RecentLiquid Series Purchase Suffering Multiple Hardware failures

neb967

New member
Hi All,

I wanted to gauge everyone's view on this. I bought a Liquid Series PC from PC Specialist in April 2018.
But since the purchase I have come across multiple issues.

Here are a list of issues so far:

1st - my order was severely delayed. I was compensated for this, via an upgrade. Which I appreciate.
2nd - upon first delivery I noticed the wrong PSU was installed i.e. 650 W instead of 750 W. (this has now been rectified).
3rd - the GPU, CPU and motherboard had to be replaced according to the PC Specialist repair report after I had to return the PC within a month of purchase.
4th - upon receipt of the repaired PC my PC case was dented and damaged in transit, (new panel now received and installed)
5th - within 24 hrs of receiving the repaired PC it is now locking up/freezing. Have reinstalled windows to no avail.
6th - finally I have just identified that the 4th DP port in the GPU is not functioning and leads to a blank screen on my monitor despite my monitor being a new ZOWIE BENQ


Do you think I would be entitled to a refund or even some basic compensation ? Please give me some advice. I would really appreciate it.
Im very worried because I spent a huge amount of money I spent months saving up on and Im half thinking I want a refund becos two breakdowns within just a few months of purchase is pretty crazy to me.
 

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ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
You do seem to have been very unlucky and I would certainly write to PCS expressing you extreme disappointment at the quality of the product that PCS have shipped. This is far from the product quality we all expect from PCS. You might want to point them at this thread too.

1st - my order was severely delayed. I was compensated for this, via an upgrade. Which I appreciate.
2nd - upon first delivery I noticed the wrong PSU was installed i.e. 650 W instead of 750 W. (this has now been rectified).
3rd - the GPU, CPU and motherboard had to be replaced according to the PC Specialist repair report after I had to return the PC within a month of purchase.
4th - upon receipt of the repaired PC my PC case was dented and damaged in transit, (new panel now received and installed)
So all these issues are now resolved to your complete satisfaction. Despite the mistake of installing the wrong PSU PCS have responded well to your problems, so although the quality of the product was less than ideal the level of service you have received is pretty good.

5th - within 24 hrs of receiving the repaired PC it is now locking up/freezing. Have reinstalled windows to no avail.
How did you reinstall Windows? Did you use installation media and do a completely clean install (deleting existing disk partitions) of did you use the Windows 'Reset this PC' option?

How does it lock up/freeze? Is it a permanent freeze or temporary? Short or long? At any time or when using specific applications?

6th - finally I have just identified that the 4th DP port in the GPU is not functioning and leads to a blank screen on my monitor despite my monitor being a new ZOWIE BENQ
This could possibly be a symptom of the locking up/freezing you describe and I would suggest that you can't be certain of this port until you have a stable system.
 

Stephen M

Author Level
Agree with Ubuysa's comments plus it may be worth contacting DPD as well about the damage, there have been questions about them on these fora before. I am lucky in that the two regular drivers I see (I use DPD a lot) are very good but it has been pointed out that many, perhaps all, are not DPD employees but are working for the company on a self-employed basis. I know DPD are keen to maintain standards and will not be happy if they have people in their pay who are not careful enough with items.

I am unsure about a refund at the moment as it may be the machine can be put in proper working order, although if not you should be entitled to something, especially as it is still under guarantee. I can understand you wanting a refund but it may be they would offer a replacement, obviously you would be suspicious of another machine from them and I do not blame you but they are not normally like this. I have had five PCS machines over the years and no problems and know others who have been lucky throughout.
 

neb967

New member
You do seem to have been very unlucky and I would certainly write to PCS expressing you extreme disappointment at the quality of the product that PCS have shipped. This is far from the product quality we all expect from PCS. You might want to point them at this thread too.

So all these issues are now resolved to your complete satisfaction. Despite the mistake of installing the wrong PSU PCS have responded well to your problems, so although the quality of the product was less than ideal the level of service you have received is pretty good.

How did you reinstall Windows? Did you use installation media and do a completely clean install (deleting existing disk partitions) of did you use the Windows 'Reset this PC' option?

How does it lock up/freeze? Is it a permanent freeze or temporary? Short or long? At any time or when using specific applications?

This could possibly be a symptom of the locking up/freezing you describe and I would suggest that you can't be certain of this port until you have a stable system.

Thanks for your reply ubuysa.

Yes I feel pretty damned unlucky. The worst part is I work from home a lot and its been really hectic and stressful having to deal with all of this.
I was told PCS were extremely high quality but from the get go I have had a pretty damn bad run and it is starting to get to me and really worry me as I spent a lot of cash on this Liquid Series.
I can only hope that by posting on the forums that I can let other people know about the service and how things go when the product has serious problems and whether my experience was positive.

Since my original post PCS have offered to give me a Gold warranty which covers for 2 years collect and return, 2 years parts and 3 years labour - as compensation which seems ok but honestly somewhat less than expected.
For a 2 week delay in my original order they upgraded my CPU from a Ryzen 1800x to a Ryzen 2700X. Personally I think I should have a hardware upgrade given they have set the precedent.

Problems 1, 2, and 4 have been resolved. Problem 3 has not really been resolved as the replacement GPU has a broken display port which is just bonkers.

Problem 5 and 6 are still ongoing. I Reset my windows 10. Not a media installation. PCS didnt specify which one so I presumed a reset would suffice and when I told them I reset they said I should send the PC back due to the freezing continuing and the issues around the DP on the GPU.

To describe the freezing - basically the PC will be running something and will simply freeze completely in the middle of whatever it is doing. Be it browsing the web or playing a game.
Similar to what this youtuber is experiencing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBGJ0Cf_74

Let me know your thoughts everyone.

Thanks !
 

neb967

New member
Agree with Ubuysa's comments plus it may be worth contacting DPD as well about the damage, there have been questions about them on these fora before. I am lucky in that the two regular drivers I see (I use DPD a lot) are very good but it has been pointed out that many, perhaps all, are not DPD employees but are working for the company on a self-employed basis. I know DPD are keen to maintain standards and will not be happy if they have people in their pay who are not careful enough with items.

I am unsure about a refund at the moment as it may be the machine can be put in proper working order, although if not you should be entitled to something, especially as it is still under guarantee. I can understand you wanting a refund but it may be they would offer a replacement, obviously you would be suspicious of another machine from them and I do not blame you but they are not normally like this. I have had five PCS machines over the years and no problems and know others who have been lucky throughout.

Thanks for your post Stephen I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

PCS said they have insurance and a "strong" relationship with DPD. So it is really more up to them to manage their commercial relationships. I cant really do anything with DPD. I even tried calling them and they directed me back to PCS anyway.
I have had the same driver for every delivery and he is a bit of an ******* to be honest. Very rude and I think he is a DPD employee as he has the DPD branded van and uniform - rather than a 3rd party one.

I think Im about 1 step away from a refund. If I send the PC back and then once again I have hardware and freezing issues - then I think it is just time to reverse the purchase. Let me know your thoughts on this.
But I hope this wont happen! I just want my PC to work ideally.

I want this machine which cost a lot of money to last me many many years to come.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Thanks for your post Stephen I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

PCS said they have insurance and a "strong" relationship with DPD. So it is really more up to them to manage their commercial relationships. I cant really do anything with DPD. I even tried calling them and they directed me back to PCS anyway.
I have had the same driver for every delivery and he is a bit of an ******* to be honest. Very rude and I think he is a DPD employee as he has the DPD branded van and uniform - rather than a 3rd party one.

I think Im about 1 step away from a refund. If I send the PC back and then once again I have hardware and freezing issues - then I think it is just time to reverse the purchase. Let me know your thoughts on this.
But I hope this wont happen! I just want my PC to work ideally.

I want this machine which cost a lot of money to last me many many years to come.

Firstly, feel your pain, and don't blame you from being so close to requesting a refund.

My thoughts are that the Liquid Series pc's are extra extra sensitive to any undue knocks and scrapes. They really need to be handled with utmost care.

Whatever happens, I would ultimately put in a complaint to DPD specifically aimed at this driver, attaching photo's as you have here. There's absolutely no excuse for that poor service and he needs to be reprimanded.

Personally, if it were me, I'd want him out of the equation, and then I'd trust PCS to make good on the build.
 

neb967

New member
THIS IS THE ERROR I GET IN THE EVENT VIEWER JUST PRIOR TO THE PC TOTALLY FREEZING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF WHATEVER IT IS DOING AT THE TIME....

Similar to this video => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBGJ0Cf_74

Log Name: System
Source: e1rexpress
Date: 24/08/2018 20:51:47
Event ID: 27
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: DESKTOP-NTHTAIP
Description:
Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection
Network link is disconnected.

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="e1rexpress" />
<EventID Qualifiers="40964">27</EventID>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2018-08-24T19:51:47.701805200Z" />
<EventRecordID>1081</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>DESKTOP-NTHTAIP</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>
</Data>
<Data>Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection</Data>
<Binary>0000040002003000000000001B0004A00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001B0004A0</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Thanks for your reply ubuysa.

Yes I feel pretty damned unlucky. The worst part is I work from home a lot and its been really hectic and stressful having to deal with all of this.
I was told PCS were extremely high quality but from the get go I have had a pretty damn bad run and it is starting to get to me and really worry me as I spent a lot of cash on this Liquid Series.
I can only hope that by posting on the forums that I can let other people know about the service and how things go when the product has serious problems and whether my experience was positive.

Since my original post PCS have offered to give me a Gold warranty which covers for 2 years collect and return, 2 years parts and 3 years labour - as compensation which seems ok but honestly somewhat less than expected.
For a 2 week delay in my original order they upgraded my CPU from a Ryzen 1800x to a Ryzen 2700X. Personally I think I should have a hardware upgrade given they have set the precedent.

Problems 1, 2, and 4 have been resolved. Problem 3 has not really been resolved as the replacement GPU has a broken display port which is just bonkers.

Problem 5 and 6 are still ongoing. I Reset my windows 10. Not a media installation. PCS didnt specify which one so I presumed a reset would suffice and when I told them I reset they said I should send the PC back due to the freezing continuing and the issues around the DP on the GPU.

To describe the freezing - basically the PC will be running something and will simply freeze completely in the middle of whatever it is doing. Be it browsing the web or playing a game.
Similar to what this youtuber is experiencing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBGJ0Cf_74

Let me know your thoughts everyone.

Thanks !

TBH I think PCS are doing everything they can to help. An upgrade to Gold service for free is a big deal, as was the CPU upgrade. It shows that PCS recognise the awful inconvenience you've had to suffer. In contrast there is a thread elsewhere on here from a user who bought a laptop from another online supplier that seems to have issues and the supplier refuses to even talk about the problems, they keep referring him to the laptop manufacturer. That's a pretty big contrast in levels of customer service.

Are you saying then that it freezes permanently and, like the YouTuber, has only moderate CPU and RAM usage and excessive disk usage?
Does this only happen in games or similar graphically intensive workloads or does it also happen with simpler tasks like text editors, web browsers and the like?

Again, regarding the GPU port, you seem to have multiple issues (freezing and a dead port) and it's not impossible they could be related, it's also not impossible that this is a driver issue and fixing that might resolve the port issue too. You can only fix one problem at a time and you have to be systematic, so I would very much suggest that before you take any action on the GPU port issue you first solve the freezing issue.

THIS IS THE ERROR I GET IN THE EVENT VIEWER JUST PRIOR TO THE PC TOTALLY FREEZING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF WHATEVER IT IS DOING AT THE TIME....

Similar to this video => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBGJ0Cf_74

Log Name: System
Source: e1rexpress
Date: 24/08/2018 20:51:47
Event ID: 27
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: DESKTOP-NTHTAIP
Description:
Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection
Network link is disconnected.


Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="e1rexpress" />
<EventID Qualifiers="40964">27</EventID>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2018-08-24T19:51:47.701805200Z" />
<EventRecordID>1081</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>DESKTOP-NTHTAIP</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>
</Data>
<Data>Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection</Data>
<Binary>0000040002003000000000001B0004A00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001B0004A0</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>

I've highlighted the key information in that error for you. This would appear to be an issue with your network, the error indicates that (for a time at least) your network appeared to be disconnected. Could that be the cause of your freeze I wonder?
 

fnf

Silver Level Poster
THIS IS THE ERROR I GET IN THE EVENT VIEWER JUST PRIOR TO THE PC TOTALLY FREEZING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF WHATEVER IT IS DOING AT THE TIME....

Similar to this video => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBGJ0Cf_74

Log Name: System
Source: e1rexpress
Date: 24/08/2018 20:51:47
Event ID: 27
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: DESKTOP-NTHTAIP
Description:
Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection
Network link is disconnected.

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="e1rexpress" />
<EventID Qualifiers="40964">27</EventID>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2018-08-24T19:51:47.701805200Z" />
<EventRecordID>1081</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>DESKTOP-NTHTAIP</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>
</Data>
<Data>Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection</Data>
<Binary>0000040002003000000000001B0004A00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001B0004A0</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>

That was a warning you posted and shouldn't have caused an issue. I'd suggest ruling our hardware issues first by running https://www.memtest86.com/ for at least 6 hours but preferably as long as you're willing to wait.

Apart from that. It's worth checking if Windows has produced any memory dump, usually found in C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP.

Also, if you're searching for clues in the Event Viewer, it's a good idea to display the last event logged (anything including Info) as in the event of a hardware failure you might not even get anything logged so the last warning/error you saw might be a red herring.
 
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