Hi spec PC maker - "Hi Grade" (Meridian)

[Tartan Giant]

Chaps and Chapesses,

I have been thinking about an upgrade and noticed a 'maker' called "Hi-Grade" (Thames Road, Barking, London) who boast of a new model of the Meridian A800S called the A900.

I was wondering if anybody knew of the company and would they buy from them ?

The PC is an Athlon K7-900 Thunderbird based machine - I won't bore you with all the details, I just want a 'feel' of the quality of the company and tech support.

[DreamCatcher]

TG - no idea, but most of us have been in that situation. A lot of firms buy the parts in, assemble them, and re-badge them with their own logos. Other firms are simply box-shifters, but call themselves computer dealers etc.

If you know a bit about computers, put them to the test: you'll soon spot the waffle. And get their tech support promises in writing.

Try other dealers and see how they react to the one in question - friendly rivalry or genuine knocking.

Just a few thoughts.

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PistonBroke

[R O Tiree]

TG - I am typing this on a Hi-Grade computer. I am very happy with it. They have on-site warranty as standard (or had back in May - best to check). It has a simply outrageous spec and was largely "bespoke" components, ie I told them what bits I wanted (all named brand, in other words, none of yer cheap tat) and they built it for me. Could have built it myself for a little less, but would not have had the peace of mind of the warranty.

That said, a bunch of us bought in a syndicate, as it were, and they were able to give us a good deal. Some were unhappy with their computers as delivered, but Hi-Grade sorted things out. Most are more than satisfied.

Best advice, get a bunch of mates together, sort out a really good spec and give them a call. One word of warning, though - their delivery dates were a bit "flexible". A shortage of DVD drives at the time, it sez 'ere. One guy actually cancelled his order on the strength of that. Let me know how you get on.

[Tartan Giant]

Thanks chaps - especialy "R O Tiree" who writes from hands-on experience of their PC.

The delivery date being "flexible" is not too much of a concern.

What I want is a really fast machine (probably like your RAF 'plane !) that is stable, reliable, and does not throw-up the crap and error codes that the TINY piece of s8it I had was always doing endlessly (sent back for FULL refund - and got it, but only after I had to get my solicitor on to them).

The hardrive to be provided is a 30Gb IDE UDMA 100 (7200rpm) of which I have no experience of, so I don't know if they are easily come by.

The Diamond (presumably the Supra Express 56i) modem should be a good and reliable component, as I use that one on my existing machine.

I asked them some questions yesterday via email and they have not got back to me yet.....not very encouraging.
I suppose it's because their "hotline" is only open during the week and NOT the weekend. Bankers hours too.

[Squiddley]

Tartan Giant et al,

I don't know of this shop, but a word of caution. What is sold as an XXXmhz CPU could easily be a "slower" one which has been overclocked. This is common practice in HKG. The ONLY way to check is to see the code written on the CPU itself. (The first three digits you can see.)

I say this because I've recently put together an AMD based PC using a Duron 700 CPU. It runs flawlessly at 950mhz and all programs used to check the CPU report is as "Authentic AMD 950m"z. Windows system properties also shows it at actual speed rather than it's designed speed.

Having said that, from what I can read on the net, most thunderbird/Duron CPUs are manufactured as 600-1000mhz capable, then doctored by using a laser to cut the so-called "golden finger" contacts to slow them down. To re-enable the faster speed, you can simply use a pencil to scribble between the contacts to "unlock" the internal CPU clock multiplyer. This makes a 40 quid CPU look and work like a 200 quid one! Take a look:
http://www.athlonoc.com/unlocking.htm

All well and good, but if this is the case and they have used a crappy CPU cooler, then things will go wrong sooner rather than later.

As I said, I don't want to put a cat among the pigeons or insinuate that this (or any other firm) is doing the above, but if I can do it, anyone can :)

Happy 'puting!
Sq

[Tartan Giant]

Thanks Sq for that 'nod'.

I certainly hope Hi-Grade are not into that sort of business. It would only take one customer to detect that sort of "overclocking" and their reputation would be down the swannie.

Cheers
TG

[R O Tiree]

No, Hi-grade do not over-clock their PCs. The number on the side of my processor is "AMDK7700MTRS", ie, AMD K7 700 MHz which is precisely what I asked for.

[Tartan Giant]

R O Tiree,

Thanks for that !
Phew, because I placed an order for their A900 today - before I saw your post.

I'll let you know how it flies after the Air Test.

Cheers,
TG