Hi guys.
I thought I'd post a comprehensive review about my PCS experience with some tips that may help anyone considering purchasing a computer, and also a review of the desktop PC that I just bought and received.
I've laid this review out in 2 posts. The first post is all about the experience and what to expect. The second post is about the computer, what comes with it and how it is setup and pictures!
I hope this will be of use to you and please feel free to ask me any questions or if you want more information about my computer and i'll be happy to help
Part 1: The PCS Experience
My situation
I currently own an 8 year old alienware computer. It has been mighty powerful and a pleasure to use but it is now starting to show its age, so I felt it was time to take that step to buy a new computer. When I bought my alienware they were an excellent company and felt quite like what PC Specialist are like now. Their support was excellent and the product quality with custom cases at the time were excellent. I decided not to purchase another alienware as they’ve now been bought up by dell, their prices have gone up even higher than they were before (and they weren’t too cheap back then) and the customisability of them are rubbish now.
Having looked around at different PC companies I decided on PC Specialist as they have a good website, excellent reviews all over the internet and great customisation options. (A lot like alienware used to be)
The Ordering Process
The PCS website is very well laid out and easy to understand for the beginner up to the advanced user. There are plenty of customisation options and useful explanation tabs for all components so you really know what you are getting. Prices are competitive and good value for money. (There are other cheaper companies but their reviews aren’t as good, also you could consider building yourself and it would be cheaper (I thought about it) but I wanted the 3yr support so opted on PC specialist)
My Computer Specification
Case
CORSAIR GRAPHITE SERIES™ 600T WHITE MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH Z77: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR
Memory (RAM)
32GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W PRO SERIES™ HX850-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£138)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 for Business (£15)
Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour) (£135)
The actual ordering process was quick and painless. Its worth noting that PCS (like many other system builders) charge 2% extra for credit card payments, though that was a cost I was willing to take with the increased security and protection it provides.
During the ordering process I had called and emailed PCS a few times. What I would say is that they are all very nice helpful people and really know their stuff. The caveat to that is that I would recommend phoning rather than emailing as I found when emailing I would only get very brief answers to my questions and sometimes it felt as though they didn’t completely answer the question I was asking (probably because they have so many people emailing them so have to get through them quickly) However when you call them they really do go that extra mile and try to help you get the best value for money for your needs.
HINT 1: When purchasing look out for coupon codes. There are usually £15 discount vouchers about in PC magazines and online. After visiting the website I seemed to get a targeted ad from PCS with a discount code whilst I was reading a technology website….so keep a look out!
The agonising production process
This is probably the worst bit! The wait. I had to wait 9 working days for my computer (in reality about 2 weeks) and like any purchase you are excited about you will go on the PCS website multiple times a day to check the status of your order!
PCS keep you updated with any changes in status of the stage of your order with an email. They will also send a generic email after about 6-7 days saying they haven’t forgotten about you and that it is usual to wait that long. My order times were as follows:
Processed Date 22-11-2012
Pre-Production Date 27-11-2012
Build Date 30-11-2012
Test Date 04-12-2012
QC Date 04-12-2012
Awaiting Dispatch Date 05-12-2012
Dispatch Date 05-12-2012
There have been some reports of people not being told when there were stock issues etc. Its always worth giving them a call if you are concerned as they have more information on their computers about what is holding your order up. In that respect their website doesn’t divulge as much information as it could. Again probably better to call rather than email as you will tend to wait a couple of days for an email response.
Delivery
I have mixed feelings about DPD for my order. Once your PC has despatched PCS will send you an email and text with your tracking number and day your computer will be arriving. You are then given an option if you aren’t available to get it sent to a neighbour, or choose a different day. On the morning of your delivery you should get another text giving you an hour timeframe in which they will come and deliver. This is pretty good if you’ve got someone at home or you’ve taken the day off.
I wasn’t able to be at home for my delivery so I thought it would be better to pick up the delivery from the depot. I tried calling the number on the email/text/website for dpd, don’t bother, it’s an extremely irritating automated telephone line where there are no options to speak to an operator.
I called the depot directly to try and be helpful to tell them not to bother to attempt delivery and just to leave it at the depot so I could pick it up myself later. I was told this isn’t possible and that a driver has to attempt delivery. She did try and see if the driver could go to my house last to delivery my parcel, but he said no. Fair enough. I then called again on the day of my delivery to the depot to ask if I could pick up my parcel on the day and they said yes, and said to come at 6pm as the driver is due to do his last delivery at 3pm and be back by 5pm.
This is where the frustration began. I arrived at 6pm and had to wait ONE HOUR at the depot until my parcel came. To make matters worse a rude member of staff came up to me after I had been waiting patiently for an hour without making a fuss and had a go at me saying I should call beforehand and make a booking if I wanted to collect. When I said to him that I did call 2 times and was told to come there he just rudely said “well we haven’t got anything written down here” and didn’t even apologise. I nearly lost it (and I’m normally very calm) but luckily at that point another member of staff came with my computer!
Now one thing I wasn’t expecting was JUST HOW LARGE THE COMPUTER BOX IS. I tried every possible way to fit it in my car and it just couldn’t get in. In the end I had to do my unboxing in a dark DPD depot outside!! I took the computer and put it in the back seat, with the peripherals box in the boot!!
HINT 2: If you need to speak to DPD about your parcel please call the following customer services number that will get you to an operator 01215002500. Also if you want a depot specific number see the following website: http://www.goneboarding.co.uk/forum/dpd-depot-list/threadid/31297/showthread.aspx
HINT 3: Unless you have a massive hatchback car DO NOT COLLECT YOUR COMPUTER FROM THE DEPOT. The box is absolutely huge and will only fit in a van! I had to open my box outside and put everything in parts in my car, something which I regretted at the time!!
I thought I'd post a comprehensive review about my PCS experience with some tips that may help anyone considering purchasing a computer, and also a review of the desktop PC that I just bought and received.
I've laid this review out in 2 posts. The first post is all about the experience and what to expect. The second post is about the computer, what comes with it and how it is setup and pictures!
I hope this will be of use to you and please feel free to ask me any questions or if you want more information about my computer and i'll be happy to help
Part 1: The PCS Experience
My situation
I currently own an 8 year old alienware computer. It has been mighty powerful and a pleasure to use but it is now starting to show its age, so I felt it was time to take that step to buy a new computer. When I bought my alienware they were an excellent company and felt quite like what PC Specialist are like now. Their support was excellent and the product quality with custom cases at the time were excellent. I decided not to purchase another alienware as they’ve now been bought up by dell, their prices have gone up even higher than they were before (and they weren’t too cheap back then) and the customisability of them are rubbish now.
Having looked around at different PC companies I decided on PC Specialist as they have a good website, excellent reviews all over the internet and great customisation options. (A lot like alienware used to be)
The Ordering Process
The PCS website is very well laid out and easy to understand for the beginner up to the advanced user. There are plenty of customisation options and useful explanation tabs for all components so you really know what you are getting. Prices are competitive and good value for money. (There are other cheaper companies but their reviews aren’t as good, also you could consider building yourself and it would be cheaper (I thought about it) but I wanted the 3yr support so opted on PC specialist)
My Computer Specification
Case
CORSAIR GRAPHITE SERIES™ 600T WHITE MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH Z77: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR
Memory (RAM)
32GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W PRO SERIES™ HX850-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£138)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 for Business (£15)
Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour) (£135)
The actual ordering process was quick and painless. Its worth noting that PCS (like many other system builders) charge 2% extra for credit card payments, though that was a cost I was willing to take with the increased security and protection it provides.
During the ordering process I had called and emailed PCS a few times. What I would say is that they are all very nice helpful people and really know their stuff. The caveat to that is that I would recommend phoning rather than emailing as I found when emailing I would only get very brief answers to my questions and sometimes it felt as though they didn’t completely answer the question I was asking (probably because they have so many people emailing them so have to get through them quickly) However when you call them they really do go that extra mile and try to help you get the best value for money for your needs.
HINT 1: When purchasing look out for coupon codes. There are usually £15 discount vouchers about in PC magazines and online. After visiting the website I seemed to get a targeted ad from PCS with a discount code whilst I was reading a technology website….so keep a look out!
The agonising production process
This is probably the worst bit! The wait. I had to wait 9 working days for my computer (in reality about 2 weeks) and like any purchase you are excited about you will go on the PCS website multiple times a day to check the status of your order!
PCS keep you updated with any changes in status of the stage of your order with an email. They will also send a generic email after about 6-7 days saying they haven’t forgotten about you and that it is usual to wait that long. My order times were as follows:
Processed Date 22-11-2012
Pre-Production Date 27-11-2012
Build Date 30-11-2012
Test Date 04-12-2012
QC Date 04-12-2012
Awaiting Dispatch Date 05-12-2012
Dispatch Date 05-12-2012
There have been some reports of people not being told when there were stock issues etc. Its always worth giving them a call if you are concerned as they have more information on their computers about what is holding your order up. In that respect their website doesn’t divulge as much information as it could. Again probably better to call rather than email as you will tend to wait a couple of days for an email response.
Delivery
I have mixed feelings about DPD for my order. Once your PC has despatched PCS will send you an email and text with your tracking number and day your computer will be arriving. You are then given an option if you aren’t available to get it sent to a neighbour, or choose a different day. On the morning of your delivery you should get another text giving you an hour timeframe in which they will come and deliver. This is pretty good if you’ve got someone at home or you’ve taken the day off.
I wasn’t able to be at home for my delivery so I thought it would be better to pick up the delivery from the depot. I tried calling the number on the email/text/website for dpd, don’t bother, it’s an extremely irritating automated telephone line where there are no options to speak to an operator.
I called the depot directly to try and be helpful to tell them not to bother to attempt delivery and just to leave it at the depot so I could pick it up myself later. I was told this isn’t possible and that a driver has to attempt delivery. She did try and see if the driver could go to my house last to delivery my parcel, but he said no. Fair enough. I then called again on the day of my delivery to the depot to ask if I could pick up my parcel on the day and they said yes, and said to come at 6pm as the driver is due to do his last delivery at 3pm and be back by 5pm.
This is where the frustration began. I arrived at 6pm and had to wait ONE HOUR at the depot until my parcel came. To make matters worse a rude member of staff came up to me after I had been waiting patiently for an hour without making a fuss and had a go at me saying I should call beforehand and make a booking if I wanted to collect. When I said to him that I did call 2 times and was told to come there he just rudely said “well we haven’t got anything written down here” and didn’t even apologise. I nearly lost it (and I’m normally very calm) but luckily at that point another member of staff came with my computer!
Now one thing I wasn’t expecting was JUST HOW LARGE THE COMPUTER BOX IS. I tried every possible way to fit it in my car and it just couldn’t get in. In the end I had to do my unboxing in a dark DPD depot outside!! I took the computer and put it in the back seat, with the peripherals box in the boot!!
HINT 2: If you need to speak to DPD about your parcel please call the following customer services number that will get you to an operator 01215002500. Also if you want a depot specific number see the following website: http://www.goneboarding.co.uk/forum/dpd-depot-list/threadid/31297/showthread.aspx
HINT 3: Unless you have a massive hatchback car DO NOT COLLECT YOUR COMPUTER FROM THE DEPOT. The box is absolutely huge and will only fit in a van! I had to open my box outside and put everything in parts in my car, something which I regretted at the time!!
