"I had spoken to a number of computer enthusiasts and co-workers about buying a computer that would serve a dual purpose, both work and hobby/game-play. In my profession I work with CAD programs and as a hobby I enjoy digital photography and games. My current system is a Dell, which has served me well, but lacked processing speed, graphics power and even when new, it was off-the-rack. I’m not knocking the “big boys” competition; it was time for a cool change. While your competition offers essentially the same basic to advanced component parts, OPC provides several human elements, where others fall short;

1 Personal Contact: After I had shopped and compared, I called OPC to get some questions answered and to determine if my component selections were compatible. When the phone rang at their end, I expected an automated system. However I was greeted by a person, who informed me that the sales staff was busy helping other customers and was there a number available to call me back. After I fumbled around for a moment confused by human contact I provided same.

2 Knowledgeable and quick callback: I received a callback and began to explain what I’d selected and asked if the components were compatible. The person I spoke with slowed me down and asked what I wanted the new computer to do, applications I use most, number of applications and how much space I have on my current hard drive. I thought, not bad for a sales person, of course in my zeal to speak to someone with a human head, I missed the opening introduction by this sales person, but more on that later.

3 Customer Service: After I answered his questions, he proceeded to examine my component selections. Right off the bat, he told me that I didn’t need some of the components, since they were already incorporated in the motherboard selected by OPC for this build. He explained that while more memory is great in some cases, the amount I’d selected in conjunction with the AMD processor, would deliver a diminishing return performance and investment. He also explained the facts of life on Raid configurations regarding performance and redundancy. I was moving toward a Raid 5 without the facts and he was moving me toward Raid 0, 1. Since he was driving, I just sat back, listened and questioned. What had taken me several magazine articles and multiple conversations with tech-types to reach critical mass-confusion was explained simply and understandably. Finally the lights were on and I was home.

I’ve rambled on enough here, but would like to close by saying; the knowledgeable contact I’ve been referring to is Ryan Gordon, Production Manager for OPC. I don’t know if he just lost a bet or was kind enough to pitch-in on the sales desk. I do know that if the rest of the folks at Overdrive PC are as dedicated, knowledgeable and helpful as Mr. Gordon, your products will only be exceeded by your reputation for “human customer service”.

More to follow after I get my hands on this baby!
"

"I purchased a Gemini SLI form Overdrive PC back in October and I couldn’t be happier with either the service and support or the price. When purchasing a unit from these people you must be patient as they will be custom building a unit to your specifications. The unit I purchased was designed especially for editing video that I shoot with my Sony 2100 video camera. I can’t believe how much faster this unit is than my Sony Vaio PCV-RZ24G at editing video footage. The unit worked perfectly right out of the box and just in case there were any problems the unit comes equipped with Symantec’s Ghost 9 and a image of my primary raid array as sent to me from the folks at Overdrive PC. I would buy from these people again in a heart beat and encourage anyone considering a custom rig from manufacturers such as Alienware, Velocity Micro, or Falcon Northwest to check with the people at Overdrive PC before making their final decision."

"Mario, you guys rock my f'ing world! This rig is amazing I cannot even begin to describe my pleasure with my decision to go OPC! Upon 1st boot, I had an audio/reverb issue but a call to OPC tech support cleared it up immediatley. On tech supports recommendation, I adjusted the environmental settings under the Realtek audio options. It had been set to Arena as default, not sure why it was. I adjusted the environmental settings to "OFF". I told my clan, (www.ClanNN.com - I posted my 3Dscores and they FREAKED OUT - 13,000), about my rig and I am sure you will have some of my fellow clan members purchasing within 12 months. Again, thank you so much! It was money well invested in both a product, people and a company! :)"

"When I made the decision to purchase a new computer, my first stop was at Overdrive PC. I had talked with Mario(the owner) in depth several years ago but ended up not purchasing as I had just purchased a new home and built my own. Over the past few years I have built a few but after some issues with my last computer I decided to just buy one. I could have built another but with work, family and two young children I just didn't have the time. Based on my past experience in just talking with Mario, I looked up Overdrive PC again and started researching. I decided it would be in my best interests to shop around and see if I was missing anything. I spent a couple weeks searching but kept coming back to OPC due to all the good things that people have said, as well as being pleased with how I was treated when I ended up not buying a PC. Also, the price/performance ratio always seemed to be in OPC's favor.

As I stated earlier, I already had a PC and some of the components were still good/relatively new and Mario was willing to let me re-use a few components to shed the cost. It wasn't much(DVD drive, etc) but every dollar helps. That leads me into my configuration and what I originally started with and what it became. Initially I specced out an SLI setup with (2) 7800 GTX cards. In speaking with Mario, he advised me to use the 7800 GT cards because he could provide me 97% of the performance of the GTX cards while saving me over $200. I figured I wouldn't really miss 3% in performance, but the $$ saved I would. He also persuaded me out of going with 4GB of RAM since the performance benefit would be basically non-existent over 2GB. In the end I saved several hundred dollars and have a system that I am happy with:

Lian-Li Tower
Ultra X-Connect 500 Watt
(2) nVidia GeForce 7800 GT-HyperClocked
(2) 074GB Raptors
(1) 500GB Hitachi
Athlon 64 X2 4400+ HyperClocked to 2.55GHz(actually 2.60!)
A8N-SLI Premium nFORCE 4 Ultra SLI Mobo
2GB DDR
(5 Drive) Removable SATA Hard Drive Cage
NEC 16X Dual Layer DVD Burner 52X CD Burner
Mitsumi 13-in-1 Floppy and Flash Media Reader
Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS

I purchased about three months ago(8/25/05) but waited a few months before posting this review so that I could wait and actually use the PC for awhile. I received the PC in about 5 weeks, with a delay on my part as I wanted to wait for the new X-FI cards. The packaging was first rate and inspired confidence right from the start. After marveling at the case(Lian-Li Tower, clean and stylish), I started setting it up. I had to open the case to see what everyone was talking about and I saw firsthand the quality that goes into an OPC product. There was not a detail left behind...all cables were sleeved and neatly routed, rubber washers on all the screws. It was by far the cleanest I've ever seen. Even though I've only seen a few and built my own, it got my respect and admiration immediately. I fired up the PC and everything went smoothly and quickly. I waited a few days to let the system run, adding only a single component or piece of software at a time so that I would know if one caused a problem. I did have some issues in trying to hook up some external drives, but it was only because of some settings I did not know about in Windows. After a couple emails I was educated on XP by Mario and all was running well.

I loaded up a few games and was very happy with the performance. After all, when you can max out every setting and still have great playability, how can you not be happy? I did have an issue though when trying to load up Battlefield 2. It kept hanging up and I couldn't figure out the problem. I asked Mario about it and he called me about 9:30 at night(the only time I could be free) to walk me through everything. The problem ended up being a dumb move on my part, not turning off the Folding and Prime programs running in the background. Needless to say I felt quite foolish at not realizing this, but Mario was polite, patient and helped me with an issue that was of my own design. While going through this process I could see all the settings that were tweaked for performance and needless to say, you can tell there is a lot of time spent on each system maxing out its performance. Each computer is setup individually so you will know that your system is maxed out. I was impressed that the owner of the company would spend time on the phone(on my schedule) and emailing to help me with things that were not hardware related, but mostly general questions on Windows. I didn't have to wait a few days for answers either...I waited usually less than an hour for an answer on email(not some auto-response that tells me to wait 24 hours) and no wait when on the phone.

If you're in the market for a PC that has every setting tweaked to the fullest, runs great, looks great, is quiet, and is backed by phenomenal support, then OPC should be at the top of your list. Consider me another highly satisfied customer."

"I meant to write this letter of recomendation of Mario and Overdrive PC before now, but not much before now. I wanted to wait until I used the machine and some issues came up, to see how the support really happened. I figured there was no sense writing about how happily some guy took my money.

So I've had this custom rigged machine (I asked Mario to put filters on the intake fans) for 1 year and 2 weeks. The only issues that have happened seemed to have been caused by Micr$ofts automatic updates, and a drive fan makes a wierd noise upon start-up for 15 seconds.

I use this machine 14-18 hours a day (every day), and not only have I not any issues, but Mario and his team have willingly and cheerfully helped me with questions about upgrading software and hardware with out trying to sell me anything.

Just a few days ago (over a year since purchasing this machine, I asked about how to run 4 monitors with this machine. Since I don't play games anymore, but spend my time trading stocks. Mario didn't even mention that I was past the 1 year support agreement or anything else. He just helped me and answered all my questions. Mario and his guys are a rare breed in the jungle of companies that use only voice prompts or e-mail for customer contact. A very rare breed indeed.

When I first talked to Mario about building a machine, I told him I wanted a six thousand dollar machine, and all I wanted it to do. He apoligized and told me that he could build it for $3600 if I didn't mind.

This is a straight up guy running a staight up company. I'm very glad I did business with them, and you can bet that I will in the future; no doubt about it.

I've never found anyone I would rather do business with.

Law Hyland"

"I don't know really where to start, but as I sit here listening to a CD of my favorite band Clutch, with their album Tyrant Beast spinning away on my Gemini SLI OPC, it strikes me that the two are very similar, both personifying ferociousness and primacy, by way of their substance and structure, each dominating in their respectively chosen disciplines, all other competitors, by providing an exceptional and exclusive product on the market for their patrons.

The case for my OPC is a black Lian Li PC-71 with sapphire blue lighting emitting from various areas of the PC, looking omnipotent and unyeilding in the corner of my office where it is set-up. It is colossal in size with room to spare for future upgrades. The silver cabling inside the case is a wonder to behold. Minimalist and beautiful are two words that come to mind, when making an attempt to describe it. This system is a monster for gaming and multi-tasking. When I do have time to play some games, UT2K4, Farcry, etc..., look stunning on maximum settings and provide a whole new experience to the point that they provide the sensation that they are new games that I have never played before.

My experience with OPC started with Ryan, the Production Manager, Mario, the CTO and Pete, the CEO. They all assured me that they could find the right OPC for me. I was surprised at the level of commitment to which they would go to assist me in my desire to purchase one of their products and how readily available they were for questions. Many phone calls and e-mails passed between Ryan and I before I chose a build that I was comfortable with. All this time Ryan showed the patience of Saint while I made up my mind.

Ryan made numerous suggestions to me that I should consider before making my purchase that would not only save me money but ensure appropriate data protection. One suggestion in particular that was a boon was the removable hard drive trays. At times I can keep sensitive data for my company, on my home hard drive. When I need to travel I can pull these hard drives and lock them up safely while I am traveling, thereby ensuring the data is safe and sound. Peace of mind regarding the integrity of my data means a lot to me these days and OPC delivered in spades.

My initial configuration was with only one 7800GT card, but upon receiving my computer I truly realized what it was capable of and decided to order another one and go with the SLI configuration. Well I thought it was fast with one graphics card but I was stunned when I got the two cards setup and running. The benchmarks were double in some cases and 80% to 90% faster in the rest. I am continuously running multiple programs with absolutely no slowdowns or hiccups at all.

One thing I would like to address is out of country orders. I am from Canada and I had some reservations about purchasing a product outside of my country, mainly due to possibility of sending my comp back to OPC for future upgrades if needed like my second 7800GT card I purchased after receiving my system. My fears have thus far been unfounded. During the installation of my second graphics card everything took place over the phone. Ryan was great talking me through the process. Now this is the point in my review where I point out I am essentially a computer noob, for want of a better term. Ryan was patient and very helpful while I learned the PC basics on how to install components. The added bonus was that I gained an immense amount of knowledge from Ryan regarding computer systems and their components while installing the card, which was very gratifying and will be benefical to me in the future. The installation process via phone and e-mail was much preferable then sending it back. Now that I have it I am very reluctant to let my OPC go. In the event it does need to go back to OPC, UPS, which initially delivered it on time in excellent condition, has ensured that if it is returned for future upgrades it will be done in a timely manner with no damage, which is always nice to know.

I thank you Ryan and the rest of the men and women of OPC for all your hard work in assembling my Gemini SLI and ensuring it would perform the way I wanted it to. Kudos to you all. I can't wait til I get my next one, hopefully in the coming year.

After having experienced OPCs' customer service, and quality of product provided, it is my humble opinion that they are the premier provider of business and home computing products availabe on the market today. I have seen a lot of unique products in my day, and nothing even comes close to what OPC has provided me. As a result I unequivocally recommend Overdrive PC to those who maybe thinking of making a purchase in the future. You will not be disappointed.

Athlon 4400 X2
2 gigs RAM
160 gig HDD
2x160 gig HDD RAID 1
2x 7800GT
2x Sony Duel DVD Burners
2 year Platinum Warrenty
Everything is hyper-clocked and stable as can be.
"

"I had carefully read all of the comments on this site prior to making my order on October 5, 2005 and was most impressed with what previous customers had reported both in terms of OPC's ability to build a special custom machine and also with their customer service experience.

Because I am only moderately technically minded, I relied substantially on the advice I received from OPC on what would constitute an ideal build for me. My goals were to have an extremely powerful and quick computer as well as one that would be stable and dependable. Redundant data storage was essential. I also desired to skip at least one (more likely two) generations of hardware replacement by investing in a substantial computer. Their recommendations were excellent and we agreed on a machine. I was looking forward to see it arrive at my door.

I was promised a 30 day delivery, and was told to refrain from contacting them for at least three weeks regarding a delivery schedule. Fair enough; I complied. As I write today, it has been 41 days and still no delivery.

I have corresponded with OPC regarding this matter. One promised ship date has come and gone. Today, again, I was told that it would ship and was in fact given a tracking number. I expressed my mild disappointment hoping OPC would offer to send it overnight instead of the typical 3-day FedEx delivery. No such offer was made and I can't help but feel let down.

What really matters is the machine and I remain confident that it will be all I hope for. I'll report back when I get it.

UPDATE: Here is a copy of my correspondence with Mario, OPC'c President:

MARIO:…I do apologize for the late delivery time. Sadly we are going through the inevitable of a growing business.

SAMZ: I run a business myself that I started 12 years ago (real estate development). Believe me, I understand.

MARIO: I need to make my sales staff aware that we can no longer commit to a 30-day delivered time. It is just too difficult to meet that time frame with so many variables to running a custom-manufactured computer business like this. We have the choice of cutting corners in the actual product to meet deadlines, or fearing the inevitable of letting our clients down when we are forced to deliver a machine late.

SAMZ: Buying an Overdrive PC has been compared to purchasing a Ferrari or a Porsche. I like this analogy. In my world, the corollary would be hiring a builder to construct a custom home. The conventional wisdom is that there are really only 3 things a custom home buyer cares about: on time, on budget, and to the quality they expect when they signed the contract. The joke amongst builders is "OK, you can have any two of the three, which ones do you want?"

I'd always choose the budget and the quality, but with one caveat-- clear communication. It's true that there are some customers whom you just can't make happy no matter what, but with clear communication, most people understand that custom built things are not assembly-lined and can sometimes take a bit longer.

I suspect OPC knew the 30-day delivery was unachievable early on. Why not contact me with a new rock-solid date and an offer to overnight deliver my computer? There's so much excitement and anticipation to get the new rig (like a Ferrari). When it does not arrive on time frustration sets in.

MARIO: As the owner and founder of the company and I wanted to express my personal regret for extending your delivered date 2 weeks beyond what we try to adhere to (and promise in your case). We have managed to hold on to our perfect 10 reseller rating for 6 years on the button, but I can see we lost that today with your experience with us.

Although I would stop short of nothing to remedy that by demonstrating out intent to keep you happy overall and compensate your extended wait, I can only ask that you let me know if we can work with you in some way to preserve what we have worked so hard to earn (which of course is our perfect rating).

SAMZ: I think you've already made the saving play Mario.

MARIO: In the meantime, I hope that the delivered product and service over time will change your view of our mission and dedication to our clients. Please let me know (personally) if and when I can help.

SAMZ: Please know that your personal attention to this matter speaks volumes about your company's commitment to customer satisfaction.

MY FINAL WORD:
The computer arrived yesterday. It is a beautiful beast. The quality is all that was promised and more. Super fast.

I understand that things don't always go as planned. When the President of the company contacts you to make it right, you gotta be happy. I am revising my review and score. OPC really is the best.

"

"-Official Review: Overdrive PC Gemini SLI-

Basic Specs:
X-2 4400+ @ 2.55ghz
2 gigs DDR-400 @ 550mhz
2xGeForce 7800 GTX 500mhz core 1.3ghz mem
Audigy 2 ZS
2x36gb 10,000rpm raptors - Stripped
1x300gb 7200 RPM HDD
Windows XP Pro

It was about 3 months ago, that I begain to seek a botique PC builder in which to invest my hard-saved funds for a new high-end gaming platform. I had spent restless nights researching every company I could find. I started with the big 3, Alienware, Falcon Northwest and Voodoo PC. I then moved down to the smaller companies and so forth. It was by an accident that I discovered OPC, while reading reviews on reseller ratings I had accidently mis-clicked a link. Who would have thought that this 'accident' would have lead me to write this very reveiw on a brand new 4400+ based Gemeni SLI.

About a week after looking into OPC extensivley and weighing my other options I placed my order by telephone (which I like because it is far more personal) with none other than the head cheese of OPC, Mario. He was very knowledgeable and tried his absolute hardest to pursade me to make the right descions... by this I mean he wanted to save me $100 and increase the performance of my system by steering me twards dual-cores. Of course, I am no fool when it comes to PCs and I understood immediently that dual cores present an advantage in future multi-threaded games, I honestly just had doubts about an air-cooled overclocked X2 4400+, was it possible?! About 3 weeks later, I found out that not only was it possible, but Mario had exceeded in his promises.

From the moment I un-packed it from its large, very well package box, I knew that this machine was something special. Inside the box were two smaller boxes, one containg the machine itself, while the other held a neatly organized assortment of manuals, installation cds, driver disks and everything that one would excpect to come with his or her new pc. The case itself was the next thing that struck me. Of course, I had heard of Lian-li before, but never had I witnessed the glory of one of their signature cases in person.As excpected the case was a deep shade of black and featured blue LEDs on the two side-panel exhaust fans. What was not expected was the inside... pure astonsihment. The wiring job was absolutley un-believable. Every single wire, every molex connector, every little trinket was carefully placed and tucked to ensure absolute maximum airflow. Not even I expect something this clean, even from a botique builder. Upon turning on the PC, I noticed it had booted in about 8 seconds, which is super-sonic fast considering all the hardware. The second thing I noticed is that all the un-necssary programs and services were terminated. To my further astonishment, the PC was actually optimized the way I would optimize it, and was running like a dream with no tweaking done at all. The harddrives were set up and partitioned EXACTLY as requested and the drivers were installed for every component. The final part of my judgment was reserved for the most crucial aspect of a high-end machine.... gaming performance. Yes the benchmarks scores are quite impressive (as you will see below), but as any gamer knows the true measure of PCs performance is done in the nitty gritty of DOOM 3 at max settings with 4x AA @ 1600x1200. In that capcity, my new baby pulled off a very impressive 125 fps... w00t! I haven't needed any technical support yet (yay!), so I can only comment on the lightning fast responsiveness and profressional attitute of OPC when placing my order and communciating through e-mail... bravo.

In conclusion, I think I'll reflect on the whole ordeal. I don't know if I deserve such a machine but, I thank those who provided it with every inch of my being. I shall mantain and hold respect for PC as long it still runs, and I will upgrade it or send it back for upgrades when needed. I wish the best to everyone fortunate enough to posess the means to aquire or build their own dream machine and I implore you to give OPC a shot, they will not fail you or give up on you. Finally, I extend my deepest thanks to all those at OPC who invested their lives and hardwork to build and support this system for me, and I'll think of you guys always whether I'm mowing down Ts with my M4 on De_Dust 2 or I'm claiming my place on the leaderboards of AoE 3.

Thanks to OPC, and sorry to the readers of this message for making it so long and so boring... lol (long formal-like reivews ftw!!! :P).

Overall Grade: 10/10 - *HIGHLY RECOMMENDED*

3D Marks 2003 - 30050
3D Marks 2005 - 12966 (CPU score is 7986 btw - w00tx2!)
Aqumark 3 - 104,006 - Yes thats accurate! :o
-----------------------------------------------

Just thought I would add:

The technical support at OPC is absolutely fantastic! I had some questions about my system and both Ryan and Mario (the company's president ;) ) helped me with everything. These guys know their systems and their stuff INSIDE and OUT.

Believe me, if I had a third hand, I would give OPC 3 thumbs up! Excellent!"

"I wanted to write this review, because of the fantastic experience I've had with Overdrive PC. I've purchased a few gaming rigs in the past... a Dell then an Alienware and appreciate the extra attention that does into making a gaming machine stand out from a stock PC. While I had good experiences with my other computers, I'm absolutely thrilled with my experience with Overdrive PC. The machine is the best built gaming machine I've seen come out of a box. The wiring is impecable. The bios, drivers and OS have all been tweaked and optimized. The system comes installed with all the benchmarking and utility software you'll ever need. Matter of fact I ran the benchmark software first thing when I got the machine and was AMAZED at how well the system performed.

In my opinion I think they have exceeded my expectation in numerous ways. The machine performs faster than I thought it would, the wiring is cleaner than I've ever seen a PC and all the hardware performs just as it should. The area where Overdrive stands out though is in the customer service. I'll admit I've been a bit of a skeptic and asked 101 questions before I purchased the system. Not only did they take the time to really walk me through my concerns, but they made recommendations on software to fit my needs, talked to me about hardware I was considering adding. I've probably spent a total of an hour plus on the phone talking with OPC and not once did I feel rushed to get off the phone.

Thank you Overdrive PC for making this purchase such a pleasure. And a big shout out to Ryan for all your help on the phone!

Cheers!!!!"

"12-July-2007 Update:
Well, Velocity Micro has bought Overdrive and the service on Overdrive PCs has gone down the tubes!!! I called with a problem that Aaron traced to faulty memory. Aaron promised to call me back the next day and I didn't hear from him for over a week. I finally called to follow up and asked that he call me back. Two days went by and I don't have a reply yet.

It's been over a month and Velocity and Overdrive have not integrated their customer service. The Velocity folks answer the phone and apparently they don't know jack about the Overdrive PCs so they won't even begin to assist with supporting them. They claim not to have access to the repair and support histories on the Overdrive PCs.

Overdrive was, when I bought mine, at the top of the boutique PC game. Now that Velocity owns them, they are a complete mess. I have serious reservations about whether I will buy a PC from them again now that they are part of the Velocity organization.

"

"I started buying PCs in the 1980’s and have owned approximately 19 different units from five major sellers and many white boxes. The criteria I use for evaluation is cost, engineering/components utilized and ease of upgrading. I wanted a really high end machine this time around to handle my heavy work requirements during the day and handle Quake 4 and F.E.A.R. for fun :-]

When I took into consideration the cost per megahertz (of the processor), OverDrivePC is with out a doubt the low price leader. It is not even a close comparison due to their unique ability to overclock their PCs at no additional cost. OverDrivePC’s Engineering is absolutely first rate and they only use the best available components. I really like that they list the components they use on their website during your customization process.

I am going to let you read all the other reviews instead of commenting in detail about the insides of an OverDrivePC. Let’s just say it is a work of art.
"

"This was my first experience buying a gaming machine from a smaller boutique builder. OPC system is clean/quiet/fast/ & cool. My system was behind schedule so OPC gave me.
1.100.00 discount off
2.saved me 55 bucks on going with an AMD 3000+ that ran 150mhz faster than my initial AMD 3200+. Giving me a total of 2.55mhz
3.Box was shipped overnight at their expense.

I had to take the box and all the foam protection apart to get the PC in my car. This is the only time OPC made me feel like an idiot...At the FedEx parking lot.. Very well packed.

Had some minor issues when gaming but received a call from OPC and it was taken care of with a tweak in the bios. I would buy from them again and recommend no other.
You do not have to cross your fingers and hope for the best when you buy an OPC. "

"Overdrive PC by any measure is an outstanding company run by dedicated people who produce incredible machines. In my opinion, however, the benchmark measure for any computer company is the quality of their technical support. And on this measure, OPC rises clearly above its competitors, as my experience demonstrates.

But first, let me fast forward. I've had my fully functional OPC for almost three weeks and it is stunning. I believe a game box should be transparent, i.e. facilitating the gaming experience and not interfering with it (sorry if this sounds too “zen”). What I wanted – and got – from OPC was just such a machine. I now play games as the designers intended – all effects and features to the max. – and not as the hardware dictates. Moreover, I do not have to spend time adjusting, tweaking this or that or jumping through any other technical hoops to obtain the results I want. Stated simply, this is a true gamer's machine.

Now, if it isn't already apparent, I am not a computer techie, expert, modder, etc. I know the basics, but not much more. So, back in early August, when my newly purchased OPC started experiencing problems – long load times, weird graphical issues, not reading from the CD, and others, I found myself quickly outside my depth. Initially, I was a little dismayed. I had spent a considerable sum for a custom gaming computer that, after two weeks, ran HL2 like a pig, took forever to load XP and wouldn't even read most game CDs, let alone play them. However, after the first few email exchanges and phone calls with OPC, all my concerns were dispelled.

Before I go any further, let me pause to say that Mario of OPC is what tech support should be. Mario knows what he is doing, does it well and does not give up until the problem is solved. And, “solving the problem” is NOT the typical 5 minutes of working through a few basic questions/check-list followed by the “we need to reinstall windows” approach, but the true drill down methodical approach. Part of what you get when you buy an OPC is Mario and his team, and that alone is worth the premium.

So, as I stated above, my new OPC was having problems – essentially – out of the box, and I feared that getting it fixed would be the typical hours on hold, to only speak with someone halfway around the world, who neither cared nor was able to help. But I was wrong.

Mario spent the next three weeks troubleshooting the problems. It took this long only because I work two jobs and do not have much time during normal business days. Nevertheless, Mario worked with my schedule to make things right, even taking time on weekends and off-hours.

Lest I make this post too long, the end result was sending the machine back to OPC where they did a 24 hour test/burn-in and found a faulty memory stick. Once OPC determined what was wrong, Ryan Gordon of OPC called me – yes, called me – to let me know what the problem was, took the time to explain why it happened and how it likely got past the testing when it was first shipped out back in late July.

Now, all is right with my computer gaming world.

OPC is an outstanding company. Not only are their computers incredible machines, but they actually stand behind them and do what it requires to make things right.

If you are in the market for an bleeding-edge gaming machine supported by an incredible company, your search is over. Buy an OPC.

(I've placed a similar post on OPC's forums)"

"I did alot of research into the various boutique vendors prior to my choosing OPC for my new gaming rig and I was not disappointed with my choice upon receiving my computer. Every aspect of my purchasing experience has been exceptional from the start. Mario assisted me in choosing the right configuration based on my needs. Mario did not recommend more costly components but he instead recommended components that would best suit my needs resulting in my overall savings of approximately one thousand dollars (processor/optical drives/cooling solution).

The quality/pride in workmanship of the OPC crew is evident in all aspects of my order. The actual packaging of the rig was superb and the cable management inside of the case was remarkable. The stainless screws and washers used to mount the components/hold the case together are further evidence of OPC's pride in the quality of their product. This rig runs very quiet considering it is air cooled with a total of 5 fans not including the CPU fan and the PSU fans.

I highly recommend OPC to any person looking to purchase a high end gaming rig; of course, you should do your own research but I would venture you will select OPC after you look at the information available on the other boutique vendors vs OPC.

09282005: I have had the opportunity to engage in alot of gaming since my initial review posted and I thought it prudent to add this additional information. I have played BIA-Road to Hill 30 on max settings with no stability issues and this rigs performance is absolutely incredible. "