About me:10/06/04 GOOD NEWS I WILL BE BACK SOON ... VERY VERY SOON WHEN MY INTERNET CAFE AND SHOP ARE UP AND ...
Member since:20.01.2004
Reviews:42
Members who trust:10
Review rated by 14 Ciao members on average: very helpful
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Being a bit of a computer nutter i for many years have been searching for a supplier of new computer components. I have tried many some with not so good results. But then i found microdirect and have been a customer of theirs for many years.
Microdirect is based in Manchester and supplies top quality computer components and systems. It is the first place look when i am upgrading or building my machines.
One of the best qualities about microdirect is the helpful customer service line (yes i know those words dont usually go together but in this case it is true) who when you phone up with an enquiry well only be to happy to help even if you dont buy anything from them, or
has happened to me once they ACTUALLY advised me against a ram upgrade i was planning to do. Now most companies i have dealt with would have just sold me the ram and be done with it, but these guys advised me that it was risking my machine which did cost them the sale then but has kept my repeat business (trying getting someone in PC World to answer a techinical question is bad enough).
Another excellent quality is the ordering service, you can either order online or over the phone. I perosnally prefer the phone because they will generate the order there and then (whereas online i am still not to sure if the product is in stock). Prices on the whole are very competitive against other suppliers, at one time it used to be at least 10% cheaper tahn anyone else but now people like aria and ram are gradually cutting their prices.
Delivery is also an excellent aspect of their service. Not once have i had to phone up complaining 'where is my product' it is always delivered ontime and i always get the right product. Delivery is always next day before 12 noon by Amtrack courier (though i usually seem to be on the end of the courier run and get mine just before 12).
Their product range is extensive, and their website is very helpful. On their website most of the products have a very detailed description of them along with a picture. Microdirect does most components that you need for a PC (Mods, overclocking and water cooling unfortunately they dont do) all from the leading manufactors like Creative, Pentium , Amd , Songcheer etc.
They do sell pre bulit and bare bones systems, which are not only cheap but also well built systems especially for the beginner who is starting out to buy their first machine. They also attempt to future proof thier machines, basically meaning that it will be a long time before you need upgrades to it. Most of their pre built systems come with 512 Mb ram as standard (which is what i call minimum i would put into a mchine now, yet some companies still put 128MB the load XP as an operating System)
The company itself has been going somewhere in the region of 10 years or so. Which to me proves that it is not one of these fly by nights that pop up and disappear with your cash or get a long list of compliants to Trading Standards.
One other point about their website is the amazing deals thie rhave called 'click the clock' hich is worthwhile checking out. The website is easy to navigate thanks to the menu system along the side which then gives you expanded menus or if you want to see the whole range for example motherboards just click on motherboards and it will show you every motherboard. Also all of the prices are shown with and without VAT so at least you don thave to do the maths.
All in all Microdirect is one of the best companies i have dealt with for new computer components and equipment. One downside is you are relatively new building or upgrading computers sometimes products come as OEM and this is not always stated. This means that if you order something like a DVD Rewriter it will come packaged in a brown box with no instructions. Also some products might need flash upgrades from the manufactors after installation. This is nothing to do with microdirect itself just the way technology moves ahead of sale (i had to flash upgrade my DVD rewriter before it would accept the DVD's i was trying to burn).
But as an overall comapny to deal with i would recommend to anyone wanting new components.
Unfortunately, whilst the review is thorough, i can tell you that after 10 years of purchasing parts for mine and others' computers, this is one of the worst companies i have ever used. Customer service lines hang up on you whilst waiting, as do sales. No call transfers between departments, so 30 minute wait for technical support then another 30 minute wait (with constant redialing) for customer services to arrange and RMA. Twice in 1 week did i have orders for next day delivery and they were not even sent out that day due to "administrative errors". A farce of a company, will not be using them again
by (93%):
17.09.2004 13:41
Unfortunately, whilst the review is thorough, i can tell you that after 10 years of purchasing parts for mine and others' computers, this is one of the worst companies i have ever used. Customer service lines hang up on you whilst waiting, as do sales. No call transfers between departments, so 30 minute wait for technical support then another 30 minute wait (with constant redialing) for customer services to arrange and RMA. Twice in 1 week did i have orders for next day delivery and they were not even sent out that day due to "administrative errors". A farce of a company, will not be using them again
30.01.2004 21:58
Sounds like a really good company.
30.01.2004 12:26
Hi great op, i'll bookmark this for when i decide to re-build. Thanks LArry