New Velocity Micro computer

[Vlad2]

Just received a new Velocity Micro computer. It was Campus edition, with upgraded CPU (6400), memory (2Gig), card reader and blue case with side window.

First, good things. Computer is working, no obvious problems. Case actually looks nice. Computer is pretty quiet. Not too much bloatware loaded (a couple of obligatory icons "buy this" and "upgrade that" are present, but not too many - in fact all icons on the desktop fit in a single column).

Now, bad things. My biggest beef: when I was buying this computer, salesperson told me that there is space for 4 hard drives in the case. This was important for me - I am a storage junkie, I am upgrading and buying new hard drives all the time. Reality: there is a small hard drive cage that can hold only 3 hard drives, and they will be directly on top of each other (which is not good for hard drives). There are wires going through this cage that need to be removed and put somewhere else in order to fit even 3 drives. To be fair, it is probably possible to fit 4th drive in the external 3 1/2 bay - but there is no airflow there. So they have not exactly lied to me, but it was not what I expected.

In my humble opinion, this is pretty bad. The more so that there is plenty of space in the case for a larger hard drive cage, it would cost VM next to nothing to make this cage taller, but they did not...

Second thing: motherboard is slightly misaligned with the case, all connectors on the back are not at the center of their case openings - they are half a millimeter higher then they should be. Not fatal, they are still usable (some of them - barely), but unpleasant.

Motherboard is not well designed - there are connectors for front USB and Firewire ports in a tight space between 2 PCI slots. Not a big deal while these slots are free, but it would be difficult to fit cards in both these slots. (This I guess we should blame on Intel, not on VM - still, they have chosen this motherboard).

On the balance, computer is not exactly bad, it is mainly as promised, but after reading all the previous reports about VM computers, I expected more...

 

[Chernobyl1]

Ask them for a replacement, their support seems to be good.

 

[Vlad2]

Ask them for a replacement, their support seems to be good.

Replacement could help only with misaligned motherboard, other things are design defects.

 

[Chernobyl1]

keh?
If the case isnt up to standard he should get a replacement that is.

 

[silenteye]

Well considering the fact I'm getting the same computer as you, those little details won't bug me. Though I could see the motherboard thing being quite annoying.

 

[ChrisMorley]

Those chassis are designed by us and Lian-Li. Sure, we could do anything we want to the GX chassis, but that just adds to the bottom line cost. And yes, you can put a 4th HDD in the unused 3.5" bay. If you need more storage, that's why we have the LX and the LXe. And as an aside - I do a lot of thermal testing from a day to day basis - while those HDD look like they may be "wedged" in there, the front fan keeps them quite cool. In our LX chassis, which holds 5 drives in the same type of bay, I can keep 4 Raptors and a 750GB Seagate cool enough under load without a problem. So rest easy on the heat department.

The motherboard is a made by Intel P965 motherboard, one that we have had great success with and people have been happy with its performance and stability. We use industry standard components that have gone through prior and proper testing. While those front headers are wedged in there, we have had no customer issues with utilizing the PCI slots.

 

[Vlad2]

Chris,

The problem was that I was not informed about it. From your web page, it looked like the only difference between your "signature" case and "normal" case is a front door (which I did not want). And conversation with your sales representative did not help. I would not have ordered a computer with your lower-end case if I knew about small hard drive cage.

The savings you got from smaller hard drive cage is probably below $1, but I am not saying you should not have done it - there are many people who are happy with a single hard drive and do not need more. The problem is that I learn about it only when I received the computer - I was not able to make an informed buying decision.

 

[HappyJack]

Chris,

The problem was that I was not informed about it. From your web page, it looked like the only difference between your "signature" case and "normal" case is a front door (which I did not want). And conversation with your sales representative did not help. I would not have ordered a computer with your lower-end case if I knew about small hard drive cage.

The savings you got from smaller hard drive cage is probably below $1, but I am not saying you should not have done it - there are many people who are happy with a single hard drive and do not need more. The problem is that I learn about it only when I received the computer - I was not able to make an informed buying decision.

Dude, you asked if it would hold 4 hard drives and you say it will. I bet you have a free 5.25 bay or two, also. You were informed, but you just don't like it. Consider perhaps you didn't ask the question properly to get an answer you wanted.

 

[Chernobyl1]

Dude, you asked if it would hold 4 hard drives and you say it will. I bet you have a free 5.25 bay or two, also. You were informed, but you just don't like it. Consider perhaps you didn't ask the question properly to get an answer you wanted.

Thats not the issue.
He went to them under recommendation that they can build the PC he wants.
He tried to make sure that it would do what he needs and was misinformed by the salesperson.

VM charge more but you also get more for your money including the customer service.
I am growing to like the sound of VM as they do sort out the issues.

In this case I feel he has redress as he cannot fit 4 drives in the system without having to buy a 5 1/4" cradle and some extra cooling.
This also take one of the 5 1/4" bays out of comission.
He also needs to reroute the wiring as it has been routed through the drive bays, I bet they wont do that again

 

[Vlad2]

Dude, you asked if it would hold 4 hard drives and you say it will. I bet you have a free 5.25 bay or two, also. You were informed, but you just don't like it. Consider perhaps you didn't ask the question properly to get an answer you wanted.

Well, potentially you can also have more HDDs lying on the bottom of the case in a heap But when I got an answer that that case can hold 4 HDD, I interpreted it to mean that there are 4 places specifically designed to hold HDD...

Frankly, what really bugs me is this: the case itself is mainly well designed, hard drive cage is well placed before a ventilator, and from the general proportion of the case, the size and location of the front ventilator, it seems that the cage was meant to be taller. I bet it was taller in the original Lian Lu design, but VM asked to make it smaller to shave off a few cents from their cost... Sure they are in a business to make money, and you have to shave cents when you can. But they must make sure that their customers and prospective customers are correctly informed.

Everybody have their own requirements. Some people want 2 graphic cards. I do not need them, and perfectly happy with a non-SLI motherboard. But I need space for hard drives, and I want it to be a well-cooled space, so I can buy any hard drives, even having propensity to run hot, without worrying about them failing. Basically I am as disappointed as a gamer would be if he expected an SLI motherboard, but after receiving the computer found out that second graphic card slot cannot be used because of some penny-worth cost saving measure...

 

[Vlad2]

I now have my new computer for a week and a half. Seems to be pretty stable, did not fail any tests that I throwed at it. 3dMark06 score is approximately 2200. 7 times slower than the fastest computer registered on their website, but still 20 times faster than my old computer Curious that among computers having the same CPU/graphic card, it has one of the lowest score. Do not know what to make of it. (By the way, VM did not leave 3dMark or any other testing/”burn in” software on the PC – I had to get it myself).

Some additional minor usability issues. Front USB connectors located at the very bottom of the case are not very convenient to use when computer is on the floor - top of the case would be a much better location. McAfee antivirus (not a trial version) continuously nagged to be registered - but could not connect to its registration site when an attempt to register it was made. Uninstalled it (was going to do it anyway, so did not waste any time calling tech support). Required 2 reboots to uninstall

I redid the wiring to the front connectors – so that they would not go through the hard drive cage. The length of the wires was just barely enough. This freed up the lowest portion of the cage – but unfortunately this location is far from ideal for a hard drive – it is below the front fan, and HD would be directly on top of the bottom of the cage – so there would be very little airflow there.

Although I am still unhappy with VM for making the hard drive cage shorter (killing the best locations for additional hard drives), I decided to keep the computer. Main reasons: In many respects it is a good computer, I need a computer right now, and VM does not have a good return policy (restocking fees etc.).

These are some lessons I got from this experience for future computer purchases.

1) Do not base your purchasing decision on anything told to you by salespeople. For example if a computer manufacturer uses customized parts, and does not describe them fully on the web site – you can call the manufacturer and ask, but do not rely on such answers. Even the best intentioned salesperson can make a mistake, or you could misunderstand each other. If some information is important to your purchasing decision but not available on the web site, stay away from this manufacturer.

2) Try to avoid customized parts. Maybe somebody, somewhere makes customized parts that are better than their off-the-shelf counterparts, but I have yet to see such examples. In all cases known to me, customization was done either to lock consumers in a proprietary solution (Dell often does it), or to reduce manufacturer’s costs (as in this case).

3) Try to choose a manufacturer with a good return policy, ideally – 30 days money-back satisfaction guarantee, without restocking fees. Not many companies offer it now, but when they do, it is a real big plus for buyers – if anything goes wrong, you have an option to return. Besides, such a policy demonstrates manufacturer’s confidence that most people will be happy with their purchases. (VM prides itself that it works with every customer to make him happy with the purchase – if so, why not back it up with a money-back satisfaction guarantee?)

 

[ChrisMorley]

Actually, the personalization that we do to make the Lian Li chassis our own (logos, colors, better cooling, etc.) actually COST us money - and we have to order in very large quantities. We don't go around nickle and diming our designs. That HDD cage design was stock Lian-Li reference - three drives to that particular cage, we didn't tell them to "make it shorter" to "save a buck." Just FYI.

In fact, just yesterday I was working on a new design of a different model, and everything we talked about was "let's add this" or "let's strenghten that." Nothing was said about "can we save money if we do this..."

 

[Vlad2]

Actually, the personalization that we do to make the Lian Li chassis our own (logos, colors, better cooling, etc.) actually COST us money - and we have to order in very large quantities. We don't go around nickle and diming our designs. That HDD cage design was stock Lian-Li reference - three drives to that particular cage, we didn't tell them to "make it shorter" to "save a buck." Just FYI.

Of course you know better, but looking at the insides of the computer, I just cannot help thinking that the cage was meant to be taller. The space above it has the best cooling, and is completely unused in the current design ...

For my curiosity, can you tell me what stock Lian Li model your case is based on?

 

[Velocity_Micro]

I can't find it on the Lian Li site, but it's based on the PC-7. Newegg has it. They use this drive case with several other models, too. The only change they made for us was based on better fans, improved grills, and our logo in the front. (Actually this case originally had a single 80mm rear fan but they changed theirs when they changed ours to 120mm)

 

[Vlad2]

OK then, I stand corrected, and apologize for my incorrect hypothesis that you explicitly asked Lian Li for a smaller drive cage to save a few dimes.

However the fact still remains that I was misinformed about the number of internal bays by a VM salesperson (probably unintentionally - I think it was an honest mistake, not a deliberate misinformation), and was unpleasantly surprised when I received the computer. And as I said before this factor is important to me.

You could have easily prevented such cases if you had published a more detailed descriptions on your web site. Just look at the "closer look" page for your GX case, and see for yourself how skimpy is the information here...

 

[Vlad2]

Yesterday I moved a hard drive from my old PC to the new PC. At first, everything looked OK. Then, half an hour later, the new PC just turned itself off – without any warning. And refused to be turned on.

OK, time to find out how good VM technical support really is. I called them, was connected quickly, but not to a technician – only to a secretary who took my information and promised that somebody will call me back. Today? – I asked. If you do not have a 24-hours support service, then probably not today – she answered. But your “normal” support is supposed to be until 11 PM, and it is only 8 PM now? - was my question. OK, maybe somebody will call today, I do not really know – she answered.

Well, her first reaction was correct – nobody called my yesterday, and neither did they call today.

I found out what happened with my computer an hour later, when I tried to turn it on again and was greeted with a message “Computer was shut down due to CPU overheating”. On inspecting the CPU, it became obvious what happened. The wires to CPU fan were passing very near fan blades, and were not attached to anything to hold them in place. It was very easy to move them a little bit so that they were actually in the blades and preventing the fan from working. In fact it is surprising that this did not happen earlier, during the shipping. So, I took a piece of tape and attached the wires to the top of the fan. Would be nice if VM did it themselves when building the computer.

It is interesting when VM tech support will call me. Probably not today either …

 

[ChrisMorley]

Our support hours are 7AM to 11PM Mon-Fri and 10AM to 4PM Saturday (yesterday when you called). If you do not have 24/7 coverage then of course you are restricted to normal business hours...just FYI.

 

[Vlad2]

Chris, I think you can explain everything! I am almost afraid to mention that VM tech support did not return my call on Monday either - you will probably be able to explain that this is how it should be

 

[Jim Hall]

In my humble opinion

I always think you get better service no matter, if the above is true. Try it.

Jim

 

[theelectic]

It's obvious your definition, or expectation, of 4 HD slots is different from VM's, or the salesperson's. The computer holds 4 HDs. If you wanted your specific expectation of HD slots - does it hold 4 HDs or more with 1/2 a slot or more in between, with a full 4 slot cage and not in a 5.25" bay? then you should have asked, or researched beforehand. In fact most of the issues you mention can be seen in one form or another in the [H]Consumer reviews of VM computers. In this day and age when you can find info on pretty much anything, I would not assume anything when making a major purchase, no matter how trivial.

The motherboard misalignment and loose fan wire... well, that's inexcusable in my book.