I bought a laptop with Qubes OS preinstalled, with a custom etched logo and with a pair of sound-cancelling headphones. I'm quite happy with both products. The experience setting up Qubes was very smooth. The performance and battery life are excellent (3-4h when editing documents, using email, etc), although I had to set the fan speed to "Performance" in the bios - the laptop felt a bit too warm with the default settings. The custom etching looks great as well. There are still some fairly minor issues with Qubes: adjusting the screen brightness with the keyboard buttons did not work properly and Bluetooth does not seem to work out of the box, although I have not tried to fix it since I don't use it. I'm also very happy with the headphones: the battery lasts more than two whole work days and the noise cancelling is quite good.
I have nothing to complain about. The processing of the order, the building of the laptop, the shipping, it was all finished swiftly.
I really, really liked the ability to customize the full set-up, along with the terrific support during the ordering stage. I'm not a super linux user, just someone trying to break away from the MS ecosphere, so I can't comment on all the details of the custom coreboot etc. things, which I'm sure are excellent. But as a basic computer user, here are my thoughts: The hardware interface is not as pleasant to use as my previous Lenovo laptops. The touchpad is less responsive, and the keyboard doesn't feel as nice. I know you don't do the hardware yourselves, but source it from someone else--but it is less pleasing than other name brand computers. The battery when running Linux runs out substantially faster than when it runs Windows. I get 8ish hours on Windows and 2ish hours on Linux. This seems . . . odd. Some internet searching suggests that this has to do with hardware performance being optimized for WIndows, but still--a quarter the battery time? It's not a huge deal for me, but something I would have liked to know before I bought the computer. The startup option to select the OS worked perfectly the first time, but after I used Windows the first time it then automatically went into Windows, and to get back to Linux I have to mash the F7 at exactly the right moment at subsequent startups. Again, some internet searching has suggested solutions for this, but also it would have been nice to get instructions about how to prevent it or reset it when I got the computer. I say 'yes' in 'would you recommend us', but it's a sort of qualified yes.
I have been very happy with my NV41 as well as NovaCustom as a whole. Before my purchase they not only answered my questions about the differences between Heads and UEFI but did so in detail with comparison screenshots. The laptop had more customization options available than pretty much any other brand I could find. The laser engraving on the palm rest looks fantastic. The laptop shipped within a couple business days and arrived to my doorstep in Canada about seven days from when I purchased it which I find to be great turnaround time. Unlike some other brands they include duties and fees in the price I paid so I didn't have to worry about how much extra I would have to pay once it hit Canada's border and my government would take an extra pound of flesh from me. The laptop was well packaged and everything on the inside was in pristine condition.
Lightning fast response, knowledgable and honest communication, very nice customized hardware and finally a brilliant first impression with the dasharo firmware! Nothing but the absolute warmest recommendations from Morning Coffe Engineering AB
The NV41 with Qubes OS preinstalled and the customization options for cover and handrest is just exeptional. If you are looking for a reasonably secure laptop, I would definetly have a look at it. Qubes OS preinstalled and officially supported surely something you have already on your mindestens, but having hardware with personal laser engravings makes it really cool as well. I hat a problem with the firmware version of the laptop and the NitroKey, but that was quickly solved with the support. Good to know there is professional support available.
like the 1 sentence above says, this is very much what i always wanted, thank you! the custom engraving and providing a blank keyboard as an option for me was chef kiss :) it's the second laptop i got with a blank keyboard, the other one was an MNT Reform thank you so much folks, i love you ! <3
Whenever I've had a question, Wessel himself has responded.
Pretty cool company
The customization was simple and straight forward, love the extra security features like tamper evident tape on multiple layers of the packaging, separation of the security phrase for initial disk encryption, etc. The product works as described and I am very satisfied overall with my purchase … the build quality of the laptop itself is also good. Only feedback so far is the short battery life.. I know this can be due to a lot of factors like screen settings, processor, etc… but would at least like an option to choose larger capacity battery in the future if possible. Also, not have a dc charging brick adapter… Instead use lightening USB-C fully for the main charging. (Vs. secondary) Overall : 5 stars… Certified Qubes OS works perfectly. Thank you Nova Custom.
Awesome experience. I had the owner of NovaCustom on the phone regarding a payment issue. He was extremely helpful and figured out a way to solve my problem. Besides, the laptop is really nice!
Alleen maar lof voor de support van NovaCustom. Na de aankoop van een laptop bij hen installeerde ik Ubuntu 24.04 maar kreeg ik het geluid niet werkend. Nova Custom heeft dit tot op het bot uitgezocht en vond een oplossing. Ook de verzending en antwoorden op vragen vooraf waren snel. Ik heb nooit ergens anders zo'n service gezien.
Zes jaar oude laptop moest een nieuwe kabel hebben omdat het scherm knipperde. Tijdens de reparatie ging helaas het scherm stuk. Een hele nieuw scherm en behuizing ontvangen. Moest dus alleen maar de kosten betalen voor het vervangen van het kabeltje.
I had a great experience dealing with NovaCustom, Wessel was very responsive with the questions I had before placing an order. Order processing and delivery were very fast, the laptop was well packaged and is very high quality. If you're looking for a new computer and value high quality service and support, I definitely recommend them!
The folks at NovaCustoms are extremely engaged and highly supportive. I can't recommend them strongly enough!
They offer a unique service that is very limited to a handful of companies around the world. Seeing as how they work with established laptop manufacturers (Clevo), this avoids a lot of the pitfalls of designing a computer from scratch. There customer service is good, i only wish they offered an upgraded service that allowed you to contact them 24/7 and by phone and they could screen share with you. I bought a Librem 14 from Purisim (another company that disables Intel Management)and it came with 4 keys that were inoperable (B,N,G and H) a week later and i am yet to be issued a ticket. CustomNova are prompt at returning enquiries and i make my fair share. Heads and Qubes are very detailed and it takes time to wrap your head around the intricacies. But if you are security conscious this is the one for you.
Nova did an outstanding job answering questions and building my machine. Shipping was very fast and the packaging was excellent. The computer is very well built and I like the keyboard. I did not like the trackpad at first. I am use to using the old Lenovo style trackpad but as I used the new trackpad I’ve grown to like it. I am very happy with Nova Custom. I now have my dream machine and know that I have excellent support if problems arise. Thanks Nova Custom.
This is the second time I purchase a NovaCustom NV41 -- soon, the whole family will have one ;-) The first one I purchased was to be powered by Linux; this time, I needed a Windows PC. I was surprised to see how well it worked with Windows (I'm not a fan of that OS, to say the least...) I could almost find Windows enjoyable, when it's installed in this privacy-friendly manner by the NovaCustom team on their super cool device. Also, as usual, amazed at the customer service. Excellent processing of the order, fast delivery... I am a fan. Thanks again to the team!
The selling point for NV41 laptop was Dasharo coreboot firmware, Linux compatibility and having the option to fully customize it. Customer support answered my questions professionally and quickly on Signal. The laptop looks nice, seems sturdy and it was really easy to install Debian on it (purchased without operating system). It is a tad heavier than other 14'' laptops and the choice of processor could have been better. The processor 28-64 W TDP is not great for the battery life. Maybe it was needed to get the Qubes OS certification? Shipping to Canada was the fastest ever with all fees included and very well packed. Shipped on March 22, received on March 25. Thank you NovaCustom and all the best!
I was delighted with the whole experience in ordering, delivery and the laptop itself - NovaCustom is putting great and reasonably secure Linux laptops in the hands of even novices like myself! I got the NV41, and the build quality (whilst not on the level of Apple industrial design) is great (though the shell feels like it will dent/scratch easily if not careful), buttons and ports in convenient places, all requested extras were as described. My only minor gripes worth considering for future models are: • The keyboard is my least favorite part of the whole unit. It does have any indicator if Caps Lock (or any modifier) is active or not, leading to password mistyping issues on screens where password is hidden. Also not a fan of the PgUp/PgDown keys being squashed in with the arrow keys, leading to frequent accidental pushes which jump you around a terminal window. This is sometimes useful, but it is pushed in error so often that I feel they should be in a different position - the keyboard needs a complete rethink for next gen! • On previous laptops I had a Micro-SD card slot with push in/push out, which meant you didn't need an adaptor and nothing is protruding from the unit, so you can safely leave a MicroSD card in permanently. The NV41 only has a full-size SD slot so you need a MicroSD adaptor, and it protrudes quite far out of the unit. This is a very minor QoL improvement I'd love to see make its way into a future model. These minor issues aside, I am very satisfied with the laptop AND NovaCustom's service - I see the owner (Wessel?) is passionate about what they do and are I've seen them on multiple sites engaging with users in a very polite, knowledgable and helpful manner which speaks to the kind of company they are. Thank you NovaCustom!
I've had the NV41 14 inch laptop as my daily driver for a few months now and I absolutely love it! I always worry whenever I get a new laptop that there will be some hardware/driver issue when using Linux on it (like the driver for the wireless card not working, or some issues with the audio or graphics card etc). I've had no such issues this time, everything just worked perfectly from the start! Also, the laptop came with exactly the specs that I ordered. Among other things, I like that it came with coreboot, has plenty of ports and a privacy screen. I also like that it's very light and the keyboard is excellent. Usually there's an adjustment period before I get used to the keyboard of a new laptop, but with this one it was pretty much perfect right from the start (also, I like to put a silicone sheet over the keyboard so that it doesn't get stained and with other laptops this makes it so that you have to press harder on the keys or the sheet moves around when you type; but in this case the sheet stuck to the keyboard and typing was the same as without the sheet). The one nitpick I have is that the left and right arrow keys and the page up/down keys are tiny and right on top of each other, so it would occasionally happen that I'd press the page keys instead of the arrows keys. The one other minor negative is that the battery life is usually just 2-2.5 hours with daily usage. I'm usually almost always within reach of a power outlet, so this hasn't really been a problem for me (just have to remember to plug it in when traveling). Other than that, I've had no issues and would highly recommend NovaCustom! (customer service has also been great)
I have a few decades under the belt when it comes to dealing with IT suppliers and FOSS / open source products, and I can tell: I haven't seen that level of commitment to customer satisfaction since the 1990s! Products are great, assembled with care, maintainable (which is not a quality we often see nowadays), stable and, of course, fully customizable. All these things are already worth a five stars rating. But what makes the real difference in my opinion is not there (many suppliers can make good products... and still, I wouldn't buy from them): what truly differentiates NovaCustom is Wessel and his team working behind the curtain, their customer-satisfaction mindset, their technical expertise, and their willingness to go the extra mile to make a happy client... even happier! When I asked questions, investigating compatibility issues I encountered on my Linux distribution of an accessory they shipped, they not only replied to me but even joined the investigation and eventually shipped to me (at their own expenses!) an alternative product they had taken care to test themselves before. I thought suppliers who genuinely care were an extinct species: it seems I was wrong; we have NovaCustom ;-) Thank you, guys: keep making great products and amazing service like you do!
Very good service. It was quite easy to customize and order the laptop and I receive it at home after a couple of days exactly the way I want it.
From the get go, this company has assisted me all the way through the configuration process as well as the post configuration process. They are very friendly and value their customers. At the end, I got almost exactly what I wanted with the exception of some minor issues that are solvable by me. I didn't like the UPS service because they require me to be home the whole day and I had to choose an access point which was all the way into town with a bike and home again. The rest of the configuration was what I had ordered, very few mistakes and excellent support service that solved all my issues. I didn't like that the Dasharo firmware had a lot of issues on the 1.7.1 release, they shouldn't release something with those kind of issues. When I upgraded to 1.7.2, I skipped 1.7.1 and ran with an older build. With 1.7.2 I get the feature that the laptop doesn't charge the battery any more than 98% which is so very handy for using the laptop for work with a docking station. At one time my WiFi card failed to initialize mysteriously but a reboot solved it. I also tried to close the laptop lid today and it didn't enter sleep mode like it should. Although suspend from the menu works like it should so I use that instead until I can troubleshoot this issue. All in all, a few minor issues which seems to be solved most of the time. Heavily outweighed by the excellent support these guys give you. They even work on Saturdays and respond rapidly to email, it's a matter of waiting a few hours or early to the next day.
It really is better then I expected. From researching, I could see novacustom was customer focused and very good at service delivery. They were excellent at handling my delivery query and other queries and you can see attention to detail everywhere you look when looking at the laptop, the service, etc Everything from ordering, to customising to delivery, to the end product feels like customer first is a priority. The laptop (nv41) itself surpasses my expectations. I didnt like the light baby blue color and look. I thought it was maybe purple-ish. Either way, wasnt too much of a fan, but I bought it for other reasons. The look in real life is much better then I thought. But the really great thing is the laptop is built for the user and optimised for a free OS (linux bsd etc). I love the dasharo core boot. SOO easy to update the firmware. Everything works great and I find the hardware support and linux integration better then my lenovo e14 gen5 laptop. I still prefer the look of the lenovo though. But that's very minor and not worth the difference for me. I also prefer the keyboard of the lenovo, but this one is fine. I guess, it would be nice, if the hard drive bay was easy to access. Its still easy now, but one needs to remove the whole back cover. It would be nice if it was even easier, so I can swap the hard drive frequently and try different OS'es on the machine quickly. I shopped around but in the end, I'm happy with buying through them and wish them luck.
4 Harmoleweg
Haaksbergen 7482PL
Your new laptop all the way to your desire. Thanks to our extensive configurators, you can easily configure your dream laptop. Choose your hardware yourself. Get started with a laptop that suits you, and choose the processor, video card, memory, WiFi card, operating system or operating systems, additional accessories and more. About NovaCustom NovaCustom is a Dutch company founded in March 2015. At NovaCustom, you can configure your very own custom laptop to your wishes. Almost all hardware and software can be configured such as: memory, processor, graphics card, solid state drives, hard drives, display, keyboard and more. NovaCustom sends your custom laptop to all EU countries without additional costs. Create your own laptop by configuring it online: novacustom.com. Contact [email protected] +31850603123 Harmoleweg 4 7482 PL Haaksbergen Netherlands Free shipping (EU) - 3 years warranty We offer the fastest delivery time. Delivery from own stock shipped within a few business days! We ship insured with UPS. We offer a standard 3-year warranty. We guarantee that repairs are completed within 5 working days.
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