Beware of new technology!!!!
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Just wanted to tell you all my gripe with certain component manufacturers and distributors, the absurd waiting time endured for parts to arrive (3 months) the many phonecalls, some overseas and false promises given by these companies that has resulted in me spending over £3,200 on a computer system that I cannot use...
My first enquiry was with Intel for the processors and then with AMD for the graphics card, I then went onto Supermicro, quoted the processors and gpu model no's plus the amount of memory required inc. o/s type. I was told by the sales rep that I had two choices of chassis (comes with psu) when in reality I only had one choice that would actually be compatible with the gpu I stated. Anyway this person gave me the order codes and told me where to go for the parts, I ordered these parts over the course of three days or so, along the way I consistently asked whether I had everything I required for building the system, the reply was yes everytime.
When some of the parts arrived I realised the processors had no heatsink or fan despite the site picturing a retail box but in tiny letters said "oem" which I missed but even still that wouldn't necessarily mean to me that there would be no fan just no instruction manual though this was not conveyed among other things.
Then I found the memory wouldn't fit in the board, it was too wide and it was made for a mac not pc! Also the power connections from the psu weren't compatible with the sata hard drives I had, at this time the gpu was on back order so I was to find out the true depth of the problems when this part finally arrived...
After some long phonecalls to several different compaines I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase new heatsinks, returned the incorrect memory and paid a bit extra for the new sticks which had to be Supermicro to fit the slots on the board. These took several weeks to arrive and I did not attempt to build the system until all the parts had arrived. When I did I also found out that the power connections were not available for the gpu, it should have had dedicated 6 pin and 8 pin connecters from the psu but instead had only molex connectors which meant I had to use a adapter connection to piggyback two molex into the 8 pin power slot on the graphics board, this lead was sent to me by the parts distributor after more phonecalls.
Unfortunately the quick setup guide being the only guide given with the graphics card only illustrated one power connection and only after today which involved 4 hours of phonecalls all over the place I found out that the gpu card requires two connections, one 6 and one 8 pin. With the current psu would mean that four molex would be required leaving me unable to connect all the hardware in my system.
Today after speaking to AMD, PowerColor, Scan Computers and Supermicro I found out that the psu is insufficient for the gpu (645w psu required to be a bare minimum of 650 watts for the hungry gpu) I have and that the case is wrong also. Supermicro are unwilling to send a proper psu or case and so are Scan Computers as they say the 48 hour period has expired for incorrect parts delivery despite the wait time endured for the heatsinks, correct memory and graphics card.
Right now I feel like I want to burn them all in the flames of my rage for their complete incompetence in this matter but at the end of the day all I want is a fucking pc that works.
//End of gripe
My first enquiry was with Intel for the processors and then with AMD for the graphics card, I then went onto Supermicro, quoted the processors and gpu model no's plus the amount of memory required inc. o/s type. I was told by the sales rep that I had two choices of chassis (comes with psu) when in reality I only had one choice that would actually be compatible with the gpu I stated. Anyway this person gave me the order codes and told me where to go for the parts, I ordered these parts over the course of three days or so, along the way I consistently asked whether I had everything I required for building the system, the reply was yes everytime.
When some of the parts arrived I realised the processors had no heatsink or fan despite the site picturing a retail box but in tiny letters said "oem" which I missed but even still that wouldn't necessarily mean to me that there would be no fan just no instruction manual though this was not conveyed among other things.
Then I found the memory wouldn't fit in the board, it was too wide and it was made for a mac not pc! Also the power connections from the psu weren't compatible with the sata hard drives I had, at this time the gpu was on back order so I was to find out the true depth of the problems when this part finally arrived...
After some long phonecalls to several different compaines I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase new heatsinks, returned the incorrect memory and paid a bit extra for the new sticks which had to be Supermicro to fit the slots on the board. These took several weeks to arrive and I did not attempt to build the system until all the parts had arrived. When I did I also found out that the power connections were not available for the gpu, it should have had dedicated 6 pin and 8 pin connecters from the psu but instead had only molex connectors which meant I had to use a adapter connection to piggyback two molex into the 8 pin power slot on the graphics board, this lead was sent to me by the parts distributor after more phonecalls.
Unfortunately the quick setup guide being the only guide given with the graphics card only illustrated one power connection and only after today which involved 4 hours of phonecalls all over the place I found out that the gpu card requires two connections, one 6 and one 8 pin. With the current psu would mean that four molex would be required leaving me unable to connect all the hardware in my system.
Today after speaking to AMD, PowerColor, Scan Computers and Supermicro I found out that the psu is insufficient for the gpu (645w psu required to be a bare minimum of 650 watts for the hungry gpu) I have and that the case is wrong also. Supermicro are unwilling to send a proper psu or case and so are Scan Computers as they say the 48 hour period has expired for incorrect parts delivery despite the wait time endured for the heatsinks, correct memory and graphics card.
Right now I feel like I want to burn them all in the flames of my rage for their complete incompetence in this matter but at the end of the day all I want is a fucking pc that works.
//End of gripe
Replies
Also, building a PC isn't easy. I built mine several months ago, but it had been years since. Hardware had changed. Quad-core CPUs. New graphics cards using PCI-E, requiring more juice. I used my money to buy a very efficient PSU. Lower wattage then recommended, but gets the job done well. You have to be careful about what brands you buy. What is compatible. It's not a picnic. Good to read lots of reviews and forums about each important part as well. From that I switched from AMD/ATI system, to an Intel/Nvidia system. I don't regret it.
If you're unwilling to deal with the headache...best to do as Dekard suggests.
When I built my first system I spent 2 weeks gathering articles on how to build computers, asking questions on forums, posting links to all the component parts complete with specs to make sure they were all compatible. Research and preparation is key. And not trusting "official" reps.
Its called Do It Yourself for a reason. Really i feel sorry for the tech support people you spent days talking to, because you ordered the wrong parts.
better to do research when building a system, as everyone says
OEM means that it is just the bare unit, with no extras.
The memory wouldn't be Mac Specific if its new memory, from your description it looks like you needed Super Mico specific memory.
A little research before the purchase may have prevented hours on the phone, and it should have been obvious that if there were no PCI-E connections on the PSU, it would most likely not be rated for your PCI-E graphics card.
This seems less like a thing about their incompetence, and more about lack of knowing what you're actually getting yourself into.
If it helps at all, I also hate dealing with Supermicro... but I have my own reasons.
On a side not I have never even heard of supermicro before.
overclockers are great and they hav a forum too and you can read up on all the tech stuff first.
I just did an upgrade with parts from them.
Its not that complicated really, it just takes a bit of reading up.
you should be able to get your money back, or at the very least they should swap the parts for the correct ones. Forget what thier terms are for selling as a british consumer you have quite a few laws protecting you. just treaten to sue them and report them to consumer watchdogs (theres a few you can find on the net). They should replace or refund because part of the problem was misinformation on thier part. Speak to a local law firm they should write a basic letter with lots of tasty threats to the supplier if they dont sort themselves out. Law firms like to do this because it means potential work for them. They might charge you a niminal sum for doing this but if you've spent 3 grand, its a cheap way of making sure the suppliers do what you want. It will never go to court because 99% of the time the consumer will win.
For £3200 you should have a really good spec machine, actually you can get 3 really good spec machines..
you should post the specs of the components you got in the meantime so we can look, while you go fight with the suppliers.
and I hope you went for the new Intel i7 processors
( lovingly stroking my box as I type )
edit: er.. nevermind I got the stores mixed up:
http://www.microcenter.com/index.html