"Velocity Micro puts the "biggies" to shame! I wanted a new computer and being disillusioned with Alienware's after-the-sale support for the last 3 years, I flat refused to buy another computer from them. I actually planned on getting a Dell. However upon reading the horror stories in their forums I got scared off. Fortunately for me, someone mentioned Velocity Micro. I began to do research on them and liked what I saw! From the use of retail parts, to the hand building, to the utmost of customization to the terrific customer service, I was liking what I saw more and more. Unfortunately, thanx to hurricane Isabelle, I had to wait to talk to them personally. First thing Monday morning I had an email from Jaime saying he would call at a more appropriate time, but he had received my email. OK, that can be written off as looking for a sale. I ended up being impatient and called. I got Chip each time I called (about 3 times that first morning) and he patiently answered all my silly questions. Now the really astounding part: Chip saved me money! I had configured a computer that cost a couple hundred dollars more, but after customizing and explaining my usage, I was adding things I didn't need!

I fully expected to wait the 14-20 days for my computer to ship. I also knew about them using UPS ground, which would be a week delivery to me once it shipped. I patiently waited and didn't call to get an update until Friday. I have to admit I was disappointed it wasn't being built, but hey.. they are honest about the lead time! Then on the following Tuesday morning, just 8 days after placing the order, I got a call. They were calling to verify my shipping address! My computer was done! I was given a tracking number and told my computer would be on its way that evening!

All along the way in the ordering process I received email updates. One when my order was placed, another when it was successfully billed to the credit card. I received an email with the tracking number (that I had already been given on the phone). The package UPS delivered was unblemished from the cross-country trip. Upon opening the box I found the computer protected and nestled within a LOT of packing peanuts, safely inside the case box. There was also a box for the additional items: the t-shirt, cords, and a gorgeous, comprehensive, well-put-together notebook. Other computer companies need to take note! Inside this binder was the set up instructions, the invoice, and all the ORIGINAL disks. They also included a recovery disk should you choose to use that to restore your computer to the way it was received. I don't know why other companies have such a problem with giving you the ORIGINAL operating system you pay for. Major kudos to Velocity Micro for that!

Unfortunately with electronics, there are faulty parts. And faulty parts seem to gravitate to me. The second night I had the computer, the power supply blew. Here, again is where the other companies need to take note. First thing the next morning I called. No argument, no questions (well, other than to ask what happened), no hesitation: They said they would ship me a new power supply. As a matter of fact, they attempted to go above and beyond by checking to see if my area had Saturday delivery (we aren't serviced by UPS on Sat. in my area). They asked if I needed someone to come put it in. As I stated above, I've dealt with other companies and one of the worst things is waiting for them to ship parts and then waiting for the slow delivery. No so with Velocity!

Shortly after making the call Friday morning, I received a call from Randy, the president. You see, I had called late that evening and left a voice mail when I was still quite upset about the power supply blowing. He forwarded my voice mail on to support, but instead of leaving it at that, after being told they had already spoken to me that morning, he not only sent an email, but wanted to speak to me personally! Definitely a nice touch!

I’ve now had my computer for several weeks and I couldn’t be happier! I have a well-built computer and I have a company that delivers in the after the sale department if I should ever have problems! Thanx Velocity Micro!
"

"These guys are the best. Top of the line equipment and beautifully put together. Delivered as agreed and in a timely fashion. Move over DELL! You have very serious competition."

"I got everything I asked for, complete with documentation. One thing I would ask is that they include all P/N, S/N numbers that you need to fill in for product warranties from the manufacturers. It is hard to look through the side of the computer and read little numbers that face away from you."

"Just received the Raptor Special Edition which I ordered after careful review of many systems. The system was exceptionally put together and the documentation is helpful albeit could include a bit more. I had video problems in that the card had become unseated which is not unusal in shipment. Tech support was not as up to date on this product as I would have liked but finally assisted me with getting the case removed properly to adjust the cards. Still awaiting my speakers but was informed they may come as a separate order. My issue presently seems to be an overheating processor or at least the active alert is telling me so. Quite posssibly this could be due to adjustments needed on the alert monitoring system. Overall the folks at Velocity were helpful, friendly and responsive. The PC itself is the BEST system I've ever owned. It's quiet, well designed and thus far am pleased. I'm hopeful the overheating processor is simply a matter of adjustment and not something more serious. Will post after further investigation and followup."

"UPDATE #2:

so i finally got through and got things sorted out. turns out there was a mix-up with their email system, and as soon as i used phone support i received top-notch service. they gave me a brand new laptop at no shipping expense to me, but let me keep my hard drive so i didnt have to set everything up again. they have also been very thorough with contact since then, and have apparently redesigned their email system so that no one else falls through the crack. now that that's taken care of, i am very happy with the company.

UPDATE:

I am changing my tune, due to the horrible customer service I have gotten. My laptop is really great except for one thing: it freezes regularly when using wireless internet. I have searched all over the internet and arrived at this as the problem; specifically, I think it has to do with my wireless adapter, the Intel 2100. Numerous other people have had the same symptoms with this piece of hardware.

I have emailed customer service FIVE times and have not been emailed or called back (I made sure to include my phone number in later emails). Like I said, I am very happy with my laptop aside from this one problem, but it's extremely frustrating. Customer service's lack of contact only makes it that much worse.

Original Review:

I researched a lot of laptop companies and found Velocity Micro to have the best rating.

I emailed the president of their company from their website on a lark, and he emailed me back promptly. He was very friendly, and even gave me a discount since I'm a game developer.

I got my laptop a week or two ago and have been nothing but pleased. The build quality is great, the components are great, it's light, it's powerful, etc etc etc

It's perfect, as far as I can tell.

Anyway, in short, I would recommend Velocity Micro without hesitation. They're a great, personalized company that makes great products."

"A/V/D box has now arrived--only 20 calendar days from order--and it's a beauty. Jeremy responded quickly to help correct a mistake on my part while entering the WinXP Product Key (watch the difference between those tiny little 8's and B's) and from then on it was just plain fun. Did have to pull and reseat the audio card, doubtless the result of being whacked around by FedEx during shipping but even that was enjoyable, the inside of the case being so gorgeous to look at and so easy to work with. Top marks all around."

" I ordered the Velocity Raptor online on 10 Nov and received it on 28 November. Without a monitor I paid $3986.68 and received "free shipping" and a T shirt. Newest Intel board and processor 3.2GHZ EE, 9800 XT PRO, Plextor 52X-CDRW and 708A DVD-RW, 1GB Corsair memory, case with 10 speed fans, zalman copper heatsink and fan, video cooling bus, 2 36gb WD 10,000 rpm hard drives in a raid, 0 config, rounded cables, internet keyboard, winxpro, audigy 2 zs sound. What I received was a system that had a rattle out of the box which was a piece of plastic. Then I noticed the one of the hard drives was installed at an angle with two screws and the other in straight but with only one screw! Their origami wiring was into the front fan and made a noise when I first turned it on. I fixed all these defeciencies myself. I e-mailed Randy, the Pres, many times with my findings and he always had excuses and appologies. He even offered my a full refund if I wanted to send my system back. But with all that had transpired I did not trust him to give me a full refund. On the bright side, I got the parts which I ordered. But it was basically just slapped together and sent on its way. Randy even told me he personally looked at my system. Why did he not see the incorrectly installed hard drive? Did I mention my case has a clear plexiglass side that you can see the hard drive through! As far as the tuning and all the other things they are supposed to do, that is just advertising hype in my opinion. I received no documentation with my grahics card. They sent a multimedia keyboard instead of the internet keyboard I ordered. Not a big deal if it worked. It does not recognize the F keys like F2 for setup, so what did they use? By my estimation, the delta between me purchasing and assembling. Of course I am sure they get better deals then I do on parts. I paid them $800 to pick the parts of the shelf or order, assemble and ship. Then I spent a day making it work correctly. I can only hope that they know what a static strap looks like or I could have problems down the road (I have fears). Also, they farm out the warranty service to a company in California, not surprising. I asked twice if myself or some other customer in the Richmond, VA area could come a visit their facility but they would not offer an invite. Randy touts all the praise from different reputable sources but they must have built better machines for them. I picked this company because first it had an excellent rating on resellers.com, second they were a Virginia company and I live in Virginia and want to support businesses here. Maybe I am an anomally but I was very disappointed for the money that I paid, the product that I expected and the advertised pride in assembly, tweaking and testing. I have witnesses to all my problems with this vendor. If my review sounds slanted, then do the same as I tried to do. Ask Randy to allow you to visit his facility in Richmond, VA. He did allow me to visit after I asked and I am sure he will not allow anyone else. I think that says it all! They did want me to return my computer but they had deducted from my credit card already and if I returned then they could play more games with me. I have purchased from Dell and they do not deduct from your card until they ship. Velocity Micro will not even start to build a system until they have your money. Buyers Beware!"

"I just ordered from these folks based on their ratings on this site, their good prices and the very responsive staff who quickly answered all my questions. I spoke with Jeremy and he was a real pro. He even went out of his way to help me with a pricing issue. I'll update as the build/ship process continues, but I'd recommend these folks to anyone. Look around and compare. After you see the sticker shock of Falcon and Voodoo you'll probably come back here like I did to get a similar quality of machine without the outrageous prices.

UPDATE 11/26/03 OK, Velocity Micro, you have totally won over a serious computer user/gamer. I received on 11/21 a customized Gamer's Edge system. Order was placed on the 6th, you shipped on the 13th (Wow, unbelievable) and I received it via ground shipping on the 21st (hey, the ground shipping was free and I put the shipping money into a better computer). Right out of the box I opened the case to see what you folks have been up to and I was very pleased: every component installed as ordered, all wiring and cabling tucked away and overall a very clean and neat interior (take that Voodoo!). The machine has run flawlessly and with the ATI Radeon 9800 XT everything I have thrown at the computer has run smoothly and really, really fast. And I must say, your price was unbeatable by any comparable "custom" gaming computer company and I looked at them all: Hypersonic, Voodoo, Falcon, Viscious, etc. etc. (I did not consider Alienware since they do not make custom, hand crafted machines anymore and man, their Reseller Ratings stink). Thanks again VM, you have a very happy customer on your hands. "

"I custom-ordered the Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge 2.8MHz computer system. Everything arrived as ordered, in the timeframe promised, and everything worked perfectly the first time I turned it on. The instructions, warranties, and software were arranged neatly in a binder. All needed cables, connectors, adaptors, and hardware were included. This is an excellent company, I must say."

"I did alot of research to purchase my latest machine. Reviews like this and in computer magazines were what made me decide on Velocity Micro. Also a big factor was the many choices I had with name brand (no proprietary) NON-OEM parts--that is SO hard to find!

After getting my computer, I had a problem with my cable modem--which, by the way, turned out to be MY modem problem--NOT Velocity's. Turns out my modem simply wouldn't use my USB connection in Win XP, but I couldn't find anything on the manufacturers' website or any discussion groups. I called Jeromy at Velocity and he found the solution for me (use ethernet connection) and even overnighted me an ethernet cable. He sure didn't HAVE to send me the cable!

Then after getting it up and running, I experienced problems--again, not Velocity's fault. My one hard drive failed--hey, it happens. Called Jeromy late afternoon and he overnighted me one-had it by 10 a.m. the next day. He offered to send someone to install it for me, but I put in in myself. The recovery disk they provided (I had never used one before--always reinstalled from scratch) sure came in handy!

Anyway--I'm VERY much satisfied--it's a great, well-built computer with extra care taken with the wires neatly tucked away-not just stuffed in the case. I'd definitely buy from them again!"

"Although I use computers for occasional word-processing and spreadsheets, my main passion (and the bane of my wife) is gaming. My last five gaming systems have all been from Dell as I valued their support, well-balanced, and well-valued systems. Although the systems have been solid and performed well straight out of the box, they all lacked the ability to be upgraded easily. I finally decided to opt for a pure gaming system and began my search. Since I had no real interest in overclocking, my criteria would be stability and reliability of both the system and the company behind it. My research therefore, included only the most major players – Voodoo; Falcon-Northwest; ABSPC; the Dell XPS; Alienware; and Velocity Micro. Voodoo and Falcon-Northwest were quickly ruled out as they cater to the Ferrari and Lamborghini crowd while I only have a Ford budget. The Dell XPS has come close with their gaming rig, but still uses a proprietary power supply and motherboard. ABSPC was also a bit pricey. Alienware and Velocity Micro had the price range I was looking for, but the Alienware system still lacked that elusive form of personalization I really wanted. That left Velocity Micro. I found a couple of very good reviews on-line at CNet.com and in recent magazine reviews from Maximum PC and PC Gamer of their systems and checked out their site at www.velocitymicro.com . Their article on OEM versus retail parts sold me along with how they built their rigs. The company offers not only gaming rigs, but value-priced systems, and video-editing solutions that are all built to the customer’s specifications. Their boxes can be setup with either Intel or AMD processors. Their configuration tool works as well as anybody’s and it offered a myriad of choices – exactly what I wanted. The final selling point was a short-term offer of free shipping. I made my choices and submitted the order on September 16. My system arrived on October 6, very well-packed and unscathed by UPS. It fired up immediately and works as advertised. Documentation is provided in a nice three-ring binder (you listening, Dell?). A full copy of the Windows OS is included, along with a full backup of the original factory configuration done with Norton’s Ghost for that inevitable time when you need to restore the system to a pristine state. The box I chose sports a front-mounted temperature gauge that monitors internal temperatures in three locations along with variable-speed fan controls. It came equipped with a clear side panel and cold cathode lighting. So far, I’m very impressed with the box and with the email and phone support I received from Velocity Micro. After ordering my system from the Richmond, Virginia based company, Hurricane Isabel struck. I sent an email wishing them well and received a nice reply from Randy Coleman. When was the last time YOU got a personal response from the president of a company? My support issue was only that the system did not come equipped with a gameport, but Jeremy very kindly sent the part via overnight air, a very rare occurrence from anybody. If there was anything to quibble over at all, it would be only this minor oversight and it would be nice to know what components are being monitored by the temperature readout without opening the case and tracing the leads. Other than that, I would not hesitate to recommend their systems to my friends and colleagues. If you’re in the market, take a look. You won’t be disappointed."

"Great product and service. Called me and asked if it would be okay to upgrade my motherboard (for free). System came in on time, set up as expected, great documentation. Quickly answered via telephone a few questions. Top quality components."

"It took nearly three weeks to receive the PC I ordered. When it arrived, there were no drivers, only a blank CD. They promised to send a driver disk, but I never received it. Sketchy documentation.

After my initial review, the company president contacted me and immediately sent me a drivers disk."

"11/06/03
I have to agree with others here. I feel like my computer, service and support is on par with the very top tier of retailers. I mean no disrespect to VM when I say that I never thought of them like Voodoo and Falcon. They should all be in the same sentence. The support is great, very little hold music and the staff is well versed in the technology. The price is hands down better than Voodoo or Falcon. The only thing VM doesn't have is custom cases.. fine with me. I assure you my case looks great! If you love quality and can't afford to wipe yorself with $100's, this is your company! VM is awesome! Oh yea, my system kicks butt!Following is my experience over the last month.

Ordered and Awaiting Delivery. 10/03/03
I have been looking for a new system for over 2 months. I have gone from pure consumer with my previous Dell machine to almost building. Therefore I have been researching components for some time. I finally narrowed my choices to Voodoo, Falcon, ABS, and Game PC. ABS had low prices and limited choices. Game PC simpy did not return my emails. Falcon and Voodoo I have no complaint against.

I found Velocity Micro by looking for Radeon 9800XT launch partnenrs. I wish I had known about them sooner. The entire process has been a pleasure. The web site is very well designed and the hardware choices are good with few exeptions. Parts from Asus, Seagate, Western Digital, Corsair, Coolermaster..the list of quality goes on and on. The price is medium to high but for good reason. All of their components are right out of the retail box, no cutting corners. I received email the same day reguarding my system choices. When I called to speak to customer service they answered promptly and patiently talked to me for about 20 minutes. Also, they were honest about the build time and realistic delay of waiting for my Radeon XT card. Thank You! I don't mind waiting for something when the company is honest about the wait. So far, one of the better experiences I have had with a company. I think this review is incomplete until the system is here and I will update.

Update... 10/29/03
System Delivered on Time. Beautiful system works perfect out of the box. Very nice packaging and instructions. Nice binder with all warranty, software, and included items from the retail boxes of the components. Any problems? Yes but very minor. Wrong Keyboard but identical to what I chose and it works fine. Wrong size HD, they put in a larger one(160GB)for no extra charge because they were out of the one I ordered (120GB). So far I am very pleased and would encourage others to try VM."