For legal reasons I must inform you that of course the following incident is only my personal experience with Hypersonic. I am aware though - as I'm sure you all are - that Hypersonic now scores a 3 out of 10 on Resellerratings.com, so I don't think my experience is singular. This may or may not be an accurate representation of Hypersonic's policies.
I serve the US military and learned that I was getting shipped overseas for 15 months last year, and decided to shop for a top-of-the-line laptop to take with me. After much research I found a system I liked, and while the same system was available from many retailers, I found Hypersonic PC and their AX20 to have the cheapest price. Since I was deploying soon I confirmed with Hypersonic via email their posted build schedule of 7-10 days. They confirmed this for me and I purchased a brand new Aviator AX20 from them on the 9th of January for nearly $4,000. To my disappointment, at the end of that month my system had mysteriously shipped twice but I had not received it or even a tracking number for its shipment. A few phone calls later, I at the end had to have my system overnighted (at my expense!) just so that I would receive it the day before I left on the 2nd of February, almost a month after my order was placed.
The first day of use I noticed a problem. This is what you can expect from Hypersonic's "burn-in" process. Already upset about the shipping issues, I contacted Hypersonic's service department the very next day about my computer overheating after 10 minutes every time I turned it on. Regardless of environment or use, the system would not fail to overheat. So I sent a couple of detailed emails telling them my problem and received a response of, "This is usually a sign of overheating. Check to see if the fans are working correctly." This is what the Hypersonic warranty will give you.
So, yes my fans were running fine thank you, but my computer was not. After a series of 4 months and 6 unanswered emails, I was finally told over the phone that my system was past its initial warranty period. This is another thing you can expect from Hypersonic. Their policy on returns or repairs is to just wait to respond to a customer's problem until the period in which it is covered has passed. I talked to two people for over two hours, pleading my story to Hypersonic and was granted a repair of the system finally on the 24th of July, nearly six months after I first received the system and noticed the problem. I was forced to ship the system at my own expense from Iraq, back to Hypersonic. It landed at their door nine days ago, and again after a number of unanswered emails, I have heard nothing of its progress. This is what you can expect from Hypersonic's repair department. I got a broken computer for seven months, and now have nothing except a $4,000 sized hole in my wallet.
As of August 22, 2007
I tracked my system through the mail to Hypersonic's repair department and it arrived there at 10am on the 26th of July. A few more inquiring emails later I received an email finally on the 9th of August saying that a faulty motherboard somehow made it past their mandatory 72 hour burn in process. They ordered a new motherboard for my system and said that it would be in for testing the next day, and possibly be ready for shipment the middle of the following week. 12 days later brings us up to date with only two more unanswered emails and still no system. I'm hoping they hold out for a few more months so that by the time that I actually get a working system, it will be completely obsolete. For those still considering buying from Hypersonic, stay tuned for more promising updates!
As of September 1, 2007
Well it has been 7 months since I "received" my system from Hypersonic and the result is still a total loss. This timeline is approaching ridiculous proportions. My series of emails were finally answered and the Hypersonic technician told me that despite their best efforts, the motherboard was not the problem with my system, and that they would be experimenting with replacing the processor. Most people know, and if they don't should, that to replace a processor in a computer takes all of two minutes. This of course is not the case with Hypersonic, as it has been since the 24th of August since I heard this news from the techs there. Eight days and two unanswered emails after their last response brings us up to date with a running total of 7 months, 22 emails, 8 phone calls, $4,000 and still no computer.
As of October 27, 2007
I received a few weeks ago an email from Hypersonic telling me that my computer was finally fixed, and that in order to get it back I would need to arrange payment with them to the tune of $450 for parts and labor. Horrified after all I had gone through, I thought that this had to be some simple misunderstanding. They assured me that it was not, because it was nearly eight months after my purchase date, the computer was after all not being covered under warranty and I would have to make the payment to get my computer back. I have not spoken directly with Hypersonic since then. After this ridiculous series of events, I was forced to take the legal route with this. After consulting a lawyer on the matter, they informed me that Hypersonic was in fact violating several laws including my own state and New York's Consumer Protection Act, as well as subjecting itself to liability for claims of breach of contract, fraud, mispresentation and conversion in reference to their policies and some things they claim on their website and in emails to me. As of today, they have 3 days to answer my demands for a full refund. I will update and let everyone who is also having problems with Hypersonic, or those of you who are looking into buying from Hypersonic, know how this matter ends.
It has now been 10 months since I received my AX20 from Hypersonic. I can't blame Hypersonic for a faulty motherboard perhaps, but I can blame them for shipping me a faulty laptop, and I certainly can blame them for not supporting their systems or customers in any way. Take this review for what its worth. I hope if you are an informed buyer looking to buy from Hypersonic, that you will review the 10 other retailers that sell the exact same systems that Hypersonic offers. If you are one of the unfortuante consumers who has purchased a Hypersonic system, then I pity you because I know that lawyers are expensive. Hope the price was right OCZ.
I serve the US military and learned that I was getting shipped overseas for 15 months last year, and decided to shop for a top-of-the-line laptop to take with me. After much research I found a system I liked, and while the same system was available from many retailers, I found Hypersonic PC and their AX20 to have the cheapest price. Since I was deploying soon I confirmed with Hypersonic via email their posted build schedule of 7-10 days. They confirmed this for me and I purchased a brand new Aviator AX20 from them on the 9th of January for nearly $4,000. To my disappointment, at the end of that month my system had mysteriously shipped twice but I had not received it or even a tracking number for its shipment. A few phone calls later, I at the end had to have my system overnighted (at my expense!) just so that I would receive it the day before I left on the 2nd of February, almost a month after my order was placed.
The first day of use I noticed a problem. This is what you can expect from Hypersonic's "burn-in" process. Already upset about the shipping issues, I contacted Hypersonic's service department the very next day about my computer overheating after 10 minutes every time I turned it on. Regardless of environment or use, the system would not fail to overheat. So I sent a couple of detailed emails telling them my problem and received a response of, "This is usually a sign of overheating. Check to see if the fans are working correctly." This is what the Hypersonic warranty will give you.
So, yes my fans were running fine thank you, but my computer was not. After a series of 4 months and 6 unanswered emails, I was finally told over the phone that my system was past its initial warranty period. This is another thing you can expect from Hypersonic. Their policy on returns or repairs is to just wait to respond to a customer's problem until the period in which it is covered has passed. I talked to two people for over two hours, pleading my story to Hypersonic and was granted a repair of the system finally on the 24th of July, nearly six months after I first received the system and noticed the problem. I was forced to ship the system at my own expense from Iraq, back to Hypersonic. It landed at their door nine days ago, and again after a number of unanswered emails, I have heard nothing of its progress. This is what you can expect from Hypersonic's repair department. I got a broken computer for seven months, and now have nothing except a $4,000 sized hole in my wallet.
As of August 22, 2007
I tracked my system through the mail to Hypersonic's repair department and it arrived there at 10am on the 26th of July. A few more inquiring emails later I received an email finally on the 9th of August saying that a faulty motherboard somehow made it past their mandatory 72 hour burn in process. They ordered a new motherboard for my system and said that it would be in for testing the next day, and possibly be ready for shipment the middle of the following week. 12 days later brings us up to date with only two more unanswered emails and still no system. I'm hoping they hold out for a few more months so that by the time that I actually get a working system, it will be completely obsolete. For those still considering buying from Hypersonic, stay tuned for more promising updates!
As of September 1, 2007
Well it has been 7 months since I "received" my system from Hypersonic and the result is still a total loss. This timeline is approaching ridiculous proportions. My series of emails were finally answered and the Hypersonic technician told me that despite their best efforts, the motherboard was not the problem with my system, and that they would be experimenting with replacing the processor. Most people know, and if they don't should, that to replace a processor in a computer takes all of two minutes. This of course is not the case with Hypersonic, as it has been since the 24th of August since I heard this news from the techs there. Eight days and two unanswered emails after their last response brings us up to date with a running total of 7 months, 22 emails, 8 phone calls, $4,000 and still no computer.
As of October 27, 2007
I received a few weeks ago an email from Hypersonic telling me that my computer was finally fixed, and that in order to get it back I would need to arrange payment with them to the tune of $450 for parts and labor. Horrified after all I had gone through, I thought that this had to be some simple misunderstanding. They assured me that it was not, because it was nearly eight months after my purchase date, the computer was after all not being covered under warranty and I would have to make the payment to get my computer back. I have not spoken directly with Hypersonic since then. After this ridiculous series of events, I was forced to take the legal route with this. After consulting a lawyer on the matter, they informed me that Hypersonic was in fact violating several laws including my own state and New York's Consumer Protection Act, as well as subjecting itself to liability for claims of breach of contract, fraud, mispresentation and conversion in reference to their policies and some things they claim on their website and in emails to me. As of today, they have 3 days to answer my demands for a full refund. I will update and let everyone who is also having problems with Hypersonic, or those of you who are looking into buying from Hypersonic, know how this matter ends.
It has now been 10 months since I received my AX20 from Hypersonic. I can't blame Hypersonic for a faulty motherboard perhaps, but I can blame them for shipping me a faulty laptop, and I certainly can blame them for not supporting their systems or customers in any way. Take this review for what its worth. I hope if you are an informed buyer looking to buy from Hypersonic, that you will review the 10 other retailers that sell the exact same systems that Hypersonic offers. If you are one of the unfortuante consumers who has purchased a Hypersonic system, then I pity you because I know that lawyers are expensive. Hope the price was right OCZ.
You forgot to add me to that post!
