sid@linus.UUCP (Sid Stuart) (07/04/86)
I have decided to byte the bullit and buy a personal computer. After reading several trade magazines, it appears to me that PC's Limited AT is a nice machine for a good price. I can configure a system with a 40 meg disk for less than 3K. My question is, do you guys know of problems with the company/product? sid@linus
mjg@ecsvax.UUCP (Michael Gingell) (07/07/86)
> > I have decided to byte the bullit and buy a personal computer. After > reading several trade magazines, it appears to me that PC's Limited AT is a > nice machine for a good price. I can configure a system with a 40 meg disk > for less than 3K. My question is, do you guys know of problems with the > company/product? > > sid@linus I just received an AT from PC's limited last Thursday. In the few days I have had it I have decided it was a good buy. Construction is excellent and everything works as advertized. The mother board is first class and has a number of VLSI chips on it. A review in PC mag a few months ago indicated the mother board was made by Faraday Electronics ( who have been making PC mother boards for the OEM market for some time ) however this one has got Copyright PC's limited on it so who knows. I bought the base unit for $1495. With that you get 1 Meg of memory (512 regular PC memory and 512 extended memory above 1 meg), a dual floppy/hard disk controller, a 1.2 Meg floppy and a half card which has 2 serial and 1 parrallel port on it. I have also ordered a 30 Meg CMI drive from BCE liquidators for $349. So for $1850 you have a full AT except for your choice of display adapter and monitor. Overall I think it is a good deal. My only complaint is with the temporary documentation they sent. Supposedly a complete new manual is in the works and will be mailed soon. PC's limited have a help phone line which you can call in case of trouble or if you just don't understand something. I called this morning to get some questions about adding hard disks answered. It took at least 5 attempts to get through and then the system put me on hold "until the next available agent is available". When I did get through the person that answered was very courteous and helpful. Mike Gingell ...decvax!mcnc!ecsvax!mjg PS No connection with PC's Ltd except I own one of their PCs. PPS Anyone want to buy a genuine old PC ? PPPS You can't boot up at 8 MHz you have to hit CTRL-ALT-/
dave@helm.UUCP (David Goldblatt) (07/08/86)
In article <192@linus.UUCP> sid@sandy.UUCP () writes: > > I have decided to byte the bullit and buy a personal computer. After >reading several trade magazines, it appears to me that PC's Limited AT is a >nice machine for a good price. I can configure a system with a 40 meg disk >for less than 3K. My question is, do you guys know of problems with the >company/product? > > sid@linus I haven't had many dealings with the company itself (and I am considering purchasing their machine for the company I work for), but in the June 30, 1986 issue of FidoNews (available on your local FIDO bulletin board), there is an article about a VERY unhappy PC's Limited customer. It seems he purchased a hard drive from them, which failed. He sent it back, only to have it come back DOA. After getting another RA (wow; lot of acronyms!) from the company, he sent it back. A long period of time passed without his receiving his drive, and repeated letters and calls to the company elicited no response. So at the time of his 'warning letter' via the FIDO network, he had essentially lost the $700 he spent on the hard disk, not to mention not even having the drive itself. I suggest you get the FidoNews and read it, as it contains copies of the various letters he sent along with responses; I'd be VERY wary in dealing with the company after even one such incident. -dg- ...!ihnp4!chinet!helm!dave ...!philabs!sbcs!helm!dave The opinions expressed herein are MINE, dammit, and will REMAIN mine! Of course, if you'd like to use my opinions, feel free to contact me about my royalty rates. "Just another lonely BITNETter trying to get home.."
ear@duke.UUCP (07/14/86)
In article <530@helm.UUCP> dave@helm.UUCP (David Goldblatt) writes: > >is an article about a VERY unhappy PC's Limited customer. It seems he >purchased a hard drive from them, which failed. He sent it back, only >to have it come back DOA. After getting another RA (wow; lot of acronyms!) I too bought a hard drive from PC's Limited. A month after I ordered it, I had yet to receive my disk drive. I called them up, and guess what, they could not find any record of my order (my cancelled chack said otherwise). After a week or so of talking to them, they called me back to tell me that they had been unable to ship my drive because they did not have FCC approval. They said approval was coming 'any day now' so I decided to wait for the drive. Lo and behold, a few weeks later the drive came. I quickly installed it have have had nary a problem with it since. Summary: I don't think they're any worse than the other mail order discounters. -- Eric A. Raymond UUCP: ...decvax!mcnc!duke!ear
toddo@uhmanoa.UUCP (Todd Ogasawara) (07/15/86)
In article <7905@duke.duke.UUCP> ear@duke.UUCP (Eric A. Raymond) writes: >In article <530@helm.UUCP> dave@helm.UUCP (David Goldblatt) writes: >> >> [PC Limited horror story here] > > >I too bought a hard drive from PC's Limited. A month after I ordered it, >I had yet to receive my disk drive. I called them up, and guess what, they >could not find any record of my order (my cancelled chack said otherwise). >After a week or so of talking to them, they called me back to tell me that >they had been unable to ship my drive because they did not have FCC approval. >They said approval was coming 'any day now' so I decided to wait for the >drive. Lo and behold, a few weeks later the drive came. I quickly installed >it have have had nary a problem with it since. > >Summary: I don't think they're any worse than the other mail order discounters. <FIRST> I have never dealt with PCs Limited. <SECOND> I do think such service is a *lot* worse than other mail order houses. I have dealt with numerous mail order houses and gotten much better service than has been described in the previous messages about PCs Limited. For instance, when I ordered my 30M hard disk from PC Source the unit was delivered one working week after calling. Further, my credit card was not charged to until the drive was actually shipped (the day after I called). -- Todd Ogasawara, University of Hawaii, Dept. of Psychology UUCP: {ihnp4,dual,vortex}!islenet! \ ihnp4!__\__ uhmanoa!toddo / {backbone}!sdcsvax!noscvax!humu!/ / clyde/ ARPA: OGASAWARAT%HAW.SDSCNET@LLL-MFE.ARPA ** I used to be: ogasawar@nosc.ARPA & ogasawar@noscvax.UUCP
communcg@ecsvax.UUCP (07/17/86)
I bought the PC Limited AT just before they dropped the price $500 (ugh!). My unit has the 40 meg hard disk (configured as 2 20-meg drives). It also comes with the software to configure it this way. I've had no problems with compatibility with major software (e.g., Word, WordPerfect, Lotus), although it won't run things that none of the ATs can (e.g., FlightSimulator). There is one problem: if you need to run PC/DOS, it won't run version 3.2. Version 3.1 runs fine as does Compac MSDOS, Quadram MSDOS, and a host of others. My only complaints are about the company. They have the worst customer relations I have ever encountered. They seem to have an attitude that they don't have to do anything to please you.. If there's a problem with the machine, you're largely out of luck. I saw a message posted on the net to the effect that they have been reported to the Better Business Bureau many times. Their equipment is good, but their attitudes not. I will say, tho, that their technical support is very good. I called after getting my system, because it wouldn't boot at all. After some troubleshooting, it turned out that the problem was in a dip switch; they configure it for a monochrome monitor (and don't say so in the manual) and I was using a color monitor. After I changed that, everything worked fine. One other consideration: there are a lot of jumpers on the motherboard and they're a PAIN to change. I've had to remove the hard drive (or the motherboard) to do some changes. PC Limited is working on a new set of ROMs; so some day they may have PCDOS 3.2 compatibility. That is one thing to consider. Will the system be compatible with MSDOS 5.0?? I don't know. By the way, an indication of their bad customer relations: I called when I wanted to run PCDOS 3.2 and was told the new ROMs would allow it to run (This was a few days before my 30-day trial would be up). I told them I wanted to make sure, or I'd be returning the system now. They PROMISED the new ROMs would work. When they arrived, after the 30-day period, of course, they didn't provide 3.2 ccompatibility. With the problems with 3.2, that really isn't a problem, but it is indicative of their attitude. Cindy King communcg@ecsvax.UUCP