"Well built computer for a great price. Second computer I have bought from AVA. Got almost 4.5 years from first one. This computer was packed super nice and started right up out of the box. Would order another one again. Can barely buy the parts and assemble for what they charge for doing all the work."
"My last desktop PC was a Cyberpower custom computer. And while it was a great system that lasted way longer than I ever expected it to, this time around my budget was much lower, so I decided to shop around. AVADirect emerged as the best value, as well as one of the highest rated custom builders I could find.
For several weeks I played around with different configurations on their website, did research, compared prices, etc. I finally decided on their FM2 Value Custom Computer system. I configured it with an AMD Quad Core 3.8-4.2 GHz processor with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler, Arctic Silver 5 compound, 16GB of Crucial Ballistix Sport memory, an Intel 120GB SSD hard drive, Thermaltake V4 case, Thermaltake 600W power supply & Windows 8 64bit OS.
I priced each part and realized it would have cost me over $100 more to build this machine myself, and wouldn't have had the extensive quality assurance tests that AVADirect does on every build. Not to mention their 3 Year Warranty! So it was a no-brainer to go with AVA, and I'm glad I did.
The system arrived within the stated timeframe (about two weeks), and was packed very well for shipping. All the component manuals, CDs, etc. were all neatly packed in the motherboard box and the computer was ready to go. After booting it up and checking to make sure it all worked, I installed my other hard drives, DVD-RW drive, an extra case fan, and extra USB 3.0 ports for the front of the case.
I've had it for a month or so, so far it's the best computer I've ever owned. Very fast, almost completely quiet, and dependable. It's been able to handle everything I've thrown at it... graphic design, audio/video editing. At some point I may add a graphics card for gaming, but for now the built-in AMD graphics has everything I need for business and personal use.
Only time will tell how many years of service I get from this PC, but for now I would recommend AVADirect to anyone looking for a well-made custom computer and a great alternative to the big manufacturers that don't always deliver the quality and service they promise."
"This is a "custom" computer site. Large veriety of components to choose from to assemble your unique computer and they then test it to make sure everything operates well. I had a few problems with software/hardware I installed when I received my system at home but AVADirect solved my by problems quickly with courtesy and expertise."
"This was my first order with AVADirect and I am very satisfied. I was happy to talk to company reps who are Americans and very knowledgable about their products. Communication was great as well. I am thrilled the computers I purchased and will be buying more. Thanks for everything. "
"Well defined computer buying process from beginning to end. Web site well organized and gives all important order info to include contact info to discuss issues even before ordering. I was able to confirm some hardware issues and ask questions to help with some of my selections. After the order, I received regular communications regarding some compatibility issues which led to 100% resolution based on their recommendations. Computer arrived in expected time in perfect shape--the contents were extremely well packed. The only "issue" I had was that the power cord from the power supply was 220v with foreign plug. I just used one of my old 110v cords--unit was 110/220 auto sensing so there were no compatibility issues. All parts, software, and documents from the build were sent with the computer. The computer is up and running without any known hardware or software problems. Overall outstanding process--the only acceptable process when spending thousands."
"AVADirect delivered a quality product and experience! I am a composer and sound designer for film, and video games, and needed a workhorse PC for music production, as well as some video editing and gaming. I was looking for a computer that could be configured with 64GB of RAM, could support multiple graphics cards for future gaming upgrades, and could be built in a case that had eSata and USB 3. After searching around the web I decided that AVADirect had both the most customizable configuration, and by far the best price when comparing nearly the same configuration from competitors, this was my final configuration:
+ DESKTOP PC, Core™ i7 X79 8-DIMM 3-way SLI® / CrossFireX™ Performance Custom Computer System 1 $3036.06 $3036.06
BITFENIX, Colossus White Full Tower Case, EATX, 8 Slots, No PSU, Steel/Plastic
SEASONIC, Platinum-860 860W Power Supply w/ Modular Cables, 80 PLUS® Platinum, 24-pin ATX12V 2x EPS12V, 4x 8/6-pin PCIe, Retail
ASUS, P9X79 Deluxe, LGA2011, Intel® X79, DDR3-2400 (O.C.) 64GB /8, PCIe x16 SLI CF /2+2*, SATA 6Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 3Gb/s /4, USB 3.0 /8, HDA, BT+WiFi, GbLAN /2, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core i7-3930K Six-Core, 3.2 - 3.8GHz TB, LGA2011, 12MB L3 Cache, HT EM64T EIST VT XD, 32nm, 130W, Retail w/o Fan
COOLER MASTER, Hyper 612 PWM CPU Cooler, Socket 2011/1155/1156/1366/775/FM1/AM3/AM2, Copper/Aluminum
FRACTAL DESIGN FD-FAN-140 140mm Quiet Case Fan, 3-Pin Power
G SKILL, 64GB (8 x 8GB) Ares PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL10 (10-10-10) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
ZOTAC, ZT-60901-10M, GeForce® GTX 660 993MHz, 2GB GDDR5 6008MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DP + HDMI + 2 x DVI, Retail
MUSHKIN, 480GB Chronos™ SSD, MLC SandForce SF-2281, 540/430 MB/s, 2.5-Inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, Retail
TOSHIBA, 3TB HDKPC08, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache, OEM
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
LITE-ON, iHAS524-98 Black 24x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LabelTag, SATA, Retail
CREATIVE, X-Fi Xtreme Audio, 7.1 channels, 24-bit 96KHz, PCIe x1, Retail
MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
WARRANTY, Gold Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts & Lifetime Labor Warranty, Express/Priority Service)
AVADirect has a pretty decent messaging system built into the user area once logged in. Before purchasing my build, I contacted them with some questions, and was answered by the knowledgeable Joseph Mundy, who politely went back and forth with me. After placing my order he continued to discuss my build and answer questions through the web-site's messaging system. Through the process I did quite a bit of on-line research learning about PC building and after much discussion and advice I settled on the configuration listed above. Joe was extraordinarily helpful and if you buy a computer from AVADirect you would surely be lucky to have him taking care of your order. For the most part the process was very easy and pleasant. My computer arrived on my Birthday which was quite a gratifying coincidence :-) The computer was packaged wonderfully, with internal protection keeping the motherboard and everything in place and secure, while the main box itself was covered with foam and placed inside yet another box. Needless to say my computer arrived without a scratch, and booted up perfectly with all 64GB or RAM being recognized. I have over 50GB of sample libraries running through Vienna Ensemble Pro over to my MAC; very intensive work which the computer is handling great, with excellent internal temperatures. Video editing and gaming is equally smooth, and I couldn't be happier! I'm thoroughly satisfied, and highly recommend these guys if you're looking for a well priced custom PC."
"Will Never do business with AVA Direct again!
Shipped wrong part, no communication, no reasonable resolution, dishonest.
Mistakes are made, it happens, but rather than fix it they decided to be dishonest and try to cover it up further.
I bought an LSI MegaRAID SAS 9271-8iCC. I spoke with a rep and confirmed this was the CC controller that came with CacheCade and was New. You never know these days and I have found it better to ask up front. I had found the controller at other sites for close but AVADirect had the best price and looked reputable so it seemed safe.
When the unit arrived it was the plain 9271-8i without the CacheCade. The package had been opened before and the antistatic bag had a new label placed over the previously broken one. I called and spoke with a tech who said someone would get back with me tomorrow. End of next day had not heard back so called again. I got a nice rep who said they would look into it and I would hear back tomorrow. Well next day no one contacted me so I called back again.
The CSR who answered knew about my case as soon as I explained why I was calling and put me back on with the same rep as the day before. She told me the controller had been listed incorrectly and that they did not have the correct unit in stock. The only option they had was for me to send it back and they would refund my money.
I thought that strange since they have the CC model listed. Well they had corrected their website so when I searched it came up(new price) and showed it in stock.
The manager agreed to expedite my refund but when I asked him about the controller being in stock he avoided answering. When I asked again he admitted that they did but that they would not honor what they had sold it to me for…. Wow!
He never offered to work out any type of solution - give me a discount on the CacheCade module or any type of mutually beneficial solution. He did ask me if I expected to get a controller for what they listed it. His tone implied I was trying to rip him off!
If they had called me back or emailed me at any time and said they made a mistake and they couldn’t sell me the controller at that price I could have respected that and we could have either agreed on another price or left it as a return.
But they didn’t, they made a mistake, then they lied so they would not have to make good, and when caught they treated me like I was doing something wrong.
I don’t care who you are, you treat people this way and it always turns out bad.
Everyone makes mistakes, but how they handled it is why I will never buy anything from AVA Direct again. Too many other companies working honestly for my business.
"
“AVADirect is best known for the assembly and craftsmanship of custom-built desktops, notebooks, workstations, servers, and various complete systems. While we do not specialize in parts resale, we are happy to assist our customers with component purchases. AVADirect does not keep parts on hand, so all parts orders are drop-shipped from the manufacturer or various reputable suppliers. All items listed on AVADirect.com are priced and advertised a new items. In situations where our customers claim differently, we must communicate with respective manufacturers or distributors to investigate the cause of items received with incorrect packaging, to provide either a full refund or direct replacement for our customers. As these investigations take time, AVADirect was not able to provide immediate answers (as demanded by tdhunter) and required additional time to fully investigate the situation. The customer’s concern per packing was confirmed, and immediate action was taken to resolve the issue through the manufacturer/supplier.
Once AVADirect confirmed the item was incorrectly listed on AVADirect.com, additional immediate action was taken to correct the listing of the product, and tdhunter was offered a pre-paid label, full refund (including shipping costs), and a complimentary 10% off any future order per the inconvenience caused. A pre-paid label was issued same-day, and a refund was processed pending the receipt of the item in question. Additionally, tdhunter requested that AVADirect not only provide the full refund (immediately, prior to AVADirect receiving the return), and pre-paid label, but to also provide a superior product (which includes a +$300.00 price difference) at the same cost in which the original item purchased was obtained. AVADirect was unable to meet the request, considering a full refund, pre-paid label, and complimentary 10% off any future order was presented to the customer. Unfortunately, these solutions, combined, were not enough to satisfy tdhunter’s concerns.
While AVADirect fully understands that mistakes will happen, AVADirect does its very best to resolve all concerns in an appropriate fashion. AVADirect provided solutions to this customer that, not only removed all costs incurred by the customer, but also provided additional compensation for the inconvenience caused. What tdhunter failed to mention in his post, is while speaking with our manager, they did mention the price was $300.00 less than other retailers and seemed unrealistic, but did not question the listing and moved forward with the purchase. AVADirect understands that it is not up to customers to know correct pricing and model numbers. AVADirect is ready and willing to correct all concerns created and brought to attention, so long as it involves reasonable, realistic requests that remove all cost and correct issues created within the process.”
"I was in the process of buying a new laptop and came across AVADirect on a forum. I have built my own desktop before, but the idea of a custom laptop was very cool to me. I checked to see if these guys were legit and found countless articles and reviews saying these guys are top notch. Not only is their customer service wonderful, but I found a very affordable and high performing laptop that fitted my needs. I received my laptop within a week and to say the least I am extremely satisfied. If you have any questions they will be more than happy to answer them and they reply very quickly. Overall I had no problems whatsoever with AVA and would definitely recommend them to anyone. Thank you AVADirect!"
"those gents are PROs thru and thru.Quality excellent,service is good.Ultraslim i was ordering for my daughter arrived in good order and packed ready for shipment somewhere to the moon.Just small detail--even tho i tried to speed up somewhat delivery,those guys told me--oh,those tests running as fast as we can,lol.Over all,very good impression"
"We like being able to choose the exact components that go into the systems. The build quality is excellent, I have never seen such a clean machine on the inside. Prices are resonable especielly whe you consider that you are getting what you want. Processing time could be a little quicker. They are build to order so that will always add a little time. "
" So far I am very satisfied with this system. It arrived well packaged and the install of all the components looked professional. Nice and neat. Turned it on and everything works great!
The main reason I bought my computer from AVA was because some of the other online custom computer companys offered professional wiring and packaging as an option. That made me think that maybe some of the people building these systems are not exsperienced.
"
"Excellent products; even better customer service."
"Amazing experience with this company. After deciding I did not want to build my next system completely on my own, I did a little research and came across AVA Direct (among others). After reading various reviews and looking at other sites, I chose to go with AVA. First, the number of options available for each independent component is unmatchable. I spent a week discussing various options on the AVA forum with AVA personnel and eventually decided upon a beastly gaming machine configuration. During the build process I sent a number of messages concerning the process and always received a response within a couple hours of my inquiry. Much thanks to Joe for constantly keeping me informed. Have had my new system for 3 days and am already becoming a complete hermit again. I would recommend this site for anyone who cares about the small details that go into constructing the optimal computing system. Shipment was double-boxed and heavily insulated with foam and packing materials; arrived in pristine condition. New customer for life."
"After looking at all the options, I finally bought a custom computer from AVADirect. After some odd delays with FedEx regarding weather at that time, the package arrived in great shape. When I first looked at the box, I was worried that I somehow chose a huge tower configuration instead of the mid-tower that I wanted. The outside box was twice the size of the computer case inside. That is a compliment, not a complaint. That was expertly packaged in my opinion.
After opening up the case and removing the foam packaging and making sure everything was nice and tight in there, I connected all of the peripherals and turned it on. Having not ever had an SSD I was just amazed. It took maybe 20 seconds to get to the Windows log on screen. From there Windows loaded with no problems and I was on my way. Installing Office 2010 was a breeze and on that drive it pops up instantly. Actually everything just pops up instantly. I am sold on SSDs.
I am also sold on using AVADirect. There is so much info on their site and their forum provides so much help. And the customization options are incredible. I could never see me buying a pre-built computer from a box store again. Thanks to Joe and Vikonic for all of their help to make it a pleasurable experience."
"This was my first computer purchased through AVA. I'm very happy with the system they built for me. The ordering process was easy. The communication and follow up with customer service was excellent. The system arrived in excellent condition, perfectly packaged - all components were secure and safe. The machine runs beautifully and is very quiet. Excellent work by AVA - 5 STARS. "
"I was very happy with the large number of components available for customization. However, in some cases I also felt lost because of that: when selecting a "quiet gaming system" base build, is there a point in ordering extra "noise reducing rubber screws", or is that already included?
When I ended up selecting some system components that didn't fit into the chassis together, the sales rep contacted me right away and suggested reasonable alternatives.
I changed my mind about an extension card a few days after I placed the order. Ava still allowed me to change the configuration, however, they forgot to update the price. When I pointed that out, they corrected the price and gave me a free game as an apology. I'm quite happy about that.
I wasn't so happy about shipping speed. Instead of the 10-14 days I expected, it took about a month. I understand that a custom build can take longer, but I would have expected a notification about that. As it went, I asked about my order after the 14 days had passed and only then learned it would take another 17 days until shipment.
When the system finally arrived, it was in perfect condition and has been working great so far. I ordered a Low Noise Gaming System, and it is indeed almost inaudible. Also, as I hoped, I was finally able to ramp up all the graphics settings on all the games I own to max quality :-)."
A rep from AVADirect Custom Computer, MerchServe, has responded:
“Thank you for the recommendation, Avitar3712. We appreciate your business!”