"My experience with AVADirect was nothing less than spectacular. I received exactly what i order and it works perfectly. I would strongly recommend this company to anyone looking to buy a computer. 5 out of 5 stars."

"So far my AVADirect custom computer has met all of my needs as a small business owner who demands a strong performance from a system (AutoCad user). I have had numerous laptops and desktops from major manufacturers and have been disappointed after a year. My AVADirect computer has been problem free and runs very cool in a high humid enviroment. I am very pleased with my system."

"I recently purchased a custom i7-2600k computer from AVA Direct for use in my composing studio.

Joe Mundy from sales & support assisted me in choosing the right configuration for my needs - suggesting components that would work well together and give me a powerful machine capable of running demanding DAW and VI applications. As I was on a tight budget, we were able to define a build that would give the highest quality core components, with easy upgradeability for the future (I'll be adding drives, memory and a video card in the coming months).Noise levels and cooling performance under load were key factors, and Joe's suggestions for case, PSU, CPU & cooler have been right on the money in these areas.

Overall I am very pleased with the machine and my experience with AVA. The machine is running beautifully and has quickly become an invaluable asset to my studio. Build quality is excellent, with very tidy wiring and nice attention to detail. The computer came double boxed and expertly packed - including the enormous Noctua cooler being braced with foam blocks to ensure a safe ride!

Thanks AVA!

Michael Damon
Composer/Sound Designer
Virtual Productions"

"I am very pleased with my transaction with AVA Direct. I got exactly the components I wanted at a great price.
The only issue was with shipping to Canada. Had to pay large import fees to get the PC across the border."

"This is the 2nd computer I have bought from AVADirect int he last 4 years. I initially purchased from them because of the ability to do more customization of the computer. In my case, I needed to be able to use 5-6 internal hard drives. So this company was a natural fit. The initial computer lasted 4 years (actually, it is still running fine), but I thought it was time purchase another computer.

I'll keep the rest of this review brief.

The order process was very quick. I did it online and then called my order in... The computer arrived about 3 weeks later just like I had configured and worked right out of the box like it was supposed to work.

I am very happy with my decision to order from AVADirect.

One comment...and this is not a complaint. If you've never ordered from them, then remember that lead times are longer than what you'd expect because after all...you are ordering a CUSTOM machine. My computer was well worth the weight!!"

"(Open to revision as this is ongoing) In short, I think this company has some solid support and great customization, but may have very bad time estimates, and could have quality control issues.

I really wanted to like this company. I researched them and they seemed to be great, with awesome selection and staff that seemed to know what they were doing. Maybe it has to do with me being in CA, that the estimates for building times was all wrong and the laptop stopped working after 2 weeks usage.

Background on me I work for a software company, and have have had exposure to computer components for over 10 years. At my work department alone, we had 4 to 5 individuals looking for new laptops. Based on reviews, I wanted to get something a little out of the box and order from AVADirect. I was given the go ahead so was going to order mine first to see how this company would perform.

LONG History:
Payment was accepted March 28.
I waited the recommended 10 business days and even a few more to get an update.
Called April 14 and talked to an employee who said part would be in that day, and to call back the next day in order to get a status update.
Called April 15 and talked to a rep, who was very attentive and provided great information updates. He said part wasn't in because they had to fulfill the orders before mine, and I should check again on monday, when a second shipment would be coming in.
Sent an email April 18, and was very promptly responded to by support staff, who told me that my laptop was on back order because of orders placed before mine. They did take action and let me know they were doing all they could to get my order out as soon as possible.
As is I can understand the delay but it would be nice to know what was holding up the order.
Laptop arrived April 27, almost a full month past when the payment was accepted.
The build seemed solid, but they did not initialize my secondary drive. It's not a big deal since I found out how to do that myself, but something simple that fell through the cracks.
May 11 Hard drive stopped working, which I was super sad about. Seriously, I treated this computer with so much care. I set it up basically to use as a desktop replacement, and it was working great for 2 weeks. Contacted support who were very helpful, but looked like a bad drive. Fortunately, I was able to find a few backups, and redo the missing parts, but didn't help boost confidence in the product. I know this happens but its sad that the drive didn't last that long.
May 13 I opted for Advance exchange where AVA sends a replacement while I ship my drive. I shipped off my hard drive to them, which was received 16th/17th, but as of May 20, I still have not received my replacement.
UPDATE May 23: received the SSD, and they waived the $15 advance exchange fee, which was a nice offering.

Still it's the little things that could make such a difference:
Don't charge the customer until the product is about to ship.
Give proper estimates of delivery.
Notify clients of possible delays.
Give tracking numbers for replacement parts.

I'm still holding out hope that they can turn the corner and fix these issues. The support was good, I can't comment on the build since the hard drive could have been bad, but estimates were troublesome.

Maybe I'm being too hard on ava, since it is a smaller company, but a friend bought a comparable system (at the time) from dell a year or so ago. When the LCD went out recently, he received an entirely new laptop including upgraded CPU and video card, cpu equivalent to my current laptop. I can't comment on dell's replacement quality or customer service since I haven't bought from them, but my friend didn't seem to have many complaints.

UPDATE June 2: After exchanging parts and getting thins reinstalled, things seem to be going okay for with my laptop. I do have to say AVA does have some great support members. I commend Joe M for his ongoing efforts to provide quick response times and quality support.

UPDATE July 24: Same boot error has been happening for the past month, support has said that they have had reports of SSD not working with Clevo mother boards, but shouldn't have issues on the data on the drive. I have to boot repair every two weeks or so, which is pretty annoying.
Additionally, the DVD drive has not been reading properly. I have to manually eject using the pin hole and reinsert, eventually it will pick up.
Also the audio jack has been getting loose so the contacts are not connecting each time.
I'll be sending in the laptop in soon to address these issues. Support said they can update the drives and bios, which should hopefully address these issues, but I'll loose all my data. I was advised that improperly flashing the bios myself would void the warranty, and that it was not typical for users to do this themselves.
From support: "I am unable to provide you with support for flashing the SSD, and BIOS. This is something we typically do here."
I'll update again after I see how the repairs go.
UPDATE Aug 23 2011
Sent the laptop in last week and it was received there on Thursday. I'll keep this update as repairs are handled."

"I did alot of research on specific hardware to build a really high end Tower for gaming/video streaming.No computer companys had what my demands were. I had a specific MOBO and all other harware in mind and no luck. I had everything set to order on black friday with Tiger Direct. I found AVA 2 days before black friday and gave them all of my hardware requirements. I spoke with Joe Munday from Ava direct. The next day I got an e-mail quote from him. I was shocked to find out it was an additional $300 more for them to build it. I thought they were going to be $600 to $900 more. I ordered it. The good part is, they jumped up my intel chip and a three year warranty with tech support. AVA was is very professional at what they do,and the nice thing is they are an American company with American Tech support/sales The best thing is I checked tigers web site on black friday to see how much money I lost, and some of the prices went up and other parts were not even available. And yes I did check new-egg and some others also. I did not have to worry about hardware D.O.A. either. I am so glad that I went with them! their cable management was outstanding no charge! They did a complete burn in also. I however did have to call their tech support 3 times however,
due to me loading internet explorer 9. "DON'T DO IT" Well I did! and had to reload my whole system. I did talk to one guy after the fact on Monday who was a little short and it was not Joe. He may have been having a bad day. I just called again later and got someone else who was great. AVA however did not tell me that a program called ACRONIS which I highly recommend was loaded on my computer as part of the recovery. I reformatted the drive over a weekend and went to Bestbuy and bought Acronis for $39 bucks. I do recommend this AMERICAN company who will be there for you when you need them. I got impatient and reformatted over a weekend, but live and learn.I have already recommended Ava to other people I know and will do buisness with them in the future. "

"I purchased a Mushkin 1200w psu. The stock status stated special order so I expected a wait for my psu. I purchased the psu from them because it is discontinued and they were one of the only places that claimed to stock it. It turned out they no longer have this product either. I recieved a phone call from them rather than an e-mail which is great. through the whole process of switching my order the sales rep Jerry was very patient with me and extremely helpful. Some of the best customer support I have ever dealt with up there with newegg and Asus. Thank you, Jeremy Jenkins"

"I liked being able to customize my computer with the parts I wanted. It was nice to be able to see the prices that corresponded with the parts. It was very easy to order upgrades."

"I have purchased many computers in the past. Having become a "gaming" nut I spent many dollars on the high-end stuff for gaming speed. I have found that the big computer companys (HP, Dell etc.) are really not the way to go. I did however discover AVADirect and had them build a gaming computer to my specs. I have had no failures with their equipment during the last three years of ownership and find their technical support (lifetime) to be extremly helpful. I highly recommend AVADirect..."

"BUY A COMPUTER FROM THIS COMPANY

I'm very, very satisfied with my system and have recommended Ava to friends. Apart from a rather dated website, and a backordered part which I realize is not Ava's fault, my ordering experience was an A+. The sales team called me multiple times to give their thoughts on my selected parts and suggested a few changes that actually brought the price down. This, I thought, prior to dealing with Ava, was inconceivable. I had previously purchased a system from Cyberpower, and I returned it within 30 days due to a variety of problems. There is simply no comparison between Ava and Cyberpower. Your build quality is superior, and your sales team actually returned my calls and initiated calls on their own. Well done, Ava. Thank you."

"Great customer service! Went above and beyond to analyze my individual requirements and get me exactly what I needed. It took 6 weeks to get my laptop, but I knew in advance that it was a special order (GETAC) and would take 6 - 8 weeks. The price was right, as well."

"Great computer and good customer service. Was able to get my machine up and running with all drivers and OS (which was not previously installed) thanks to their support team."

"I was wanting a fast and powerful computer to work on and play online FPS games without having to update hardware in the near future. After hours of online shopping and research, I went with AVA Direct. I got all the hardware I wanted, and no added trash/free or trial software installed on the system. For the price of many off the shelf computers, I was able to customize each part and not end up with a strong processor only to be slowed down by an integrated or outdated graphics card. Once I placed the order, the tech support staff at AVA Direct called me to verify that the components I wanted would work together, and even brought to my attention that I could save money by changing some of the components without sacraficing performance. I am very satisfied with my new system, and can not see buying one off the shelf again. "

"No problems dealing with AVA Direct. They are a trustworthy company that I confidently recommend. To be fair, I have only placed a single order with them, but they were forthright in answering my questions, and handled my order with professionalism. "