founded 2000 headquarters twinsburg ohio key people alex sonis ceo gary muravin coo travis r. bortz evp products desktops workstations laptops tablets mini pcs media pcs servers website avadirect.com avalanche ii hardline liquid cooled gaming computer ava omni vr desktop ava sixense vr desktop avadirect custom computers is an american computer manufacturing company located in twinsburg ohio . it specializes in the design engineering and production of customized high performance computer systems . avadirect s custom computers span the spectrum from microsoft windows or linux manageable and highly reliable servers to high end computing workstations gaming systems to business pc s and notebooks to barebones systems and parts . avadirect offers over 1 billion different custom computer configurations to customers located in the united states of america . contents 1 history 2 products 3 virtual reality 4 support 5 certifications 6 awards 7 reviews 8 competitors 9 references 10 external links history edit freedom usa inc. d b a avadirect custom computers was founded in 2000 . the company was originally established on the business model of building and selling custom computers at trade shows in the northeast quadrant of the united states during the millennial pc boom . as the company grew the demand for an online marketplace increased and company founders wanted to give customers the opportunity to customize computers with the maximum number of hardware options . in 2003 freedom usa inc. changed its name and business model from on site computer retail to a custom computer e commerce business model and avadirect custom computers was born . products edit late november 2015 avadirect released three new lines of computers 1 avant affinity and ascendant . the avant gaming series is composed of six gaming pc s and three gaming laptops varying in size and power . the gaming computers in the avant line focuses on encompassing all gamers from casual players to enthusiasts . the line features the latest generation of components to provide maximum power and performace . the affinity series is avadirect s line of systems for home use including home computers and laptops home servers home theater pcs and network attached storage nas solutions for the average user . all affinity systems are equipped with skylake processors . the affinity line is aimed at the everyday computer user with a focus on multitasking streaming and web browsing . the ascendant series is avadirect s business line with powerful workstations for advanced users like engineers researchers graphic designers and other creative professionals . the line includes servers desktops laptops and workstations with a focus on demanding applications and processes such as autocad adobe creative suite and rendering power . in the spring of 2015 avadirect began partnering companies in the virtual reality industry to build computers for specific vr needs . avadirect builds the ava omni vr desktop to work in conjunction with the virtuix omni virtual reality locomotion simulator . 2 similarly avadirect offers the ava sixense vr desktop to work in conjunction with the sixense stem system virtual reality motion control controller . 3 in december 2015 avadirect worked with road to vr a virtual reality publication to develop the ava exemplar by road to vr which the publication uses as the benchmark computer to compare virtual reality devices and applications . 4 in march 2016 avadirect introduced the avatar their own vr computer . in february 2015 avadirect released an exclusive line of custom computers that were researched and developed as solution based configurations for high performance computing for specific consumer niches . the signature series line of custom computers includes pc gaming desktops and virtual reality based computer configurations . 5 in november 2015 avadirect added two new computers to its signature series line the avalanche ii and the avalanche mini . both custom gaming pcs use hardline liquid cooling and processors with the intel skylake architecture . avadirect manufactures a variety of gaming computers including high performance desktops and laptop configurations for pc gaming and enthusiast computing . these include a wide variety of full sized desktops liquid cooled gaming computers quiet gaming computers and mini gaming desktops . performance based gaming laptops are also included as a mobile gaming option in the gaming hardware offerings . custom gaming computers feature high performance graphics processing units from industry leaders such as amd and nvidia . desktop computers are a primary form factor offering from avadirect custom computers focused on delivering performance computing solutions intended for regular use at a single location . this custom computer company offers full sized desktops silent desktops all in one desktops and pc barebones including configurations that feature cases from industry leaders such as corsair cooler master evga and fractal design nzxt corp and thermaltake . avadirect offers custom workstations that are designed for professional use that require computational efficiency featuring performance hardware for application based scenarios for professionals including scientists graphic designers content editing professionals and architectural engineers for applications like autocad who require computational and graphical processing power for efficient work . 6 avadirect offers custom laptops that include brand names including asus clevo getac micro star international and various other brands for hardware customization in portable notebook form factors . notebooks from avadirect span a variety of models including desktop replacement computers based on a z97 chipset 7 ruggized notebooks and ultraportable models . 8 in addition to laptops avadirect offers next generation touchscreen computers or tablets for interactive mobile computing . avadirect features the nvidia shield gaming tablet for gaming media interactivity and streaming content . they also have expanded tablets into the ruggedized industrial enterprise space . 9 mini pcs from avadirect are configured for minimal footprint hardware . avadirect has developed a small high performance desktop for mini computing scenarios including the featuring the intel nuc . 10 media pcs are also available from avadirect . these computers serve as a variety of uses in the home as they can be considered a content or media hub for home entertainment users . a home theater pc is different from a standard desktop featuring additional hardware components such as a cable tv tuner allowing for input output functionality from a traditional cable service providers . htpc s can also receive gaming components to produce quality performance on next generation televisions on as a gaming console replacement device . 11 custom data storage servers and enterprise storage solutions are available from avadirect including web based proxy enterprise file dedicated gpu server systems application specific and custom cloud based custom server hardware are available at avadirect . 12 avadirect has a history of working with large universities and organizations to provide powerful and reliable server and storage solutions . avadirect has also catered to small businesses providing nas units . virtual reality edit avadirect launched their signature vr desktop and laptop the avatar in early 2016 . designed to meet and exceed the hardware requirements of virtual reality the avatar vr pc was put through extensive research and development and has since received immense accolades and praise from a number of tech publications . avatar virtual reality pc in december 2015 avadirect and road to vr an industry leading publication dedicated to consumer virtual reality launched a partnership to combine each company s core competences and create the ava exemplar vr pc . the ava exemplar is a virtual reality desktop configured with the help of road to vr to provide a seamless virtual reality experience without a heavy price tag . road to vr uses the ava exemplar in their us and uk offices to benchmark and review vr games accessories and platforms . 13 in august 2016 avadirect launched the ava exemplar 2 an updated version of the ava exemplar using a new chassis and the latest generation components . in 2015 avadirect partnered with a second virtual reality company sixense by creating the ava sixense vr desktop . configured to compliment the sixense stem system a wireless virtual reality motion tracking system . avadirect was featured with sixense at the 2015 game developers conference and the 2016 silicon valley virtual reality conference . throughout the partnernship avadirect has continued to provide the sixense team with ava sixense vr desktops for r & d and development of the sixense stem system and other sixense software . 14 in late 2014 avadirect entered the virtual reality industry by partnering with virtuix omni to create the ava omni vr dekstop a virtual reality desktop designed and configured specifically to support the virtuix omni platform . throughout the partnership avadirect has been featured with virtuix at tradeshows and conventions including the 2016 consumer electronics show and the 2015 and 2016 game developers conference . avadirect also continues to provide the virtuix team with top of the line ava omni vr desktops for internal r & d and development . 15 support edit avadirect provides u.s. based customer support and technical support for its customers . this custom computer company delivers personalized customer support providing consumers current computer industry insights and knowledge regarding custom computer configuration information . avadirect.com provides technical support for all custom computer configurations with its team of level 3 technical experts indicating the highest level of technical expertise for computer hardware . avadirect custom computers provides lifetime support for all computers purchased through their company . 5 certifications edit avadirect god mode extreme gaming pc avadirect has an iso 9001 international organization for standardization certification avadirect computers and available products are registered among microsoft s industry hardware standards that ensure products and services are safe reliable and of good quality . such standards help businesses increase productivity while minimizing errors and waste . by enabling products from different markets to be directly compared they facilitate companies in entering new markets and assist in the development of global trade on a fair basis . the standards also serve to safeguard consumers and the end users of products and services ensuring that certified products conform to the minimum standards set internationally . avadirect is a general services administration schedule contractor gsa gs35f0159v . this independent agency of the united states government supplies products and communications for u.s. government offices provides transportation and office space to federal government employees and develops government wide cost reduction policies and other infrastructural management tasks . 16 avadirect is a microsoft certified partner as a licensed independent technical support provider offering a comprehensive wide range of support channels for microsoft and multi vendor products . this support includes data management software development application development and others . additional vendor partnerships include premier intel channel partners ; avadirect is one of a select group of customer computer manufactures to be fully compliant with the organizational requirements representing the intel channel programs of solution providers system integrators and value added resellers . 17 avadirect is also compliant with all current ansi esd 20 20 standards . this standard provides technical and administrative requirements for establishing implementing and maintain an esd control program to protect electrical parts assemblies and equipment susceptible to esd damage from human body model hbm discharges greater than or equal to 100 volts . 18 ava aurora build from the intel extreme rig challenge awards edit avadirect competed in the intel extreme rig challenge in the summer of 2016 where 12 of the top north american custom computer builders competed to create the most extreme gaming rig possible with a budget of 10 000 . builders were voted on via twitter throughout the months of june july and august and the top 7 buiders were featured at pax west 2016 in seattle . avadirect created the ava aurora and placed 4th overall earning a showcase spot at pax . 19 steven bassiri at tweaktown gave the avadirect avant mini cube the award of must have performance award in early august 2016 . complimented on its performance quality of build features and value the avant mini cube received a 93 % overall tweaktown rating . 20