Reply from CHILLBLAST
[REPLY]
- Reviews (48)
-
- Colin Chester
- Thornaby, GB
- 1 Review
Customer service at it's best!
After much research I decided to go with this company, which I've not heard off before..
Spec and price seemed right for my needs and decided to order my system on the weekend before Easter holidays in the hope it would arrive with in the 10 days specified on the web site.
However, due to high demand, this was delayed. Fair enough but would liked to of seen this when I logged in to my account.
My big issue was with the courier DPD. PC arrived as planned but upon unpacking the PC, i found it was seriously damaged. Immediately emailed with photo's the sales team.
First thing next morning a reply from chillblast offering to pick up the machine and replace damaged case and any components.
On return DPD let the side down again! Sent an email once again and chillblast who promptly replied with the offer to build a new system, deliver and pick up in 4 day's. This time they went out there way to protect the system during delivery. This system works fantastic as expected. Really pleased...
I have to say there customer service is above satisfactory in dealing with my issues. The fault lies solely with the couriers lack of professionalism handling such goods.
No company is perfect and things do go wrong but chillbast will go out their way to put things Right...
- John Carter
- 3 Reviews
Is it on or not?
My PC, based on an Obsidian, has not missed a beat since delivery in October. As my partner suffers from tinnitus, my specification aimed at achieving a really quiet machine. I'm not into gaming, so I was able to get away without a separate graphics card. Insofar as cooling is concerned, it's well over-specified and Chillblast warned me of this. The CPU cooler I chose does it's job so well that I rarely have to turn on the case fans. I really fell for the understated design of the Fractal Design case, so I don't feel I wasted money in that respect. To summarise, I'm well satisfied.
-
- Joseph Byrne
- Brighton, GB
- 1 Review
ideal custom machines
Researched several custom computer sites before opting for Chillblast, there was wide variety of custom options available and this was easy to change if necessary, which I did after reviewing the range of options on other specialist sites. Pricing was excellent and I received a computer that would have retailed about £1000 for just over £700. Delivery was excellent and contact with this service was maintained by e-mail and sms so that I knew when it would be arriving during at set time period.
I can highly recommend this company and the friendly communication I received. the whole process took about 2 weeks from ordering, testing and delivering, straightforward setup at home finished an excellent all round experience.
- Nick
- 3 Reviews
Outstanding Company
Ordered from Chillblast as I had done alot of research in trying to find a reputable on line retailer with expert reliability and award winning service and competitive prices. Chillblast lived up to its reputation and more. The customer service was flawless, always responding very quickly, and I was able to tweak and customize the computer I wanted at such a great price. you won't find a better company for pricing and customer service, pricing, and professionally built machines. Will only ever use Chillblast from now on and I plan on telling everyone about these guys, they deserve all the reputation and credit. Thanks.
-
- Marcus Bullock
- Shepherds Bush, US
- 1 Review
First-class service and product!
I would definitely recommend Chillblast, especially for anyone looking to build their own custom PC. They designed the PC for me based on some high-end CPU requirements and built it for me in a week. It arrived on time and was ready to play in 5 minutes. It exceeded all my gaming requirements and more, I am now at the controls of a monstrously powerful PC gaming machine!
-
- Peter Wright
- 1 Review
What's better than 1st Class?
From first contact to final delivery this company takes some beating where customer service is concerned. With regards to the product .....WOW...exceeding expectations big time. Well done to the team at Chillblast. I would recommend them to anyone gladly.
- Nicolas
- 2 Reviews
Top company with amazing prices
I have yet to find a company that offers better value for money with the components that the machines use. Scan, Dino, Aria, PCSPECIALIST etc are all more expensive, if you want the same spec pc as a chillblast machine it will cost you at least £100 more elsewhere, amazing.
-
- Justin Dolan
- 1 Review
Quick, simple and easy.
I was wanting a new desktop PC as i was getting into serious PC gaming and my laptop was beginning to crash from the games I had been playing on it. ( Games were to intensive on it.) So i was looking around for a long time like i do before any large purchase. Google, review sites, for good computer builders. I then came across Chillblast, I had never heard of them before, so i began looking at there systems.
From what I saw i was very impressed, there prices were better than pretty much all there competitors, for the amount of hardwere they were giving, So after a long time looking at the machines and doing many, many customizations for what i wanted. I settled on the "Chillblast Yogsblast", A system that the "Yogscast" use ( according to there site). So when i went to order, my bother also hopped on and added a second PC to my order.
We ordered our PC's around Christmass time so we did expect a delay in the 7-15 days delivery but a week into the new year we still hadn't received them, so after a quick e-mail to the sales team, they explained in full detail and clearly that there suppliers were closed for a period of time and they were waiting on the parts.
For compensation they gave each system four FREE games, two of which were major releases, So we couldn't argue with that.
When they came they were well packaged and came with all the manuals from all the parts which was a good thing, along with the compensation games. A few days in and after I had put mine through it's paces, it never once slowed down or lost any FPS in games like Planetside 2, and Assasins creed 3, so i was happy with my purchase.
Though transit the wire for the fan controller in my brothers PC fell out but I was smart enough to see it and put it right :)
Its has been about 2 1/2 months since i got it and I'm still in love with it :D
Will defiantly be ordering again when i need a new system, ;D
- Alan O'Brien
- 1 Review
Stealth fans wrongly set in BIOS and Sleep absent
In January 2013 I bought a Chillblast Fusion Stealth and this is my second Chillblast computer in five years. So I am happy with the make. My experience with the Stealth for nearly three weeks has been positive. But there are some issues I'd like to mention.
SILENT SYSTEM?
The Fusion Stealth was listed as one of Chillblast's 'Silent Systems'. When I got it the PC was fairly noisy. To cut a longish story short it transpired that the BIOS settings for the fans were incorrectly set at Chillblast. There are four BIOS fan settings and they all should be on 'silent' but in my case they were all on 'standard'. Changing these to 'silent' quietened the PC down considerably but it is not silent: there is a continuous albeit low fan noise.
Chillblast apologised profusely for the incorrect BIOS settings but went on to say:
"The Stealth system is not designed to be truly ‘silent’; only the Fusion Vacuum series are truly silent as they feature no moving parts. The Stealth and our other low noise systems all have fans inside which need to be running during normal use. The advantage is that you can have a much more powerful PC than you can with the Fusion Vacuum series."
I decided in the end that my Stealth was quiet enough and Chillblast kindly paid me £50 compensation.
I suggested to Chillblast that it might be misleading to list the Stealth on the website at the head of their 'Silent Systems' when it isn't silent. Chillblast agreed and they have changed the main heading from 'silent systems' to 'silent and ultra quiet'. In addition the individual headings for each PC in this category has been revised to show whether it is silent or ultra quiet.
It remains true that the buyer of any PC can't be sure it will be set up correctly. Unless the noise level is given in decibels and you have some way of measuring the PC you are never going to know how the thing will sound or whether your example is working properly. However, Chillblast are very good at responding to complaints and dealing with them quickly.
WINDOWS 8 SLEEP REMOVED
My Stealth was supplied with Windows 8 Standard. My old PC had Windows 8 PRO which I downloaded when it was on special offer. I particularly like the 'Sleep' feature which Microsoft recommend as the default method when shutting down, rather than completely turning off. But I couldn't find the Sleep option on the Stealth and spent much time fruitlessly searching for it and Googling for answers. Chillblast told me that they remove Sleep from overclocked PCs (as the Stealth is) because it may make the system unstable.
Chillblast also pointed out that their general terms and conditions include a warning that they don't recommend sleep mode because of stability issues and that, specifically, overclocked PCs may have sleep removed. So I admit I only have myself to blame for failing to plough through the lengthy small print! I suggested to Chillblast that terms and conditions usually deal with commercial matters like warranties, refunds etc and not technical choices. Hence I felt it would be better if they had more specific warnings for each PC. This is Chillblast's response:
"I agree that in a perfect world this sleep issue would be more boldly advertised, however please understand that have to carefully tread a middle ground between being as helpful and informative as possible, without putting off potential purchasers by scaring them away. If we stipulated every possible issue in terms of OS compatibility problems, and the steps we take to minimise the likelihood of their manifestation, then we would driving away sales where none of our competitors provide the same courtesy. After all, the sleep mode bug affects all manufacturers of overclocked machines, yet to my knowledge we are the only ones who inform our customers of the potential pitfalls of using it."
Finally, Chillblast came to the view that because the Stealth is not aggressively overclocked it was likely that sleep would in fact work. They gave helpful guidance on how to restore sleep and the Stealth has now worked fine with it for 3 days.
START SHELL
I chose to have the Chillblast optimise my system for an extra £30. This turned out to include the installation of a shell which puts back the old Start button. I did not want this and Chillblast explained how to remove it. They have also revised the options so that optimisation is a separate option from the Start shell.
DELIVERY TIME
Chillblast quote 7 - 10 working days. My Stealth took nearly 15 working days to arrive. Admittedly snow disrupted supplies and Chillblast were also moving to larger premises during the build period. My beef is that they were poor at keeping me informed about progress. If delivery time is important to you I'd recommend trying to pin them down in advance, which I didn't.
Reply from Chillblast
I am so sorry that you are not happy with aspects of the service you received, and also that the fans were not correctly configured on your PC. I am pleased to hear that this has been resolved by our support team and that the fans now operate at a more acceptable level. We take every measure to try to ensure everything is perfect on delivery, but in this case an error was made with BIOS configuration for which I humbly apologise.
The poor weather did disrupt many deliveries up and down the country recently and put us a few days behind. I can only apologise that your machine was not delivered on time. I have sent you an email to see if there is a way we can resolve the situation to your satisfaction.
Your points about the system not being silent are entirely accurate - it is very quiet for what it is, but it is not a passively cooled system. It was however displayed within a category called "silent systems" which is technically incorrect. Thanks to your feedback I have now renamed that category to accurately represent this system and others in our range which although quiet, have moving parts - thank you.
Sleep mode can cause a number of problems when used with an overclocked PC. Should you wish for us to restore this functionality for you, and remove the overclock I would be very happy to assist you with this.
Once again, please accept my humble apologies that not everything was perfect with your order and I hope you will allow me to try to resolve this situation to your satisfaction.
Thank you very much
Ben
Sales Director
Chillblast.com
-
- Paul Batty
- Sheffield, GB
- 1 Review
Just the ticket
My old PC was acting up and I really needed a new one pre-xmas. Not only did they deliver within 2 days but the PC is everything I needed and more: SSD & 8GB ram, cracking GPU & quad core processor all for under £1,200.
Are now my hardware provider of choice, bar none. If your thinking of using them...use them!
-
- Ian Bye
- Cork, IE
- 1 Review
Excellent All round Service
I ordered a pre-made gaming PC (Fusion Thunderbird) , I promptly received an email stating it was in the build and test phase and they would email me again when the order was completed. Which is subject to an estimated lead time of between 7 and 10 working days unless you have chosen the Express Build option. I received my pc within the time frame and it came in a very large box which was packed with foam and polystyrene inserts which protected the delicate electronic parts from any damage. The build quality was exceptional and the turn around time was excellent.
I would recommend this company to anybody who wants to order a custom made pc.
-
- Thomas Norman
- Cambridge, GB
- 1 Review
Excellent Business!
I ordered a premade gaming PC and I can't say the prices are bad considering the effort/delicacy involved with building one. Happy with my purchase completely and their machine thus far has been reliable. As I've been pleased with their level of service (e.g. hardware, warranty conditions, customer service) , someone who is very selective with which businesses he /chooses/, I can only recommend the business to other people.
Although the delivery system is vague, customer service were fine with answering how progress is currently estimated, which surpasses automated updating, in my opinion. My delivery was relatively slow, around 2 weeks, but I think it's understandably caused by two salient facts: they build computers from scratch and genuinely test them comprehensively: both preferable above an immediate delivery.
If I ever need another computer in the future, or a friend needs one which is both reasonably priced whilst efficient, I'll definitely say Chillblast since experiencing their professionalism.
- Brian Hansen
- 1 Review
Chillblast great service and great product - highly recommended
My sons laptop needed urgent replacement and after trawling the internet and even considering an 'off the shelf pc' at Currys I am glad to say we chose to buy from Chillblast.
Being able to customise the specification etc is a major selling point and it was fun sitting with my son choosing exactly the spec he wanted. Customer service and response times were above excellent (thanks Martin) and the positive reviews we read on line are a true reflection of what this company is all about.
Thanks Chillblast - as promised the Fusion Elixir arrived just in time for his birthday on 12.12.12.
-
- Andy Swain
- Cleethorpes, GB
- 2 Reviews
Superb product knowledge, service and product!
I spent a couple of weeks researching my best bet for a PC within my budget.
After hours on the internet, phone etc I finally settled on a system with a few modifications. The sales advisor Thom was really helpful on the phone, easily answered all my technical queries and put no pressure on me at all.
I ordered via their website and they build to the advertised time scale despite being close to Christmas, and the machine is amazing! it burns through the latest games with no effort :)
Any emails were replied to promptly, usually within an hour or two. Add the fact that I got free shipping and a proper 2 year guarantee (rtb) with no return postage to pay at all and it amounts to a great deal.
I did have a small problem, when the graphics card went wrong. I rang, and the text from the courier delivering the replacement arrived while i was on the phone about the issue! WOW - other companies watch and learn what customer service really means. TY Chillblast.
- Mani Singh
- 1 Review
Outstanding service!
I have to say that the service I received from Chillblast, and Martin in particular, has been outstanding.
I had some major problems with my high-spec Overclocked Fusion Thunderbird machine, (daily BSOD’s) right from day one, and have been in daily email contact with Martin about this issue. Emails to him are answered within 2 hours and the level of depth in each email is practically like you are on the telephone to him, which is fantastic for me, as I don’t have the time to spend on the telephone getting this issue sorted.
After various tests and a replacement part, my machine involved having to go back to Chillblast for further investigation. 3 working days later, it was back with me, but unfortunately, the problem was still there.
At this point, enough was enough for me and I was not happy. Whilst a refund was an option I was going to pursue and was offered, Martin offered to build me a new replacement PC with a couple of goodwill upgrades, and I decided to take him up on the offer and give Chillblast another chance.
This 2nd “replacement” PC has now been with me for just over 1 week, and it has been running perfectly! I am extremely glad I took Martin up on his offer of a replacement PC!
Based on this overall experience, I still consider this whole episode a positive experience, as the service I have received from them has been fantastic and I have full confidence in their aftersales support. Customer service is pretty hard for any company to do well at, but I feel that Chillblast do it fantastically in helping and advising you, right from the initial contact, through to technical/aftersales support. I can now see why Chillblast have won so many awards.
Would I recommend Chillblast to friends or family, and would I buy from them again? Without hesitation, yes!! Thank you again Martin!
-
- Phil Rogers
- 1 Review
Perfecto
Only had my new computer 4 days now but thought I would do a quick review , never bother reviewing anything normally.
The first thing I would say is the excellent customer pre sales service I received from Chillblast , especially Ben who I talked through a customised build based on the Chillblast Fusion Thunderbird. Was kept up-to-date with emails at order stage build stage and loads of info at delivery stage with a 1 hour time slot via DPD .
Opted for a corsair vengance case in white , upgraded ram and cooler, and most importantly an upgrade over the standard thunderbird gtx670 card with a Zotac gtx670 Amp edition card + some razor bits .
Finally it arrived , 12 days after I placed the order , felt like 12 years :) .
Was very well packaged in a huge box and a great joy to unpacked my new toy.
I am an avid player of world of warcraft and what a massive upgrade in load speed and ingame fps over my previous comp , never drops below 90 fps in the most populated areas and 150 - 200 fps most other places .
Did have 1 episode which scared me ..... The blue screen of death appeared whilst using windows easy transfer of my photos from old comp to new 1 .
Never really known what that's about , but never happened again so no worries I hope .
Just to recap .....
Chillblast 5 out of 5
Computer 5 out of 5
Ps . Razor lycossa mirror edition keyboard .... Fingerprints galore, maybe swapping that out .
-
- Phil Brown
- Portsmouth, GB
- 1 Review
Excellent
I must admit I agree with Mike Freeman regarding the initial contact with Chillblast. VERY supportive and knowledgeable who seem to tailor the system I required to my needs and not their profit margins. What seemed to be a rather long "build-time" is fully justifiable if you look at the obvious care and attention that has been paid to the build. I've never seen a neater cabling arrangement for example. Once built dispatch and delivery was efficient and on-time but take care to check the boxes on arrival!
Post sales service has again been exemplary. Fast, courteous and effective response to queries seems to be the norm I only wish my ISP was so efficient! The machine I purchased ran Windows 7 but Chillblast were happy to support and advise me through a move to Windows 8 with clear, honest and helpfully responses to my questions.
In all difficult to fault the computer, the service or the support both pre and post purchase. Would recommend Chillblast to anyone.
-
- Mike Freeman
- Wivenhoe, GB
- 1 Review
Top PCs, Top company.
I've recently taken delivery of a Chillblast PC, it was a treat to myself for my 40th birthday.
Prior to ordering I had several communications with their knowledgeable sales team to make sure I was getting a good specification. They talked me out of needlessly spending money on certain items and gave very honest advice. The order was delayed due to them having a lot of orders (a good sign) but an email was sent explaining this.
I was given an hour timeslot for delivery which was very good. Unfortunately the courier appears to have not taken the same amount of care. The PC arrived with a damaged video card and several connections out of place in the box. These are the risks with any mail order product.
An email of complaint to Chillblast was responded to immediately and they offered sincere apologies and a more than satisfactory resolution. They kept in touch and even offered further advice on setting-up the PC which was technically outside of their remit. They really couldn't do enough for me.
Without doubt, the best customer service I've experienced from an on-line company ever.
The PC? It's superb. I tested the exact same specification out against about 15 other companies and Chillblast were actually the cheapest. I've never owned such a quiet, fast PC and, going by what others have said about Chillblast, their machines are built to last. I'll never need to darken Dell's door again.
Wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.
-
- Paddy Coad
- 1 Review
Fantastic, Knowledgeable, Helpful Company
Brilliant customer service with very helpful folk on the end of the Phone. I have bought two machines of them and have always found them to be professional, fair priced and eager to help.
-
- Craig Morris
- Dubai, GB
- 1 Review
Great price, quality components and advice but even better customer service :)
I've built my own PCs but let these guys do it for my new gaming rig as they could do it cheaper. Good technical advice that produced a machine that's a pleasure to use. Perhaps best is the free technical support I've had since buying to fix the odd niggle. It's been fast, and quick and remote and so easy for me. I won't be building again if they can keep providing such good support.
- MS VANESSA BAVINGTON
- 9 Reviews
Good After-Sales Service with Reservations
Having owned PCs for over 25 years and always tinkered with them myself, I debated whether to fully build my own system this time around, but osteoarthritis has ruined my manual dexterity somewhat, so to save too much grief decided to let a nimbler-fingered person do it for me. Chillblast always get good reviews for customer service/support, build quality, reliability and the ability to alter most components to suit your requirements. I priced out a system I wanted on their website and got an overclocked i5 and Asus P8X77-V Motherboard, with Akasa Nero 3 CPU Cooler. Even with the £25 delivery charge, the whole system came out with a build cost of under £100. I thought this was worth it, and ordered my new system with a build/test/delivery time of 7 to 10 working days. After 5 working days I emailed them to ask if I was to expect the machine next week as the updater on their website showed it hadn't even been built yet. They emailed back quickly to say due to increased orders it was now 10 to 14 working days. A pity that I couldn't tell this by accessing their website, but I thought it would be worth the wait. Sure enough it was in the build and test phase after 5 more dayss. Then I noticed that although their website say they use DPD, my order referred to the dreadful City Link as courier. I emailed them immediately to double check in case I could spare the time and petrol to go down to Bournemouth to pick it up myself. Within fourteen minutes they emailed back to say it was actually going to be DPD - great, never had a problem with them. They emailed me once it had been built and collected by DPD and I received the delivery in the allocated one hour delivery slot. I unpacked my new system. I was amazed that having spent 8 days being "tested by Chillblast" the fan on my Akasa CPU cooler wasn't even fitted - had they actually done any testing? I checked all component parts were exactly as ordered, fine. All as stated and paid for. Chillblast office not open as PC was delivered at 5.20pm, so set to putting the fan on myself. Really awkward and fiddly, and you can fit it either side of the unit, I opted for the side that didn't obscure my RAM bays and plugged into motherboard. Of course I emailed them next day with photos of what I'd done. Got an email back to say it must have fallen off during transit. OK possibly it could have come off the unit, but not unplugged itself from the motherboard. Anyway, so I should have fitted it on the other side, over the RAM bays. So after much fiddling and cursing I managed this. Ok so the system is great but I'd paid for a good one, and couldn't fault the delivery people either, but come on guys, if I hadn't checked my system and turned it on I could have burnt out the CPU. The question remains - why had I waited nearly 3 weeks for something that could have been built in a morning PROPERLY? Had it even been tested I wondered? I emailed Chillblast to ask them, and the reply came back
"We do see a certain number of problems with CPU coolers come loose during the delivery process. We try to use coolers which we have had few issues with but this doesn’t mean that they always arrive in perfect working order unfortunately. I can assure you that your PC was run through a full 24 hour test before it was shipped out to you, and I’m incredibly sorry for the condition the PC arrived in."
All I can say is I am somewhat skeptical that it could have detached itself from the four pin motherboard socket, as well as the four rubber fittings (incredibly difficult to fit and remove I might add). So check your systems thoroughly on arrival. Would I buy from them again - yes probably, they were quick to reply to queries and their after-sales support refreshingly helpful. Update to review - Chillblast emailed me having read this review and explained The Akasa Nero 3 cooler you have in your system is attached to the heat sink via four rubber anti-vibration grommets which although sturdy enough to survive 99 shipments out of 100 can come off if the system is subjected to a heavy enough jolt by the courier. Once detached the weight of the fan unit itself can easily cause it to detach from the four pin plug, which is held on by friction alone. I am really sorry you had a frustrating experience re-attaching the fan to the cooler. If you send a quick email to ben@chillblast.com I will make sure you receive steam download codes for two free PC games as some small compensation for the inconvenience you have endured. I am glad to hear that now the fan has been reattached you are happy with your system. True to form Ben from Chillblast emailed me the codes for two Steam games same day - what can I say Truly Brilliant After Sales Service! Upgraded my rating to Five Stars.
Reply from Chillblast
Thanks for your review and I am so sorry that the fan on the heat sink came off on its way to you. The Akasa Nero 3 cooler you have in your system is attached to the heat sink via four rubber anti-vibration grommets which although sturdy enough to survive 99 shipments out of 100 can come off if the system is subjected to a heavy enough jolt by the courier. Once detached the weight of the fan unit itself can easily cause it to detach from the four pin plug, which is held on by friction alone. I am really sorry you had a frustrating experience re-attaching the fan to the cooler. If you send a quick email to ben@chillblast.com I will make sure you receive steam download codes for two free PC games as some small compensation for the inconvenience you have endured. I am glad to hear that now the fan has been reattached you are happy with your system.
Thank you very much
Ben
Sales Director
Chillblast.com
- Michael Bell
- 1 Review
Chillblast gets you to Glasto
I am no geek. I just wanted a fairly basic computer which did not make continental drift appear hyperactive. I went to Chillblast because of their reputation for speed, and choose a Fusion Poison Ivy, one of the cheaper machines in their range. And, my goodness, their reputation for speed was no lie. In addition, the sales team have been extremely helpful both before and after purchase.
My daughter was delighted that she, alone of her friends, managed to get through to buy tickets to Glastonbury- all thanks to Chillblast.
-
- Steve Harrison
- 1 Review
The true test of customer service is what happens when something goes wrong
We decided to buy a new PC from Chillblast at least in part on the basis of the excellent reviews on this site. Even so we were unprepared for the quality of service we received.
Pre-sales support was excellent with rapid and helpful replies to technical queries. I even made a change to the spec. after ordering and this was dealt with quickly and without fuss.
The PC performed brilliantly on delivery but after a week we started to get blue screens. I ran some diagnostics, found memory errors and called Chillblast. Instead of treating me like an idiot they asked if I was OK installing memory. No problem so they sent me replacement RAM which arrived the next day.
Now the memory errors cleared up but we were still getting application stops. On to Chillblast again and their guy immediately spent a few hours with Team Viewer checking logs etc. and running Windows repairs. Turns out it wasn't the RAM, we have a faulty motherboard. Just one of those things - it was a good quality Asus motherboard but hey, infant mortality in electronics happens.
We packed it up and next morning a courier collected the PC. Five days later it was back, repaired, tested and firing on all six with a new motherboard. Hasn't put a foot wrong since.
Ten out of ten to Chillblast for a) treating me like an intelligent person who knows a fair bit about PCs but is not a total expert - no dumb call centre scripts "have you turned it off and on again" but a clued up expert on the phone with whom you could have sensible conversations, and b) getting the whole problem dealt with quickly and painlessly. I can imagine what it would have been like with some other suppliers I've dealt with and it makes me shudder.
The machine itself is pretty high spec - Ser 3 i7, SSD, 16GB RAM, decent graphics and sound cards etc. and it's hardly broken sweat yet, even when doing some fairly hairy video conversions. Superb piece of kit.
I would recommend Chillblast without reservation for producing quality products and for exemplary customer service.
- Mark Hough
- 4 Reviews
Chillblast - Should be blasted into space
Purchased PC was hoping for great things......, but: -
Paid for premium delivery - delivered arrived very late requested refund but did not receive offered.
Paid for over clocking PC was supplied without this.
Other issues include unit fitted with a Corsair SSD, a model which was defective model supposed to have been recalled.
Machine is subsequently prone to freezing
Dead pixel on expensive Asus monitor.
I have sent at least 3 e-mails to chillblast, but have never received a reply. .
Quick to enough to take your money, but slower on delivery
and non existent on customer service.
Reply from Chillblast
We are terribly sorry that you had a disappointing experience with Chillblast and I have checked your order history. I can see that your order was placed with us on 01-12-11 with a Saturday delivery requested. With a Saturday delivery we send the machine out the first Friday after it is ready and our lead time at the time was advised as 7-10 working days. Your order was delivered on the 17-12-11 (a Saturday). I see there was a problem with delivery in that you did not receive your screen and keyboard with the main system, and a £15 compensationary refund was returned to your card on the 20-12-11. You emailed us once on the 16-06-12 asking for overclocking instructions and we replied before 8am on the following day. A bounce was received immediately stating the email was undeliverable: "The email account that you tried to reach does not exist". I would be very happy to resolve any issues you have with your PC personally, and rest assured we always reply to emails in a very timely manner. The address to send any correspondence to is sales@chillblast.com, and my name is Ben. If you mark an email for my attention I will personally reply to you and see that you receive the best service. I am certain that we can solve the problem with your instability and return your system to working order.
Thank you very much
Ben
Sales Director
Chillblast.com
-
- Sean Lewis
- Hessle, GB
- 1 Review
Astounding Quality And Service
Awesome company - extremely helpful and professional.
The PC's are well built and components chosen carefully to produce some astounding results.
Good, clear effective communication throughout and even an hour time slot provided for delivery!
I would recommend Chillblast to anyone looking to buy a high-end custom built PC who wants good service. This company provides a level of service that is head and shoulders above the competition.
- Kevin
- 3 Reviews
The BEST!
I have worked with Personal Computers since the first IBM PC was announced in the mid 1980s. As a Systems Engineer I provided hardware and software support to customers and subsequently built and managed a PC support organisation for 10,500 users. Until I came across Chillblast three years ago, I built and maintained my own home PCs. I mention this only to give the proper weight to my comments below.
I was so impressed by magazine reviews and reports from other sources that I looked into Chillblast's range of PCs, and I'm glad I did. I bought an overclocked core i7 system and it ran without fault for several hours a day over three years. Over that time I noted that PC magazines continued to pile awards on them. My respect for the company's hardware grew, but I often wondered how good their support was. Now, I know!
A short time ago I noticed that there was a short delay in powering up the PC, and wondered if It was a sign of imminent component failure. I emailed Chillblast to ask what they thought and to let me know which component I needed to replace, if any. Their response has been overwhelming! I won't go into the details as they are not relevant to this review, but they have expended far more time and effort in researching and resolving my problem than I could possibly expect. Email communication is practically at the conversational level and has been nothing but supportive and constructive. It's obvious that somebody owns my problem and is determined to resolve it. This is what a customer support service should be and I have no hesitation in recommending Chillblast to you.
-
- Chris Tyler
- 4 Reviews
Deserves High Rating
I decided to order my new PC from Chillblast based on the many positive reviews in PC magazines and online.
They dealt with my pre-order enquiry very efficiently and even updated their website to tailor my order while I was on the phone to them.
Good visibilty of order progress on their website.
Excellent warranty and after sales.
Superb product - thanks.
- Robert
- 1 Review
Belated Review - First Class
I have just happened upon this site, so thought I would review my system purchased 9 months ago.
The pre-sales service is excellent. I spent weeks emailing queries & fine tuning my requirements & I found Ben & his colleagues extremely helpful & obliging, always responding promptly.
After finally placing my order, delivery was made in about half the quoted time. Packaged well, just had to slot in the graphics card & I was up & running. Totally satisfied with my system.
A day or so after I received the system, I saw a similar one with identical basic specification, same price, but with 8gig of RAM instead of the 4gig mine had. I queried this with Ben, & he put an extra 4 gig in the post for me. You just don't get better service than that!
Nine months on, I am still delighted with my system, & have had no issues.
I agree with an earlier poster though, that it is a shame they don't brand the tower with "Chillblast". I would be very proud to display their logo on my case.
Update14/05/13
Unfortunately my system suffered a PSU failure after 21 months.
I phoned Ben on Tuesday 7th, it was collected the next day (I had kept the original box), & it was retuned today, Tuesday 14th, with new PSU fitted.
Very impressed with their speedy & efficient after sales service.
- Chris Pearce
- Towcester, GB
- 1 Review
Superb Experience
I recently purchased a pre built PC from Chillblast, I required a few changes/upgrades that the team were happy to discuss and advise on.
The PC build is outstanding, and demolishes any games on ultra settings. The build quality and cable management is excellent as was the tidiness of the packing.
The overclock that I asked for is totally stable and I have seen no crashes in relation to the overclock being unstable.
It's obvious that the Chillblast team are computer enthusiasts and have expert knowledge in their profession and allows them to produce high quality, superb gaming computers.
Excellent customer service and swift delivery!
- Donald Maddocks
- Basingstoke, GB
- 1 Review
Excellent technical specification and pre-delivery support
Initial advice and support offered by Chillblast team at selection and purchase stage was first-class. The system has performed beyond expectation with a stability and reliability level unequalled by other systems. The system configuration is well balanced and represents excellent value for money.
- Peadar
- 1 Review
Impressive product and customer service second to none.
Excellent pre-sale advice ,it's so good to have the same persons (Ben/Tom) at the end of a phone who remember you and also know their products so well.
My Chillblast computer oozes quality and style and is also very good value.A two year warranty gives confidence and I wouldn't buy from anywhere else. I'm delighted with my purchase.
- Charles
- Ripon, GB
- 2 Reviews
Really good products and excellent service
Great range of PCs, built to order. I have dealt with them several times now, always been pleased with the results. The one time there has been a fault they have collected the PC and investigated and repaired it quickly, with good personal service and none of the usual 'have you tried turning it off and on again' nonsense!
- Andy
- guildford, GB
- 1 Review
excelled at every opportunity
When my old computer died, it had the only copy of every photo my girlfriend and I had taken for five years on the hard drive. One visit to the local dodgy computer repair shop later, I found out that dog hair and dust is not good for motherboards. I left with an external hard drive packed with memories in my hand and a useless box of junk tucked under my arm.
My five year old christmas special from a major retailer was not worth saving. It took the technowizard in the shop 15 minutes to tell me everything that made a repair untenable. PSU too small. Cooling non existent. HDD far too small and so on. But he didn't blame the retailer for selling me this box of compromises and short cuts. I left with the clear understanding that I had got what I deserved.
As I tossed my computer next to all the others in the skip at recycling I realized that he was right. I had never even seen inside my computer before he took off the cover that day; never known how few components there were, never researched into the technology that I had come to rely upon. I had let myself be made into a technophobe, chosen ignorance and a direct debit warranty (that I cancelled two years ago, leaving me with the worst of both worlds) over understanding and empowerment.
I promised myself that next time would be different, but was I brave enough to build my own machine? In a word, no. Not the first time. But I WAS brave enough to learn what constituted a good set up, one that I could upgrade myself in the future, and ask the right questions when I bought my next computer.
With the girlfriend on holiday, research began in earnest. A week later and I could no longer get answers to my questions from the staff in the large retailers, who learnt to walk away when they saw me coming. I watched overclocker3d videos all the way through. I checked out pc advisor, pc pro, guru and tech et al...and kept seeing the names of small companies that made computers for those of us who dared to break away from the herd. I knew now that for the money, these guys beat the major retailers hands down. But I still searched the aisles in vain for a rig with the specs i wanted at a price I could afford, hoping to stay in my comfort zone.
I had discovered that having the intention and doing the deed are two very different things. I drove to my local Novatech shop and then...drove away. I talked to sales advisors for internet only companies but didn't like the way that I felt, like I'd stumbled into a cliquey shop that catered for an elite clientele. And then, after seeing the name too many times to ignore, even though it sounds like they make fridges for geeks, I called Chillblast.
Two mammoth conversations with the saints that are the pre sales team at Chillblast, a long, long night of research into the customisable parts of a Fusion Neptune and I took the plunge. The candid, open feedback to all my questions and obvious familiarity with the products, mingled with good humour and a confidence inspiring air of professionalism had prised six hundred quid out of my pocket to make my first major internet purchase. The two year collect and return warranty gave me piece of mind. The fact that the guys advised me against some upgrades (based on my stated requirements) left me with the impression that these people were keen to protect their reputation for ensuring customer satisfaction.
But the real reason for the five stars is for what happened next. My computer arrived on a Friday afternoon and I signed off on the package as instructed by the email from Chillblast, (who had emailed me at every appropriate stage of the build to inform me of my order's status and impending action) noting that the package was unchecked. And of course the computer was damaged.
If you have ever had damaged goods delivered then you know the feeling it gives you in your stomach. If the order was from a "faceless" internet company that feeling is twice as bad. You cannot help but assume the worst. When it happens on a friday afternoon you get the whole weekend to sweat over the conversations you will be having on Monday. I sent three emails with pictures attached and stewed for 48 hours. Roll on 9 am Monday and hours of haggling on the phone.
7 02 am Monday morning and there is an email from Chillblast. Sorry to hear about your damage, would this action resolve it? A reply from me. Ok that's worse than we realised, let's just build you a brand new computer. You want to pick it up yourself? no problem. Want to take the opportunity to upgrade another component? Have that on us. Let us pack the tower internally while we are at it, to make sure you get it home safely.
Every email replied to within half an hour, everything about the return, new build and collection finalised by eleven o'clock.
If it wasn't for everyone I dealt with at Chillblast before I made a purchase I might yet have weakened and gone back to you-know-where in the world. But for very little more than I could have bought the components for I am getting a computer built just the way I want it by a company whose reputation (and stack of awards) keeps on growing. As more of us realise that we have a choice, I would recommend that you choose Chillblast. Before, during and after my sale, they excelled at every opportunity.
-
- Adrian Bruce
- 1 Review
Excellent build - with disks!
I ordered a slightly tweaked Fusion Skyline just after Christmas. I'd expected there to be a backlog over Christmas, but it came through very quickly, so they must have worked hard to get stuff out.
I was astonished by how fast it booted the first few times - of course, virus monitors etc tend to slow it down slightly now. The Cooler Master Elite 430 case is certainly impressive in looks and the neon effect means I never have to look closely to see whether it's on or not. And I'm always impressed by a tidily cabled machine.
And with the package came - what's this? Disks! Yes, real, live CDs / DVDs containing the machine's software - none of this nonsense about restoring from a secure partition on a disk that's just gone phut!!
The case leads me to the only negative - obviously it's an aspect of that Cooler Master design but when I came to transfer the wireless card from my old PC to the new, I found the need to punch out the strip of metal covering the PCI slot a little disconcerting - I'm used to unscrewing a blanking plate. And if I decide to remove the card later, there was no tidy way of blanking the resulting hole off. The other thing was that I needed to rob the screws from the old PC to fix both the wireless card in place and the 2nd hard disk that I transferred myself from my old machine. (I dare say I could have used the tool-less fixing for the 2nd hard disk but the power cabling in place meant that the "obvious" position for that drive was next to the one Chillblast installed - some way from the tool-less cradles.) No particular issue over transferring screws but I suggested to them that it would be a nicer customer experience if a bag of spare screws were provided with the case.
An impressive machine and here's to many years service from it...
- steven
- glagsow, GB
- 1 Review
nice pc @ good price
Good price, item arrived around 7 working days so pretty good. had couple of minor issues however very good customer/support service and replied within hours of sending queries and their responses worked:)
good experience and would use them again.
- Kevin
- 2 Reviews
The Best of the best.
First off, I would like to thank Chillblast for the amazing desktop they have built me. I ordered it on a Friday and because they don't work on Saturdays it takes a little longer but bear that in mind.
Sorry to Chillblast as I sent them several emails about the parts and internal stuff which was from the desktop i ordered BUT they replied to every single email which I call is a great customer service team
Their expectation was '7-10' working days which they did promise and sent my system on the 7th working day by next day delivery 'city-link'
So i received my desktop on the 8th working day, unboxed it and it looked beautiful, the cable management was spot on and everything was right!, I just had to install Windows as I had my own copy.
Best of all, the system was overclocked for free!
Will definitely recommend this company, don't be put of with the lack of reviews as I too was going to order of PC specialist and was LUCKILY referred to this amazing company.
P.S. You get a great 2 year returns warranty aswell!
- Mr Satisfied Customer
- 2 Reviews
Outstanding service
If the rest of UK industry and commerce matched Chillblast's standards of product quality, value for money and customer service then our economic problems would be over.
This is the feedback I sent to Chillblast after receiving my new computer from them:
Thanks very much for my new computer. You estimated delivery as seven to ten working days. You despatched it on the seventh working day after ordering and I received it on the eighth working day. Excellent service.
Your pre-sales advice was very helpful and gave me the confidence to order from a company I had only heard of in a chance encounter. It was a stranger in a pub who overheard a couple of my friends discussing new computers. He approached us and told us about the new PC he had just bought from you. He even had a copy of the specification with him. I was impressed by what had been included for such a reasonable cost and by his enthusiasm for your products. He had recently bought PCs from you for the local school where he does part-time IT support. When I got home I looked you up on the internet .
Two weeks later I met the same friends in the same pub. Two of us had ordered PCs from you.
I read many reviews before deciding to order from you. You offered a much more flexible range of options than the Dell and Novatech PCs I had been considering. In fact there was almost too much choice and my preferred shortlist kept getting longer, so in the end I I took your popular Neptune model and loaded it with all the upgrades I thought I would benefit from and asked your advice by email.
I don’t need a superfast gaming machine so my choice boiled down to either a fairly basic product for around £400 or an upgrade version for just over £900. I am so glad that I decided to indulge in the dearer option. It is so refined in comparison to the old machine it has replaced. It is fast, quiet and such a pleasure to use, as well as being outstanding value for money.
Thanks very much
- Tony Buckley
- 4 Reviews
Outstanding product and service
Ordered Fusion Shadow which arrived on schedule and in perfect order. Very nice product which fulfils its promise.
Support very good and helpful - no jargon or strange accents!!
- Simon
- London, GB
- 1 Review
Great experience
As a geek and gaming fan buying a new PC is a big decision. I first came across the company's name in PC gamer magazine and book-marked their site. During bored moments at work I would gaze at the goodies on offer.
I looked at loads of options from this company and elsewhere and when the time was right pounced on the fusion blackbird.
I ordered on a Tuesday and expected a lead time of 7-10 days. It arrive on Thursday - 48 hours later.
All worked perfectly. The case had a fewer minor scuffs and one small bit of external damage which I have been told a replacement is being ordered for.
The ordering process and after sales communications have all been excellent. Helpful people in the UK who are happy to chat and give a bit of advice.
One small issue was that I asked the salesman about the sound card and using headphones with it. He was not sure but thought it would be fine. After sales now tell me there is a known issue on this card so that after using the headphones sound does not snap back to the speaker when headphones are removed. Sales should know this.
Any complaints are small when compared to the build quality and service. Also no bloatware on a new machine like one finds with DELL - what a joy.
Only had this a few days so time will tell but my feeling is I have a top spec machine at a sensible price and Chillblast have given excellent service so I would recommend them.
All in all a pleasure
- Dick
- London, GB
- 1 Review
Very good.
I bought a "Neutron" from Chillblast, with Firewire, card reader, avi connector and a modest Graphics card as extras. All in below UKP600. Delivered when they said it would be. Patience is key with build to order machines!! I've tested everything, and all is working well. The deal is very good value for money at today's prices.
Service before and after delivery was impeccable.
What more can one ask for? The right product at the right price with proper service??? 10 out of 10.
