Spec Comparison & Customer Service

[Nikotine]

Can anyone please give me advice on which of these configurations of the Cosmos LE is the most optimal? I don't want to spend more than £1000 and these two combinations work out at around the same price.

Option 1

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4910MQ (2.90GHz) 8MB

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)

mSATA SSD Drive
240GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 540MB/sR | 530MB/sW)

Option 2

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB CRUCIAL M550 SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 500MB/sW)

mSATA SSD Drive
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

Customer Service

I've just spent a load of calling credit to call PCS but ended up on hold each time and the phone just rang out - has anyone else had this same experience? How long has it taken you to get through to tech support if you've need to?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies, much appreciated.

 

[steaky360]

Hi there and welcome!

If you could let us know your intended uses it will help folk check and compare your specs.

As for the phone lines, I've not tried since the number changed to the 03 number, I had thought that was free to call (or rather part of 'inclusive minutes') but I could be wrong (and I guess if you've not got inclusive minutes it won't help anyway). But I do remember sometimes having to wait a wee bit when they were busy. I've never had the phone just ring out though so that's unfortunate.

 

[SlimCini]

Can anyone please give me advice on which of these configurations of the Cosmos LE is the most optimal? I don't want to spend more than £1000 and these two combinations work out at around the same price.

Option 1

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4910MQ (2.90GHz) 8MB

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)

mSATA SSD Drive
240GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 540MB/sR | 530MB/sW)

Option 2

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB CRUCIAL M550 SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 500MB/sW)

mSATA SSD Drive
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

Customer Service

I've just spent a load of calling credit to call PCS but ended up on hold each time and the phone just rang out - has anyone else had this same experience? How long has it taken you to get through to tech support if you've need to?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies, much appreciated.

How are you getting a Cosmos to come to £1000?

I've got this spec at £890...

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £890.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/cosmosII-LE/LH2GdjOpos/

Of course, you might need a DVD drive for all i know...

 

[Nikotine]

Hi there and welcome!

If you could let us know your intended uses it will help folk check and compare your specs.

As for the phone lines, I've not tried since the number changed to the 03 number, I had thought that was free to call (or rather part of 'inclusive minutes') but I could be wrong (and I guess if you've not got inclusive minutes it won't help anyway). But I do remember sometimes having to wait a wee bit when they were busy. I've never had the phone just ring out though so that's unfortunate.

Usage would be for browsing, some occasional photo and video editing, watching films and streaming, downloads etc. I don't do gaming or anything too hardcore. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Nikotine]

How are you getting a Cosmos to come to £1000?

I've got this spec at £890...

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £890.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/cosmosII-LE/LH2GdjOpos/

Of course, you might need a DVD drive for all i know...

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte HD LED 16:9 Widescreen (1366x768)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4910MQ (2.90GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 740M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
mSATA SSD Drive
240GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 540MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,012.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Cadwah]

I would suggest that for your intended uses any CPU more than the 4710 would be overkill. Although it's a mobile processor it is very very good, you spend more money for diminishing returns by getting the 4810 or moreso the 4910. Unless you will be doing some crazy intensive CPU tasks the 4710 should suffice.

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE £90 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 650 / 750 /7000M / 8000M Series GPUs
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
OPTIMUS SERIES FINNISH KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £884.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/cosmosII/74UwnLLcVY/

Or this one if you want to keep the Optical Drive:
Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE £90 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 650 / 750 /7000M / 8000M Series GPUs
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
mSATA SSD Drive
240GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 540MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
OPTIMUS SERIES FINNISH KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £913.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/cosmosII/xxWGeuKuOo/

 

[Nikotine]

Thanks for the help to those who replied but I've had to cancel my order now and request a refund. The customer service at PCS has been terrible for me, they make PC World look like the gold standard which is tough to do. I hope others have a better experience.

 

[SlimCini]

Thanks for the help to those who replied but I've had to cancel my order now and request a refund. The customer service at PCS has been terrible for me, they make PC World look like the gold standard which is tough to do. I hope others have a better experience.

What's happened?

 

[Nikotine]

What's happened?

I tried to put my order through using the 3 day fast track but couldn't as my delivery address and card address aren't the same. I'm a student in Manchester but my bank details are registered to my folks address back in Northern Ireland.

I called the customer service people and the first guy I spoke to told me I could get around it by placing an order with normal delivery and that as long as the payment was issued with a Verified by Visa secure password that they could add the fast track service afterwards.

So I did that and called about 10 minutes later after the order went through to arrange fast track delivery.

The second guy I spoke to said I had been told wrongly, and I asked to speak to the first guy but was told he was "out of the office", he then doubled checked and told me that what I had been told by the first guy was wrong. I could send to a different address but not with fast track. So I told him to issue a refund because I can't wait for 3-4 weeks for a laptop.

I don't want to give PC World my custom because their offerings aren't always the best and I wanted something a bit more specific, but it's back to PC World for me! lol

 

[SlimCini]

I tried to put my order through using the 3 day fast track but couldn't as my delivery address and card address aren't the same. I'm a student in Manchester but my bank details are registered to my folks address back in Northern Ireland.

I called the customer service people and the first guy I spoke to told me I could get around it by placing an order with normal delivery and that as long as the payment was issued with a Verified by Visa secure password that they could add the fast track service afterwards.

So I did that and called about 10 minutes later after the order went through to arrange fast track delivery.

The second guy I spoke to said I had been told wrongly, and I asked to speak to the first guy but was told he was "out of the office", he then doubled checked and told me that what I had been told by the first guy was wrong. I could send to a different address but not with fast track. So I told him to issue a refund because I can't wait for 3-4 weeks for a laptop.

I don't want to give PC World my custom because their offerings aren't always the best and I wanted something a bit more specific, but it's back to PC World for me! lol

Hmm, I don't really get that... why would where it was being delivered impact on how quickly PCS made a machine? Why would they care where it was being shipped? Odd.

 

[Nikotine]

Hmm, I don't really get that... why would where it was being delivered impact on how quickly PCS made a machine? Why would they care where it was being shipped? Odd.

I don't know but it's been a headache I don't need. Now I have to wait 3-5 working days for a refund before I can buy another computer. They don't give money back as quick as they take it.

 

[nathanjrb]

I don't know but it's been a headache I don't need. Now I have to wait 3-5 working days for a refund before I can buy another computer. They don't give money back as quick as they take it.

Unfortunately that's the same as everywhere - usually takes 3 days or so for a refund which, yes, is ridiculous given that they will take it from you instantly!

 

[steaky360]

Unfortunately that's the same as everywhere - usually takes 3 days or so for a refund which, yes, is ridiculous given that they will take it from you instantly!

I don't think that's all their fault though unfortunately. I think that's linked to the way the banks sort out payments its not like a BACS transfer which is very quick. A payment may come out of the senders bank straight away but may not necessarily be in the recipients bank immediately (I don't think).

 

[SlimCini]

I don't think that's all their fault though unfortunately. I think that's linked to the way the banks sort out payments its not like a BACS transfer which is very quick. A payment may come out of the senders bank straight away but may not necessarily be in the recipients bank immediately (I don't think).

My friend works in money transfers and says that's all nonsense. All money moves and appears in accounts within a second. The holdups are nothing to do with the money slowly moving from one account to another.

 

[Rakk]

Hmm, I don't really get that... why would where it was being delivered impact on how quickly PCS made a machine? Why would they care where it was being shipped? Odd.

I think its something to do with the fact that if you order to a different address to the invoice address they have a lot more fraud checks to do which they cannot guarantee will be back in time for the fast track.
Note - this is from my memory so may be wrong but it may be correct.

 

[SlimCini]

I think its something to do with the fact that if you order to a different address to the invoice address they have a lot more fraud checks to do which they cannot guarantee will be back in time for the fast track.
Note - this is from my memory so may be wrong but it may be correct.

Sounds logical.

Still... to me if the the choice was either (a) a PC World pre-build immediately, or (b) a custom PCS build taking 2-3 weeks... surely there's only one winner?!?

 

[DeadEyeDuk]

Still... to me if the the choice was either (a) a PC World pre-build immediately, or (b) a custom PCS build taking 2-3 weeks... surely there's only one winner?!?

b

Always b

Never a

Always b

 

[keynes]

My friend works in money transfers and says that's all nonsense. All money moves and appears in accounts within a second. The holdups are nothing to do with the money slowly moving from one account to another.

By money transfers you mean Western Union or something similar? I would assume a debit payment is different

 

[Nikotine]

Which fraud checks? Does PCS spend more than 3 days checking each order for fraud? They could have just notified my bank, who would have called me to confirm the transaction as they have done with other big purchases as I don't make many.

My current laptop has had it so I'm back using my old Windows Vista and I have a dissertation to get out, I don't have weeks to wait. They shouldn't tell me one thing and then when I've placed the order in good faith tell me something completely different.

 

[steaky360]

Which fraud checks? Does PCS spend more than 3 days checking each order for fraud? They could have just notified my bank, who would have called me to confirm the transaction as they have done with other big purchases as I don't make many.

My current laptop has had it so I'm back using my old Windows Vista and I have a dissertation to get out, I don't have weeks to wait. They shouldn't tell me one thing and then when I've placed the order in good faith tell me something completely different.

I'd suggest that they'd want/need to do additional fraud checks because you were ordering with a card registered to one address and then despatching to another. I'm not sure of that though, but it kinda makes sense to me. I'd doubt they can simply request your bank phone you or anything though, its up to your bank to carry out its own fraud checks rather than PCS requesting they do. I think that's separate.

I'm not saying it isn't disappointing but I suspect it was simply a mistake, unfortunately there isn't much can be done about it now. I highly doubt it was malicious or anything like that. Hope you manage to get your dissertation sorted! Best of luck!