Computer Hardware Suppliers...

[[D]r_kazza]

Since this topic comes up every 2 days and thought it would be easier just to top this...

just append your experiences with various suppliers...


General Hardware:

Recommended

http://www.overclock.co.uk/
Just started using these guys... great customer service very helpful... good pricing... again only stock decent items no bottom of the range tat. And a 7day moneyback guarantee

http://www.theoverclockingstore.co.uk
Highly recommended... up there with overclock.co.uk. They only stock top notch stuff and are usually slightly higher price than Overclockers... However delivery is free so all in all it works out about the same. However these guys also stock the more exotic stuff, like watercooling, caselights, bells whistles etc ;)

http://www.chillblast.com
very good customer service and feedback, these guys have been the only UK stockists of a number of great items... e.g. soyo motherboards, silverado coolers... probably not the cheapest in town but they prefer to stock the best equiptment... always worth looking at, even if it is just for ideas.

http://www.tekheads.co.uk
a store not unlike overclock.co.uk good stuff average pricing... not had much experience with them


Worth looking at

http://www.dabs.com/
Very dailymail.... nothing special, worth checking as they have bigger stocks than most other suppliers but they stock all items from the bottom of the range shyte to the top of the range stuff... rarely the best price but worth a check

http://www.novatech.co.uk
Only used a couple of times... worth checking if you're after a printer/scanner etc... they rate alongside Dabs

http://www.overclockers.co.uk
Good products, mostly only top of the range or reliable stuff, good prices... customer service not great, and the message boards are full of arrogant Le-Pen wannabes.

http://www.hitechpc.co.uk/
Never ever used them, not heard much about them but often good to look at the new stuff just for ideas....


Avoid

http://www.scan.co.uk/
also known as scam... they have some really good deals but personally i don't like them. had not great experiences the 2/3 times I've used them, they stock a lot of cheap own brand goods.

http://www.aria.co.uk
Don't even click the link... they are TRULY appaling... I know of 2 people other than myself who have used them once and can't say the name without lapsing into Tourettes.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk
http://www.dixons.co.uk
http://www.currys.co.uk
http://www.comet.co.uk (I used to work there in the after sales!!!!)
I think no more need be said about the above 4... although i'd buy a whole system from one of them before I ordered a floppy drive from Aria!


Wierd Stuff

http://www.matrix-orbital.com
the BEST and only LCD/VFD to get ... if you want an LCD don't choose anything else

http://www.coolcasemods.com
Very good service... good for silly things like case windows and really vital stuff like that... they also do a modding service where they will collect your pc install windows etc and deliver it again

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk
not used these guys too much but they have some exotic stuff that you can't find many other places... probably rate them about the same as CCM

http://www.maplin.co.uk
Electronics bits & bobs... things like soldring irons leds etc.

http://www.pricerunner.com
The only place you need to check to look for a TV/VCR/Washinmachine etc... ok I know it isn't strictly computer related but a good site nonetheless.

http://www.digiuk.com/
They stock refurbished and new monitors with full guarantees... not much else tho.


Full Systems

http://www.dell.co.uk
not the cheapest but very reliable and good support... if you want a great deal, check their Factory Outlet section on the front page... you'll probably save a couple of ton.

evesham & Mesh
not got the URLS (anyone?) but have heard very good stuff about them.

Tiny/Time
HORRIFIC.. DO NOT BUY ON PAIN OF DEATH/RIDICULE!!!

Compaq/Hewlett Packard
probably (?) good computers, but expect to be ridiculed because you bought it from dixons and paid about 500 quid too much (at least!)

Mac.
*giggles* yes I only put this in here for you ~granny~ you know you don't want to... besides can you run TFC on a mac???


Please add any others you know of and if you have had good/bad experiences then don't keep it to yourself... bear in mind that i'll usually give a retailer the benefit of the doubt... if they c0<k up twice and don't try to make ammends then that's it as far as I'm concerned.

Kazza

[Steffan]

www.meshplc.com

www.evesham.com


? :O

[Rog]

OMG @ the prices at that Dell factory outlet!

[Black Death]

OMG how could you miss out www.ebuyer.com

[Quinnbeast]

Nicely done Kazza, I've often wondered which are the best online places to use, but I'm often too bone-idle to bother looking around myself.:)

Cheers.

[Gokou]

gotta disagree with u on overclockers.

They sent my monitor to the wrong house and it took around 3hrs on the fone for them to sort it....

gg monkeys on a fone.

[[D]r_kazza]

erm goku how exactly are you disagreeing with me?

Originally posted by [D]r_kazza
http://www.overclockers.co.uk
Good products, mostly only top of the range or reliable stuff, good prices... customer service not great, and the message boards are full of arrogant Le-Pen wannabes.

The quality of the goods they stock is pretty good... but the custy service???

(or did you mean overclock?)

[Gokou]

eeeekk i looked at overclock................not overclockers

sorry sir, mis understanding sir!

going to my corner sir, yes sir yes!

:{

[Monie]

Kaz > gokou

[Gokou]

(+monie): Kazza's a tw*t; how can he say overclockers is good cus serv?!

IRONY?!

Kaz > Goks > Monie

i get higher rating than monie due to my DNA being that of an non-irish nature.

:x

[Monie]

aye, but being a brummy your DNA is 8 times worse. :P

[Chief]

I've had no probs with overclockers :banana:

[NightHawk]

I got most of my current system from http://www.cclcomputers.co.uk

They dont have a massive variety of stock, but the prices are ok.

[[DW]LoneGun]

used www.microlanduk.com a few times and been pretty pleased with prices, customer service etc.

[Oddball]

I'd say www.overclockingstore.co.uk is the best. I ordered a few things and a case badge but when the package arrived the badge wasn't there so I got on the phone and they sent one out straight away no questions :).

Also http://www.7dayshop.com *look* good (excellent prices on the smartmedia cards for me digi camera anyway :D)

[Sureshot]

OMG how could you miss out www.ebuyer.com

Yeah, put it in the avoid section :| Had nowt but trouble from Ebuyer in the past, only deal with them if it's totally necessary. Dabs have been the best for me, and ocuk are ok as long as you don't have to send anything back, cos you might not see it again for a very long time, if ever.

I'd also recommend http://www.pcindex.co.uk as it offers a superb product finder which compares and lists the best prices from the biggest hardware suppliers, and although it doesn't list every PC component under the sun, it's definitely a good starting point.

[AND1E]

ive used scan a few times now and ive had no problems at all . I would reccomend them especailly there daily specials and the bundles they have on there sometimes

[[D]r_kazza]

lets demote tekheads because frankly they are not very bright! (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10581)

[Bitty]

:laugh:

</bored spamming twat>

[BlueJam]

What about full network systems, the whole nine yards, clients with network cards, servers, hubs and cabling (And what not).

[Smallfoot]

toppage ! Nice post m8. www.watford.co.uk too

[~Dear Old Granny~]

Mac simplicity owns all your bases - And they have iPODs and street cred.

Anyway - other companies you might like to look at:

www.quietpc.com - Excellent.

www.apple.com - If you want a quiet life and street cred.

Me - I swing both ways Matron - I wouldn't part with my PC, but my Powerbook is very slick.

[Raging Bull]

Well Im looking for a new PC so this is quite useful :P

Dunno whether its the best site but Evesham.com has options for a DVD-RW - Is this worth getting + do you burn films downloaded off the net onto DVD's in this device as I have no idea

Also wtf is a firewire card and is it important? :)

Oh and is the Geforce 4 TI 4600 128mb (DVI/TV out) the best on the market ?

[[D]r_kazza]

Originally posted by Raging Bull
Dunno whether its the best site but Evesham.com has options for a DVD-RW - Is this worth getting + do you burn films downloaded off the net onto DVD's in this device as I have no idea *ahem* not advocating piracy I hope ;) TBH unless you download a lot of films it probably isn't worth the 300 odd quid to get it just yet... HOWEVER give it a few years and it will be standard as a CDW is.


Also wtf is a firewire card and is it important? :) Firewire is the new form of data transfer... compare it to USB v2.0 normal USB ports are 1.1 (I think) the new version supplies more power and has higher data transfer rates... firewire compares similarly to USB... (think VHS/BETA)


Oh and is the Geforce 4 TI 4600 128mb (DVI/TV out) the best on the market ? This week, yes it is :)

[~Dear Old Granny~]

And better still - I have one... [smug]

Radeons - Never touched 'em, don't know what you're talking about........

[[D]r_kazza]

ROFL granny... can I use that for my siggy ;)

[Lt. Sex Machine]

Regarding firewire, remember that you can also use it to network 63 machines at 400mbps so it is a very versatile standard.

It (and USB 2.0 @ 480mbps) are overkill for the printers, mice and keyboards that we usually use them for at the moment but for digital video and stills cameras, scanners and storage devices they are the dog's curlies :)

[[D]r_kazza]

time to bump this i see... (scan gets a very good recommendation from Kiwi at the moment... lets wait and see what he says when he finds that the processor wasn't included in the package ;))

Kaz

[RevereX]

Of the suppliers already mentioned I've had experience with a few. Thoughts are:

ebuyer.com : V.good for price but their delivery isn't cheap up to £100. Mind you, over that it's free. Another point is try not to order stuff when it's out of stock. What they do is sell on a first come, first served basis which means that if you order several items with one out of stock the other items aren't earmarked for you. The end result is that if something else goes out of stock before the first one comes in you could never get your order.

overclockers.co.uk : They are a touch pricey but often stock stuff that's a bit of a pain to get anywhere else (good quality PSUs and odd fans). Irritated to see that they don't do their 'guaranteed to xxxx mhz' chips anymore.

theoverclockingstore.co.uk : Much like overclockers.co.uk they can cost a bit. I hate trying to search and navigate their site but they do stuff like watercooling (see soon to be released web page on how I fried my Celeron 300A).

Rev.

[Kiwi]

I've had a lot of problems with Dabs, c/s is poor and they don't reply to emails.

Scan has been quick, efficient, cost effective and painless, thats all you want out of a parts supplier.

[*Fr3aK*]

I have to disagree with you on Tiny, kazza. They are great, HAd my Tiny pc for years now.. only came across one problem with it, and that was the mouse.. it was in the first 8 months and so they sent me a free on.. which came 2 days later. I have been impressed by this sytem and the customer service is great.

[Lt. Sex Machine]

Never came across a really bad supplier yet to be honest, had the odd mess up but that's easily forgiven as I have always ordered stuff in plenty of time to do jobs.

Of particular note recently and a company that has really got it's act together is OCUK, they used to be a real shower of monkeys but after destroying two motherboards (technically my negligence but I didn't tell them that) they replaced them both no quibbles and despatched replacements the very same day that they received the duds back from me.

Only thing that lets them down is their website ordering system seems to be b0rked, or at least it was which is a bit of a turnoff as you have to talk to a human :gasp: on the phone :gasp: with a Stoke accent :ICantHandleThis:

[[D]r_kazza]

Freak please be careful the company you repeat those phrases in...

I'm not going to slag Tiny off in this post because it's too easy but just for your information the CEO of Tiny said in a memo to someone that TINY stood for "Tough It's Now Yours!"

I thought Time had bought them anyway... if you choose this route don't say you weren't warned!

[*Fr3aK*]

I bought it about 3 years ago :P Yes time are sh¬t.

[[D]r_kazza]

Time this got bumped to the top again!

[Lt. Sex Machine]

Is that the best pun you could come up with in the space of 3 months Kazza :P

[[D]r_kazza]

</unintentional>

Freak's got a Tiny one LOLZ0R

[Mongrel]

Ordered my whole system from Scan and I must say the service was top banana. Arrived when they said it would, already partially built (i.e the tricky bits that would cost them the most money to replace :) ) and the price wasn't bad either. Would recommend em.

[Ronaldo]

Good Thread = Sticky Thread

[Arachnamus]

I bought most of my components from ocuk (overclockers) inc CPU and put it together myself. As it was my first time it was obvious i was going to make a mistake somewhere, this time it was screwing the mobo onto the case without risers. Quick pop later and the CPU was dead as tie-dye flares. Ocuk replaced it for free (was a 150 quid processor) even though they knew it was my fault. Can't call that bad customer service.
My dad bought his PC from evesham as he lives near the place, and one for my brother too, he's had no complaints, they seem quite good overall.

[Dunx]

Would it not be a good idea to let this thread sink and then quote the URL to anyone who needs it? :)

[[scw]proud]

never had a prob with scan.co.uk

and novatech.co.uk is good

[[D]r_kazza]

Originally posted by Dunx
Would it not be a good idea to let this thread sink and then quote the URL to anyone who needs it? :)
and the difference is?

[Dunx]

So it doesn't clog up the top of the board? :O

[Dunx]

Sorry, sounding like a d*ck here. Very useful guide, whenever I next need to upgrade this dying beast, I'll know where to look, thanke ye kindly Doctar.

Ignore my pedantic dislike of numerous Top threads if you want ;)

[=KoolMoD=]

Scan.co.uk sent me a Geforce 4 Ti4200 (MSI) which was bent in places. I had to readjust it with plyers and luckily it just about fitted with a bit of pushing :|

Also half the software with the card doesn't actually work, in fairness MSI's fault I guess, but Scan hasn't impressed me none the less.

[Defragmentor]

Send it back and get a straight one, I would.
As for onlineeeee placesssssss. Urm, I've ordered from numerous places and have had no problems.

Novatech: Not as cheap as some places, but very reliable and their delivery is great. I ordered some out of stock speakers along with some other stuff when they were doing 3 day free delivery and they sent them next day as soon as they came in. Ordered many times in the past, always been satisfied.

Scan: ordered my sc + speakers from them the other day, the speakers were £57, the next lowest I could find them for was £90 from dabs. Can you mump at that??? no. Excellent deal :)
Delivery was the next day after I ordered, marvellous!

Ebuyer: Cheap prices but the delivery charge is not appreciated, especially when the ONLY option is 'next day' and they deliver two days after that. I built a PC for a mate and his stuff came after 3 days, despite them charging him for next day.

OCUK: Good service. Delivery is dear again, but I've had no problems. I bought their tower case and was amazed @ value for money, nice and roomy, came next day after ordering.

Dabs: Did ok, the stuff arrived late, though. Nice prices but the delivery was just like ebuyer, a few days late.

Where are the horror stories?!

[Ronaldo]

The main reason I topped it is that a lot of people seem to be upgrading or buying new systems atm.

This thread being topped could be the difference in having one topped thread or 6 random pc threads :)

[breath]

Originally posted by NightHawk
I got most of my current system from http://www.cclcomputers.co.uk

They dont have a massive variety of stock, but the prices are ok.

I have to go there tomrrow to change a dodgy DDR hope they have good cust service :E

Seriously they aint bad now they have a new place and alot more in stock

[*Fr3aK*]

Tiny computers own.

[--Prodigy--]

I can reccomend Novatech.

Bought my Geforce 3 from them ages ago.

Then my Ti4600 more recently which was a good deal cheaper than everywhere else (at the time).

Shame my Ti4600 got blown away by this lovely little 9700 pro ;)

Pfff, Nvidia. Show me NV30 then you've got my custom back again.

[Mongrel]

Top


Just so its easier to find.... :pimp:

[[D]r_kazza]

Originally posted by Mongrel
Top


Just so its easier to find.... :pimp:

Ditto

[Bitty]

One day this might become TEH MOST POPULAR THRAED OF AL TIEM!11

[[D]r_kazza]

stfu nickzor ;)

[Murasame]

www.komplett.co.uk good prices but took a month to send my last mobo :/

[Gokou]

overclockers.co.uk seem to have picked up a lot since management have changed.
New items in stock and if you buy little things, p&p is like £3. excellent.