written by YannAnth on 19/09/2015
TL;DR: Very comprehensive website, excellent service (regular updates), safe delivery, great warranty policy and lots of customer choice in what you buy. 5 STARS!
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I ordered my £1150 high-spec laptop from PC Specialist following a recommendation from a friend.
First of all, the prices for PC Specialist's laptops are fantastic. There is a reasonably long lead time of some 3 weeks (depending on when you order), but that is not a complaint given the excellent price you get for there. The configurable laptops on sale are mostly Clevo models, which offer decent build quality and fantastic specs.
The best part? It's all customisable. 16GB of RAM is overkill, but I liked me a GTX 970M and top-of-the-line core i7 and went with that. The interface for doing this is great and presents all the options nicely. So nicely that you can send it to geekier friends than you and they can immediately advise you on your choices. Top marks on their plain looking but highly functional and easy-to-use website.
It arrived in very safe packaging, and with extensive documentation and all the drivers I could ask for.
The system had evidently been tested thoroughly, and it even had a test version of Windows 7 (I asked for no OS on purchase) so I could for myself verify that the system was fully tested. It is a greatly appreciated service I haven't seen any other firm do -- and PC Specialist was fully selfless about it.
My one complaint is that the initial lead time for them to order all the components is a bit high, but it's understandable as it's a small shop. It's worth noting I used the economy option for this, so no complaints there.
After all the components have arrived, they provide regular updates on when the system is getting assembled, QA'd, et cetera and ship it with a next day delivery courier, so there is little doubt as to when you will get your laptop. All the info is there and well presented.
As mentioned above, it is tested thoroughly and there is nothing to be afraid of, but they have a range of warranties in case there is a problem -- which I did not have to use but it's there if you are concerned.