"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."
"This is my third personal machine from AVADirect and I've purchased ~five systems for laboratory use. The staff is knowledgeable and are willing to work with you on custom details (I wanted to use my own fans, SSDs, etc). The builds have been very clean with good cable management. I recommend AVADirect and will buy from them again. "
"Excellent customer service! Contacting them is simple and easy, you might have to wait a few days before getting a response, but nothing that's unreasonable and the associates are always friendly and precise. I definitely recommend getting the extended warranty. My harddrive went bad (through no fault of AVADirect) before my 3 year warranty expired, I dropped them a note about it, and they replaced it no questions asked. "
"I have ordered clevo based laptops for my last three laptops. avadirect by far had the most options of parts for me to choose from and the lowest prices that I could find for my configuration. The ordering process has been the smoothest out of the three occasions. The only thing I wish they would bold accounting fee form on the e-mail, as most people probably do not read their invoices to the bottom of the page. Other than that, I am very pleased with the ordering process. For the laptop itself, it felt like a solidly built laptop. On the tech support aspect of the house, I felt avadirect was a bit unfamiliar with the nvidia optimus technology, as I had to figure how to turn it off because the tech support did not know how. "
"This was my first experience ordering from a Custom PC Reseller (in the past, I've only ever built my own system or ordered from a major retailer like Dell), and the experience has been absolutely fantastic. I have no doubt that I will be ordering from them again in the future, both on a personal, and a business level.
There are a few things worth discussing for those who have never used a Custom PC Reseller before, and may ensure you have a better experience.
First, know that the options are far more extensive when creating a PC Build. Oftentimes it may seem overwhelming, but it allows the advanced user to have a high level of specificity in getting exactly what they want. For those users who are not as comfortable, go with the pieces you know, and use the defaults for the rest. AVA Direct takes special care to review your order for recommendations in terms of optimizing price and performance, and ensuring components are fully compatible. In my case, the reviewer (Joe Mundy) actually recommended I *SAVE* money by downgrading components that didn't provide an exceptional improvement for their cost, which astonished me (actually looking out for my best interest? never had that at a major retailer before). He also recommended I make some minor changes to ensure the best possible compatibility for all system components.
Second, know that being extremely thorough and building and testing a new PC by hand takes more time. In my case, I'm used to a major retailer shipping a PC to me within a few days. AVA Direct took over three weeks (although they acknowledged and updated me on some delays due to higher than expected temperatures while stress testing, so they did some additional work for quality assurance). While this is a long time for an impatient new PC owner to get their hands on their PC, it's worth the wait, you know your PC has been built very carefully to exacting specifications, and tested to ensure the highest level of quality.
Overall, I encourage anyone who wants a fantastic PC experience to consider buying from AVA Direct. They took excellent care of me, and the PC is the best I've owned in nearly 20 years of computing. On my end, I know I'll be a loyal customer for some time to come."
"I just ordered a PC very similar to the Quiet Gaming PC reviewed by Slashgear. The build time was very reasonable, and the quality of the machine is top-notch. I was greatly impressed with the response time and knowledge of the staff. When I unboxed the machine, I had some blue-screening but the tech support was able to diagnose a loose memory card with just a couple quick emails. My only regret is that I didn't invest in the HDD silencer. $100 bucks seemed a bit pricey for a single piece of sound-proofing, but the fans are darn near silent. It's really bizarre just how quiet this machine is, and I'd definitely encourage people to shell out the extra cash for ALL the soundproofing upgrades. Also, they use those bio-degradeable peanuts that dissolve in water!"
"Excellent service and very good quality computer builds, the shipping was top notch as well, it arrived with no damage at all and only one loose cable which was a very easy fix. I placed my order on 9/2/12 and received it 10/6/12 the reason it took long was because the original power supply I choose failed tests so they upgraded it to a better one which caused a short delay as they buy there products new and had to wait for shipping. overall Very satisfied with everything they have done so far, Thanks AVADirect :)"
"AVA built the notebook computer that I wanted. It contained all the power needed for running today's video intensive games. I am very pleased with the end result. Admittedly, were I to do it again I would have opted for a little bit larger SSD for the boot drive. AVA was a pleasure to work with and I would not hesitate to use them again for my next computer. While the product was wonderful, it took just under a month to receive my new notebook after ordering. I suspect the delay was due to a shortage of parts. Even so, the quality of the product made the wait well worth it. "
"I found AVADirect while searching for a custom computer company to upgrade both my main system and my partners. We have built our own systems in the past but really didn't want all the hassle that typically comes along with that. I ran across a recommendation for AVA on Tom's Hardware, and I am very pleased that I did.
Customer Service: Easy to get in touch with someone to get questions answered, knowledgeable and polite.
Cost: Amazing. They are literally the only custom computer site I have found that doesn't price gouge the consumer. I got both my systems at just slightly more than what it would have cost to build them myself. Definitely worth the few bucks more to avoid the hassle.
Processing Time: A little more than I would have liked. Took roughly 3 weeks from purchase to delivery. I should note that I bought 2 barebones systems which they state clearly will take longer to ship out. Full systems should ship out in 2 weeks or less. Overall this is a minor complaint due to the quality of product and service.
Product: Shipped and packaged safely and securely. The wiring job in my case is quite possibly the best I've ever seen. It should be no problem keeping the systems cool. They also sent everything with my system including the motherboard box, extra cables, and driver disc. I imagine if I had bought anything other than a motherboard and case, the boxes and documentation would have included as well.
Final Impressions: Quality product, quality company, quality work. As much as I love building my own systems, I hate the hassle. I will likely not purchase a system in any way other than from AVADirect in the future. Very highly recommended."
"Great product and dedicated, cordial, and helpful customer service. Definitely recommended."
"Third computer purchase in three years for myself and family. IMHO, no better way to custom build a system. All retail components at competitive pricing, no one of a kind proprietary components like mass produced systems. Add that to prompt and helpful tech support and there's no reason to build your own system."
"I am quite disappointed with my $4,352.04 top-end laptop from AVADirect.
The first annoyance was how long it took them to build it. I placed the order on 6/15/10, and they shipped it on 7/14/10. It over a month from order to arrival.
My first impression was terrible. The keyboard had a terrible feel and layout, and the space bar was intermittent. The touch pad was flaky as well. Oh well, there was no way I was going to send it back and wait another month for them to fix it! Besides, I planned to use an external keyboard and mouse most of the time anyway.
I noticed that it usually failed to resume after suspending or hibernating. Again, I wasn't planning to do much travelling with it, so I could put up with having to do a full shutdown each time. But don't they test these at all?
Within the first year, a hard drive on my RAID array failed. They (slowly) replaced it. A year after that, the other hard drive failed, and they (slowly) replaced that one, too. Maybe I got two from the same bad batch? Thank goodness they didn't both fail at the same time!
Now, 2 1/4 years after I received it, the fingerprint sensor and all my USB ports have stopped working. I can no longer use my external keyboard and mouse, and the space bar is still intermittent!
I can't live without my computer for a month for them to repair all these problems, so I've decided to buy a replacement and use this laptop as a backup (once it gets back from being repaired).
Of course, I learned from my mistake. This time I bought from a reputable company that offers a 5-year warranty with next business day, ONSITE repair service. That should make ALL the difference. If I'd had that kind of service plan for this computer, I wouldn't be spending another $4,300 to replace it so soon!"
"Excellent quality system at a very competitive price. I'm quite impressed with AVA Direct."
"I bought a custom gaming PC from AVADirect and was extremely pleased with the result. Their configuration menu allows a great deal of flexibility and I was able to get excellent feedback from their staff very quickly on ways to improve my choices. The computer they shipped runs quickly and quietly and was very well engineered."
"Professional service, very good build."
"I ordered a high end gaming laptop from AVA Direct, and I am extremely satisfied. The machine is fast as hell and looks beautiful. Originally I looked into purchasing the individual components and putting a laptop and putting them together myself, but AVA Direct sold the final product for less than I could find it unassembled. Simply outstanding!"
A rep from AVADirect Custom Computer, MerchServe, has responded:
“AVADirect Custom Computers is widely known for their focus of building custom computers. Since we offer over 1000 different component options, AVADirect does not always keep the entire list of components selected by end-users. Our time frame (7-14 business days) is based on order verification, parts allocations (when specific parts are not available in our local warehouse), assembly, burn-in/testing, quality control, and up until the order ships. In jzcjca00’s case, parts were ordered within two days of order submission (6/17/2010) and received within 8 business days (6/24/2010). The custom notebook was assembled the following day (6/25/2010), loaded with software, and testing the same day. AVADirect’s usual standard of testing requires at least 24-72 hours of successfully burn-in, before an order is approved for shipping. The custom notebook jzcjca00 purchased began to exhibit signs of RAM failure throughout the course of six days of constant tests and burn-in. It was determined on 7/1/2010 that the RAM was functioning, but not running as expected per AVADirect’s standards. In this scenario, AVADirect began to test multiple RAM kits, of different brands, to determine the best fit for jzcjca00’s needs to ensure maximum stability and performance of the custom notebook purchased from AVADirect. By 7/6/2012, a Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM SODIMM RAM kit was found to be the best suitable option. AVADirect continued to test from 7/6/2010-7/14/2010 to ensure zero issues existed with the custom notebook, prior to shipping. Although many may see this as excessive, AVADirect must carefully test in consideration to each configuration, due to the custom nature of our company. Since shipping the notebook to jzcjca00, there have been no reported issues pertaining to notebook’s RAM or stability.
AVADirect was not notified of the issues, involving the keyboard of jzcjca00’s custom notebook. It is the complete assumption of jzcjca00 when stating “there was no way I was going to send it back and wait another month for them to fix it!”. Had AVADirect been contacted for any issues, resolution would have been expedited considering the date of receipt.
AVADirect’s testing procedure has many phases. Each phase is designed solely to stress-test every component in every configuration we assemble. Between each phase, configurations are shut down and rebooted to ensure successful POST and operating system bootup. Since suspend and hibernate functions are not required for a system to function properly (strictly features offered in Microsoft operating systems) AVADirect does not test these function by default, but will at request. No requests were made by jzcjca00 to include the testing of suspend and hibernate features. While AVADirect is not responsible for issues surrounding Microsoft operating systems and it’s features, we do provide support. jzcjca00 was welcome to contact us for support on the problems surrounding the suspend and hibernate features, but chose not to.
Regarding the hard drives issues, in which affected the RAID setup in jzcjca00’s machine…
jzcjca00 contacted AVADirect on 7/27/20122 at 3:48pm (EST) where we documented the failing hard drive. An RMA number was provided, and the hard drive was received by 8/2/2011 at 12:27pm. The hard drive was placed in diagnostics, the same day, and tests were concluded the following day, 8/3/2011 at 11:48am. At this point, AVADirect applied for an advanced replacement through Western Digital. The replacement was received on 8/17/2011 5:23pm, tested to ensure it was functioning, and then shipped the same day. While AVADirect can agree this scenario was quite long, we did offer the ability for jzcjca00 to go through the replacement process with the manufacturer. AVADirect does not require this process, but we allow all end-users to proceed through the manufacturer to reduce wait times on replacement parts if time is an issue.
The second scenario, jzcjca00 contacted AVADirect on 8/21/2012 for a hard drive replacement. The replacement drive was not received until 9/24/2012 at 11:18am. Our RMA department applied for an advanced replacement, same day, at 3:51pm and the replacement was received on 10/2/2012 at 2:55pm, tested, and shipped 10/3/2012 at 6:18pm. Compared to the first replacement procedure, this was much quicker. We hope by providing our Reseller Rating readers, as well as jzcjca00, with dates and times it can be seen, at times, manufacturers can either quickly replace parts or cause a delay in AVADirect’s replacement process. While AVADirect does not have control over the length of time it takes manufacturers to replace components, we perform at our very best to expedite any replacement process that is within our control.
AVADirect understands the point of view expressed by jzcjca00. jzcjca00 decided to use the notebook purchased from AVADirect for their business so the amount of wait time is very crucial. As stated previously, AVADirect does the best to reduce wait times during RMA periods, but since we are not a manufacturer we have limitations. As a system builder, we provide the service of assembly, and testing to create a completed system as the end result. We provide what IT-qualified individuals do for themselves: the ability to assemble with name-brand, high quality components, but for the public as a service. Although jzcjca00 felt the wait time for repairing their notebook is unacceptable, we perform at our best to expedite the repair process by requesting expedient service through manufacturers, and asking jzcjca00 to ship it directly to them; this cuts AVADirect out of the shipping loop and provide an ultimately quicker turn-around time.
We would like to point out that jzcjca00 made the decision to not send their custom notebook to AVADirect for repair without consulting our RMA department to discuss the replacement process prior. AVADirect does not expect our customers to invest in alternative solutions, as a method of redundancy, or invest any more than necessary at times of RMA repair or downtime. While we understand that end-users rely on their custom-built products from AVADirect, AVADirect (as every manufacturer and system builder) has a limitation of liability, as outlined on our webpage. Even then, we pride ourselves on the ability to handle each situation with attentiveness, care, and want; all while providing the best solutions for our customer’s needs. The purpose of AVADirect’s response is not to say who is right, and who is wrong, but to share both sides of the experience jzcjca00 has had with AVADirect. AVADirect would also like to point out that jzcjca00’s review gives the impression that AVADirect manufactures the components used to assemble our completed products, as well that AVADirect dictates how manufacturer warranties work; this is not the case.
Prior and post review, AVADirect has reached out to jzcjca00 on several occasions to assist further with the replacement process. jzcjca00 has been unresponsive to our inquiries.”