Estimated Build time recommendation

S

slimey

Member
Hi there,
I have order a desktop PC through pcs and just have some feedback regarding the build times.
When ordering my PC, the average was quoted as 7-9 days to build and dispatch, which I was fine with.
But then as soon as I complete my order I see the actual average is 11 days, with some taking up to 2 weeks.
After waiting 9 working days in pre production I decided to 3 day fast track it so I can have it for Next Week.
The problem is I will now be waiting a total 12 days at least before it is built and tested, And I have paid £50 extra for this.
If i had been shown the actual avegerage times before the build I would of tried too fast tracked it straight away.
My other issue is I was unable, until now to update to fastbtrack as my parts where out of stock. Again I would of appreciated knowing this before placing my order so I could of made adjustments.
I think the live build times and actual stock levels should be made clear before ordering, to save people facing the same hassle and extra expenditure that I have.
 
S

slimey

Member
In addition to this I find the pricing very confusing, it would be a lot better to see actual values of parts. Not Just how much more or less than the previously selected one, it's hard to build a PC on a budget like this, as you don't know how expensive something actually is. So it impossible to see what parts you can cut down the costs on and what parts are worth the extra money vs performance.
I know other companies use the same method I just find it a little dishonest.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I'd disagree that it's dishonest. For one thing, you're buying a pre-assembled system, not a collection of components to assemble it yourself. So there's always going to be a baseline cost, with more expensive individual components adding more to the price. The baseline will obviously include the cheapest components, plus the costs of them building the system, etc.

The only website I recall coming across that had clearly separated out costs for the components and the building is a particular German store that sells components as well as systems, and lets you spec up a PC to build yourself, or pay an extra £XX for them to build it for you. But that's very unusual, and a different business model to PCS - since PCS don't sell individual components for a start.

I definitely agree that the pricing in the configurators isn't very clear at all. Prices shift, and it can be hard to find the best deal in there. For instance an AMD R7 1800x was cheaper than an R7 1700x when I looked yesterday.

Prices will vary according to all kinds of factors, and it can be hard to find what the best bang for buck is without a) knowing what the components are / the performance they offer and b) checking them all to see the current pricing one by one.

With regards to the fast track, there are usually notifications for out of stock components. It's possible the item went out of stock during the time you were waiting for it to be built.

I'd suggest sending PCS an email with the feedback as well, since the forums are mostly for the customer community and an email will make sure your comments reach them :) [email protected]
 
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S

slimey

Member
Oussebon said:
I'd disagree that it's dishonest. For one thing, you're buying a pre-assembled system, not a collection of components to assemble it yourself. So there's always going to be a baseline cost, with more expensive individual components adding more to the price. The baseline will obviously include the cheapest components, plus the costs of them building the system, etc.

The only website I recall coming across that had clearly separated out costs for the components and the building is a particular German store that sells components as well as systems, and lets you spec up a PC to build yourself, or pay an extra £XX for them to build it for you. But that's very unusual, and a different business model to PCS - since PCS don't sell individual components for a start.

I definitely agree that the pricing in the configurators isn't very clear at all. Prices shift, and it can be hard to find the best deal in there. For instance an AMD R7 1800x was cheaper than an R7 1700x when I looked yesterday.

Prices will vary according to all kinds of factors, and it can be hard to find what the best bang for buck is without a) knowing what the components are / the performance they offer and b) checking them all to see the current pricing one by one.

With regards to the fast track, there are usually notifications for out of stock components. It's possible the item went out of stock during the time you were waiting for it to be built.

I'd suggest sending PCS an email with the feedback as well, since the forums are mostly for the customer community and an email will make sure your comments reach them :) [email protected]
Click to expand...

Maybe dishonest isn't the right word, it's just frustrating that for example, I may be spending £200 on a case for a £800 build (obviously overkill) but have no idea cause it was only +£50 compared to the default one.
Where as if i knew the component prices I could use that money in more important areas; gpu, ssd, processor etc.
 
steaky360

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
slimey said:
Maybe dishonest isn't the right word, it's just frustrating that for example, I may be spending £200 on a case for a £800 build (obviously overkill) but have no idea cause it was only +£50 compared to the default one.
Where as if i knew the component prices I could use that money in more important areas; gpu, ssd, processor etc.
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying it can be confusing to attempt to work out which components are the cheapest at a particular moment, but I don't think PCS will start putting prices on their components, their pricing structure just doesn't seem built to allow for that to happen.

A (small) concession to this are the forums, there are a great bunch of folk on here (like Oussebon above) who are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to system building. If you're looking for the best value or best configuration for your needs, run it past them :).

As for your dispatch times, the average's displayed are a rolling average so it will change from week to week depending on how many orders PCS process. If you've been waiting more than 3 working days after placing the 3 day fast track order (assuming it was placed before mid-day on day 1) then PCS will refund this (or partially if its within the 5 day dispatch).
 
S

SlimCini

KC and the Sunshine BANNED
Poor example to use cases given that's about the only item where the prices ARE stated...
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
The issue you raise about the different build times being shown after you order has been asked before. A PCS employee (at the time) posted a pretty good explanation here, but the key points were...

In terms of the differing timescales on the site, the two numbers you are comparing are completely different and are designed for different reasons. The number given to you before placing your order is the Estimated Build Time, this is measured in Working Days and is based on orders completed over the past two weeks. This was Estimated on your order as Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days, this is not a dispatch date or delivery date, this is simply our estimated Build Time.

The box you are looking at once you have placed your order is showing a percentage of how many orders are dispatched within x amount of days. This is not an approximate Build time, this is us showing our customers how many days it normally takes from placing an order until dispatching an order. We do not believe that this Dispatch Data should be on our site for anyone to come along and view and so we make this available for our customers to view once placing an order so that they have as much information as possible available to them.
Click to expand...

It's also very well known that ALL builds spend most of their time in pre-production and once they move into build they generally dispatch a day or two later (assuming no QA issues). It is a frustrating wait, we all know that, and it's not helped by seeing your build still in pre-production day after day, we all know that too. :)

Had you asked on here about your 9 day wait before spending extra money on Fast Track we'd probably have been able to assure you that this is normal (because it is) and thus saved you the £50. Incidentally, if PCS fail to meet the Fast Track timescale they generally refund the Fast Track payment. You might want to call them and check on this for your build.

The issue of showing component prices and stock levels on the configurator has been raised before. I don't work for PCS of course but doing what you suggest would likely be more complex than you suppose. We all know that PCS shop around for the best component deals and also that many laptops and PCs are in build at the same time. If builders had to spend time updating stock levels for the configurator or the purchasing department had to spend time updating prices for components on the configurator as the market price changes there would be a lower overall build throughput and that would mean higher prices for us. PCS also have to maintain a delicate balance between stock levels (which eat capital and storage space) and demand for the components. If they get a hundred orders on the same day all for the same component it can very quickly become out of stock. PCS are also very dependent on the timely shipping of orders from their suppliers and a small problem with a supplier can also lead to an out of stock situation.

As has been mentioned, you're buying a finished and tested build and not separate components. I agree that you do have to muck about a bit if you'e on a budget adjusting components to get the best bang for your buck, but as has also been mentioned, there are some extremely knowledgeable people on here (and Oussebon is one of the very best) so if you have any doubts about how to get the best deal for your budget asking on here is your very best option.

In any case, I'm sure that when your PC arrives you'll quickly forget the stress of ordering and waiting for it to be built. We've all been there too. :)
 
S

SlimCini

KC and the Sunshine BANNED
A simple solution to solve customers' frustration over this would be to include the queue number that your order is in when in pre-production. PCS must know it? And a fast track wouldn't push you down the queue, only leave you in the same place so no-one would know if their order was being paused for a fast-track or just because the builds on the production line were taking a bit longer.

Come on... Surely having a production line queue number countdown would add to excitement of refreshing order status every hour?!?!?!
 
S

slimey

Member
ubuysa said:
The issue you raise about the different build times being shown after you order has been asked before. A PCS employee (at the time) posted a pretty good explanation here, but the key points were...



It's also very well known that ALL builds spend most of their time in pre-production and once they move into build they generally dispatch a day or two later (assuming no QA issues). It is a frustrating wait, we all know that, and it's not helped by seeing your build still in pre-production day after day, we all know that too. :)

Had you asked on here about your 9 day wait before spending extra money on Fast Track we'd probably have been able to assure you that this is normal (because it is) and thus saved you the £50. Incidentally, if PCS fail to meet the Fast Track timescale they generally refund the Fast Track payment. You might want to call them and check on this for your build.

The issue of showing component prices and stock levels on the configurator has been raised before. I don't work for PCS of course but doing what you suggest would likely be more complex than you suppose. We all know that PCS shop around for the best component deals and also that many laptops and PCs are in build at the same time. If builders had to spend time updating stock levels for the configurator or the purchasing department had to spend time updating prices for components on the configurator as the market price changes there would be a lower overall build throughput and that would mean higher prices for us. PCS also have to maintain a delicate balance between stock levels (which eat capital and storage space) and demand for the components. If they get a hundred orders on the same day all for the same component it can very quickly become out of stock. PCS are also very dependent on the timely shipping of orders from their suppliers and a small problem with a supplier can also lead to an out of stock situation.

As has been mentioned, you're buying a finished and tested build and not separate components. I agree that you do have to muck about a bit if you'e on a budget adjusting components to get the best bang for your buck, but as has also been mentioned, there are some extremely knowledgeable people on here (and Oussebon is one of the very best) so if you have any doubts about how to get the best deal for your budget asking on here is your very best option.

In any case, I'm sure that when your PC arrives you'll quickly forget the stress of ordering and waiting for it to be built. We've all been there too. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response, some interesting points in there, but I working in a big warehouse/store myself I'm sure stock levels are already being monitored, especially with such high value stock, an automated system displaying in or out of stock, or maybe even 'low levels'of stock warnings wouldn't be too much effort for them.

Since fast tracking my order the % of desktops being dispatched in 14 days has gone down to around 60%, so I'm glad I did it as I have 3 days booked off work next week to play with my new toy haha. Wouldn't of wanted to be spending them refreshing my order, hoping it would make it in time.
But you're right I'm sure as soon as I get it all will be forgotten.
As for the asking forums for build advice, I didn't discover them till after I chose my build, but I think I did alright, with a little help from a friend. Will post the spec here after.
 
S

slimey

Member
Oussebon said:
Have they build the new toy yet? :)
Click to expand...

They have indeed, dispatched today, expected Wednesday, just in time :D.

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.0GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME X370-PRO (DDR4, 6Gb/s, CrossFireX/SLI) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, DP
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1100MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1300 867Mbps/5GHz, 400Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Monitor
AOC G2460PF 24" LED 144Hz Gaming Monitor
Keyboard & Mouse
Corsair STRAFE Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – Cherry MX Red
Mouse
ASUS ROG Strix Evolve Mouse
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 DAY DELIVERY TO CHANNEL ISLANDS (VAT EXCLUSIVE)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

And before someone spots it I know the freesync screen and the gsync graphics card aren't ideal, but £100 extra just for the g sync monitor is a bit much haha
 
A

andlan

Member
Perhaps PCS could give a typical maximum build time in addition to the estimated build time?

Or just keep clients better informed e.g. if a component is out of stock or for some other reason they look like missing the estimated build time, they send a message with a revised estimated delivery date.

Slimey seems to have been frustrated/panicked into paying £50 for fast-track when perhaps this machine was next in line for building.

I liked the countdown idea. We all feel more relaxed when we know where we are in the queue....and that the queue seems to be moving.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
andlan said:
Perhaps PCS could give a typical maximum build time in addition to the estimated build time?

Or just keep clients better informed e.g. if a component is out of stock or for some other reason they look like missing the estimated build time, they send a message with a revised estimated delivery date.

Slimey seems to have been frustrated/panicked into paying £50 for fast-track when perhaps this machine was next in line for building.

I liked the countdown idea. We all feel more relaxed when we know where we are in the queue....and that the queue seems to be moving.
Click to expand...

I like the countdown idea too, but I can forsee a big problem. Suppose you are number 1 in the pre-production queue, so you're next for going into build. You'd be a really excited puppy knowing that your PC will be in build today. Now imagine that PCS get 100 orders all paying for Fast Track. Suddenly you're number 101 in the pre-production queue and you'll not be happy at all!

In addition to that, if a build has problems in QA and has to go back into build for remedial work, that will occupy the building slot that would have been yours, so your PC doesn't get built today after all and you're still in the pre-production queue tomorrow - by which time of course, another few dozen Fast Track builds have also arrived.....

In my experience PCS do tell you when a component is out of stock. They have done this on both my 4 year old Optimus IV laptop and on my 5 month old desktop. Both times they sent an email with a warning that an item was out of stock, in both cases they suggested alternatives. On my desktop the RAM I ordered was out of stock and PCS upgraded me to the faster RAM at no charge.

Waiting for your laptop/PC to be built is an incredibly frustrating time, my advice would be to place your order and then forget about it. To be honest it takes as long to build as it takes. PCS don't deliberately slow some orders down, they build them as fast as they are able to. Checking every day (or every hour!) to see the status of your order just makes you more frustrated. We're talking about a couple of weeks waiting for a computer that will last 5 years or more, that's a wait of less that 0.8% of the life of the computer!

Asking PCS to provide more accurate and up to date information to keep you happier over those two weeks will cost them money. A cost which they will pass on to us the customers. Personally I'm not happy being asked to pay more for my PC so that I can be kept up to date over the two week build period.....
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I'd have figured fast track orders would be kept in a different stream. Although then you have the issue of being Number 1 for a longer while.
 
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