Rant about PCS

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ahuss116

New member
I would not recommend PC specialist to anyone, there laptops and Chassis are very unreliable.

I first purchased a 17inch gaming laptop back in 2018 (worth over £1200) and within a MONTH I was having overheating issue, it was returned for repair but was still having overheating issue, so got my full Refund. (Laptop details Below)
Quantity: 1
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 120Hz LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 7700HQ (2.8GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1TB SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
128GB M.2 2280, SATA 6Gb/s (560MB/R, 467MB/W)
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (66WH)
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + Sound BlasterX® Pro-Gaming 720˚
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 1 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD

Then I purchased and MSI Gaming laptop with GTX 1070 and it was running fine without issue passed it to my little brother as a present for his birthday. The laptop is still running fine to this today :)

So I decided to give PC Specialist 1 more try as believe in second chances, purchased laptop in 2019, ran fine for more than 17 months and then the screen went very DIM and started flickering when trying to turn the brightness up. Upon researching the chasse of this particular laptop i found it is a common issue and be replaced for screen repair which i was more than happy to pay, but after 6 weeks of passing it to PC specialist for repair and no contact from them what so ever. So I contacted the support team and they told its the motherboard connect and the so the whole motherboard needs repairing which is going to cost over £800, I was shocked and horrified that I payed over £1300 for laptop and then had screen issue and now its need a new whole motherboard !!!! THIS IS INSANE !!, System has always been on a desk with plenty of airflow, has never been damaged ! (Details of system below)
Quantity: 1
Recoil Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1TB SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
256GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 520 MB/W)
Integrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (SD / SDHC / SDXC)
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Recoil II Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL KEYBOARD

As an IT technician who is passionate IT Builder and I would recommend everyone for Branded Laptop, where at least you will know that is will be support repaired and has some sort of reliability.

PC Specialist I would never recommend them ever again, as someone who works for the NHS to be treated like this organization is disgusting
 
A

ahuss116

New member
That's what I thought as well but apparently not, its only a year.

But under UK law on the consumer right act, if any item is deflective but is still under warranty, then should either be repaired or replaced.

But nope they cant do anything I have to pay or get the laptop back, that's the choice I have right now.

This is the experience I have had with PC Specialist
 
Bhuna50

Bhuna50

Author Level
Vergaro98 said:
Maybe I'm missing something but isn't the warranty for spare parts last 24 months?
Click to expand...

Extended warranty to two years is only £69 and I’d recommend that for any laptop around £1500 upwards.

Unfortunately things break. I had a Defiance lasted me five years. I had purchased an extended warranty through a gadget insurance company and would recommend that too - just google.

I now have another PCS laptop and am pleased with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
steaky360

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
ahuss116 said:
PC Specialist I would never recommend them ever again, as someone who works for the NHS to be treated like this organization is disgusting
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While you are welcome to voice your opinion (I wouldn't be censoring positive nor negative feedback) please stop cutting and pasting this message and adding to other threads. If you're determined to be purely here to 'bash' PCS that is a different matter.

You're welcome to start a thread if you would like to.
 
Vergaro98

Vergaro98

Super Star
Bhuna50 said:
Extended warranty to two years is only £69 and I’d recommend that for any laptop around £1500 upwards.

Unfortunately things break. I had a Defiance lasted me five years. I had purchased an extended warranty through a gadget insurance company and would recommend that too - just google.

I now have another PCS laptop and am pleased with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Eh ok, gold warranty is 2y for collect and return, 2y for parts and 3y for labour. Can I ask you where I can buy an additional warranty? Because I don't find anything 😅.
 
steaky360

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
Vergaro98 said:
Eh ok, gold warranty is 2y for collect and return, 2y for parts and 3y for labour. Can I ask you where I can buy an additional warranty? Because I don't find anything 😅.
Click to expand...
Try places like this if its something you're interested in https://www.money.co.uk/gadget-insu...owIxTZH1mrtDleB7nzF69g-Oq3vkfoEhoCHuQQAvD_BwE
(other sites are available) - I just googled 'gadget insurance' - its not something PCS offer directly that I'm aware of, all they offer is Standard, Silver, Gold and Platinum warranties from PCS
 
Bhuna50

Bhuna50

Author Level
Vergaro98 said:
Eh ok, gold warranty is 2y for collect and return, 2y for parts and 3y for labour. Can I ask you where I can buy an additional warranty? Because I don't find anything 😅.
Click to expand...
When you place an order there will be further options for insuring against accidental damage etc, or google gadget / laptop extended warranty insurance.

There are various Money or comparison type websites that will lead you to different companies.
 
A

ahuss116

New member
Yep all insurance covered, they don't cover any device more than 12 months old, I'm stuck with laptop that does not work brilliant 😭😢
 
AgentCooper

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
Bhuna50 said:
Insurance would not have covered a broken machine anyway.

Perhaps you should have looked into taking out extended warranty / insurance before the end of 12 months.
Click to expand...
I'm inclined to agree. But hindsight is a wonderful thing...

A general rule of thumb with a desktop PC is that if something is going to go wrong, it's usually within the first year. Not so with laptops, having all those components in such a small, hard to ventilate space means they're constantly subjected to higher thermals and as such, live on a bit more of a knife edge.

Sorry you feel that you've had a poor experience, OP. I think I'd be a bit miserable if I was in your position. If there's one thing that's come out of this: always get an extended warranty or insurance, especially on a custom build laptop. The peace of mind it can afford you in situations like these is worth it's weight in gold.
 
Bhuna50

Bhuna50

Author Level
AgentCooper said:
I'm inclined to agree. But hindsight is a wonderful thing...

A general rule of thumb with a desktop PC is that if something is going to go wrong, it's usually within the first year. Not so with laptops, having all those components in such a small, hard to ventilate space means they're constantly subjected to higher thermals and as such, live on a bit more of a knife edge.

Sorry you feel that you've had a poor experience, OP. I think I'd be a bit miserable if I was in your position. If there's one thing that's come out of this: always get an extended warranty or insurance, especially on a custom build laptop. The peace of mind it can afford you in situations like these is worth it's weight in gold.
Click to expand...

I think its a bit of a no brainer really, as with a desktop if one component goes, its not so costly to replace (usually), however with a laptop and so many things welded (CPU / GPU sometimes) then you are automatically looking at a new chassis / motherboard.

Its all down to your own personal risk appetite but if I'm paying £1k + on something I look at extra insurance / extended warranty.

Im actually quite intrigued that the OP has looked into insuring the item after it has broken - surely as an experienced IT technician, they would have known that the claim would be rejected as it was broken before being insured.
 
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ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
SpyderTracks said:
I’m afraid this is purely down to buyers remorse and the reason extended warranties are given as an option.
Click to expand...
And it's important to maintain some perspective. PCS ship how many each week? 1000? 2000? They'll never tell us of course but this is one disappointed and angry customer out of tens of thousands and whilst every computer should work first time every time life just isn't like that.

As a counter example, I have a 2013 PCS Optimus IV laptop that lived on my boat for the first 4 years of its life. It's hard to find a harsher environment than a small sailing yacht, yet that laptop is still working perfectly and has never let me down once.
 
Nedd Ludd

Nedd Ludd

Active member

@ ahuss116​

Regardless of manufacturer, I would never buy a "thin" laptop, you simply do not have good enough air circulation. Yes the compents are designed to run hot but why chance it.

I bought the 17" Recoil (£3K+) complete with 3 years warranty which was a bargain at the price for peace of mind. Great machine.
 
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