"After buying our previous systems from IBM and Dell and having what seemed like some overheating/thermal issues with the Dell system in an enclosed desk I decided to get a gaming-type system to see if it would solve the heat problems.

On the first of May I ordered the so-called Mach 5 system in more or less a mid-level configuration and it still cost $3,518 delivered. Pricey systems, for sure. The system was shipped on May 25th.

The system was well packaged and didn't have any problems out of the box. The system is seriously fast and it can handle the few games that I play (Diablo II and Morrowind) with ease. I didn't opt for any of the fancy paint jobs but the Coolermaster Wave all-aluminum case is quite a nice contrast vis-a-vis the gray and black plastic of the former Dell.

Support was needed once and was a mixed bag. My video card includes a TV tuner and I sent an e-mail asking if Falcon could help me with the problem I was having with losing the video output to the monitor after about 20 minutes of tuner use. Three days later, still with no response from Falcon-NW, I gave them a call and a real person picked up the phone after a ring or two. He suggested getting the lastest set of drivers from the ATI site for my video card and upgrading my Direct X to the lastest version. I asked him if this seemed like a software problem to him and implied that it seemed like a hardware issue to me. He said it was probably hardware but you never know and he said that he had seen other similar problems solved with drivers. So I did download the drivers and Direct X and they solved the loss of signal to the monitor problem but created a new problem of not being able to control the volume setting withing the ATI application software...that I can and have lived with. So kudos for the support solution but Falcon, however, they shouldn't push the e-mail support unless they are going to answer the things in a timely manner.

All in all a very good experience so far with Falcon Northwest."

"Well, I've purchased a few Falcon-Northwest systems before, a couple of Talons when they first came out. I just recently purchased a Fragbook TL, and WOW. This is the cleanest, nicest, best laptop I've ever seen. The paint job they do on these are worth EVERY penny. The case they include is very nice, and everything has worked perfectly since the second it arrived at my door. Fired it up, super fast boot time. This laptop has impressed me more and more every day. I didn't even expect to be able to play Counter-Strike: Source, or Doom 3, but I installed them just to see how it would would handle it. Yet again, WOW, way beyond my expectations."

"Considered several other vendors like Dell.com, Vodoopc.com, Velocitymicro.com, custom built computers from local stores, buympc.com, Abs out of california, etc.. Last two custom built computers i had built by a computer consultant turned out to have major problems like windows xp errors 'bad pool caller' & 'irq not less or equal'; these were intermittent errors where they happened about every 30 days or so at the time. Diagnosing the errors couldn't really be done as they weren't consistent.

Between Dell.com and Buympc.com i like the latter as I was actually able to test the support line with some questions to see how good support was. Dell on the otherhad refused to do that unless i already owned a computer. My bro owns two dell dimension models that're about 1.5 years old and told me he got hard to understand support out of India. Vodoopc.com was based out of canada and i didn't wanna deal with shipping in back through customs under warranty. I wanted an american based company with inhouse support; not outsourced support. Well i was actually able to get a hold of falcon northwest technical support a few times before making my decision. i also, considered alienware.com as well but had read quite a few negative comments about support being based outside the united states. in pricing the computers between dell, falcon, and alienware, i found them to be all in the same price range.

speaking of local stores custom building gaming machines for me. i didn't seem to find one that i felt comfortable that had had experience like falcon did with building gaming rigs. my last two systems were Amd Opteron 240series cpu with 1.4ghz, 512megs ram, 80gig ata, radeon 9800pro, asus sk8n mainboard; intel 865perll, 2.8c cpu, 512megs ram, 9600pro, 80gig ata, antec sonata case. i feel it was the consultant that built them for me as to why i had problems. well enough of that after i sold the used computers i had custom built i thought, i'm getting a falcon. i was stupid in the first place when i bought the Opteron system and plunked 1,300.00 plus into it and over 1,000.00 in my last 2.8c system; i could've well afforded falcon earlier.

now onto my system. it took about one month to receive the Mach 5 system i ordered on 5/18/04 and i received it on 6/13/04. been running it since i got it almost 24/7 without any serious problems. sure i couldve built a comparable system by a local shop for half the price; however i feel falcon build quality is much better especially for gaming systems.

i've had a chance to use falcon support mucho times since owning it and i give it a 10 out of 10. from simple to very complex problems they are excellent. once in a great while a person will get right through to tech support ; however, mostly you leave a message and they call you back.

i'm a hardcore gamer, and business user to i use the computer a lot and require stability and reliability; which i've gotten from falcon.

my system has the asus p4c800-e deluxe mainboard, radeon 9600xt, 512megs ram, seagate sata 80gig, no modem as i have broadband, zalman silent p4 cooler, xp pro, sony 16x dvdrom, plextor cdrw, audigy 2 zs, coolermaster atc-110 extended atx case, enermax 450 watt power supply, p4 3.0c cpu, coolermaster front usb/1394 adapter, sound dampening kit. only upgrade left that i have to do is the Bfg 6800gt video card from falcon and some ram. i had to pay upfront to extend the overnight warranty from one year to three years. this was the tradeoff i made ; get the extended overnight warranty upfront or get better video card, etc..

falcon does have the Talon line of computers that i've been looking at as well; but i'm mostly an Intel person. although i would trust falcon to build good amd systems.

i paid the premium price for falcon, but i got exactly what i paid for. excellent support that's not outsourced, full oem version of windows xp, no bloatware installed, custom dvd-r restore disc with a licensed version of norton ghost 2003 which has saved me multiple times due to various software problems that i did on my own. falcon is simply the best custom prebuilt system in my opinion.

my thoughts on owning a computer system are get a decent one and do small upgrades here and there and get the most years useage you can out of it."

"Here is the six-month report on my Falcon Northwest. Boy time is marching on; I am still amazed at how fast this computer is. Over the pass six months I had one problem with the computer. On or near August of 2004 and during Unreal Tournament 2004 I would get lock-ups and I would have to restart my computer to free it up. Let me tell you that I play my computer games at their highest settings figuring that this is a Falcon Northwest and it should take it and ask for more.

Then it started when I was playing Doom3 and Farcry. I called Falcon Northwest and was in contact with tech support with no waiting at all. I was working with Matthew over the Internet using email and needed to call. He helped me out checking this and that, but I felt uneasy working inside the computer. Matthew understood my uneasiness. He then went on to have my computer picked up and sent back to Falcon Northwest. Making a long story short it was found that the video card was causing the problems. He had the video card replaced with a new BFG 6800 Ultra. (This video card is in short supply and I had one replaced when I see other computer companies having back orders on this card) He then informed me that since my computer was in the shop that he wanted to also replace the power supply (and upgrade it also).

I have my computer back now for about four months it’s running with no problems. The games I tested it out on were Half-Life2, Doom3 and it ran great. I just want to make a note to Mathew, thank you so much for helping me and getting my computer fixed in a very professional way. I will be upgrading my Mach V this summer to Sli and look forward in working with Falcon Northwest. And for those that are reading these site to see how companies handle customers, don’t look at anyone else but Falcon Northwest, it may cost more but you get more then just a computer you become a partner with Falcon Northwest. Thanks again Matthew and thank you Falcon Northwest.

Kris From North Carolina

"

"Ordered high performance system, but when it arrived it did not work. No signal to the monitor. The company had also ceased including a poster to explain how to hook up the system. They said this was being developed. Tech support took three days to return calls asking for help. When I decided to return the system for a refund there were many "rules", conditions, and an insistence that I pay shipment to me and back. Would never buy again."

"back in april i purchase a talon 5.3 and I must tell, the talon series are very good systems.I check the reviews on all the parts they used and they do used good stuff,the system is stable and it has done everthing i ask it to do,no crashs no freeze ups no hassles,i am a causal gamer but I played m.o.h allied assault, need for speed 2,black hawk down,nascar thunder 2004 and all these games ran flawless.being on a budget i look at gateway and dell,but after reading the reviews of what falon northwest puts in the talons for the few more bucks you get a top of the line budget system,with no hassles and the key words being no hassle, when I call falcon they picked up on the third ring.I told them what I was looking for. no pressure not trying to sell stuff you dont need,they called me at home and told me that my talon was shiped,I like that stuff,now I never had to call tech support on the phone but i did do some email questions,and they got back fast.so if you need a good family pc from a good company with good stuff to offer look at falcon north west."

"How to explain...I had been calling around to assorted high end pc resellers (alienware, cyberpower pc, dell, gateway) I decided to call Falcon-nw and guess what...somebody picked up the phone and said, HELLO! no menu's that take 10 mins to navigate...just a simple hello. My sales rep, Warren, answered my questions and spent about 35 mins with me even tho he knew I wouldn't be buying that day. Alienware told me to call back when i was going to purchase, basically gave me the cold sholder. Meanwhile, I was planning on purchasing a top of the line AMD 64 FX51 system. Well, if you want to be treated right and get a product that is rock solid with all the documentation you ever wanted... Falcon is for you. I can't stress enough how great the product is, but Falcon shines when it comes to customer service. Ever notice that they always are the editor's top choice and fastest machine out there? sometimes only to be given second place because of price... PEOPLE YOU DON"T HAVE TO GET THE 800 DOLLAR PAINT JOB. (although nice) I am not sure I want to recommend Falcon, Personally I would like to keep it my special little secret...My precious. Falcon's not playing around when it comes down to building computers. Don't trust me tho, call them for yourself. 5 stars out of 5 stars."

"Why did I go with Falcon Northwest?
1. They don't put you on hold like Dell, Micron, Gateway, do.
2. You phone call doesn't end up someplace in India with someone barely speaking English.
3. It is true, I haven't been able to get through, to a live tech both times I called, but after I left a message, each time the call was returned by them within 15 minutes!!
4. They are local!! They operate out of Medford, OR and I am in Vancouver WA. Frankly I am tired of everything running out of NY. I have developed a very bad taste for companies in New York. It feels like NY is full of "businessmen" who are creative at getting your money, and selling you cheap parts.
5. The tech has spent 46 minutes with me on the phone, helping me configure best possible system (for my needs). He never rushed me, was very patient, answered every question with crystal clarity (this was extremely refreshing, almost felt guilty for keeping him on the phone this long).
6. Up until today I have never head of them. I read about them in this November's issue of PC world, checked them out on line.
7. I had for a long time tracked Alienware PCs. I heard of, and looked into Hypersonic PCs. I called each company and spoke to sales depts. (all have thick accents, which cautioned me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people with accents, it's just I so want someone who can fully understand my requests, and not have to repeat over and over and have to re-phrase, just to get a point across). After intense research online (today), I think I've made the best choice when I decided to give my business to Falcon Northwest. I can't wait for my Exotix painted case, AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 configured as Raid 0, to get put together and shipped.
8. Now, if I can just find a good way, to justify to my wife, spending $6000 on a PC that didn't even include a monitor (since I already have a 21” LCD Viewsonic monitor).
9. I’ll keep you posted on the continuous progress of this order. Stay tuned for more.
10. So far 10 out of 10. Way to go folks at Falcon Northwest!!!
Sergey."

"I ordered the Fragbox for 995 and am very pleased with my purchase. The computer arrived on time and in great condition. It works great, looks great, and was not cluttered with tons of junk. I called Falcon once to confirm shipping informatioin and received a friendly call back just a few hours later. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. It was totally stress-free, a rarity when making a major purchase from an online vendor."

"Ok so far its been almost 3 weeks since I've placed my order with Falcon Northwest. When I placed my order I initially did not get an eXotix paint job, but a few days went by and I decided to get an eXotix paint job!

Also along the way I've changed several parts in my computer, everytime Falcon's sales representatives would ask what I use my PC for, explain if I would gain performance from this part or not (even if the part I wanted would have made them a lot more money).

Now they are expecting as am I that my system be ready sometime next week, which is way ahead of schedule for a PC with a eXotix paint job (which is supposed to add 1-2 weeks).

Ok I have now had my Mach V for about 3 weeks, and let me tell you it is an amazing machine! Out of the box it worked flawlessly, no errors or anything. I would load up whatever I wanted and it would play it just fine (this machine is very fast).

As for the looks on the machine, it looks awesome, the paintjob is great, the lighted side window looks awesome with 1 blue and 1 green cold cathode light, and lastly the wiring on the inside is very nicely done...this machine must have perfect air flow!

Once again I will say this has been an awesome experience, and its well worth the price I paid! I wouldn't hesitate recommending Falcon over any of the other "boutique" computer companies!"

"There's no substitute for paying for quality. Let me tell you this much...after 6 months of looking at and talking to various gamer PC builders I made the right choice in Falcon Northwest. I looked at everyone from Dell & Gateway to Voodoo PC, Alienware, Hypersonic PC, ABS, IBuyPower, Viscious, and Velocity Micro. At the end I way down to Falcon NW, VoodooPC, and Velocity Micro. Now I have to admit my choice between those three came down to looks in the end becaus I felt all three produce a top of the line computer. I went the Falcon route and let me tell you that this machine is an absolute beast! Fast as hell and as sexy as can be, this machine (with the Exotix paint job)has become my mistress. Be warned their build time, paint, and testing took them 4 weeks but I knew this going in. Upon receipt and hook up she started right up no problems and promptly took on Unreal 2, UT 2003, C & C Generals, Warcraft III, and Roller Coaster Tycoon with the best graphics I have ever personally seen on a PC. My girl came with a P-4 3.06, ATI 9800 Pro, SB Audigy 2, 1 gig RDram, power supply upgrade, and 2 IBM hardrives totaling 200 gigs. My case is painted with the "ghost" colors with one side containing the falcon logo and the otherside see-through window & blue lighting. The paint job is amazing as the case changes color from black to dark violet to green. Sales department was very easy to talk to and help me understand everything I was not sure about. The warranty is top notch as compared to their competitors but seeing how well this machine is put together I have a feeling it will be a long time after the 3 year warrantly expires when I'll run into any problems! To conclude, I love my PC from Falcon. They will have me as a lifetime customer from this point foward and will spread the word to anyone who will listen. Falcon is not the cheapest and there is good reason....QUALITY....in the long run you get what you pay for and I paid for and got Nervana!!"

"Stellar pre-sales. Extremely knowledgeable staff recommended less-expensive parts than I'd chosen given their experience that the more costly parts would not provide additional speed or stability.

Although their building/testing time takes around 3 weeks, they agreed to get my machine out the door in 2 weeks time, as I'd just been given a six-week runaround by one of their lesser competitors (Alienware - must to avoid, trust me.)

So far I am extremely happy with every aspect of my experience with Falcon Northwest. Additionally, all the reviews I've read here and on ResellerRatings, Epinions, etc, have been virtually all positive for those who have actually purchased/received a machine."

"It should be emphasized that Falcon has two very different products, the Mach V and the Talon. The Mach V is better, faster, much more expensive, and takes longer to receive because they are custom and not premade. I wouldn't recommend the Mach V or any cutting edge computer because of its very high price. I bought two Talons a year apart. They both cost $1100 and were pretty much the same parts I would have chosen in building one from scratch, but the warranty and Falcon expertise was worth it. I have a Dell at work with similar components, and my Talon runs rings around it.
The company assembles computers, so I don't blame them if components fail. In the first year, the CPU and mouse failed. The keyboard had a shift key that got stuck, and the CD drive had a glitch that closed the drawer for no reason. All were replaced free and quickly under warranty, no problem, with parts as good or better than the original.
The second system shipped from Oregon to NY, and UPS shipped it back because I had it delivered to work and didn't have the company name on the box. Falcon sent me a different system rather than the one that had criss-crossed the country, even though it was not their fault in any way. Tech support is difficult to get on the phone, but they do call me back pretty soon, and emails get answered the same day or the next, even questions not having to do specifically with their computer. I am very satisfied or why else would I buy from them twice?"