I wouldn’t say I’d recommend the company. Customer service is 8/10 my only criticism is the response time for replies but it is acceptable. The production time is pretty bad to be honest never order if you are in a rush. I’d give it a 4/10. The actual product however is disappointing. The setup of the computer was not complete. Windows was out of date so it didn’t work with the graphics drivers. Therefore from the word go the computer kept blue screening on me. The control panel (for key backlighting control and turning the trackpad off) doesn’t work properly even now. It has to be manually started every time it is to be used (otherwise the keys don’t work). On to The actual hardware. The components by intel, nvidia, e.t.c. Are great up to now as expected. However the actual body (by PC Specialist) is poor design the battery is far too small for the power of the pc rendering it near useless. I get about a 45min battery life while running less-intense games. The trackpad is badly placed for gaming (as most of the time I can’t turn it off due to bad software control) it gets in the way and I end up having to contort my wrist. The cooling in the laptop even upgraded is shocking but half expected I suppose. The (component brand) stickers were not optional. I hate stickers so now I just have a sticky mark smeared on the body. I could go on but I do not wish to rant. It has just annoyed me that arround 1400 GBP only gets you this. I am highly disappointed. I would give the hardware 3/10 all positives going to the pre-made hardware. I would also give the overall service and product a 4.5/10.
It’s ok
- Thread starter sopkow
- Start date
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
If you want any help with it, do ask, never too sure if people just want a rant.
I don’t like to rant or even complain but I have just been so disappointed in this from the word go. I thought a custom built and tested pc would be parfect. The battery and the control panel/ buttons is my main concern. Thae rest I can deal with
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
Firstly, what are the specs?
Are you not from the company?
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Optimus X Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Promotional Item
Get Control & Wolfenstein: Young Blood w/ select GeForce RTX GPUs!
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
No, none of us work for PCS, we're customers and general tech heads who like to help out. Personally, I've got a laptop I bought from them in 2014 I think which is still going strong.
Regarding the build, first thing to do is make sure that control center (ccc or hotkey) is up to date.
If you go to www.clevo.com.tw and look up the clevo model number (will be on a sticker underneath the laptop). Look for the latest version of the driver, be a little careful as the order isn't very obvious, quite often the latest versions are in the middle or way down the list.
Just to add, I'm gonna head to bed in a mo, so if I don't answer, I'm not ignoring you, just gotta be up stupidly early!
I'll be on tomorrow morning so will update the thread then and others will no likely chime in later on also.
Regarding the build, first thing to do is make sure that control center (ccc or hotkey) is up to date.
If you go to www.clevo.com.tw and look up the clevo model number (will be on a sticker underneath the laptop). Look for the latest version of the driver, be a little careful as the order isn't very obvious, quite often the latest versions are in the middle or way down the list.
Just to add, I'm gonna head to bed in a mo, so if I don't answer, I'm not ignoring you, just gotta be up stupidly early!
I'll be on tomorrow morning so will update the thread then and others will no likely chime in later on also.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
Just to note, the body isn't by PCS, it's by Clevo (PCS are one of a number of companies that use Clevo chassis to let users customise laptop builds). There are others like Tongfang and quanta, which PCS and other custom laptop builders also use, but Clevo are the main one.
I'm not saying that in PCS's defence - just to highlight that if someone went to Brand X custom laptop competitor, they'd quite likely end up buying the same chassis.
Gaming on laptop battery was never going to go well in fairness. Unless we're talking facebook games?
However:
That's not very good and I'd suggest feeding that back to PCS. And as above, for your own purposes, getting the latest version direct from Clevo,
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
How did you attempt to contact PCS for support? If via email then there may well have been a delay, when they're busy email isn't always answered promptly. If you wanted immediate customer support you should have phoned them.
How long did your build take? How long do you think it should have taken? If you were 'in a rush' as you say, why did you not pay the small additional fee for Fast Track service?
Wrong. All new PCs (from any vendor) run the Windows Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) on first boot, this is so you can provide user and location specific information, and chose what data you want sent to Microsoft. This is required by Microsoft, it's not something that PCS have just decided to do.
How was Windows 'out of date'? Any PC or laptop ordered since about April this year will have come with Windows 10 1903 installed. There were almost certainly updates that needed to be installed but that's generally the case with any PC or laptop you buy from anywhere. Since you bought it with Windows installed (and paid for) then all the right drivers will have been installed and you'd have had no need to install any others. If you did, and you got a BSOD, then you may well have downloaded and installed the wrong version of the driver.
Again, since you bought it with Windows installed then all the right Control Center software will have been installed for you. If you're having problems then ask for help (rather than ranting) and we'll help all we can.
Wrong again. The entire chassis (including the 'actual body') for that model is from Clevo. PCS only assemble the components and test them, they don't actually make anything.
How much research did you do before you placed your order. You didn't ask any questions on here that's for sure. It's really up to you to be sure that any laptop or PC you intend to buy is suitable for your use. Caveat emptor.
No they are not. The vendors (Intel, Nvidia, Microsoft) require that PCS place those stickers on your laptop, they are part of the licensing deal. Complain to Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia if you're not happy with that.
If that's not a rant I'd love to see what you think is! Your post is littered with inaccuracies and with false assumptions presented as facts.
If you're having problems then we will help you, but you need to calm down, explain in detail what your problems are and what you have already done to try and resolve them.
Oussebon
Multiverse Poster
In fairness to the OP, PCS laptops being shipped with Control Centre not installed / not working properly is a very commonly reported issue on these forums.
That could be an issue with PCS's processes, or it could be nothing to do with them and for all I know affects Clevo chassis sold by other vendors too.
However, given how common the issue is, it's something PCS should probably think about addressing. e.g. with a note included in the welcome box or similar. And it's right for people like the OP and others to continue to flag up the issue.
That could be an issue with PCS's processes, or it could be nothing to do with them and for all I know affects Clevo chassis sold by other vendors too.
However, given how common the issue is, it's something PCS should probably think about addressing. e.g. with a note included in the welcome box or similar. And it's right for people like the OP and others to continue to flag up the issue.
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
Indeed and that's fair enough. The probem is that any possible genuine problem the OP may have has been negated by the manner in which they chose to 'flag it up'.
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D
Deleted member 88683
Guest
I think all points have been cleared up by the experts now ^^
^^
Good afternoon
I would first of all like to apologise on behalf of PC Specialist for the inconvenience caused, the feedback has been passed to Management within PC Specialist Ltd. We have already started to look into some of the points raised including the issue with the control center as others have mentioned is a “known” issue which is rather disappointing to see and hear. Although the above moderators are not affiliated with Pc Specialist directly they have raised the correct response and have asked the correct questions in order to better assist you with the issues you are facing. Although we would never push it up on customers to elect for a refund, I will take the opportunity to remind customers that they do have a 14-day cooling-off period whereby should they choose to return the product they can as in line with our terms and conditions.
We are always willing to put things right where we can however I feel as though some of the points raised are directly related to the build, layout and design and thus it is not always possible to correct these things due to the limitations which we have as mentioned above regarding the chassis being somewhat pre-manufactured by a different company. If you wish to discuss anything in further detail with us or perhaps we could look at finding a more suited laptop for your needs then please do not hesitate to contact us directly
Many Thanks,
Mustafa - PC Specialist Support Team
I would first of all like to apologise on behalf of PC Specialist for the inconvenience caused, the feedback has been passed to Management within PC Specialist Ltd. We have already started to look into some of the points raised including the issue with the control center as others have mentioned is a “known” issue which is rather disappointing to see and hear. Although the above moderators are not affiliated with Pc Specialist directly they have raised the correct response and have asked the correct questions in order to better assist you with the issues you are facing. Although we would never push it up on customers to elect for a refund, I will take the opportunity to remind customers that they do have a 14-day cooling-off period whereby should they choose to return the product they can as in line with our terms and conditions.
We are always willing to put things right where we can however I feel as though some of the points raised are directly related to the build, layout and design and thus it is not always possible to correct these things due to the limitations which we have as mentioned above regarding the chassis being somewhat pre-manufactured by a different company. If you wish to discuss anything in further detail with us or perhaps we could look at finding a more suited laptop for your needs then please do not hesitate to contact us directly
Many Thanks,
Mustafa - PC Specialist Support Team