. I can't recommend them highly enough. I feel that I have found a friend or, I should say, friends.  
 
To the fellows at Widow, thank you for making my son and me very happy on many late nights. You've made our father-son time a constant source of shared fun and a lasting memory for both of us.  
 
Thanks for all you do. Your customer (and friend) for life...