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“Brilliant Customer Support”

Written on: 03/05/2012 by Firetap (2 reviews written)

A friend of mine bought a desktop computer about 6 months ago from a company I had not heard of at the time, called Palicomp. With this computer, he was playing games at top settings and had no issues, and this, he told me, was one of their cheaper systems. So when I was in the market for a new gaming machine, I was keen to check Palicomp out. I had been using gaming laptops over the last 10 years, but since I was travelling less for work, it was time I tried out a desktop. This did mean, however, that coming from a laptop background, my knowledge of desktop components was lacking: I wasn’t sure which PSU I would need to power the graphics card; or what the difference with all the motherboards were; but I knew there were some components I absolutely wanted. Of course, I could have called up a system builder and asked all these questions, but when I took a look at the Palicomp site, I was delighted to find that there were starting points for each system. So instead of speccing every component from scratch, I could simply select a system which was close to my requirements and tweak it without having to worry about compatibility. There was also a summary describing each system in the line-up and giving some recommendations, I found this invaluable advice, giving me confidence in Palicomp’s component choice and allowing me to select useful upgrades without having to do too much research myself.

I was after an overclocked i5, so I decided on the Phoenix i5 Shinobi, upgrading the processor cooling, and changing the graphics card to a NVidia GTX570. I already had a monitor, so was able to drop this, meaning I had a very high end system for just over £1000. I wasn’t sure if my friend had done much research into pricing, so I compared Palicomp to other suppliers and Palicomp remained convincingly cheaper. I’m quite sure, even if I bought all the components myself, that I couldn’t have built it for as little as Palicomp did. The Palicomp site also linked to a review on the Shinobi, which told me that there was a spare 2.5” drive bay caddy in the case, which was ideal, since I already had a Solid State Drive which I knew there would be space for, and a free SATA 3.0 port ready to plug it into.

Once I'd placed the order online, I received a call from Palicomp, confirming everything. I was expecting the usual hard sell, trying to make me buy something I didn’t want, but they just notified me of some offers which they had on at the time. They were such good deals, in fact, that I decided to take them. I had specified the queue jump fast build option, and a day later my system was delivered.

I’ve had the Shinobi for about 6 months now, and the system runs beautifully. With the SSD installed, it scores top marks in the Windows Experience Index in everything but the processor, and I haven’t found a game it can’t run with ease. Although the two biggest shocks coming from a laptop have to be the electricity that the desktop eats, and even though I selected a quiet case and processor fan, which they are, it’s when the two fans on the Gainward NVidia GTX570 get going that the noise levels really rise - much to the dismay of the missus.

Palicomp must also be commended for the quality of their support. I’ve contacted them a few times, just with minor queries, which are quickly answered, and when I did have a problem with the computer, it was sorted in super quick time, with them even Fed Exing me a replacement for the faulty component, allowing me to replace it myself, saving a lengthy RMA process.

All in all, I’m delighted with the system and am pleased I chose Palicomp. To demonstrate this, I have been quick to recommend them now whenever anyone is looking for a new PC.