AVADirect Custom SLI Gaming System @ [H] Consumer

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Jason_Wall

[H] Consumer Managing Editor
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Messages
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Tim Roper introduces AVADirect, a freshman to our evaluations program. Although it still has some signs of a young company, it has it where it counts in support and customer service.

We were very pleased with our AVADirect custom system. We experienced excellent after-sale support (support we could continue to look forward to thanks to the lifetime phone support guarantee and 3-year parts warranty). Even though the system experienced some stability problems, AVADirect showed an unwavering commitment to doing whatever it took to make us happy.
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Thanks for reading!
 
Not specifically related to this review, and just out of curiosity, but how do you get systems shipped to you- is it always to the same name, or address, or something, or is it a different address each time? If you prefer not to answer that's fine.
 
Tim Roper said:
This proved to be ill-advised, as the edge of the chassis (which might be charitably described as “somewhat serrated”) proceeded to remove a quarter-sized patch of skin from the top of this editor’s big toe. We certainly can’t hold AVADirect responsible for the bloodshed, but it didn’t exactly endear us to the case design.
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Where is the gorey toe shot? What were you wearing on your feet? Slippers, socks, sandals?
 
Razor blade lian-li!!

Just an observation: The lian li lower drive cage is missing. There are supposed to be two cages for a total of 6 hard drives; it appears that one of them was removed to make space for the excessivly long powerstream.
 
mentok1982 said:
Where is the gorey toe shot? What were you wearing on your feet? Slippers, socks, sandals?
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My toes are camera shy. I was wearing flip-flops when it happened (this is Texas, after all, where it's still ungodly hot in October).

Thanks for reading!

-Tim
 
Tim_Roper said:
My toes are camera shy. I was wearing flip-flops when it happened (this is Texas, after all, where it's still ungodly hot in October).

Thanks for reading!

-Tim
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I hear you. But from now on nothing less than steel-toed boots should be worn when working with Lian-Lis.

Dude, someone should print out a warning sign for this kind of thing and hang it on the wall of the [H] Labs.


In all seriousness the article was a great read. The tech support sounds like it is top-notch. I am sorry
that you once again received a bad graphics card, sound card and restore disk. I think they did a great job in
recommending the Auzentech sound card. I have the 7.1 Xplosion and it is very sweet indeed.
 
What is it with you guys and defective video cards? I have personally mail ordered over a dozen computers for myself and others, half of those gaming machines with high end video cards and have never received a bad card. Bad RAM, bad mobo yes, but never a video card. Are you starting to wonder if there's something specific to your shipping area that's causing these failures?

Nice job as usual with the thorough system integrator evaluation.
 
theelectic said:
What is it with you guys and defective video cards? I have personally mail ordered over a dozen computers for myself and others, half of those gaming machines with high end video cards and have never received a bad card. Bad RAM, bad mobo yes, but never a video card. Are you starting to wonder if there's something specific to your shipping area that's causing these failures?
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Theories abound. Trust us, if it were something we have any power over, we'd change it.
 
On the same lines as defective video cards... have you guys ever done a compare/contrast of what comes in the systems you receive and what comes from cards like Newegg on a component level? IE. checking if capacitors/PCB/etc... are the exact same

Btw, good review, as almost always :D
 
I suppose it's possible that full systems, since they weigh so much more, are more susceptible to shipping damage than individual components. I guess it's also possible that video cards could be the most sensitive component to shipping damage, even though no visible signs of damage occur.

Also, depending on where in Texas the evaluations are performed, a dry climate could contribute to hardware failures by increasing static build-up. I know all the [H] editors know to ground themselves properly before fiddling with the internals, but I've managed to zap things just touching the outside of the case.
 
We think that shipping damage is a big part of it. From the condition that some of these shipping boxes arrive in, it's obvious they were dropped, slid, rolled, or all of the above. That can't be good for the components. When we get new video cards via RMA, they have always worked.
 
nice article..........again. :D
The choices of solid companies are increasing, thanks for the introduction to another good system builder.

(I think video cards are afraid of Texas.) :eek:
 
Great review. In depth and informative as usual. I know you guys put alot of weight on support and that's good, its great to show just how much a company will back up their product, but how about form and function. You guys have the functionality side down but put almost no value on style, sophistication, proprietary design or engineering.

Nothing about this PC catches my attention. It basically looks like any other build some guy would do in his basement. The Lian Li chassis is as always very elegant in its inherent design, but absolutely nothing sets this PC apart. If you guys didn't tell me what company it was that built this PC I would have never known it.

Not saying PC's have to be 'bells and whistles' but if your going to call yourself a company then you should have a distinguishing build design & quality..i.e. Voodoo, Maingear..etc.

That said, I'm looking forward to more great reviews. Maybe something overseas in the near future...Savrow, Holley, Real Machines..would be very interesting.



 
Great review! This company seems like they have great support, and are a first rate integrator. However, the support seemed a little "too good," almost like you guys had been found out. Would you guys try reviewing another system from them, perhaps having it shipped to an address in a state that you AREN'T in, and with components that would appear to be randomly picked out, or picked out because they "sounded cool," as opposed to picked for performance or to meet a certain budget? Like getting a hyper-expensive sound-card and a mid to low range videocard, or a high performance system (8800's, top of the line Core 2's, etc...) with a weird amount of RAM in the system (like 512megs) and then see if you get similar support. Also, anyone out there have any experiance with these guys? Does this seem like an "average" experiance? One way or the other, looks like an interesting company, thanks for the review!
 
Dark Prodigy said:
You guys have the functionality side down but put almost no value on style, sophistication, proprietary design or engineering.

Nothing about this PC catches my attention. It basically looks like any other build some guy would do in his basement. The Lian Li chassis is as always very elegant in its inherent design, but absolutely nothing sets this PC apart. If you guys didn't tell me what company it was that built this PC I would have never known it.
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For the most part, the integration quality of this unit is very similar to the other machines we get in the office. VERY few integrators turn their machines into works of art/engineering genius, and when they do, we certainly talk about it. Conversely, if the integration sucks, we say so. What we had here is an average job, and we said so. We could see where the effort was made, but there are some finer points to the integration they could improve.

You'll see an evaluation on Wednesday that's all about style, sophistication, and great overall integration.
 
Wow- was I suprised by your positive review. I live in Northeast OH and find most computer companies in the Cleveland area are owned by the same people/family who constantly change names because of bad business practices. Myself and others have been burned many times by these places and I make it a rule never to buy locally again. I hope this won't be the case with AVADirect- I hate for this positive review to get people's hopes up only to be disappointed down the road.
 
I've talked with a lot of different companies, some less above-board than others. AVADirect is the real deal Holyfield. There should be a rep on the board shortly to answer your questions, and purportedly he's bringing some pictures of their facilities so you can see they're not a garage operation.
 
Gotta give these guys credit on tech support. It's always an interesting read when you hit the tech support section in your reviews. I was expecting what has turned into the norm as of late, long hold times. Poor overall service. Definately nice to see a company step up in this department.

On a side note, I think you guys must have pissed off the FEDEX/UPS delivery guys. They probably throw your stuff around like Ace Ventura before they actually deliver it.
 
One question that i have is why AVA did not use the silver drive covers that Lian Li has? They are not that expensive, and the black drive faces on that silver chassis look like ass.
 
Jason_Wall said:
I've talked with a lot of different companies, some less above-board than others. AVADirect is the real deal Holyfield. There should be a rep on the board shortly to answer your questions, and purportedly he's bringing some pictures of their facilities so you can see they're not a garage operation.
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...like some companies I know...
:rolleyes:

AVADirect seems like a sweet company...I'm going to have to look into them further and use one of my cousins as a guinea pig for a new system.

EDIT:

After browsing the website I am extremely impressed by the ability to customize your machine. The vast selection, while very good for well educated users, might be a little overwhelming for most. But either way, this is one of the first times I've seen THIS much selection in any single configuration. If you look at other sites every machine is in a "tier" which is limited to certain parts and if you want more if you have to go to a more expensive machine but AVADirect allows you to go to the lowest budget machine and tweak it as you see fit. That is customer satisfaction at its best.
 
Thumbs up, great company!

wow, I'm surprised no one saw this yet, do you guys actually read these articles ;) (to readers, not staff)

"We called Chris again to explain that we had received the new video card and had installed it without issue, but that we were now experiencing a high-pitched squeal while playing several different games. Chris said this was the first time he’d heard of such an issue and asked us which drivers were currently installed for the card. When we told him the drivers were from 2003, he said he would email us instructions for updating the drivers. When we received the email, Chris had included a direct link to the downloadable driver file from Creative’s website as well as detailed instructions on how to go about upgrading them. We give AVA credit here for actually doing the technical support legwork themselves, rather than just telling us to go look for new drivers on the Creative website."

um, where the heck did the vid card issue become a sound card issue?
what the hell did you guys skip telling us?!? hahahahahaa :D
 
daftie said:
Thumbs up, great company!

wow, I'm surprised no one saw this yet, do you guys actually read these articles ;) (to readers, not staff)
...
um, where the heck did the vid card issue become a sound card issue?
what the hell did you guys skip telling us?!? hahahahahaa :D
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It became a sound card issue in the part you skipped over:
but that we were now experiencing a high-pitched squeal while playing several different games
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Riddlinkidstoner said:
After browsing the website I am extremely impressed by the ability to customize your machine. The vast selection, while very good for well educated users, might be a little overwhelming for most. But either way, this is one of the first times I've seen THIS much selection in any single configuration. If you look at other sites every machine is in a "tier" which is limited to certain parts and if you want more if you have to go to a more expensive machine but AVADirect allows you to go to the lowest budget machine and tweak it as you see fit. That is customer satisfaction at its best.
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Monarch's computer customization is like that as well.

Here's to hoping they don't go the way of the butterfly. :eek:

EDIT: Is it just me, or is their component pricing on system builds extremely competitive?
 
Yeah I'm glad you guys opened my eyes to this place...I might just order a media center pc from them. Barebones start @ $300.
 
General Crespin said:
Monarch's computer customization is like that as well.

Here's to hoping they don't go the way of the butterfly. :eek:

EDIT: Is it just me, or is their component pricing on system builds extremely competitive?
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Given the trouble that Monarch is in currently, we think this place is a good alternative.

We didn't put much emphasis on it in the article, but their prices are very fair. It's a tough business to be in when you have low margins, but when you can sell in volume, it works.
 
That's right Jason, it's definitely not easy but we are blessed with gov't work as well as repeat customers so it's much easier to navigate both of our favorite niches: custom gaming systems and high-end servers which I am personally very passionate about.

Misha Troshin
Sales Manager, CEO
888.363.1051 direct
216.503.6355 fax
 
Tim Roper said:
FIRST BOOT
Upon first boot, the machine went straight to the Windows desktop, bypassing the usual (and tedious) Windows Setup process. This jives with the fact that AVA spends some time performing burn-in on their systems, rather than shipping them out as soon as they’re put together.
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Hmm - this is a serious violation of the Microsoft OEM license agreement. AVA Direct is apparently not using the OPK to install Windows XP on customer systems. OEMs are not permitted to accept the Windows XP EULA on behalf of the customer. The end-user MUST see the OOBE ("out-of-box-experience" commonly known as "the tedious" setup screens).

With the OPK, the OEM can still test, burnin and install software without having accepted the EULA for the customer. I see that Misha Troshen (CEO of AVA Direct) is around the boards here, so here is my suggestion: get using that OPK as soon as possible.

Besides the legal hassles with Microsoft and the end user it brings up, it is far easier to install Windows, additional software and test/burinin your machines using the OPK, once you've figured out the technical process of getting it deployed.

More info about OEM license agreements and the OEM Preinstallation Kit is out there...
 
avadirect said:
That's right Jason, it's definitely not easy but we are blessed with gov't work as well as repeat customers so it's much easier to navigate both of our favorite niches: custom gaming systems and high-end servers which I am personally very passionate about.

Misha Troshin
Sales Manager, CEO
888.363.1051 direct
216.503.6355 fax
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I was very impressed by the level of support that you gave. You're definately "up there" in the boutique builder catagory. There are only a small number of things that separates you from high end builders. Congratulations on that evaluation.

I have one question for you. How do you suppose that bad video car managed to slip through the burn in process?
 
RedOctober said:
Hmm - this is a serious violation of the Microsoft OEM license agreement. AVA Direct is apparently not using the OPK to install Windows XP on customer systems. OEMs are not permitted to accept the Windows XP EULA on behalf of the customer. The end-user MUST see the OOBE ("out-of-box-experience" commonly known as "the tedious" setup screens).

With the OPK, the OEM can still test, burnin and install software without having accepted the EULA for the customer. I see that Misha Troshen (CEO of AVA Direct) is around the boards here, so here is my suggestion: get using that OPK as soon as possible.

Besides the legal hassles with Microsoft and the end user it brings up, it is far easier to install Windows, additional software and test/burinin your machines using the OPK, once you've figured out the technical process of getting it deployed.

More info about OEM license agreements and the OEM Preinstallation Kit is out there...
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Yet another detail of Microsoft's ToS that I was not aware of. I suppose it's appropriate for us to not complain about companies not accepting the EULA on our behalf in the future. There are a bunch of integrators that set the system completely up for you.

Do you think that they have something in their own ToS that allows the customer to waive the right of accepting the EULA to the company? If that's kosher, then that's a way companies can get around it.
 
Jason_Wall said:
Do you think that they have something in their own ToS that allows the customer to waive the right of accepting the EULA to the company?
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They might have something in their OEM agreement w/ MS, but I doubt it.

PinataUT

edit in bold
 
onetwenty8k said:
I have one question for you. How do you suppose that bad video car managed to slip through the burn in process?
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We burn-in all of our systems for at least 72hrs, 90% of the time we are able to catch a defective video card, replace it and start the burn-in all over again. Unfortunately, if we receive a card that is destine to fail it usually takes more than 72hrs to make it happen. It will most likely happen within a week or so from everyday gaming. Plus, even though we package our systems as best as we can, we have no control over the way the shipper handles the package, which could cause hardware to fail as well.
Thank You,

Chris
AVADirect
Technical Support
 
One comment for you guys at AVA. The configurator gives me a headache to be honest.

There's just way too much stuff there and not enough info. May I suggest you take a look at the layout of OPC or Alienware. They both have excellent configurators.
 
onetwenty8k said:
One comment for you guys at AVA. The configurator gives me a headache to be honest.

There's just way too much stuff there and not enough info. May I suggest you take a look at the layout of OPC or Alienware. They both have excellent configurators.
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We are currently working on a "project" that I can't disclose any info on just yet, but you'll be very pleased when it's complete. I agree, a lot of choice is not always "head-friendly" however we offer a true "wide selection" of only the best of everything on our gaming configs. We also like for our customers to call us before they place an order so we can design their "perfect" rig from the ground up. We try to reflect people's personalities and character by this volume of choices instead of forcing something that they might not necessarily like or relate to, therefore a familar word "custom" is what we're all about here.

Misha :D
 
Okay. I await the release of the project. It is a good idea to have people call. The people from whom I bought my laptop (PowerNotebooks), I was on the phone with them constantly making sure everything was right. Glad I did that, Donald (sales guy) insisted I do that and he was on the phone with me even after I placed my order giving me updates.

Hopefully they'll join the [H] evaluation program.
 
Jason_Wall said:
Do you think that they have something in their own ToS that allows the customer to waive the right of accepting the EULA to the company? If that's kosher, then that's a way companies can get around it.
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No. It's a requirement of Microsoft, and unless someone is more familiar with the legalese of the OEM License Agreement, I can't see any OEM having the ability, or rights, to bear the legal responsibility of a customer's relationship with Microsoft by "proxy".

In other words, the issue at hand is whether the customer is willing, capable and intellgently able to enter a legal contract with Microsoft for it's product. If the OEM could somehow accept on their behalf, they would have commited the customer to a legal contract when the customer never had the ability to see the terms of the contract. In that case, the OEM could be reasonably expected to bear the responsibility for a customer violating the terms of the EULA. Why would an OEM want to put themselves in that situation?

Besides:

Microsoft Documentation said:
Additionally, the OPK is easy to set up and use and will save you time versus manual installation. It enables you to add shortcuts and branding of your business to the operating system, enables you to test preinstalled PCs without interrupting the preinstallation process, and much more.
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It makes the OEM's job waaaaaaaaay easier! You can setup custom desktop backgrounds, themes, icons and use it to preinstall applications "unattended"-ly. I've used it with great success (most of the time) ! :)
 
Regarding the online configurator; I for one found it superior to all the other system builder sites. When I'm looking for a custom built system I want to have the same choices as if I were building it myself. I like being able to choose from several types and speed of RAM or to be able to spec a PCP&C power supply and be able to see the price difference over an Enermax for example.
Bravo to AvaDirect, I am seriously shopping a system with you and a few other integrators right now.
And regarding the fully installed and ready to roll Windows on the system out of the box; that is just what I want, plug it in and get on with it.
 
I am curious..since I am a resident of Northeast OH, I was wondering what makes you different than all the other companies around here? Myself and others have been burned my Micropro, A2Zcomputers, Legend Micro......etc. To be honest I'm hesitant to ever do business again with someone local. What sets your company apart from them?? I'd rather buy local.

Thanks,

Scott
 
Diseaseboy said:
I am curious..since I am a resident of Northeast OH, I was wondering what makes you different than all the other companies around here? Myself and others have been burned my Micropro, A2Zcomputers, Legend Micro......etc. To be honest I'm hesitant to ever do business again with someone local. What sets your company apart from them?? I'd rather buy local.

Thanks,

Scott
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The article we published is about the best accounting of a consumer experience that you're going to find. I'd read it to see if what they do for the customer is enough for you. Good build quality, great support, great price. I don't think you'll be burned by them.
 
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