[Review] - PC Case Gear - Melbourne, AU
Greetings Knights and Maidens, Today I'll be reviewing the computer store known as PC Case Gear and what they're all about!
PC Case Gear was established in the year 2000 - a humble beginning with just a few staff working out of a garage with no air-con and a 14” fishbowl monitor.
Over the years since my first experiences with them in 2006, PC Case Gear began to be better well known and I stumbled upon their site while shopping via StaticIce. Which is an odd thing, considering that PC Case Gear were on the "expensive" scale at the time. I had plenty of local PC stores, so why was PCCG such a common choice for me?
Well, there are a number of reasons. It's commonly known that their edge on the competitiors wasn't their pricing (possibly limited by suppliers at the time). You went there for the service. It was an admirable edge, and it was one that other competitors hadn't yet focused on.
I've been building, tweaking, living and breathing hardware since I was only 12. Before I was in high school, I knew how to navigate DOS on an old Pentium I. My first PC was an Amstrad 1640. When you're that deep in love with components, you see a lot of computer stores. Every time I had a bad experience, I'd find myself back to PCCG.
And ultimately, you realize that it wasn't just the service. If you've ever dabbled in web development, you'd know that setting up an eCommerce site that was as equally maintainable as it was simple to use was a monumental task – and this was made even more complex when throwing in computer components for sale. There wasn’t always the base template of code to use like there is nowadays.
The site itself hasn’t changed as far as the layout over the years, I believe this is purely for the familiarity and consistency factor. There’s a lot of little changes here and there, but the structure itself is relatively the same. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! That aside, the site itself has not yet made it to the current craze of mobile-friendly mode, but it’s certainly not impossible to navigate on a mobile.
What has changed over the years, has been the pricing and the range. They have darted in opposite directions. The pricing has dropped down to be properly competitive and the range has drastically increased to encompass the wider array of parts and brands. I’ve never been sure why, but PC Case Gear stopped selling prebuilt and system bundles a few years ago. Scott, the Technical Director of PCCG, has advised the reasons for this which are outlined later in this review. I distinctly remember their 'Lean Machine' system bundle which really was a very desirable SOHO/NAS machine for a great price with 100% non-generic, quality branded components.
I am happy to report that PCCG is now making system builds again and - as an experienced veteran builder – boy – have they pulled their builds off quite well. Wise aesthetic choices are commonly made in their builds with no exceptions - from the bare essential builds to the 'bells and whistles' bangin' beasts.
Take the PCCG Black Ops system for example.
vcfxdA portion of the hardware includes:
MSI Z97 Gaming 5 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Fury memory,
2x Gigabyte GTX980’s in SLI
Corsair H100i CPU Cooler
An array of NZXT white LED’s.
A Corsair Graphite 760T case.
I’ve selected these parts particularly because of their aesthetic choices and how they are chosen to suit the package.
The white LED’s bring out the entire dimensions of the case’s darker tones.
Glaring straight out of the 760T's smoked window is the custom orange 'PCCG' H100i CPU block panel bolted to the corsair cooler and those bright green Geforce GTX Logos.
And then - you have the final focal point – the unmistakeable red heatsinks being illuminated by the White LED's on the MSI Gaming 5 and the HyperX Fury.
This isn’t just some random mash of bits. There’s a very interesting thought process on planning these system builds that goes much deeper than the balance of parts, price and performance.
So what hasn't changed - you might ask?
Well, the service expectations. PC Case Gear have run through their good and bad with customers in the past, but have always seemed to keep a strong consistency in their customer service. Let’s look a little further in on some of my own experiences and some of PCCG's approaches.
For one, there is a suggestion box on the front page, below all the categories – clear as day. “Which new products would you like to see at PCCG?” it asks. I believe you don't even need an account to be signed in to use the suggestion box.
Additionally - at the bottom of EVERY SINGLE parts listing - is a feedback box. If a listing has something incorrect or incomplete, the price looks too funky or anything else - if you’re signed in, sending from the feedback will come from your own account, otherwise adding your email into the details allows PCCG to respond. Typical responses take around 1 business day, but I've rarely seen that time being exceeded.
And this feedback isn’t something they ignore or review every 3 months.
Let's take the Western Digital WD Green 2TB model WD20NPVX 2.5” for example. This initially magnificent drive was listed a few months ago. Finally, a massive 2TB of storage in a 2.5" format! After some further research, I personally discovered that this particular model is actually a bigger height than a regular 2.5” drive. As a comparison - the WD Black WD5000BPKX.
As a pretty standard laptop hard drive, the latter WD5000BPKX has a height of 9.5mm. The WD20NPVX however, is a not-so-slim 15mm. At 15mm, it will definitely cause trouble for some laptop designs, particularly where a hard drive caddy is involved.
As a pretty standard laptop hard drive, the latter WD5000BPKX has a height of 9.5mm. The WD20NPVX however, is a not-so-slim 15mm. At 15mm, it will definitely cause trouble for some laptop designs, particularly where a hard drive caddy is involved. This wasn’t listed as an issue initially on the product page for PCCG and I have not yet been able to locate the same info easily on the WD site. So, I submitted a Feedback form to advise of the issue.
After submitting the Feedback form and receiving an email confirmation, you can clearly see on this listing that they have taken my recommendation under advisement and have happily implemented the notes. (see below)
It’s there, front and center. NOT on the bottom of the listing as if it's a terms and conditions note, it's right up top as a clear caveat where you won’t miss it.
My other example is for the Corsair RM Gold series power supply range.
These power supplies were very recently released as a more current gen of Gold Plus 80 efficiency Corsair Power supplies. Modular, energy efficient, low rpm fan modes and good output stability. I look forward to reviewing someday soon. Corsair’s standard product description from their page does not easily point out the PSU DC/AC ratings table.
When PCCG applied the product description to their site, this was also missed in the initial product page. Again, I dropped my recommendation into the Feedback Box and I received a response shortly afterwards from Vince.
Sure enough, a few days later – the inputs and outputs made a grand appearance.
Login Features
Upon signing in, you are also greeted with a straightforward set of options - orders, account info, returns and service, wishlists, newsletter settings and logout.
The My Orders section is yet another interface that layout wise has not really changed over the years, but features have been bolted on to make this more intuitive. Within you have the ability to review any and all current and previous orders.
Even after the order is long since shipped, there is still the option to submit a form to PCCG on each order.
The really interesting features which they do offer is on your active orders. Depending on expected variables such as delivery times, stock and dispatch times - PC Case Gear also offer a Request Change feature on orders that have yet to be shipped. And while there's no guarantees you'll get your change request in on time, I have only had an issue with it once and that was entirely my fault as the stock was just not there. The only caveat here is if you've forgotten something on an order and the items already purchased are in stock - you might not be quite as fast to beat them before they dispatch. I should also note importantly that this system gives you the ability to both add AND remove items, with the ability to pay for anything additional and receive a store credit for any surplus funds. (I don't know if they do refunds if you have genuinely botched up an order, maybe this is something PCCG can answer for us. I do know that you can request an order cancellation though.)
Despite the obvious concepts around the Returns and Service Department, I still feel that this system should be mentioned and outlined - it's another system with some added nuts and bolts and has been tweaked over the years to be quite effective. Simply broken down into the three sections, this section is used for warranty claims and item returns.
I personally have never had to use the "Apply to return an item", but the context of the icon is extremely self explanatory. If you've had experience with this before, drop me a comment.
Within both the Request Warranty and Apply to return an item sections, choosing the items is broken down based on the order invoice number and drilled down to the item for return, along with serial number and options to upload images.
I have personally had to return items that were damaged in transit (including a case that was severely damaged to the point it could no longer hold a motherboard) and the whole process (while it's unfortunate that it happens) was relatively painless. PCCG are pretty logical with their returns and warranty, I haven't had any issues but I have seen forum posts about it where they've experienced some discomfort with warranty related returns. If anyone has more, feel free to add a comment below.
Wishlists has been another system that PCCG has had around for quite an extensive amount of time and - yet again - has been refined over the years with extra functions. Initially, PCCG had a single wishlist function that allowed you to add items and their quantities and add the list to the cart. Over time, the ability to create multiple wishlists with set names as well as public and private wishlists (ie wishlists to share as links and wishlists that are only accessible when logging into your own account).
Public Wishlist Example
When you've finished drooling over the new hardware on a PCCG item listing, the Add to Wishlist option is always available. Hovering over this option gives you the necessary wishlists you've created, as well as creating a wishlist with the item you're looking at. (And hopefully Santa and the Easter Bunny have been good to you. And by Santa and The Easter Bunny, I mean your lovely income.)
And there are some features which you just never use. (okay, just the one):
Price wise, PCCG has become much better as a competitor than days of old, despite having some minor surcharges for payment options and delivery fees. These surcharges are for covering extras such as credit card security portals or to cover PayPal fees and the all important delivery insurance.
Delivery options are with Aust Post and Startrack, and all options such as delivery fees are given based on postcode.
Tracking is always fully registered and is usually pretty accurate – I’ve only had one hiccup with postage and that was simply down to a discrepancy on Australia Post’s part.
In summary, I’ve been buying parts for a long time for me and my friends. Whenever there was trouble, we found ourselves right back to PC Case Gear. Since 2008 (and even earlier), I’ve continued to buy from them. You can call it loyalty, but for me it was simply logical. Sometimes, you just can’t put a price on the service when it’s just done right. It comes as no surprise that PC Case Gear won PC Authority's Best Tech award of 2010.
[UPDATE 06.11.2014] PC Case Gear Technical Director Scott has responded! See his answers below!
If you have a lead/manager of the store, what is his/her first name?
" That would be me – Scott. But the reality is that everyone on the team is largely self-managed and fully empowered to do whatever is needed."
When PCCG first started, what was the humble beginning? What was the first 12 months like?
"Working out of a garage with no air-con and a 14” fishbowl monitor, it wasn’t easy!"
When did PC Case Gear expand to the two locations?
"We expanded in April this year – almost 2 years to the day from when we moved our warehouse to Mulgrave!"
Has PCCG moved since the first opening day?
"Over the past 14 or so years, we’ve had to move to larger premises approximately every 2 years. Looking back on it, I can see we’ve moved a lot! It goes something like this - bedroom > garage > small Oakleigh Office > Cheltenham Warehouse > Oakleigh South Warehouse > Dingley Warehouse > Mulgrave Warehouse. The most recent move was expanding to a second warehouse right behind our existing warehouse because we were tired of moving!"
In the very early 2000's, PCCG started and stopped making system builds on a number of occasions. What happened?
"System building was only introduced in recent years, and it took some time for us to decide exactly what we wanted to do – an open-ended assembly service or building the gaming rigs we really wanted to build. We decided on the latter! Aside from the obvious benefit of building the systems we want to build, there are the other benefits too – we can use parts that we know rarely fail, and we can offer a solid configuration that we know works. Having the system pre-built ready and in stock for pick up on the spot is also pretty cool, not to mention that we can also use real-life photographs of the system. Many people who are in the market for a pre-built system really appreciate being able to see the finished result, as opposed to just a spec sheet."
PCCG also used to sell parts as an entire "system bundle". Was there a reason for the change to take them down?
"Yes - these were dropped in favour of doing complete system assembly. The bundles weren’t all that popular if I must say – because we give our best possible price up front online, there wasn’t much discount we could offer when putting together a bundle package."
What is the rough metres squared of the warehouse?
"Our service centre is ~2000sqm and our warehouse is ~3200sqm."
Can I ask one of the PCCG team about what they like most about working for PCCG?
VINCE @ PC Case Gear:
"I’ve been at PCCG now for 5 years and it is the best job I have ever had. I love PC parts and I love the culture we have here that’s always aiming to be the best and what we do and move the industry forward. There’s always something to do and great people to do it with – all very much like minded in what we want our company to be. Hard work and initiative does not go unnoticed, it is truly somewhere you can be proud to work."
How many general queries, feedback forms, suggestions and emails would PC Case Gear typically receive in a busy week?
"Easily 2,000+ per week."
What's the most unusual request you've ever had on a special instructions form?
" It usually involves wacky drawings on the box - some are so strange you are almost afraid to ask!"
Thanks to Scott and Vince for taking the time to answer my queries!
I, Renegade - rate PCCG a well-earned 4.2 out of 5 overall. There's no question that PCCG have spent a lot of time putting their time into to their customer demands and market range. It's great to see that the culture behind the name is also a recognized structure of the internal teams.
Renegade Out.