PCSpecialist.co.uk

Does anyone have any experience shopping with PCSpecialist in the UK?

They seem to have a generally positive reputation over the years but there isn't much recent feedback on the forum. Looking for a Clevo in the UK, Rockdirect seems pricey and Kobalt appears to be having some problems...

 

Hey, I'm fairly new here, but will be purchasing my clevo from PCSpecialist, about to ask some users here about some advice.

I've looked at all the three companies you've looked at, and can say this.

1.) Rock - No experience with, but found they didn't offer as much customisation as the other two companies.

2.) Kobalt - Offer great customisation however I've had personal issues with this company (earlier this year when I was planning on getting a desktop from them) and based on that I won't be going with them. Please note your experience might be different, but for me I wasn't treated as someone who was spending a lot of money.

3.) PCSpecialist - Bought a computer from PCS back in 2008 and it is still going strong, I can heartily recommend them.

With PCSpecialist, if you need something more then what they offer, try and speak to the technical team if you want anything over what they offer on there page, as the sales team while great say they can't offer it.

For example a lot of people here recommend the AUO v.4 /v.5 screens, When I contacted the sales team about possibly upgrading they said that they couldn't offer this, and that if I wanted to I'd have to do it myself.

Later on however one of the technical guys posted on a forum where a different user was asking about upgrading a screen but one of the technical guys posting said that if they shipped the screen to them they would install it with the order.

EDIT: Have just placed my order, I will update here on the company as well as create a different forum reviewing the machine.

 

Hey there I have experience with both PCSpecialist and Kobalt. Read my review here http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...evo-p150hm-pcs-vortex-ii-15-review-rebel.html

 

Thanks for both your feedback. That's a great review Rebel. I've just order a P170HM from PCSpecialist and will report back on my own experience. Positive so far, though its only in pre-production.

 

Yay! my p170hm just arrived from pcspecialist. I will be doing a review of the machine in another thread (just waiting on my ssd now).

Here I will concentrate on pcspecialist and the service I've received from them.

I will update this with any post sale / technical issues as they arise (hopefully not for a while ).

Price

Very competitive, similar to other clevo / sager resellers in the UK.

Live Chat (pre-sales)

The live chat service provided by pcspecialist is a great idea and I wish more companies (particularly over here in the uk) offered such a service. It did occasionally go down, but was back up within the hour.

When the service was up I was able to speak to someone within 10 minutes and was always nicely, you would think this is standard with it being a pre sales and customer service role. Comparing them to Kobalt and Dell, who I also considered, they were very professional and much friendlier.

When they didn't know something, rather then fob me off, they went down to the technical department and asked questions on my behalf, which they did at least three times. They may have gotten annoyed with me but they never showed it.

The two main people I spoke to via live chat were: Jack Turner and Rick Donnellan, who I'd like to thank once again for putting up with me.

Production

Processed Date: 15-08-2011
Pre-Production Date: 16-08-2011

Build Date: 16-08-2011
Built by: Liam Ramsden

Test Date: 17-08-2011
Tested and Quality control done by: Carl Auckland

Awaiting Dispatch Date: 17-08-2011
Packaged by: Anthony Cunliffe

Dispatch Date: 17-08-2011
Arrived: 18-08-2011

Wow is all I can say about how quickly they were able to get the laptop out to me. I bought the computer on Monday the 15th at 6 am (before going to work). Then when I hadn't heard anything by 2pm that Afternoon I thought I'd just check on live chat to see whats up (ie had payment gone through).

Spoke to Rick and it turned out that the processor I ordered I7 2720QM wasn't in stock nor was the intel 6300 wireless card, but was told the I7 should be coming in that day and the 6300 tomorrow (Tuesday the 16th). I was a bit skeptical I've dealt with companies who say oh yes shipment should be in sometime before. So started asking here how I could buy the wireless chip myself and install it in case they didn't have it in tomorrow.

I didn't need to worry, by the time I checked on my order status Tuesday 12pm the computer was already built and in testing! Wow is the only way I can describe what I thought. I come to check on my order on Wednesday the 17th at 2pm, awaiting dispatch. Okay so now I jump back on live chat thinking if it is going this well perhaps I should upgrade postage so I can be sure I'll get it by the weekend so I can spend some time setting it up.

Again I'm greeted by Rick, who assures me that there is no need to upgrade delivery as they provide next day delivery as standard and that If I haven't received a tracking number by 4pm then it will be delivered tomorrow. Okay great, I try and calm down and get on with the day and for the most part try and forget about it. Then 4.05pm on Wednesday I get a text (yea a text not an email) saying that my order has been dispatched and that I can go online to check the delivery status.

Notification

One thing that is nice about ordering a computer from pcspecialist is being notified ever step of the way, by email and by logging in and viewing your order. If you log in to your order they also show a flow chart of where your computer is at, what is to come as well as a description of what each thing means.

I was very impressed by the fact that you could track your order from pcspecialist website, no need to go to yodel and type in tracking id.

Delivery

Okay I know that this isn't really related to pcspecialist itself but its related to the company pcspecialist chose to send there parcels with, Yodel.

It was delivered by 12pm Today, the man who delivered my parcel was surprisingly cheerful (it is raining outside).

One odd thing though, I don't know why but I was expecting a clevo / sager box that the notebook would be delivered in. Instead it was delivered in a Dragon Rider case box. I haven't yet opened the box yet (saving that for my post on the build quality of the laptop) so maybe they sent me a powerful pc instead .

Pictures of unpacking will be available in the post where I rate the quality of the machine.

Technical Issues (post-sales)

None to report so far.

Overall Experience

Before purchasing from pcspecialist, I looked at a few places Dell, Kobalt and even looked at having it imported from America. I can say that I'm glad that I researched thoroughly enough to find a place like pcspecialist.

Amazing service received so far and would highly recommend them to anyone wishing to purchase a laptop / computer. Please note that while they do offer a 3 day express service (for laptops), I didn't buy this and still my laptop arrived in 4 days.

The live chat team saved me money, reassuring me that the out of stock items would be in stock, that I don't need to upgrade postage costs (unless needed before 10am).

All in all, if I like the build quality of the sager / clevo, I think they have a loyal customer in me .

 

Quattrix I agree with you completely they really are that good!

 

My next laptop purchase is very likely to be from Pcspecialist although my last two laptops were from Kobalt. I see no reason why I should wait several weeks when I see evidence of people receiving perfectly working equipment in much less time.

 

interesting read Quattrix - just what I was looking for.

thank you.
/warlash

 

Just received my P170HM in 5 working days from PCSpecialist, excellent service. Don't have time to try the machine out for a couple days but will write up a short review when I do.
So far, top marks for PCSpecialist.

 

I ended up ordering a laptop from then after a months of issues with Kobalt computers. Quick responses to emails and you can get then on the phone. I would recommend them over Kobalt any day.

 

Good to here , you planning on doing a review of it?

 

Here is a quick review of my new P170HM (Vortex II 17) and the experience of using PCSpecialist.co.uk/. Included are some 3DMark results, I'm not sure what half of them mean or if they are good but would love to hear your thoughts on them.

(This review is cross posted on the PCSpecialist forums)


Vortex II 17 (P170HM)
17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2720QM (2.20GHz) 6MB Cache
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
2GB AMD® Radeon® HD 6990M - DirectX® 11
120GB INTEL® 510 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
INTEL® CENTRINO® ADVANCED-N 6230 inc BLUETOOTH


The P170HM is much bigger than anticipated, I've always had 17" machines but this one looks larger than average, luckily it does not weigh as heavy as it looks. The design is satisfyingly simple, no ridiculous flashing lights or crazy zigzags, though, of course, this is just my personal preference. The stock glossy screen is clear and bright, I had wished for the 90% gamut screen which is unavailable at PCSpecialist but the 72% is more than adequate.

The chiclet keyboard is generally well spaced and responsive. The direction keys are in a slightly different position from my previous HP but I’m sure I’ll adjust in time. As often mentioned about the P170HM, the touchpad surface is not smooth enough and the rubber texture is a very odd choice. I also found myself accidently clicking, by tapping the surface of the touchpad, a lot more frequently than other machines. But since I rarely use the touchpad I simply turned it off (Fn+F1). The finger print reader is a nice touch, not essential but I guess it saves the 3 seconds of typing in the password. Swiping individual fingers can also be used to open applications or specific websites, I haven’t really utilised this but could be useful.

The performance has so far been beyond what I hoped for. The SSD makes everything open instantly, and I never thought I’d see the day when iTunes was actually quick. I've down no optimising of the SSD at this point except install and run the Intel SSD utility. I’ve yet to really push it with games but Left 4 Dead 2 and Oblivion both run seamlessly at max settings. I’ve never run 3Dmark tests before so not sure if the scores are good but here they are:

3DMark11:
Score - P3548
Graphics Score - 3257
Physics Score - 6869
Combined Score - 3371
GraphicsTest1 - 15 FPS
GraphicsTest2 - 15 FPS
GraphicsTest3 - 20 FPS
GraphicsTest4 - 9 FPS
PhysicsTest - 21 FPS
CombinedTest - 15 FPS

3DMark06:
Score - 19522
SM2.0 Score - 7930
HDR/SM3.0 Score - 8765
CPU Score - 5719
GT1 - Return To Proxycon - 65 FPS
GT2 - Firefly Forest - 66 FPS
CPU1 - Red Valley - 1 FPS
CPU2 - Red Valley - 2 FPS
HDR1 - Canyon Flight - 90 FPS
HDR2 - Deep Freeze - 84 FPS

The only score that jumps out as obviously terrible is the CPU scores from 3DMark06, I’m not sure if this is expected but 1-2 FPS seems horrendously slow, is this normal? While there has been some chatter about the 6990M GPU getting very hot, I’ve found idle temperature to be around 47C and max temperature of 76C when gaming, this is with stock thermal paste and the 203 heat sink. I’ve yet to come anywhere near needing it but the ability to manually put fans at max (Fn+1) is a great feature.

I had been working on the assumption that the 5-7 day delivery suggested on the website was very optimistic. But then before I knew it the machine was built, tested and QAed, arriving in my hands on the 5th working day after order, speedy for a custom build. There was one very minor error in the order. I ordered a spare power adaptor and the wrong spare was in the package. But the main power adaptor was correct so I could still use the laptop. Upon being informed of the mistake PCSpecialist responded very quickly to offer a replacement adaptor and will be refunding me the postage costs of returning the incorrect one, was very pleased with how swiftly and straightforwardly they dealt with this. When ringing the technical support to ask a question, I was kept on hold for less than 30 seconds and the person I spoke to was very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable (Sorry I forget his name).

Both the machine and service from PCSpecialist.co.uk deserve very high praise for a top quality product at a competitive price and excellent customer service, I couldn’t be happier.

 

Ordered this last Friday:

Vortex II: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY
2GB AMD® Radeon® HD 6990M - DirectX® 11
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
3 Year Gold Warranty
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Thermal Paste ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

Got an order update today saying it had been built and is going into testing now presumably. Very fast service. I also contacted support through live chat a few times to ask questions and was dealt with almost immediately. PCS are quite responsive to customer's wishes and they've started offering branded Thermal paste after people in their forums asked about it.

They're also doing a pretty good job keeping up with competitors when it comes to spec options, screen options being their only weak area.Though I think that's mostly because they've only recently started offering options outside of the stock screen (due to customer request), and sourcing good screens in bulk is a bit of a pain at the moment it seems, especially for 90/95% gamut. They currently have the AUO B173HW01 V.5 mattes in which was ideal for me. I think they'll easily have 90/95% gamuts in once AUO releases something.

At the rate things are progressing I think I'll have a laptop in my hands possibly around the middle of next week.

Also:
http://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.pcspecialist.co.uk

quite good, especially when you compare a certain other UK based clevo seller...

I will post again with an update when the laptop comes, possibly with pics if I can find a decent camera.

 

Well guys I cant endorse pc specialist enough, Ordered at 2pm last friday and it came today at 1pm. Brilliant service updated every step of the way I really cant fault them. Built in 4 working days is just incredible especially as I didnt order their express service.

 

Ordered mine on Monday, was in pre-production by Tuesday. Certain other UK based re-sellers could certainly take a leaf out of their book.

 

Hey guys, I am from Germany, do you know how will be with warranty when I will purchase it from Pcspecialist? I can use Clevo service or I have to send it back to UK for service? (so I will pay a lot for shipping?

 

May I ask why you wanna purchase from PCS?

 

It is the cheapest option, and they do have hard drive which I want and they do re-paste already with MX4.
If you have any other suggestions I am open

or why are you asking?

 

Well, what laptop are you looking at and what are the parts you need which other resellers doesn't offer?

 

So I am looking for Clevo P150sm with gtx770, i74700, 8gb ram (2x4) - something better then no name, 1tb wd scorpio blue HDD (i do not want seagate because i had only problems with them), better wireless with bluetooth then intel n135 and n2030, 2230 , can be bigfoot killer 1202 or higher intel (dualband AC for ex). Repaste i can also do by myself so its not required.

Why I choose pcsepcialists? They are cheap, cheaper then same/similar configurations in Germany, the offer good support and I read about them mostly good opinions.
If you will come across with better option I can change them, no problem

 

this is a 3 year old thread so might have been better starting a new one.

as you are in germany why are you not ordering from mysn which are based in germany, uk and rest of eu.

here are their 3 websites

Germany mySN.de | SCHENKER XMG | Schenker Technologies

EU mySN.EU | XMG | Schenker Technologies

UK mySN.co.uk | XMG | Schenker Technologies - Gaming Laptops

pcs standard warranty says 3 years but thats only for labour. its actually only 1 month collect and return and 1 year parts. mysn are a standard 2 years for everything which include courier collect and return ,parts, labour.

 

Yes but they have maybe good price for p157sm and I want p150sm which is quite expensive there, they do not have hard drive which I want too. and I don't know if its possible to order without hdd.

 

Have you checked PWNPCS ? I'd highly suggest you to check 'em out, and if you just send out an email to Scott he will help you with the parts you need. I just made my order from them myself, and I was in your situation were other resellers couldn't/didn't have what I needed, until I found PWNPCS. Also compared to other resellers their prices were good, and in return you get a great service, which is really important.

 

much more expensive, I would then buy from mysn, which is actually cheaper than PWNPCS

 

If your budget is tight then you should get your Clevo from a reseller which doesn't go beyond your limit. I think since you are from Germany your best bet would be to get one from a reseller in your country, and have you checked all of em? There is a reseller guide on front page.

 

yes actually the cheaper one (in germany) in not reliable.
and actually next year I am moving to Norway so warranty is not that relevant for me because it's only within country where I bought laptop...

Any way, I am considering mySN and PCS, will see if I can buy from mysn without HDD...
and I asked them what kind of cooling paste they are using and If i can pay more for better one.

 

Hi terragady

The great thing about our warranty is not only that it's full 24 months parts and labour as standard but also that the shipping on any warranty work is fully covered by us in all EU countries and Norway. So you don't need to worry about any further costs and we'll even arrange the shipping for you - you can move round Europe and still enjoy full warranty coverage!

We have actually just launched a Swedish website ( I can't link directly to it here due to reseller rules but it's the same as our .de website just with .se ) which covers Sweden, Norway and Denmark - but if you are potentially looking to order whilst you are still in Germany then the .de website would be the correct option for you.

You can order from us without a HDD, just contact our sales team at [email protected] or call them on the hotline.

Thermal paste - we remove the stock thermal pads on all GPU and CPU heatsinks and use MX-2 on all systems which shows quite an improvement in temperatures. We will be offering another option on the P303 and A523/A723 shortly but our testing showed it's not necessary on the other models.We also provide our own custom fan control which was developed in house, providing superior cooling and lower fan noise under both low and high load!

Just one final thing, to answer all your questions, the failure rate on Seagate HDDs is extremely low indeed - certainly in our experience no different to Western Digital which we also offer. The Seagate issues reported in the past are on discontinued models so you shouldn't have any concerns with Seagate now - though if your confidence in the brand isn't good then you can install your own drive if you wish!

 

Hi!

thanks very much for reply. I decided to buy from you actually yesterday. Good to know that you are applying better cooling paste (MX-4 will be a bit better byt MX2 is still fine I think).
Actually I send an email to you on Sunday but still waiting for reply.. I wrote in English but I think this still should be fine?

The biggest concern is about sound quality (which is as I read here poor, also with external speakers), noise, and not working MIC (which maybe can be changed?).
About noise, I am using laptop sometimes on conferences, libraries or quite quiet places, i dont want to disturb other people. I heard that there are only 3 speeds, and 2 is already loud and turning on every few minutes even on completely idle.

About Seagate HDD, I had two of them from this brand and both of them failed, I had few from WD and they are still working (internal, extrernal) so I would prefer brand which is with me all the time without problems. Maybe now seagate is good but I do not like a brand now.


One question about w503, on photos there is different keyboard? I would like to choose backlight keyboard so it will be same as P503 (3 zones, different colours) or same as on the photos but with white lighting under? (on the internet model p150sm comes only with this 3 zone backlight, and on review here is also with this keayboard.)

 

Hi

No problem! If you haven't received a reply to your email, please pm me your email address and order number and I will forward it on to the sales team for you and ask them to check ( EDIT - just had confirmation that they are in contact with you already ) . Emailing in English is fine!

We spend quite a lot of time refining the fan response so it is now much smoother on the 15 and 17" XMG and Schenker models, especially on idle we reduced the fan noise quite noticeably so you don't get the fan ramping any more!

The backlit keyboards on the W503 and P503 have the exact same control. The P503 is only available with a backlit keyboard, so the photos on the P503 page show this. The W503 is available with both backlit and non-backlit so the photos are different.

 

here you go. the .se website mySN.SE | XMG | Schenker Technologies

i told you, its world domination

 

Yeah so now I am much more towards Clevo p150sm from mysn.
I am just still thinking about lenovo y510p as it is 400 euro cheaper and the performance is quite same (gtx 770 vs gt750 SLI, same processor). But lenovo has really high temperatures, but has better sound and look (metal body), and again its 400 euro cheaper

Now I also noticed that for 11 euro I can get AMD 8970m intead of gtx 770, but I have bed memories with AMD from few years back and from then I was using only geforces. I heard that enduro is not working very good, and thera are some problems with compatibility and the drivers are not coming so often as for geforce, hmmmm... but the benchmarks are ~25% better for AMD. I would like to know how its now after updated drivers for AMD and NVIDIA

 

Dont worry about all those Enduro issues mate, they have been sorted out by now.

Btw, if I was you I'd choose one with 2x 8970M in CrossFireX mode. Thats better than a GTX 780M, 2nd best to 780M SLi mode.