Warning about PCSpecialist (not bad but irritating)

bink

Hi all,

Just got a laptop from these guys and I must say it is superb. Blah ... (truly, it is, but review another time...)

For now I just wanted to say that you should be wary of the 'Dead pixel guarantee'.

It will cost you up to £20, for either one or twelve months, depending.

They will not cover postage from Ireland in the event you have to return it due to a (defect).

Don't forget that you may receive a laptop with a stuck pixel: quite a different thing. See here...

Qouting the wiki, I see that these guys are not zero-tolerance:
"Some manufacturers have a zero-tolerance policy with regard to LCD screens, rejecting all units found to have any number of (sub-)pixel defects. Displays meeting this standard are deemed Class I. Other manufacturers reject displays according to the number of total defects, the number of defects in a given group (e.g., 1 dead pixel or 3 stuck sub-pixels in a 5×5 pixel area), or other criteria."

I just got a laptop from them and there is a (green) stuck pixel bottom right, just above where I put the recycle bin.

I was sorely dissapointed for three reasons. One, I did pay the aforementioned guarantee yet still received a screen with a garish green pixel to haunt me for the life of the laptop, and two, although I asked for no OS, Windows 7 Home was installed, implying/suggesting that whoever put it on would have seen this but did nothing about it. Three because I feel blue having a new but defective laptop sitting beside me while I type this on an old desktop.

One may say I am whining a bit: bloody right I am. It took me ages to save up for this thing. I am in touch with them and will add to this appropriately. Of course its only momentarily grating and there is much more in life to be concerned about but it's hard not to be drawn into the fray.

As a parting observation I must say I'm puzzled about the pixel tier system: buy a laptop - fine.
Pay more, but a tiny part of the screen is fcuked - tough.
So what is the extra payment for?

Overall, I must say these guys are great to deal with and well, you've seen the web site. The machine I got anyway, is brilliant and good value (apart from..) and for now, the price is hard to beat.

But if you are about to part with over a thousand Euros and expect to get the equivalent of a piece of crystal (and it's not too far off!)... well, roll the dice, bets being taken, guarantees given and now all that commercial hoo-ha aside, take your chances...!

Good luck.

P.S. Yes, yes, I know - big difference when it comes to the sales pitch (website), but technically they can be right. I just think that a company starting out may try to improve standards on it's own accord first: they sell this stuff to us but do they not have first dibs at quality control? You don't: you just order, buy and keep the various forks of your body crossed. The guy that installs your OS cannot be blind. Again, considering the reliability of PC components, why the tiered system? Who sees all first? Where best to send this or that depending on spending pattern or demographic? And sure why not.

P.P.S. Yes, I know, there is a difference between a pixel and a sub-pixel. Not the point. Believe me, both are equally irritating.

BostonB

If you bought it on the web you can simply return it under change of mind. Then order another one.

Dinarius

Hhhhmmmmm........

As a photographer who spends part of his editing time viewing images at 100% (or larger) looking for defects of any kind, a dead pixel(s) would drive me nuts - particularly so after spending circa €1500.

A quick Google shows that you are not alone with PC Specialist sending out laptops with dead pixels. You have to wonder if they're more careful with UK customers who can return the machine at their (PC Specialist's) cost?

I would have bought the laptop earlier if I could have cleared up the VAT issue, which I'm discussing on this thread... http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056847068

I am now a bit wary, to put it mildly.

I've used DELL machines for 10 years and never had a problem, but I have to have Firewire..........If only Apple (Thunderbolt) weren't such a rip-off.....but, that's another story.

Thanks for the feedback on PC Specialist.

D.

Ps. Thanks to MP22 (Moderator) for bringing this thread to my attention.

Overheal

+1 to B&M: dead pixel units can be exchanged same day

Dinarius

Overheal wrote: »

+1 to B&M: dead pixel units can be exchanged same day

Who are B&M?

Thanks.

D.

cgordonfreeman

Dinarius wrote: »

Who are B&M?

Thanks.

D.

Bricks and mortar.

Dinarius

cgordonfreeman wrote: »

Bricks and mortar.

Point taken. But, no one comes close to PC Specialist spec/price for laptops.

Will phone them tomorrow and express concern re what I've been reading, before placing order.

D.

marco_polo

bink wrote: »

Hi all,

Just got a laptop from these guys and I must say it is superb. Blah ... (truly, it is, but review another time...)

For now I just wanted to say that you should be wary of the 'Dead pixel guarantee'.

It will cost you up to £20, for either one or twelve months, depending.

They will not cover postage from Ireland in the event you have to return it due to a (defect).

Don't forget that you may receive a laptop with a stuck pixel: quite a different thing. See here...

Qouting the wiki, I see that these guys are not zero-tolerance:
"Some manufacturers have a zero-tolerance policy with regard to LCD screens, rejecting all units found to have any number of (sub-)pixel defects. Displays meeting this standard are deemed Class I. Other manufacturers reject displays according to the number of total defects, the number of defects in a given group (e.g., 1 dead pixel or 3 stuck sub-pixels in a 5×5 pixel area), or other criteria."

I just got a laptop from them and there is a (green) stuck pixel bottom right, just above where I put the recycle bin.

I was sorely dissapointed for three reasons. One, I did pay the aforementioned guarantee yet still received a screen with a garish green pixel to haunt me for the life of the laptop, and two, although I asked for no OS, Windows 7 Home was installed, implying/suggesting that whoever put it on would have seen this but did nothing about it. Three because I feel blue having a new but defective laptop sitting beside me while I type this on an old desktop.

One may say I am whining a bit: bloody right I am. It took me ages to save up for this thing. I am in touch with them and will add to this appropriately. Of course its only momentarily grating and there is much more in life to be concerned about but it's hard not to be drawn into the fray.

As a parting observation I must say I'm puzzled about the pixel tier system: buy a laptop - fine.
Pay more, but a tiny part of the screen is fcuked - tough.
So what is the extra payment for?

Overall, I must say these guys are great to deal with and well, you've seen the web site. The machine I got anyway, is brilliant and good value (apart from..) and for now, the price is hard to beat.

But if you are about to part with over a thousand Euros and expect to get the equivalent of a piece of crystal (and it's not too far off!)... well, roll the dice, bets being taken, guarantees given and now all that commercial hoo-ha aside, take your chances...!

Good luck.

P.S. Yes, yes, I know - big difference when it comes to the sales pitch (website), but technically they can be right. I just think that a company starting out may try to improve standards on it's own accord first: they sell this stuff to us but do they not have first dibs at quality control? You don't: you just order, buy and keep the various forks of your body crossed. The guy that installs your OS cannot be blind. Again, considering the reliability of PC components, why the tiered system? Who sees all first? Where best to send this or that depending on spending pattern or demographic? And sure why not.

P.P.S. Yes, I know, there is a difference between a pixel and a sub-pixel. Not the point. Believe me, both are equally irritating.

Any dead pixel guarantee I have seen is generally more like an additional warranty, so you can reject a unit that has as little as one dead pixel, not a guarantee that you will receive a unit with no dead pixels.

It certainly is a pain that they won't pay for postage but in fairness I guess that might cost them nearly as much as you paid for the guarantee in the first place?

(It not that I don't have tonnes of sympathy for you BTW, as there is nothing more annoying having shelled out a load of cash, just that I can understand their positon)

Ghost Train

would argue the dead pixel vs stuck sub pixel issue with them, their dead pixel guarantee page doesn't highlight the difference, only uses the term dead pixel.

but also uses the term "defect free" in relation to a replacement which would include a stuck sub pixel

and they say this in relation to the situation without guarantee (by your description they also allow for some pixel defects)

However, the ISO standard allows for pixel defects and neither the manufacturer nor supplier can be held liable for defects that fall within the ISO standard.

if the dead pixel guarantee doesn't cover stuff outside the ISO standard, they use term "pixel defect" again and not dead pixel, then it's definitely misleading that they wouldn't cover a stuck pixel or sub pixel

Also makes no mention of return charge outside the UK. So would argue that. Maybe they state it else where on the site but should still be referenced on the guarantee page when they say they will collect from your premises

Dinarius

From the PC Specialist Forums....this may be of interest...........

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?19395-Dead-Pixel-Warranty&highlight=dead

and this....

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?9783-Dead-Pixel-Guarantee-Now-Available!&highlight=dead

I think I will take out the £19 dead pixel warranty AND, I will call them tomorrow to just put them on notice about what I have read. Hopefully, this will mean I get a perfect laptop! ;-)

D.

rai555

Just glancing through pcspecialists forum about laptops - seems there are plenty of issues with hardware - is it just place for rant or bunch of unlucky customers? Was willing to order from them but will hold off now

freestyla

Maybe they had some staff changes there and new guys not skilled/bastards..

I also didn't get any answers on a few questions I sent them a couple months ago.

Dinarius

I phoned them and was pleased with the assurance I got re dead pixels etc., so I went ahead and ordered this....

Chassis & DisplayVortex Series: 15.6" AUO Matte 95% Gamut Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MBMemory (RAM)16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)Graphics CardAMD® Radeon® HD 7970M - 2GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 112nd Graphics CardNONEMemory - 1st Hard Disk180GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)2nd Hard DiskNONESSD CACHE DRIVENONE1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)Memory Card ReaderInternal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)Sound CardIntel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone JackNetwork FacilitiesGIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTHUSB Options3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARDFirewire1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORTBatteryVortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)Power Lead & Adaptor1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC AdaptorOperating SystemGenuine Windows 8 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)Office SoftwareNO OFFICE SOFTWAREAnti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARELaptop Cooling StandsNONECarry CaseNONEMonitorNONEKeyboard & MouseINTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PADMouseINTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSEGaming Mouse PadNONESpeakersNONEWebcamINTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAMHeadsetsNONESurge ProtectionNONEPrinterNONEExternal Hard DriveNONEWarranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)Home InstallationNONEDead Pixel Guarantee1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)InsuranceNONEData RecoveryNONEDelivery2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (£19)Build TimeStandard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working daysPricing Information
Price (excluding VAT)£1,279.25Price£1,279.25Order Quantity1Bulk Discount£0.00Total Order price (Ex VAT)£1,279.25Total Order Price£1,279.25

Will let you know how I get on.

D.

Maverick91

So they don't cover postage from Ireland to the UK and if you want to send your order back to them you have to pay for it youself? Is that correct?

Overheal

Maverick91 wrote: »

So they don't cover postage from Ireland to the UK and if you want to send your order back to them you have to pay for it youself? Is that correct?

Sounds like it, which is not unusual for business that don't particularly want to chew the extra costs of doing business internationally (and in this case, with the eurozone). For instance, our company's protection plans cover you internationally, but you have to bring it into a store or have it shipped to us, those costs are not ours. Not entirely unreasonable, given the average plan is about $90/yr and the cost of the replacement products is usually around $500 and shipping from Europe of a laptop would cost about as much as the plan itself.

bink

Sorry for late response/update, been away...

Ok, I did send it back. It cost me (aggh, just noticed no euro symbol! Alt 0128 does) €50. Phoned first, no quibbles, ref number given over same, return thingy you cut out of back of the booklet & write number on, post it back. Fine.

Took about a week. Damn them anyway! Still love the machine and good service. A rocket compared to my last, a Dell Inspiron 8200. Which was fairly spritely too: only a tad slower than my 1982 Casio calculator.

But (always that), I'm bugged that I paid for the guarantee (the 1 year one), several emails were sent from them informing me of progress, the last being that it went through a quality control check. Hmm. Then it arrived with THAT MASSIVE GREEN PIXEL taking up at least 1/4 of the screen, all of my ire and started a kind of weird buzzing feeling in my head.

Great and all as it is, I can't help wondering about the figures: pay the £20 for 1 year, get a crap screen, pay €50 to send it back and they use the £20 you paid already, to to send it back to you, fixed. If, say 30% of non-UK customers really want to do the above, fcuk it, they've already paid for their 'repair' but 70% of dodgy screens were offloaded to non-UK customers because of money, attrition, apathy, whatever. So, its a way for the company to offload screens that, while complying with the ISO-9241-302, 303 etc. standard, are imperfect, which most people do not want. You and I are not stuck with these, they are. Work the percentages, why not? Go figure.

Again, hmm. Didn't want an OS but 7 Home it there: quality control couldn't miss the pixel. Says to me that they are not to pay any more attention to one who has paid for the guarantee than those who have not.

What's it for then?

---

Dinarius:
yup, I empathise (1st post) and good luck with your purchase; chances are it'll be fine.

marco_polo:
not so: also it's a little hard to reject a unit when, in most cases the situation won't allow it. My replacement arrived on a rainy day, me standing out on the road after a phone-call to the courier who didn't know where ... was (open it then and there, turn it on and check...?). Not to mention the origional delivery which I had to pick up from the depot, lots of people buzzing around, 2 customers behind me, all looking on at the plonker who at least took it out and did a quick visual: pity I hadn't a little more nerve to turn it on. Think about the attrition thing.

Ghost Train:
didn't, true, yep and I didn't think so either. I only saw the mention of return charge outside the UK as I was making my order - it may have been buried away somewhere but I was careful, patient and missed it if it wasn't.

Dinarius (again, sorry missed that one!):
I did see those posts. Comforting, aren't they?
"I think I will take out the £19 dead pixel warranty AND, I will call them tomorrow to just put them on notice about what I have read. Hopefully, this will mean I get a perfect laptop! ;-)" Again, good luck.

Maverick91:
Yes, you cover your own postage, it doesn't apply to Ireland.

Overheal:
That is not the point here.
Why pay for the dead pixel guarantee if a person with working eyes sees a defect yet passes the 'inspection', especially if they are aware that the customer on who's machine they are working has paid for the above?

Dinarius

Well, my Porsche with a keyboard arrived and it's perfect. Just as ordered (first thing I did was install and run Belarc)

No dead pixels. Not sure if phoning them made any difference, but either way the screen is perfect.

End to end it took 10 days (including a weekend).

I could not have had a spec similar to this in a Mac for this side of €3k (though I admit the Mac would be half the weight) so I'm very happy.

Highly recommend them.

D.

Chassis & DisplayVortex Series: 15.6" AUO Matte 95% Gamut Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MBMemory (RAM)16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)Graphics CardAMD® Radeon® HD 7970M - 2GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 112nd Graphics CardNONEMemory - 1st Hard Disk180GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)2nd Hard DiskNONESSD CACHE DRIVENONE1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)Memory Card ReaderInternal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)Sound CardIntel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone JackNetwork FacilitiesGIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTHUSB Options3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARDFirewire1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORTBatteryVortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)Power Lead & Adaptor1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC AdaptorOperating SystemGenuine Windows 8 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)Office SoftwareNO OFFICE SOFTWAREAnti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARELaptop Cooling StandsNONECarry CaseNONEMonitorNONEKeyboard & MouseINTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PADMouseINTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSEGaming Mouse PadNONESpeakersNONEWebcamINTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAMHeadsetsNONESurge ProtectionNONEPrinterNONEExternal Hard DriveNONEWarranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)Home InstallationNONEDead Pixel Guarantee1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)InsuranceNONEData RecoveryNONEDelivery2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (£19)
Total Order Price£1,279.25