CyberpowerPC

[Smoof]

Just wanted to vouch for this company really quickly. Ordered a laptop from them around August and I got it in September. I can't remember their model name for it, but it's a barebones laptop that they put some parts in and then sent out to me, the model of the barebones is a Compal FL92.

Anyway, this has been a great computer so far. Plays Warhammer Online, WoW, Everquest 2, Left 4 Dead (on all high), Sins of a Solar Empire, etc, etc. I take it everywhere I go, as it only weighs about six pounds, but has hefty enough components that it can really get the job done when it comes to gaming.

A few months ago (January), the videocard died in it. This happened directly after the battery was overvolted or something, because a dogged chewed on my power cord, causing it to arc. Immediately after this, I started getting weird checkerboard artifacts all over the screen. I sent a message to Cyberpower's RMA department on a Saturday and they got back to me first thing on Monday and gave me an RMA number and told me to send it back.

After about a month and a half of waiting (they apparently had to send it back to the manufacturer) they finally sent it back to me and so far, it looks like it works great. I don't have my charger with me, so I wasn't able to test anything but Worms on it, but it looks good so far. But what I was most impressed with was Cyberpower's service. I sent their RMA status people emails twice and they responded within 24-hours, letting me know the status of my computer. They were really polite about it too.

That's all really. I just wanted to up this companies credibility, because I was a bit wary when I first ordered from them, but the chance I took has really paid off. They're a good business.

[Goronmon]

A friend of mine ordered a system from them towards the end of last year and it's been running fine so far.

[TheKeck]

Good to know! I was considering buying from them once upon a time. Maybe I'll give it a shot next time I upgrade. (Hopefully that won't be for a while, though.)

[biosc1]

Did you get a new powercord? Did you tell them what happened (chewing dog)? Just curious if how far their CS goes...if they understand life has moments and they gladly helped you fix the issue for free?

[Worldcrafter]

I think I bought my first PC from them. That thing lasted me through highschool and into college before I learned the joys of spending all my money on building a PC. Very solid rig.

My sister, on the other hand, got a PC from a similar sounding company, but it turned out to be a complete POS. It even introduced us to the joys of Windows ME.

[AboveAvgCharles]

I bought this PC from them going on 5 years ago so I could play Half Life 2. It's a fossil now, but it has served me well, and I will be a repeat customer.

[Smoof]

Did you get a new powercord? Did you tell them what happened (chewing dog)? Just curious if how far their CS goes...if they understand life has moments and they gladly helped you fix the issue for free?

I bought a new powercord via some other site just after it had happened and I didn't realize there was artifacting.

To be honest, I can't recall what I said in my RMA request. I think I just included that the video card had failed and that I wanted an RMA.

Also, they RMA'd it because it was still under warranty. Each PC comes with a 1-year warranty on it.

[hunterx280]

I've been seeing their ads in magazines for a while. Their hardware configurations looked good and were priced pretty well but it seemed too good to be true. This actually makes me consider buying them when the time comes.

[Smoof]

Well, I've just discovered a problem.

I went to fire up Sins of a Solar Empire to see how the laptop would react and I noticed the SSoE was running a bit slower than usual. I go into ntune to see what's up and guess what? I now have a GeForce 8400GS instead of the GeForce 8600GT that I paid for. I'm guessing this isn't Cyberpower's fault, as they told me they had to send it back to the manufacturer for repairs.

But, they emailed me when they shipped the computer and told me to test it fully and get back to them if there were any problems. So, I just emailed them and told them that this is absolutely unacceptable. I asked them to pay for my shipping back to Cyberpower and expedite the process of getting the laptop back to normal as I don't wish to lose it for another two months.

They'll likely respond tomorrow.

[TheKeck]

Oooh, a test. :)

[Ravenlock]

I'm running a CyberPower rig right now, and aside from a few of the 70,000 USB ports on the system not being hooked up right and never working (and me being too lazy to dismantle the casing to fix it), I've been very happy with it. The price was good, performance has been good, and though I haven't had to deal with their service... well, that's kind of the point, I haven't had to deal with their service. ;)

It's going on a year and a half now and running strong.

[Smoof]

Oooh, a test. :)

Indeed. So far, no response to my email and I also called them this afternoon and left a message on the CS guys phone. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt right now since he's been prompt and polite in the past, but we'll see how it works out. If it's the case that CS suddenly falls off the face of the earth, I'll be calling them everyday and leaving them messages until they fold. But so far, I'm not counting on that.

[Smoof]

Well, they finally got in contact with me today and apologized profusely for being late to contact me and for not noticing the wrong chip was installed (they blamed the manufacturer, which I understand). So, they said they're going to get back to me on Monday and see what's up. Basically, the tech person asked if I would like to install the new chip myself and doing so would not void my warranty, even if I messed it up. He also said I can ship it back and they can do the install if they're capable of it, otherwise they may have to send it back to the manufacturer again. This is less than ideal, but at least it will get done.

[strwrsxprt]

So let me get this straight: being without your laptop for 6 weeks and having the repair done incorrectly counts as good service in your book? Jeez, how badly have you been dicked around by other laptop manufacturers in the past?

[Smoof]

So they got back to me today and told me I'd have to ship my laptop back, which sucks. They'll likely have to send it back to the manufacturer again, because they don't want to open the laptop and ruin anything, since a GPU replacement is a complicated thing on a laptop. But, the good news is that the guy helping me, named Kevin, has been extremely helpful and courteous.

So, hats off to Cyberpower for making up for the mistake on part of the manufacturer putting the wrong GPU in it.

[strwrsxprt]

Being courteous counts as making up for the mistake? "Whoops, guess we'll need the laptop back." Maybe I've just come to expect a lot more from the vendors I deal with.

Yeah, hats off to Cyberpower for using a shitty ODM that will likely result in you being without your laptop for another 6 weeks. Have you seriously never gone through an RMA with a competent laptop manufacturer?

Please tell me you didn't pay any extra for this kind of warranty service.

Edit: Just saw the bit about this being under the standard 1-year warranty, so disregard that final comment.

[Smoof]

Just got the machine back today after it only being gone for about a week and a half this time. Cyberpower was definitely timely. They put the correct video card in and even replaced the screen on the laptop because previously I had noticed some odd white splotches on it.

I haven't had time to test any games yet, but so far everything looks good. I was sitting here using it (only had it for about 20 minutes) and Cyberpower called me on my cellphone to double check and see if everything was good with the laptop; in addition to telling me to put it through the rigors and if there's any more stuff wrong, contact them.

Anyway yeah, I'm pretty pleased with Cyberpower's customer service, despite some detractors.