5/5

posted Feb-03-2010

"This is my second rig from Falcon Northwest and lets suffice to say that it is the coolest, the sweetest and the most unbelievable computer that I have ever seen!!! BAM!!! It got here on time, encased in packaging that the Lost Ark of the Covenant would have been proud of... And the goodies!!! Ya got to love the goodies!!! I'm the goody man now, baby!!! Coffee cup, Falcon Northwest coffee with a wicked T-shirt and a massive leather case (with an embroidered Falcon on it) that has all my discs and manuals and burn-in stats. All of this was extremely personalized and orderly. My rig had absolutely no crap on it whatsover when it got here; early, I might add! But the light-up falcon, laser etched on my case is like getting the last Doritto in the bag >>> mmmmmmmmmmm!!!
And oh yeah, thanks for having the card that everyone wants and no one has; the Ati Radeon 5970!! YES, VIRGINIA, IT ROCKS!!!
And so do you, Falcon Northwest!

*EDIT* 3/12 Well, I was pretty euphoric when I originally wrote this review and time has not sobered my opinion of Falcon Northwest and their rigs. I have been running my games continuously with resolutions of 2048 x 1536, with the eye candy cranked all the way up, for over six weeks now and I still have yet to have any problems of ANY kind!!! NO CRASHES!!! NO BLUE SCREENS!!! NO FREEZES!!!
NO PROBLEM!!! I'm gaming Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, and Wolfenstein but I'm seeing nothing but gorgeous graphics and buttery smooth gameplay; I'm so happy that its almost beyond words!!!
And the rig itself sits on my desk like a monolithic phallus of craftsmanship and beauty... Its startlingly quiet as its liquid cooled (LCLS). Its freaky when I've been gaming for five hours and I'm feeling pukey and spent but my rig is cool to the touch by the intake. Dwell on that... Gaming Masss Effect 2 (full load) at 2048 x 1536 for over five hours and the aluminum by the intake fan is actually COLD to the touch!!!
I have an MSI motherboard and they are board partners with ATi so my two essential components are by the same manufacturer. This must help to explain the unreal stability of the overall experience.
I came back to resellers to not only fanboy, but to encourage anybody who is on the fence, as to where to buy their dream machine from... You can buy from the new brand of boutique seller, which is typified by the sweatshop mentality of the modern American industrial park. You'll spend less and you might get a decent rig. But buy a Falcon and you now own a meticulously crafted work of art that will make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up everytime that you game on it. Falcon Northwest is the best. They've always been the best. And they keep getting better!!! ;)
Why settle for less? Go ahead. Reach for that top shelf up there! You won't be sorry... BAM!!!"

This review was modified by Vicmas38 on March 12 2010 01:37:03 PM

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5/5

posted Mar-22-2002

"It should be emphasized that Falcon has two very different products, the Mach V and the Talon. The Mach V is better, faster, much more expensive, and takes longer to receive because they are custom and not premade. I wouldn't recommend the Mach V or any cutting edge computer because of its very high price. I bought two Talons a year apart. They both cost $1100 and were pretty much the same parts I would have chosen in building one from scratch, but the warranty and Falcon expertise was worth it. I have a Dell at work with similar components, and my Talon runs rings around it.
The company assembles computers, so I don't blame them if components fail. In the first year, the CPU and mouse failed. The keyboard had a shift key that got stuck, and the CD drive had a glitch that closed the drawer for no reason. All were replaced free and quickly under warranty, no problem, with parts as good or better than the original.
The second system shipped from Oregon to NY, and UPS shipped it back because I had it delivered to work and didn't have the company name on the box. Falcon sent me a different system rather than the one that had criss-crossed the country, even though it was not their fault in any way. Tech support is difficult to get on the phone, but they do call me back pretty soon, and emails get answered the same day or the next, even questions not having to do specifically with their computer. I am very satisfied or why else would I buy from them twice?"

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5/5

posted Jun-03-2007

" I ordered a Mach V computer for gaming. I had bought 2 boutique computers elsewhere before this one--my last I purchased from a small online boutique. Which went out of business a year after my purchase and took the warranty with it. And then the computer's liquid coolant leaked and I had a small electrical fire in my computer case. So this time I decided to go with an established company and after doing some research, decided on Falcon Northwest.
I had a good idea what I wanted but the Falcon Northwest sales rep helped me with some advice. In fact, when I said I was in no hurry, he even suggested I wait a month or so until some Vista driver bugs worked themselves out. I thought that was pretty nice--who knows if I would have changed my mind?
The build time was quoted at being about 3 weeks. I received my computer in a little more than two weeks. The only problem I had with the process is I did not get the email I was supposed to get the day it shipped out. But that was of no consequence.
So far, everything works great. The computer worked fine straight out of the box, and I have had absolutely no problems with Vista--yet. All in all, I'm quite happy with Falcon Northwest. I have not had to use really what is one of the main reasons I bought from them--their reputation for customer service when there is a technical problem. And hopefully, I won't have to!"

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5/5

posted Nov-07-2003

"How to explain...I had been calling around to assorted high end pc resellers (alienware, cyberpower pc, dell, gateway) I decided to call Falcon-nw and guess what...somebody picked up the phone and said, HELLO! no menu's that take 10 mins to navigate...just a simple hello. My sales rep, Warren, answered my questions and spent about 35 mins with me even tho he knew I wouldn't be buying that day. Alienware told me to call back when i was going to purchase, basically gave me the cold sholder. Meanwhile, I was planning on purchasing a top of the line AMD 64 FX51 system. Well, if you want to be treated right and get a product that is rock solid with all the documentation you ever wanted... Falcon is for you. I can't stress enough how great the product is, but Falcon shines when it comes to customer service. Ever notice that they always are the editor's top choice and fastest machine out there? sometimes only to be given second place because of price... PEOPLE YOU DON"T HAVE TO GET THE 800 DOLLAR PAINT JOB. (although nice) I am not sure I want to recommend Falcon, Personally I would like to keep it my special little secret...My precious. Falcon's not playing around when it comes down to building computers. Don't trust me tho, call them for yourself. 5 stars out of 5 stars."

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5/5

posted Oct-03-2008

"The customer service people at Falcon Northwest were very helpful, patient and informative. I have had my Falcon Mach V for two weeks. The quality of the workmanship is amazing and is demonstrated by the flawless performance and incredible speed of my Mach V. "

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5/5

posted Mar-12-2005

"After buying our previous systems from IBM and Dell and having what seemed like some overheating/thermal issues with the Dell system in an enclosed desk I decided to get a gaming-type system to see if it would solve the heat problems.

On the first of May I ordered the so-called Mach 5 system in more or less a mid-level configuration and it still cost $3,518 delivered. Pricey systems, for sure. The system was shipped on May 25th.

The system was well packaged and didn't have any problems out of the box. The system is seriously fast and it can handle the few games that I play (Diablo II and Morrowind) with ease. I didn't opt for any of the fancy paint jobs but the Coolermaster Wave all-aluminum case is quite a nice contrast vis-a-vis the gray and black plastic of the former Dell.

Support was needed once and was a mixed bag. My video card includes a TV tuner and I sent an e-mail asking if Falcon could help me with the problem I was having with losing the video output to the monitor after about 20 minutes of tuner use. Three days later, still with no response from Falcon-NW, I gave them a call and a real person picked up the phone after a ring or two. He suggested getting the lastest set of drivers from the ATI site for my video card and upgrading my Direct X to the lastest version. I asked him if this seemed like a software problem to him and implied that it seemed like a hardware issue to me. He said it was probably hardware but you never know and he said that he had seen other similar problems solved with drivers. So I did download the drivers and Direct X and they solved the loss of signal to the monitor problem but created a new problem of not being able to control the volume setting withing the ATI application software...that I can and have lived with. So kudos for the support solution but Falcon, however, they shouldn't push the e-mail support unless they are going to answer the things in a timely manner.

All in all a very good experience so far with Falcon Northwest."

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5/5

posted Jun-20-2003

"Ok so far its been almost 3 weeks since I've placed my order with Falcon Northwest. When I placed my order I initially did not get an eXotix paint job, but a few days went by and I decided to get an eXotix paint job!

Also along the way I've changed several parts in my computer, everytime Falcon's sales representatives would ask what I use my PC for, explain if I would gain performance from this part or not (even if the part I wanted would have made them a lot more money).

Now they are expecting as am I that my system be ready sometime next week, which is way ahead of schedule for a PC with a eXotix paint job (which is supposed to add 1-2 weeks).

Ok I have now had my Mach V for about 3 weeks, and let me tell you it is an amazing machine! Out of the box it worked flawlessly, no errors or anything. I would load up whatever I wanted and it would play it just fine (this machine is very fast).

As for the looks on the machine, it looks awesome, the paintjob is great, the lighted side window looks awesome with 1 blue and 1 green cold cathode light, and lastly the wiring on the inside is very nicely done...this machine must have perfect air flow!

Once again I will say this has been an awesome experience, and its well worth the price I paid! I wouldn't hesitate recommending Falcon over any of the other "boutique" computer companies!"

This review was modified by mdjxt39 on July 20 2003 10:00:07 AM

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5/5

posted Sep-14-2006

"Falcon Northwest is the premier maker of gaming pcs and their venerable reputation is well deserved indeed...
I was forced to abandon Alienware after the "ACME" of pc makers (DELL) bought them out earlier this year. Chewing poodle crap is more fun than dealing with this vendor so I took my business to the original gaming pc company and received the fastest machine that these weary old eyes have ever seen.
I learned what "boutique" treatment was all about as I received five star handling from A to Z. Getting decent customer support from most vendors is like finding a topless bar in Tehran but the folks at FNW are not only folksy and nice but AVAILABLE!
I used to think that my predator case was nifty and asthetically pleasing but now it looks like a red headed stepchild next to my Falcon. Guess I didn't know cases from shinola before now...
But what matters the most to me is that I got a raging, crack addled SCREAMER that is tearing through my games like a pickpocket at the SuperBowl. Oblivion brings most systems to their knees but my baby says, "PLEASE FOOL" and runs it like a saturday morning cartoon.
Lastly, it has become fashionable in the gaming community to buy a certain Canadian rig that is all show and no boat, if you know what I mean. FNW gives Americans an option to keep it real as luxury pcs are made here too... Just call the good folks in Oregon and see that some of the finer things in life still read, MADE IN THE USA!!! Way to go, Kelt!!! Eat your heart out Rahul...
I would also like to add that my rig arrived over eleven days early and despite the fact that UPS had obviously abused her, she ran like a charm straight out of the box... I have logged over ninety hours in Oblivion in just three weeks (that comes out to over thirteen per cent of my life) and my Falcon just begs for more! Murphy's Law in reverse?"

This review was modified by vicmas33 on September 19 2006 12:19:39 PM

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5/5

posted Feb-08-2011

"As an owner of a Mach V my advice is to avoid this company like the plague. Of course when working this is a nice rig. However, pray pray pray and pray some more that it does not break down. I don't quite know who is reviewing their service standards, but they are abominable. You will wait days, literally, to even speak with someone about your issue. And heaven forbid, if any hardware needs to be replaced. Because whatever they decide to send you will probably be old technology by the time they get around to sending it to you.

To date, the following hardware items have needed to be replaced:

Hard Drive
Disk Drive
Sound Card
Motherboard

This is is my personal experience. I have never worked with a vendor who felt like they were doing me a favor by selling me their product. Do yourself a favor and avoid Falcon Northwest no matter what.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20029549-1.html#ixzz1DOj1ywE2

2/10/11

An update. After the service management at FNW reviewed my service history, they very graciously have offered to update hard drive, mobo, storage and ram to current configurations. This is a move that separates average companies from great ones. I will be recommending Falcon Northwest to any serious gamers I meet. I am changing my ratings to reflect this."

This review was modified by LouAsheby on February 10 2011 12:07:31 PM

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5/5

posted Feb-07-2003

"Stellar pre-sales. Extremely knowledgeable staff recommended less-expensive parts than I'd chosen given their experience that the more costly parts would not provide additional speed or stability.

Although their building/testing time takes around 3 weeks, they agreed to get my machine out the door in 2 weeks time, as I'd just been given a six-week runaround by one of their lesser competitors (Alienware - must to avoid, trust me.)

So far I am extremely happy with every aspect of my experience with Falcon Northwest. Additionally, all the reviews I've read here and on ResellerRatings, Epinions, etc, have been virtually all positive for those who have actually purchased/received a machine."

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