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The bit-tech and Custom PC Awards 2009

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D3s3rt_F0x 5th December 2009, 21:57 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rkiver
Scan won the best RMA? I find that surprising considering the list of complaints we have seen here against them. Then again perhaps we only see the bad, and the good outweight them.

Last time I ordered from Scan (just over a year now I think) got a whole new PC put it together, but failed to run, now I couldn't diagnose the problem as I knew no one with a PC that came anywhere near having same kit as my new one. I called Scan the same day they arranged courier pick up for the whole lot for the next day. Tested all the pieces even the ones that weren't broke (I know a few who would charge for this) and sent all my stuff back including new bits that worked all turned around in 4 days. Now I pretty much won't use anyone else.
javaman 5th December 2009, 23:28 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregTheRotter
WHAT!? Scan beat ebuyer? LOL. Since when?

Only bought once from scan when building my mates PC. Bought from ebuyer and overclockers too. Didn't think much of ebuyer apart from over all better prices than the rest. Unfortunatly I come from NI so I have to pay for delivery reguardless from ebuyer. The first time the mixed components took about a week to come from all sources, yet a couple of days ago I ordered a new monitor and it arrived the next day from ebuyer. I thought that was pretty impressive considering most things comming from the uk somehow enter a black hole for a few days. Id definatly have to say +1 to ebuyer after that for both price and service.
Yoy0YO 6th December 2009, 00:25 Quote
I (politely) demand more comedic pictures of the subject Harry Butler.
Ficky Pucker 6th December 2009, 00:33 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregTheRotter
WHAT!? Scan beat ebuyer? LOL. Since when?

+1
culley 6th December 2009, 09:40 Quote
hmmmm sapphire sponsored the awards and also got an award, hmmmmm coincidence i think not!!! nah only joking it wouldn't bother me anyway, got to pay the elite CPC and Bit-Tech staff somehow.
Sifter3000 6th December 2009, 11:51 Quote
The sponsorship was for the awards evening, and it was sold before the results were known - I'd hope we've done enough over the years to prove we deserve trusting, but if you feel differently, so be it.

Kustom PCs did get quite a few votes, just not enough to put them into the top 5 - I guess because San, Ebuyer etc are selling to more people, so more people have experience of them.
Hiren 6th December 2009, 11:53 Quote
It was a most enjoyable evening. :)
Rkiver 6th December 2009, 11:54 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sifter3000
The sponsorship was for the awards evening, and it was sold before the results were known - I'd hope we've done enough over the years to prove we deserve trusting, but if you feel differently, so be it.

Kustom PCs did get quite a few votes, just not enough to put them into the top 5 - I guess because San, Ebuyer etc are selling to more people, so more people have experience of them.

I find it surprising that people are accusing CPC and Bit-tech of "corruption" with regards to the awards...the only reason I brought scan up was due to the rather large complaints list I have seen on here before, but as I mentioned, and as was pointed out Combatus, you rarely see people saying "Company X is brilliant".

And sapphire? My past 4 graphics cards have been sapphire. Bar needing slightly different water blocks for them sometimes, I've had zero issue with them. Stable as anything, even when overclocked.
Dragunover 6th December 2009, 19:00 Quote
"Nowai! You would be hard pressed to find something that cools as well as a freezer 7 pro for as cheap and as quietly with such a long warranty."
Yep, for 5 more I could get something that cools 2-3x as good(which unlike the freezer 7 pro isn't just barely better than AMD stock)

For the others, I'm suprised Enermax, Silverstone, Antec etc. wasn't for best PSU maker because they have _THE BEST_ power supplies.

Such a ridiculous outcome that a generic brand like corsair won.

As for memory, Corsair has done almost nill for the overclocking community, whereas G. Skill has still the best kits on the market.

I'm ashamed at this article.
Kovoet 6th December 2009, 20:17 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by fargo
sorry guys but best manufacturer dell !! you have to be kidding there is so much wrong about this company in relation to consumers they would not even be on my list !!

I ten d to agree with this comment
Zombie 6th December 2009, 20:28 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Combatus
Now now. If anyone seriously thinks there's truth in that is a pillock. Yes Scan are one of our long time advertisers but they haven't always won. Last year was a case in question - Novatech took the trophy. Besides, Scan has made some big improvements to their store over the last 12 months.

It's as Rkiver says I've seen the same complaints about Ebuyer, Novatech and Overclockers and personally I've never had issues with any of them and I used to buy a lot of stuff - even from the latter.

Maybe I'm a pillock then, there seem to be a lot of us in this thread... I've just worked in a very similar situation where definite preference has been given to those who advertise with a publication - I worked on the advertiser side.

As far as personal stories of scan goes, I worked in a team where about 10 people ordered from them after recommendations from 1 person, and of course their very low prices at the time. About half of the people who ordered had something wrong including me (I think they must've been having a particularly bad few months!). Scan kept my money for nearly 2 months before refunding my purchase. I am willing to accept they may have changed, but the stories that so often crop up do nothing to help their reputation.

Scan may not have always won, but they do seem to feature exceedingly often for such a maligned company - maybe it is just coincidence, maybe readers see the adverts, use the company and the majority have no troubles so they vote for them... I personally didn't like the potential conflict so much that I cancelled my cpc subscription for this very reason.
Sifter3000 6th December 2009, 21:52 Quote
You're allowing paranoia to triumph over logic. Firstly, complaints will always be more visible than praise on a forum because people complaining have a much stronger motive than those who simply got their goods on time. If you order a graphics card, for a good price, and it arrives quickly, and works, you're hardly going to log on to bit-tech and start a thread. You're going to install it in your PC, play some games and get on with your life. If that card is DOA, if it takes a week to arrive instead of two days, then you've got a strong motive to complain.

Secondly, Scan is a large company when it comes to PC enthusiasts. It fulfills thousands and thousands of orders per month, and as such, it's a company familiar to lots of people - so in an open vote on an enthusiast website such as bit-tech, a high proportion of those readers are going to have dealt with Scan and be likely to vote for it.

As you mention, advertising has an affect too. We all like to imagine ourselves as being independent minded and able to make our own decisions and never influenced by advertising, but the reality is that advertising helps companies get noticed - that's why they spend so much money on it.

Obviously it's difficult for you to accept Scan winning because it doesn't fit with your personal experience, and those of the 10 people you mention, but in the overall scale of things - the 4,500 people who voted - this is a statistically tiny sample. Personally, I was surprised to see one OCUK in the top 5, as they're the only company we often receive complaining emails about but the numbers from the survey are what they are (and yes, before anyone asks, we do our best to stop voter fraud).

Had we - the editorial team - simply decided all the awards ourselves and given Scan an award, then perhaps you might be right to be suspicious, and this is one of the reasons we've gone for a democratic approach. But that's the thing with democracy - you get a say, but you don't always get your choice.
Bindibadgi 6th December 2009, 22:18 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragunover
"Nowai! You would be hard pressed to find something that cools as well as a freezer 7 pro for as cheap and as quietly with such a long warranty."
Yep, for 5 more I could get something that cools 2-3x as good(which unlike the freezer 7 pro isn't just barely better than AMD stock)

For the others, I'm suprised Enermax, Silverstone, Antec etc. wasn't for best PSU maker because they have _THE BEST_ power supplies.

Such a ridiculous outcome that a generic brand like corsair won.

As for memory, Corsair has done almost nill for the overclocking community, whereas G. Skill has still the best kits on the market.

I'm ashamed at this article.

I'm not sure who you are aiming this at. Apart from one category it was entirely user voted. People like you decided who won. The voting form was on site for weeks and you could have voted or gathered others to vote in what you wanted to win.

I'm sure many-a-Corsair fan will disagree with your statement because it does a lot for the enthusiast community. Go read its forum. ;)
Quote:
But that's the thing with democracy - you get a say, but you don't always get your choice.

Cannot highlight this enough! When we got to see the results the day of the awards, there are certainly some I would not have chosen, but I accept others might favour.
javaman 6th December 2009, 23:57 Quote
Whys there so much bit-tech article hate these days? come on guys, we all need to be lovers!!
culley 7th December 2009, 06:39 Quote
LOL @ Curruption at CPC and Bit-Tech, if anyone assumed that i beleived the awarsd to be a farce has misunderstood.

I argree with the winners IMHO.
warlockza 7th December 2009, 09:53 Quote
Lian Li for the win!! oh wait, they were not even considered for the modding section, and at no point were any of their highly acclaimed cases even mentioned. sigh, what is this world coming to?
The love is gone, and the ache remains to fill the plains, where the buffalo roamed and the mosquitoes were cloned .
Bauul 9th December 2009, 11:15 Quote
It's amazing how many people don't realise it was a public vote, nothing to do with the bit-tech/CPC staff.

I think Alex is right about how exposure breeds popularity. Small time buyers (for instance) will go with a name they recognise (e.g. Scan, because they advertise everywhere). Then, their product arrives absolutely fine (because 99% will do), and on the voting form, they vote for the only name they have any experience with.

Voila, Scan wins. It's not a problem with bit-tech, it's a problem with how democracy as a concept works. People are allowed to vote without being forced to be educated about all the options available.
Muerlin 10th December 2009, 00:14 Quote
Alienware is owned and operated by Dell. It has been almost two years. The M17x was the first official cross-branded computer as of June 2009.
mnpctech 24th January 2010, 20:19 Quote
I'm currently modding the Obsidian. After dissecting it, I appreciate even more how much work they put into this PC.
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