Hermi80
Active member
I’ve decided to do a review in the hope that it may be helpful to other people who are maybe like me and had never heard of PCS before and wanted to know more about them. I have recently purchased a Vortex III laptop with the sole purpose of playing games. I was originally drawn to all the ‘bells and whistles’ of an Alienware laptop but was put off by all the bad reviews about the poor build quality, chronic customer service and after-sales and let’s not forget the over-priced hardware. I compared the prices of PCS and Alienware and PCS were over £500 cheaper on the spec I chose (and that was with Dell’s so-called 20% discount!). So, if you’ve read PCS’ homepage about offering quality hardware at low prices by cutting out the middle man and thought it was BS - think again. They don’t do sales or discounts because they offer the best prices all year round.
When I buy a new computer I want to pay for things I want/need and don’t want to pay for a brand name or software that is useless to me and will slow the machine down to crawl...so after trawling the forums here and reading all the POSITIVE comments from previous buyers, I took the plunge and went with PCS. And I do not regret it.
The laptop itself is everything I wanted because it’s custom built. Plus point number one. You can spec your machine to what you can afford and aren’t tied to what the brand names want you to think you need. If you’ve never bought a custom built PC/laptop before and are put off because you don’t know what you need - fear not. The PCS configurator won’t let you choose things that aren’t compatible and it clearly explains what each thing does and they are more than happy to explain it to you over the phone too.
Plus point two - customer service. Now, I’ve dealt with the big brand names before and when the need arose to call them for after-sales because of a hardware problem etc I’d want to rage quit the phone call several times as I’d be put on hold for an hour, transferred endless times, had to explain why I was calling to each new person etc etc...no thanks. If you call PCS a simple menu guides to the right person STRAIGHT AWAY. You don’t get pushed from pillar to post and they deal with your call efficiently. Oh and they don’t baffle you with tech-language or treat you like a moron for not understanding something or try to get you to spend more, if anything they try and save you money. What a pleasant surprise that is I can tell you and anyone who’s dealt with a call centre will know what I mean about the delights of call waiting.
Build Time
My order actually got held up several times as PCS were waiting on certain parts to come in (24 working days in all) but they kept me well informed all the way through. They even promoted my order to a priority service for free (normally costs a min of £39) because it had been delayed through no fault of their own (and I didn’t even have to ask or cajole- it was a given). Consequently, my order went from ‘in building’ to ‘testing’ to ‘awaiting dispatch’ in just three hours when all the parts were in!
Build Quality
So far so very good. What about the build quality? Well, if you’ve read the other reviews on this forum then you’ll already know that the Vortex III is a well built machine. Others have raised concerns over the keyboard stating that some of the keys don’t always respond quickly or they are not aligned correctly. All I can say is mine is fine and I have no issues. The backlighting is a real bonus and is aesthetically pleasing. There is also no flex in the keyboard. What I mean by that is in some laptops if you press down in certain areas of the keyboard you will notice a little flex in that it will bend slightly. Not on the Vortex III - it’s a well built chasis. The fingerprint reader is actually more useful than I thought it would be. Instead of memorizing all your passwords for various sites and inputting them accordingly, all I need to to do now is scroll my finger over the reader and I’m instantly logged in. Similarly, signing into windows can be done the same way which makes it more secure than an ordinary password.
That Oh So Glossy Screen
I went for the glossy screen and don’t regret it. The colour, brightness and sharpness of the picture is excellent. I’m used to the gloss-effect as my old HP laptop had it and I do find the sharpness of the picture is improved with a glossy screen but I know that this is really annoying for some people with glare issues etc so there is a matt option if you’d prefer
The Power Adaptor
Another point that has been mentioned in other reviews is the sheer size of the power brick adaptor. Yes it is large, but then it needs to be. The Vortex III power brick is about three times the size of my old HP laptop’s, but then the Vortex III is at least three times as powerful so the size of the power brick is somehow comforting to me. The laptop itself is nowhere near as heavy as I was anticipating which was a pleasant surprise too.
Speakers and Gameplay
The speakers on the Vortex III are good and there is a bass element to be heard. The on-board sound card does a good job on most games I’ve played. Now, that’s an important thing - gameplay! I’ve played the following games of max/ultra settings with no problems at all. It doesn’t get so hot that your lap goes into meltdown and the fan noise is barely noticeable during intensive gaming. A real bonus. Games tried so far are: The Witcher 2, Oblivion Elder Scrolls IV (with lots of mod packs installed), Diablo III, Kingdoms of Amalur and Trine 2. I haven’t recorded the frame rates yet but noticed no lag during gameplay.
Upgrade
That brings me to the final plus point. Plus point number three - the upgrade service! PCS is in the process of offering an upgrade service on all laptops/desktops purchased from them. This is what really sealed the deal for me. Let’s face it, however you slice it a new computer is a lot of money which makes it an investment for most people and as investments go I like longevity. The new upgrade service means that I will be able to send my laptop back to PCS who will upgrade the bits I want and then send it back. Being able to upgrade rather than buy new is better on your pocket and on the environment. Thumbs up PCS. Can you imagine any of the big brand names offering this service? Not likely. They want you to fork out for a new machine and when they’ve taken your money they couldn’t give a rat’s a what happens to it!
So, there we have it. A review of PCS that I hope will help other people. I haven’t gone into the packaging or delivery service or added photos as others on here have already done a fine job of that - and yes it all arrived when they said it would, well packaged and clearly labelled I got a text on the morning of delivery telling me the name of my driver and the hour that it would arrive (9.30am to 10.30am) and it arrived at 9.38am. Can’t say fairer than that. I went for the diamond delivery which guarantees delivery prior to 12 noon.
So, if you are still undecided over whether or not to choose PCS then I’ll ask you one final question: Do you want quality and value for money in your new PC/laptop? Then say yes to PCS!
P.S BIG THANK YOU to Ben Alderson and Carl Auckland for building and testing and to Anthony Cunliffe for packing!
When I buy a new computer I want to pay for things I want/need and don’t want to pay for a brand name or software that is useless to me and will slow the machine down to crawl...so after trawling the forums here and reading all the POSITIVE comments from previous buyers, I took the plunge and went with PCS. And I do not regret it.
The laptop itself is everything I wanted because it’s custom built. Plus point number one. You can spec your machine to what you can afford and aren’t tied to what the brand names want you to think you need. If you’ve never bought a custom built PC/laptop before and are put off because you don’t know what you need - fear not. The PCS configurator won’t let you choose things that aren’t compatible and it clearly explains what each thing does and they are more than happy to explain it to you over the phone too.
Plus point two - customer service. Now, I’ve dealt with the big brand names before and when the need arose to call them for after-sales because of a hardware problem etc I’d want to rage quit the phone call several times as I’d be put on hold for an hour, transferred endless times, had to explain why I was calling to each new person etc etc...no thanks. If you call PCS a simple menu guides to the right person STRAIGHT AWAY. You don’t get pushed from pillar to post and they deal with your call efficiently. Oh and they don’t baffle you with tech-language or treat you like a moron for not understanding something or try to get you to spend more, if anything they try and save you money. What a pleasant surprise that is I can tell you and anyone who’s dealt with a call centre will know what I mean about the delights of call waiting.
Build Time
My order actually got held up several times as PCS were waiting on certain parts to come in (24 working days in all) but they kept me well informed all the way through. They even promoted my order to a priority service for free (normally costs a min of £39) because it had been delayed through no fault of their own (and I didn’t even have to ask or cajole- it was a given). Consequently, my order went from ‘in building’ to ‘testing’ to ‘awaiting dispatch’ in just three hours when all the parts were in!
Build Quality
So far so very good. What about the build quality? Well, if you’ve read the other reviews on this forum then you’ll already know that the Vortex III is a well built machine. Others have raised concerns over the keyboard stating that some of the keys don’t always respond quickly or they are not aligned correctly. All I can say is mine is fine and I have no issues. The backlighting is a real bonus and is aesthetically pleasing. There is also no flex in the keyboard. What I mean by that is in some laptops if you press down in certain areas of the keyboard you will notice a little flex in that it will bend slightly. Not on the Vortex III - it’s a well built chasis. The fingerprint reader is actually more useful than I thought it would be. Instead of memorizing all your passwords for various sites and inputting them accordingly, all I need to to do now is scroll my finger over the reader and I’m instantly logged in. Similarly, signing into windows can be done the same way which makes it more secure than an ordinary password.
That Oh So Glossy Screen
I went for the glossy screen and don’t regret it. The colour, brightness and sharpness of the picture is excellent. I’m used to the gloss-effect as my old HP laptop had it and I do find the sharpness of the picture is improved with a glossy screen but I know that this is really annoying for some people with glare issues etc so there is a matt option if you’d prefer
The Power Adaptor
Another point that has been mentioned in other reviews is the sheer size of the power brick adaptor. Yes it is large, but then it needs to be. The Vortex III power brick is about three times the size of my old HP laptop’s, but then the Vortex III is at least three times as powerful so the size of the power brick is somehow comforting to me. The laptop itself is nowhere near as heavy as I was anticipating which was a pleasant surprise too.
Speakers and Gameplay
The speakers on the Vortex III are good and there is a bass element to be heard. The on-board sound card does a good job on most games I’ve played. Now, that’s an important thing - gameplay! I’ve played the following games of max/ultra settings with no problems at all. It doesn’t get so hot that your lap goes into meltdown and the fan noise is barely noticeable during intensive gaming. A real bonus. Games tried so far are: The Witcher 2, Oblivion Elder Scrolls IV (with lots of mod packs installed), Diablo III, Kingdoms of Amalur and Trine 2. I haven’t recorded the frame rates yet but noticed no lag during gameplay.
Upgrade
That brings me to the final plus point. Plus point number three - the upgrade service! PCS is in the process of offering an upgrade service on all laptops/desktops purchased from them. This is what really sealed the deal for me. Let’s face it, however you slice it a new computer is a lot of money which makes it an investment for most people and as investments go I like longevity. The new upgrade service means that I will be able to send my laptop back to PCS who will upgrade the bits I want and then send it back. Being able to upgrade rather than buy new is better on your pocket and on the environment. Thumbs up PCS. Can you imagine any of the big brand names offering this service? Not likely. They want you to fork out for a new machine and when they’ve taken your money they couldn’t give a rat’s a what happens to it!
So, there we have it. A review of PCS that I hope will help other people. I haven’t gone into the packaging or delivery service or added photos as others on here have already done a fine job of that - and yes it all arrived when they said it would, well packaged and clearly labelled
I got a text on the morning of delivery telling me the name of my driver and the hour that it would arrive (9.30am to 10.30am) and it arrived at 9.38am. Can’t say fairer than that. I went for the diamond delivery which guarantees delivery prior to 12 noon.So, if you are still undecided over whether or not to choose PCS then I’ll ask you one final question: Do you want quality and value for money in your new PC/laptop? Then say yes to PCS!
P.S BIG THANK YOU to Ben Alderson and Carl Auckland for building and testing and to Anthony Cunliffe for packing!
