5/5

posted Sep-24-2009

Let me start by saying - I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH I COULD HAVE SAVED BY BUILDING IT MYSELF!! I'M NOT INTERESTED IN USING MY VALUABLE TIME TO BUILD MY OWN PC!! Buying a prebuilt system was great!!! No worrying about drivers, bios updates, compatibility, installation, faulty parts, setting up the O/S, etc. Plus, I wasted NONE of my time. Time, not the money, is what's important to me.
Sorry about that, it's just that when I was searching all the forums/reviews etc. for a good high end PC builder, I was so sick of seeing someone asking who to use and then fifty nimrods had to reply with "build it yourself" or "you'll save $200 buying the parts from Newegg". I guess it's hard for some to read and understand English and also accept the fact that there are actually people out here that don't care how much some things cost. To me it's like building a really fast car. It might be faster and cheaper than a Ferrari, but it's still not a Ferrari, if you know what I mean.

Anyhoo, I looked at systems from Falcon Northwest, AVADirect, Puget Systems, ABS, Vigor Gaming, VooDoo(HP), Alienware, CyberPower, IbuyPower, XiComputer, addict, Digital Storm, ABS Computers and several others. I ended up ordering a Mach V from Falcon Northwest. Here's my config:
SILVERSTONE ICON ALUMINUM CHASSIS
SIDE PANEL WITH WINDOW FOR ICON CHASSIS
COLD CATHODE LIGHT KIT - BLUE
SILVERSTONE 1200WATT MODULAR PS
ASUS P6T DELUXE I7 X58 MOTHERBOARD v2
INTEL CORE I7 975 EXTREME 3.33GHZ
ASETEK CPU WATER COOLER X1
CRUCIAL 2GB(1X2GB)PC3-10600 1333MHZ (6GB)
CREATIVE X-FI TITANIUM FATAL1TY PRO PCIE
LG 22X DVD+-RW BLACK W/L-SCRIBE SATA
ATECH FLASH XM-5U V2 MEDIA READER
NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 295 1792MB PCIE
WD VELOCIRAPTOR 300GB 10KRPM SATA
MSOFT VISTA ULT 64 W/WINDOWS 7UPG COUPON
(I also added two 1TB WD HD's after I received the system from them)

The whole purchasing experience was fantastic. I mainly dealt with Brian Kubli at Falcon. He answered all my emails very quickly and also was very professional and knowledgeable when I spoke to him on the phone. As my job requires extensive travel, I only had a small window of time available that I could be home to accept delivery of the system. He made sure that my system arrived on the exact date that I asked for. That was priceless to me. Also, there was no high pressure sales crap. What turned me off to some of the other builders was the fact that right after I spec'd and saved a system on their site, I received an email asking me when I was planning on purchasing the system . I didn't like that at all.

The system came packaged securely in a box that utilized this neat system where it is suspended between these two sheets of heavy plastic, one on the top, the other on the bottom. It kinda floats on air when it's in the box. The system keeps the PC far away from any of the sides and holds it very securely. I uncrated it, plugged it in and was immediately impressed with the backlit Falcon head on the front of the case. To me, it's one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It booted right up and has been running excellent ever since. I also like the fact that there was no extra software installed. Just a full version of Windows and basically nothing else. All driver discs, cables, programs etc. that came with the various components was also present. I honestly didn't think I would be getting all that stuff so it was a pleasant surprise.

The system is just gorgeous. The workmanship is outstanding. And boy, it's f***ing fast!!!! I absolutely love it! The only issue that I had was that the cold cathode light was inop. Only half of it would light up. I emailed Brian about it and he put me in touch with one of the service techs. The new light kit will be here today. Their service is just outstanding. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was treated so good as a customer by ANY vendor.

Truth is I've always wanted a Mach V. Back in the days when I was building my own stuff, I would just go on their site and drool over the old "Bragging Rights" systems. Now I have one and I couldn't be happier with it. Falcon is one of the oldest custom pc builders out there and they have stuck to their customer service tenets all along. I respect them for that and they will have all my future business.

If you're looking to for excellent quality, craftsmanship and peace of mind in your next custom PC purchase, go with Falcon Northwest...you will not be disappointed. Call them, talk to them and you'll see what I mean.

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