Asking OC CS to build cost

[lamboman]

Well I spend over £1800 on an OCUK build and they stress tested my OC etc, Had to send it back 2months later cause the overclock was failing and it wouldn't even turn on, just got a refund in the end and decided to do it myself.

Unfortunate, but overclocking isn't a guarantee and sometimes, overclocks do fail. Maybe OcUK pushed your overclock too hard, which is a shame, but it happens with even the best system builders (I can't think of a single system builder who haven't sent a review system out with an unstable overclock). Not giving OcUK excuses, but no business has 100% success rates with every product. "It wouldn't even turn on" is a bit vague, but it's possible you had a dying motherboard, or it could merely be a measure to revert the overclock (my old P5K-E did this).

Lol says it all ^^

I think £130 is way over the top and in the self config its £110 to OC everything to its max, i mean it takes them 10 mins honestly! Its not a hard job, alls they need to do is copy from other chips they have done and leave it to test while carrying on doing other stuff. If it passes then cool if fails ammend the settings and go again.

The main time issues is putting it all together which is worthy of £50 along woith the OC.

Then you clearly have no clue. There can be huge variances between chips of the same stepping, let alone different steppings altogether. Couple that with different motherboards, memory modules, and you have a huge number of variable factors. Also, take a look at the overclocks - OcUK are pushing the components pretty hard. Templated settings are too risky.

£130 is a reasonable price.

 

[chris-82]

Seems reasonable to me especially with the support they offer.

 

[Antowns]

I know how to build a system and to be quite fair, I think the £130 for the warranty alone is worth it and would consider it myself in future builds.

 

[samuelc]

that is actually very reasonable when you factor in testing time. obviously, pricing for completely bespoke systems will generate all sorts of quotes. it depends how much margin is in each product you choose for the system.

for example, if you pick a load of products that are rich in margin, we are able to charge you less for the build charge as the margin of the products consumes a lot of the build charge.

8 hours stress testing needs to be accounted for, this is based on successful stress testing. if a component fails, we fault find it for you and the stress testing starts from scratch again.

then you need to account for our system builders time. at OCUK, unlike many other companies, the guy who builds your system is an enthusiast and your system gets built just like they are building their own. time, effort and care go into each system to make sure they are presented to the customer in an attractive way.
not only that but the builder then goes on to configure, install and stress test the system they build. this creates accountability within our build team and means that everyone does a great job.
this translates into a guarantee that you as a customer get an awesome system, however much it costs.

then of course, our aftercare service. where you speak to the same team who build your system. obviously our phone lines are there as a paid option, but most calls are answered in less than 30 seconds and most issues are resolved in less than three minutes.

we have webnotes and a customer service section on the forums too which mean free, manned support, in some cases, outside of working hours too!

add to this a 14 day money back guarantee and a two year collect and return to base warranty on all systems, it seems that you do get quite a lot for your money.

I have to say - the service from OCUK has been excellent. The after sales support on custom PC's are immaculate. I speak from experience.

 

[fiveub]

Collect and return warranty.

That is £30 gone from delivery, if it is returned. Brings it down to £100. Full support with the system for 2 years, not only that, the parts and labour is all paid for within the 2 years.

What if over a year time the graphics card goes faulty? For example if it is discontinued, and you had a 580... What would we do? Replace it for a 600 series card... More than £100. - Plus the building, the overclocking, the cable management, the testing, the installing of the OS.

Not bad if you ask me.

However, we hope the above is not needed, but it is there as a safety net if anything did go wrong.

 

[Rusty0611]

You forgot to take tax off first 5UB! Even less

To be honest, not to be an arse or anything - I wouldn't even bother responding to him... he's been saying the same things in other sub forums as well and been told the same thing.

If he was that bothered he'd save the £130 (or whatever the margin is) and build it himself .

 

[WILD9]

Sounds reasonable to me, if you think its too much/can't afford it then don't buy it?

 

[nick.lidgett]

lol @ OP, fancy having a pop at ocuk in their own forums and expect to be backed up and agreed with, thats what you was looking for right? a second opinion that was the same as yours?

£130 is money well spent if youre not 100% sure of confident of DIY, why i hear you ask, well you are taking away all the risk and blame from yourself if something goes wrong, if one of the guys at ocuk fudge a component while installing it (probably very rare) they can just reach of the shelf and grab another, you cant, you have to go through the whole RMA thingy. This would be the same if a part is dead, they can just go grab another.

Also they are a business not a charity, they have overheads to cover, rent and rates, electric, TAX, VAT.
And dont forget just because they are paying someone "for a few hours work" its not cash in hand, its all accountable and taxable.

 

[Something Else]

its almost as if ocuk need money to be a business.....i mean really who ever heard of a business that needs to make money in order to function, the humanity!

when you buy a car do you moan at how much the manufacturer makes weehamish? or haven't you reached the appropriate age yet?

 

[Bromhead]

Honestly £130 when they will build the system for you and you know it will work and have 2 years of knowing that whatever happens, you're in good hands. I think it's a very small price to pay when you compare warranty costs of other companies out there.

Especially when you know the support will be there coupled with what you want in your rig and any overclocks you want put on.

I may be biased as I'm based in staffordshire, but the next computer I have will be built by overclockers... probably 2014

 

[Banzai_Joe]

lol @ weehamish, fancy having a pop at ocuk in their own forums and expect to be backed up and agreed with, thats what you was looking for right? a second opinion that was the same as yours?

£130 is money well spent if youre not 100% sure of confident of DIY, why i hear you ask, well you are taking away all the risk and blame from yourself if something goes wrong, if one of the guys at ocuk fudge a component while installing it (probably very rare) they can just reach of the shelf and grab another, you cant, you have to go through the whole RMA thingy. This would be the same if a part is dead, they can just go grab another.

Also they are a business not a charity, they have overheads to cover, rent and rates, electric, TAX, VAT.
And dont forget just because they are paying someone "for a few hours work" its not cash in hand, its all accountable and taxable.

Fixed...

 

[Rexton]

£130 is completely reasonable if you take into account everything that is covered. I can't think of any other business model that could charge less than said amount and still bare fruit.

It's not like you're having amateurs build your system/provide your service either. You're paying an average price for a premium service.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

£130 for building and installing OS including cable management seems fine to me tbh.

The OP left the post very sparse as to what was required, get al the parts together, cable management and physical "build" could takes hours depending on how anal you are about the cables.

Other things on top too, OS install/setup/configureOC stress tests, cooling setup, rerunning of stress tests, stability test.

I think a 10% allowance for building is more than fair.

 

[jnmann]

Reading this thread with interest. I've always built my own PC's but have now decided to use OC for all new builds. Mainly for time reasons.

I asked about having a machine built to my own spec and was quoted £75+vat, has the build price changed since thus thread started?

 

[PapaLazaru]

I asked about having a machine built to my own spec and was quoted £75+vat, has the build price changed since thus thread started?

I expect it entirely depends on the type of build. What spec have you ordered and have you requested it overclocked?

 

[jnmann]

High spec machine but not overclocked.

 

[Bromhead]

It will really just depend on the parts used and the profit margins on those parts and what extras are required in terms of time for a staff member to carry out

 

[kickmaass]

I considered buying components separately until the penny dropped and I was asked if I knew how to put them together.which I don't..so £130 or thereabouts is quite fair
Unless I know somebody who can put them together or buy prebult,I ll be paying for them to put them together
that is of course anyone wants to do it for me in future?