WidowPC
Encyclopedia
WidowPC, based in Boulder, Colorado
, shipped the world's first dual-core CPU
laptop
based on the AMD Athlon 64
X2 4800+ and debuted at the AMD press-only event at CES 2005 in Las Vegas. The company's motto
is "Cutting Edge Gaming Computers - Fanatical Customer Support." The company has recently been featured in several gaming enthusiast magazines for setting PC gaming speed records on several computing platforms.
In 2006, the Austin-American Statesman and Forbes reported article on Dell's interest in the PC gaming niche and the company's meeting with WidowPC. The articles stated that Michael Dell contacted WidowPC, along with Richard Garriott
and Robert Garriott
and several other small, high performance boutique computer manufacturers for information about the computer gaming niche several months prior to acquiring Alienware
.
and has its assembly facilities in Menlo Park, California
. The company sells online and over the phone.
, and overclocked
video cards. Their model names all have some kind of spider association. As demonstrated in online product selection, WidowPC has supplier relationships with Clevo, eVGA, nVidia
, Matrox
and other high end manufacturers and espouses a philosophy of only building with the highest quality components.
, Wired
and Maxim
magazines.
magazine, PC Gamer
magazine, Extreme Tech magazine, and smaller ads in PC Magazine
. The company's growth to this point is due to word-of-mouth, according to company employees.
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, shipped the world's first dual-core CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
based on the AMD Athlon 64
Athlon 64
The Athlon 64 is an eighth-generation, AMD64-architecture microprocessor produced by AMD, released on September 23, 2003. It is the third processor to bear the name Athlon, and the immediate successor to the Athlon XP...
X2 4800+ and debuted at the AMD press-only event at CES 2005 in Las Vegas. The company's motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
is "Cutting Edge Gaming Computers - Fanatical Customer Support." The company has recently been featured in several gaming enthusiast magazines for setting PC gaming speed records on several computing platforms.
History
Founded in 2004, by Joshua McClure, WidowPC was named as a result of the founder's obsession with computers and computer games. According to the company blog, he spent so much time on his PC that his wife called herself a "PC widow" and told him he had to stop spending so much time on games unless he could find a way to make money at it.In 2006, the Austin-American Statesman and Forbes reported article on Dell's interest in the PC gaming niche and the company's meeting with WidowPC. The articles stated that Michael Dell contacted WidowPC, along with Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
and Robert Garriott
Robert Garriott
Robert K. Garriott is a computer game industry figure and entrepreneur. He co-founded Origin Systems and Destination Games with his brother, Richard Garriott, and was the CEO of NCsoft-North America until 2008. He is the second-eldest son of NASA astronaut Owen K. Garriott...
and several other small, high performance boutique computer manufacturers for information about the computer gaming niche several months prior to acquiring Alienware
Alienware
Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidary of Dell, Inc. It mainly assembles third party components into desktops and laptops with custom enclosures for high-performance gaming. These products also support graphically intense applications such as video editing, simulation, and audio editing...
.
Management
The management of the company includes the management designated by the parent holding company, Silicon Mountain Holdings.Operations
As of August 15, 2007, the company is headquartered in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
and has its assembly facilities in Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
. The company sells online and over the phone.
Products
WidowPC focuses on the growing niche of computer gaming enthusiasts. As a result, their computers feature leading edge technology such as the latest AMD and Intel CPUs, high performance RAMRam
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, and overclocked
Overclocked
Overclocked may refer to:*The past participle of the verb to overclock.*OverClocked ReMix, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music....
video cards. Their model names all have some kind of spider association. As demonstrated in online product selection, WidowPC has supplier relationships with Clevo, eVGA, nVidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
, Matrox
Matrox
Matrox is a producer of video card components and equipment for personal computers. Based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada it was founded by Lorne Trottier and Branko Matić....
and other high end manufacturers and espouses a philosophy of only building with the highest quality components.
Awards
WidowPC has won many industry awards including the Laptop Magazine Editor's Choice (March 2006), PC Gamer Editor's Choice (April 2006) and the Computer Gaming World Magazine Editor's Choice (March 2005) Awards. The company has also won various online awards and has been profiled in the gear sections of ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
and Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
magazines.
Marketing
WidowPC has had full page ads in Laptop Magazine, Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
magazine, PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
magazine, Extreme Tech magazine, and smaller ads in PC Magazine
PC Magazine
PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...
. The company's growth to this point is due to word-of-mouth, according to company employees.