Scan (3xs.scan.co.uk) - in progress

I'll keep a log of my experience with Scan here, though there's not much to say at first:

14/01/2013 10am
phoned Scan to request some slightly custom parts, my ideal build is as follows:
Clevo P150EM (scan call it the Graphite LG10)
i7 - 3740QM
GTX 680M
16GB of RAM (as 2x8GB sticks)
256GB mSATA SSD (no other storage for now)
2.5" caddy in optical drive back
High gamut matte LCD
No OS

Anyway to discuss this I got passed over to a very courteous chap, I forget his name but he took my name, email and phone number then we got down to the specification. The sticking points were the RAM as Scan refer to Clevo for official specifications and those specifications are on the safe side, for instance Clevo list 16GB of RAM in 4x4GB as the most this laptop can take, presumably because with some CPUs that is actually the most it could take. Not the case with the 3740QM. Anyway I said to whoever it was that various other resellers will sell it with 32GB and it does work, so he asked for a list of some of those resellers. In the end he said he'd have to check with the technical side of the company as he had heard of problems in the past with RAM not working or running at lower speed with more sticks (personal note, I think that was a problem on some laptops but not this model).

He had no issue with my choice of storage, however when I asked about the 95% gamut LCD he said that Scan order laptops in bulk (100+ at a time) so they're limited to what they have in stock and at the time all 14 in stock were 70% matte displays, he did however say this was a popular request. I then asked about the warranty (2 years) and whether I could replace parts such as the LCD and still have the rest of the laptop covered under warranty, to which he didn't know the answer but he said he'd check with the technical department again. That was the end of my wishlist so he said he'd get back to me with a quote "soon". It's currently 7:40pm and I haven't had that quote. I'm a little bitter about this as my desktop is dying so I want to get it replaced with this laptop as soon as possible. Since PCSpecialist will offer a similar price for the specs (just a shorter warranty) if Scan take more than 5 days or so I'll switch to them. More information as it happens.

15/01/2013

Got sick of waiting for Scan (it's been two full days to put together a very slightly custom quote, bit too long for an urgent need) so I have instead ordered a similar system from PCSpecialist who were my second choice. The only differences in the specification are that I didn't get a high gamut display (due to cost), the SSD is now a 2.5" Intel 335 240GB drive, and I've only opted for 8GB of RAM, though a mate is picking up another 8GB stick from Scan soon as they're local (this is also why they were my first choice). £1510 total price, should turn up in about 2 weeks. That's all for now.

19/01/2013

Scan still haven't sent an invoice, so I'm totally giving up on them and not recommending them unless you go in store or order something using their configurator as they appear to be forgetful unless you're putting money down there and then. PC Specialist on the other hand have offered me more options, they have order progress tracking, so far I'm having a good experience with them. The only thing I don't like is the waiting time, for three days they've apparently been preparing my order to send through to the technical department, who will then spend another week preparing to build the thing. Oh well, my desktop will have to do for now.

30/01/2013 - 1am or so

You guessed it, still no word from Scan. PC Specialist on the other hand have taken my money but they're being very slow about building the actual system, it's been 10 working days so far and my order is still on pre-production. I suspect a part might be out of stock or something but I haven't been informed of this. In the meantime the SSD in my desktop has died (bought it when SSDs didn't have any reliability technology or even good firmware so no surprise) so I'm getting really over the top anxious over my laptop build

30/01/2013 - 4pm or so

Just found an extra huge pile of money kicking around, so I'm ordering (from PC Specialist again) a Clevo P370EM with dual 680Ms, and while I'm at it something PCS call a 15.6" ultranote, apparently a 15" ultrabooky thing that Clevo make with a 1080p IPS display. This really isn't about Scan any more so it might be worth a moderator changing the title.

31/01/2013

Really quite unhappy with PC Specialist, I tried to cancel my order for a P150EM and on the third try succeeded. The first email got a reply saying we'll do that right away but they didn't. The second email got my ultrabook order cancelled by mistake. The third email got the ultrabook order re-instated and cancelled my P150EM order, though the refund has yet to come through. Once the refund is through I can order the P370EM. In any case going through two silly support people before one does the right thing is not fun.

Oh and while I'm at it here are the specs for the two laptops:
ultrabooky thing (Clevo W550EU)
2.2GHz 3632QM CPU
8GB RAM (single SODIMM for now)
240GB Intel 335 SSD
1080p matte IPS 1080p display

P370EM
2.7GHz 3740QM
8GB RAM (single SODIMM, I expect to upgrade shortly to 16 if not 32GB of RAM)
240GB Intel 335 SSD (with an old 250GB HDD as a secondary drive)
17.3" 1080p matte display
2 x GTX 680M GPUs

01/02/2013

Refund for the P150EM hasn't come yet, I emailed the support line about it and they said it usually takes 3 working days for the funds to wing their way back to you, so that's ok. For the record that's now 2 of 4 support emails answered competently

02/02/2013

Refund came, so today I ordered the P370EM from PC Specialist, I'll be interested to see how long it takes these two to get delivered. Absolutely everything has been sorted out now, just gotta wait for delivery and in the meantime curse my lack of a laptop for taking to lectures (where I could get useful work done)

09/02/2013

I can confirm once again that PC Specialist are glacial, it's been 6 working days for the W550EU and 5 for the P370EM, so far they're still both in the processing stage I. E. The stage before parts have been ordered. I'm kinda thinking I should have gone with mysn because they're faster and offer 4 year warranties but they're not as cheap.

12/02/2013

Wahey, I sent an email to support who came back saying there were temporary supply problems, as of today my system is out of processing and in pre-production though so I'm happier. I'm now a lot more confident about receiving my machines before the end of March when I'll really need them as I'm going away from my desktop on holiday for a few weeks.

13/02/2013

W550EU (ultrabooky thing) is now being built (according to the website) and in testing (according to the email I got at 10am, idk which to believe). Here's hoping it'll get shipped out for this weekend, but next weekend would also be fine. P370EM is still in pre-production.

14/02/2013

Ah the email was poorly worded as today my W550EU went into testing as did my P370EM (built today). With absolutely incredible luck it'll be here this Saturday, but that's a bit unlikely. Next Saturday is far more likely.

15/02/2013

P370EM dispatched, W550EU still being tested, 10 working days clocked on the 370 and 11 on the 550. I am now extremely happy *5 minutes later* 550 dispatched

16/02/2013

Ah whoops, waiting for dispatch means someone still has to pack them and whatnot. 370 got actually dispatched and is due to arrive soon (it's 3:30am here). 550 which I ordered sooner has yet to be dispatched, kinda odd as of the two machines that's the one I need more rapidly for classwork. Oh well. Happy happy times ahead.

19/02/2013

My P370EM arrived and it's absolutely excellent, loving the laptop but I'm not here to talk about the thing itself. On 18/02 at 4:30pm I changed the shipping option on my W550EU to next day, that hasn't been processed so far, really want them to change to next day as my laptop is ready to ship.

24/02/2013

W550EU has been shipped, should arrive Tuesday the 26th, since there doesn't appear to be one as of yet I shall attempt to post a full review of that laptop.