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Please don't dismiss Raptor over this. I've had nothing but a great experience ordering from them. I do not have a Blackbird but my Talos II Entry system (1-cpu

Please don't dismiss Raptor over this. I've had nothing but a great experience ordering from them. I do not have a Blackbird but my Talos II Entry system (1-cpu slot vs. 2) works flawlessly.

iforgotpassword 7y ago
So you were lucky to receive a system that just works without issues so you never had to contact their support in the first place. That way of reasoning would work for even the shittiest company on this planet. I'm really glad I read this piece. The geek in me was playing with the idea of getting a Talos 2, but the pricing makes me really hesitate. Knowing that if I'd end up with a problematic unit their support will be absolutely worthless is important information.
- grubles 7y ago
  Actually I did have to contact support since the shipping took a few weeks. Understandable given the exotic hardware and, well, they're small and they support freedom in computing, so I have no qualms waiting. I got a reply relatively quickly, but this was before they started shipping the Blackbirds so it's possible they are just swamped with orders.
- tpearson-raptor 7y ago
  We've shifted our policy to allow rapid RMA of problematic units, which is more in line with other vendors. Please be assured you won't be stuck a problematic unit, especially with our well-established Talos II line. For Talos II, which has been on the market for two years, we have a well established support system in place, which asks for some basic diagnostics to verify a faulty board (this is rare) before authorizing RMA for repair or replacement. With Blackbird there was more of a focus on trying to understand any new faults found in the field, given their tendency to disappear when the units were brought back for analysis. Over the months after Blackbird shipments started, we learned that the majority of those were related to improper customer component installation (CPU, RAM, PSU, chassis), and are in the process of expanding the existing RMA policy to cover the Blackbird line.

Please don't dismiss Raptor over this. I've had nothing but a great experience ordering from them. I do not have a Blackbird but my Talos II Entry system (1-cpu slot vs. 2) works flawlessly.

iforgotpassword 7y ago

So you were lucky to receive a system that just works without issues so you never had to contact their support in the first place. That way of reasoning would work for even the shittiest company on this planet. I'm really glad I read this piece. The geek in me was playing with the idea of getting a Talos 2, but the pricing makes me really hesitate. Knowing that if I'd end up with a problematic unit their support will be absolutely worthless is important information.

grubles 7y ago
Actually I did have to contact support since the shipping took a few weeks. Understandable given the exotic hardware and, well, they're small and they support freedom in computing, so I have no qualms waiting. I got a reply relatively quickly, but this was before they started shipping the Blackbirds so it's possible they are just swamped with orders.
tpearson-raptor 7y ago
We've shifted our policy to allow rapid RMA of problematic units, which is more in line with other vendors. Please be assured you won't be stuck a problematic unit, especially with our well-established Talos II line. For Talos II, which has been on the market for two years, we have a well established support system in place, which asks for some basic diagnostics to verify a faulty board (this is rare) before authorizing RMA for repair or replacement. With Blackbird there was more of a focus on trying to understand any new faults found in the field, given their tendency to disappear when the units were brought back for analysis. Over the months after Blackbird shipments started, we learned that the majority of those were related to improper customer component installation (CPU, RAM, PSU, chassis), and are in the process of expanding the existing RMA policy to cover the Blackbird line.