Defiance xs (First purchase from PC Specialist)

Hello everyone.

Both myself and my partner ordered the same laptop model.
Both laptops developed similar/matching faults within 30 days of purchase and we have therefore decided to return the laptops (faulty goods) for a full refund.

So far PC Specialist have shown excellent customer service however, the number of faults that we are experiencing has meant that we would prefer to return the faulty goods.
We are waiting to hear back from PS Specialist and we hope that a refund will be issued promptly. We would like to draw a close to this matter, we just want our money back.


The following issues were experienced.
The computer would freeze, fans go to max and then blue screen.
Random blue screens.
We reinstalled windows and all drivers provided by PC Specialist and this did not fix the issues.
Dead pixels + dead pixels after RMA (repair).
Faulty keyboard with unresponsive buttons.
Screen flicker (on both laptops) which at times was severe, screen completely turned off.

We both know that everyone has different experiences, and it could just be that we have both been very unfortunate, as stated previously PCS have so far been very amicable and we hope they resolve this issue promptly by refunding us in full.

I have some issues in the form of 2 dead/black/unresponsive pixels on my screen that I had let slide at first, as I was extremely happy with this laptop overall, but the more I use this machine, the more I notice them. I'am unsure if this is a 1:1000 occurrence or a common issue for this laptops display, but I'am very disappointing by this and am extremely annoyed that I didn't flag this up with PCS within the 48 hours given for issues like these or purchased the dead pixel guarantee. If you are thinking of purchasing this system, I would highly recommend you purchase the dead pixel guarantee!

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I don't have any data, but just anecdotally from what I've seen on the forums, dead pixels are extremely rare in the laptops. I can't swear I've never seen it mentioned before, but I can't recall it, and people do post a lot of comments on their laptops.

So I think you got very unlucky with the dead pixels - and I'd echo your suggestion to other buyers to consider getting the dead pixel guarantee.

If you haven't already, you could contact PCS about it anyway. They're usually quite eager to make sure people end up satisfied ultimately and while I can't say if they're likely to replace the screen for free, they might still have some options for you.

Also, have you tried things like http://www.jscreenfix.com/ ?

Kudos also for the lengthy review and user experience comments.

Oussebon said:

I don't have any data, but just anecdotally from what I've seen on the forums, dead pixels are extremely rare in the laptops. I can't swear I've never seen it mentioned before, but I can't recall it, and people do post a lot of comments on their laptops.

So I think you got very unlucky with the dead pixels - and I'd echo your suggestion to other buyers to consider getting the dead pixel guarantee.

If you haven't already, you could contact PCS about it anyway. They're usually quite eager to make sure people end up satisfied ultimately and while I can't say if they're likely to replace the screen for free, they might still have some options for you.

Also, have you tried things like http://www.jscreenfix.com/ ?

Kudos also for the lengthy review and user experience comments.

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I would echo what Oussebon says, I’d give them a call about the dead pixel. They may not do anything about it but there is a chance that they will

Very many thanks for the comprehensive and very balanced review, I wish more people would take the time and trouble that you clearly have.

Oh, and I'd give PCS a call about the dead pixels too. They can only say no....

Thank you so much for your replies and kind words! I had tried that website with the colorful box and another technique involving applying pressure with a damp cloth to no avail, so I got in-touch with PCS and have arranged a return and repair with them over my black pixels.

I fear I wouldn't have done anything about this if it weren't for you guys!

Thank you!!

PC Specialist you are incredible! I now have no quarrels over this product and am 100% satisfied with my purchase!

tomcho said:

Thank you so much for your replies and kind words! I had tried that website with the colorful box and another technique involving applying pressure with a damp cloth to no avail, so I got in-touch with PCS and have arranged a return and repair with them over my black pixels.

I fear I wouldn't have done anything about this if it weren't for you guys!

Thank you!!

PC Specialist you are incredible! I now have no quarrels over this product and am 100% satisfied with my purchase!

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That's fantastic news and well done for persevering. PCS are usually very accommodating if you treat them well

I am interested in this laptop as a general MS Office machine with some dev work thrown in. I am trying to ascertain what sort of workload will kick off the fans. My concern is this could be really distracting and also the impact on battery life.

Response regarding battery.

westerdaled said:

I am interested in this laptop as a general MS Office machine with some dev work thrown in. I am trying to ascertain what sort of workload will kick off the fans. My concern is this could be really distracting and also the impact on battery life.

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Hello
[Not the original owner here, i'm his partner and i purchased the same laptop for MS Office work + gaming so i think i'm in a better position to answer your question].

I used the laptop recently in a fairly quiet lecture theatre, there was a student sat behind me on an old computer which was very loud and very distracting.

I was able to edit the power settings on my defiance laptop to ensure that i could work on MS office suite during the lecture without the fans running (park some of the cores, lower screen brightness, turn LED keyboard off, in general just lower performance and optimise battery). Even when the fans occasionally come on, they were still not as loud as older laptops.

However, if you want to use the laptop for maximum performance, you need to be using it plugged in to the mains: you need to set it to max performance! Which means fans, because the laptop is so thin it really does need to cool itself to keep everything running smoothly.

Best wishes

Hi

Thank you very much for your insightful comments which I have re-read a number of times. To conclude:

1. When running the DefianceXS on batteries, you need to spend time configuring the low power mode such as parking cores.
2. If the laptop is powered up then as you say the the omnipresent hair drier in the background regardless of whether I was simply browsing or working with multiple applications. This would make the laptop a 'popular ' choice for long train journeys, quiet offices etc !

I think you have confirmed my suspicions; as in if I want a thin profile, quiet & light i7 laptop, then it won't be any of the current PCSpecialist models.

Thanks again for your reply. Incidentally, the 2 year old Gigabyte P35W v2 i7 machine I am using to write this must be a hard act to follow, as it is very quiet.

westerdaled said:

Hi

Thank you very much for your insightful comments which I have re-read a number of times. To conclude:

1. When running the DefianceXS on batteries, you need to spend time configuring the low power mode such as parking cores.
2. If the laptop is powered up then as you say the the omnipresent hair drier in the background regardless of whether I was simply browsing or working with multiple applications. This would make the laptop a 'popular ' choice for long train journeys, quiet offices etc !

I think you have confirmed my suspicions; as in if I want a thin profile, quiet & light i7 laptop, then it won't be any of the current PCSpecialist models.

Thanks again for your reply. Incidentally, the 2 year old Gigabyte P35W v2 i7 machine I am using to write this must be a hard act to follow, as it is very quiet.

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Do bear in mind that a 'thin profile, quiet & light i7 laptop' is an impossibility if you work it hard. A hard working i7 (not to mention a hard working GPU alongside it) generates a lot of heat and that heat has to go somewhere. In a thin and light case there is an inadequate volume of air inside the laptop into which to dissipate all that heat, so the heat has to be pumped outside, and that means heat pipes and fan(s).

Asking for a thin, light, powerful and quiet laptop is like asking you to exercise at maximum capacity without sweating....

Do wou know the exact total weight of the laptop? (including battery and all added stuff, cause it is very important to me to know before buying it) Thank you

sonik14 said:

Do wou know the exact total weight of the laptop? (including battery and all added stuff, cause it is very important to me to know before buying it) Thank you

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According to the detailed specification (which you can get by clicking the Detailed Specification menu item) the weight of the 15.6" Defiance XS is 1.9kg. That will be the total weight including battery.

I have checked that, but I was curious since in some laptops it says weight including battery and in some others just only weight. + I know from customer service that this is starting weight without calculating hard disk weights and other stuff like that.

sonik14 said:

I have checked that, but I was curious since in some laptops it says weight including battery and in some others just only weight. + I know from customer service that this is starting weight without calculating hard disk weights and other stuff like that.

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It does say in the detailed specs that the battery is 'integrated' but for more details your best option is to call PCS.

Hello everyone.

Both myself and my partner ordered the same laptop model.
Both laptops developed similar/matching faults within 30 days of purchase and we have therefore decided to return the laptops (faulty goods) for a full refund.

So far PC Specialist have shown excellent customer service however, the number of faults that we are experiencing has meant that we would prefer to return the faulty goods.
We are waiting to hear back from PS Specialist and we hope that a refund will be issued promptly. We would like to draw a close to this matter, we just want our money back.


The following issues were experienced.
The computer would freeze, fans go to max and then blue screen.
Random blue screens.
We reinstalled windows and all drivers provided by PC Specialist and this did not fix the issues.
Dead pixels + dead pixels after RMA (repair).
Faulty keyboard with unresponsive buttons.
Screen flicker (on both laptops) which at times was severe, screen completely turned off.

We both know that everyone has different experiences, and it could just be that we have both been very unfortunate, as stated previously PCS have so far been very amicable and we hope they resolve this issue promptly by refunding us in full.