Mesh Computers goes into administration

pctech · Jun 01, 2011, 13:38:19

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2011/06/01/mesh_administration_buyout/

Rik · Jun 01, 2011, 15:49:07

Again...

pctech · Jun 01, 2011, 17:00:17

Must have happened before I bought my PC from them.

Looks like its going to be Scan as got a reply from them this afternoon telling me they supply Windows DVDs with systems which is good news as the first thing I do is wipe it to get rid of the preinstalled crud.

Rik · Jun 01, 2011, 17:12:51

They don't tend to put crud on, Mitch, you may be pleasantly surprised. I also found my machine was fully patched.

Steve · Jun 01, 2011, 17:40:44

Probably why it gets a bit hot.

Rik · Jun 01, 2011, 17:53:54

MisterW · Jun 01, 2011, 20:25:31

QuoteLooks like its going to be Scan

Always had good service from Scan in the past and no problem with returns. Have a tendancy to use Aria more often these days purely because its only 15 mins from the office whereas Scan is a good 30-40mins away. Got a couple of cheap and cheerful barebones Athlon triple core systems from Aria not so long ago and was impressed.

D-Dan · Jun 02, 2011, 00:47:44

Scan are within driving distance from me, and apart from the mayhem at their "front desk", I would recommend them, though I prefer Aria (about the same distance), simply because they seem to know more about what they sell. I bought my last processor from Aria, and the corresponding MB and RAM from Scan, simply based on price, and have had no problems with either.

pctech · Jun 02, 2011, 01:09:17

Thanks MisterW I'd forgotten about them.

Part of me wants to buy the bits and build one myself but after watching my colleague cart his into work to work on to get the assistance of others in what turned out to be a case of mismatched RAM and something else (I can't remember what) coupled with the fact I spend my days at work often trying to decipher software problems based on limited information (I really enjoy talking to people and still get a buzz from successfully hunting down the cause of a problem and sorting it but it can be tiring) I'd really rather pay an organisation to do the hardware engineering rather than me doing it after 7 and a half hours graft and at weekends.

pctech · Jun 02, 2011, 01:11:49

Quote from: D-Dan on Jun 02, 2011, 00:47:44
Scan are within driving distance from me, and apart from the mayhem at their "front desk", I would recommend them, though I prefer Aria (about the same distance), simply because they seem to know more about what they sell. I bought my last processor from Aria, and the corresponding MB and RAM from Scan, simply based on price, and have had no problems with either.

Cheers for that too.

JB · Jun 02, 2011, 08:43:58

I have had bad experiences with Aria in the past and would never use them again.

Scan were a bit iffy a while back but seemed to have cleaned up their act considerably in recent years. I received a faulty HD docking station a couple of months ago and was very impressed by their RMA, testing and replacement service. Also, they use DPD as their courier. I rate DPD very highly compared with Citylink and others.

esh · Jun 02, 2011, 11:16:40

I get very odd delivery times with DPD. So yes, while it is next day... the last package turned up at nearly 9PM.

JB · Jun 02, 2011, 12:12:54

I might be a bit biased

We seem to be one of the first on their delivery round. They normally arrive here between 8.30am and 9.30am. Leaves the rest of the day free.

I hate waiting in for deliveries with a vengeance

Rik · Jun 02, 2011, 12:41:27

That's the thing about carriers, JB. We all have views based on our own experiences which, in turn, seem to depend on where we are and how well the depot serving us is managed. For me, CityLink, Fedex, DPD, Interlink are all good, but UPS is terrible.

JB · Jun 02, 2011, 13:46:38

That's totally true Rik.

Here UPS is excellent and the usual driver is a really nice guy.

Glenn · Jun 02, 2011, 13:53:48

UPS left a package for me next door on Monday.

I wonder if DHL(Yodel) will do the same tomorrow?

Technical Ben · Jun 02, 2011, 17:54:03

Quote from: Rik on Jun 01, 2011, 15:49:07
Again...

I thought the same. Not that I wanted them to disappear, but I thought they already had.

Rik · Jun 02, 2011, 17:54:42

They did, many years ago. I was always wary of a firm 're-born'.

pctech · Jun 02, 2011, 19:02:46

Tech support was lousy apart from one guy on their forum. you could put the order number in the profile (which only Mesh could see) and he'd be able to get access to all the system specs.

When the ethernet controller gave up on my original mobo I rang tech support which was outsourced by the sound of it and couldn't get anywhere, so I posted to the forum which was then on hexus net about the problem and what diagnostics I had performed. (reinstalling drivers, checking cables and the router etc)

He replied that these were exactly what Mesh would have done in the factory and he organised an engineer to come out and fit a new board.

MisterW · Jun 02, 2011, 20:16:45

QuoteScan are within driving distance from me, and apart from the mayhem at their "front desk",

Surely if you're that close, you just order online and use Q Collect to bypass the front desk. Aria have a similar system ( Counter Collect ) but in theory it can be a bit of a pain in that they state you need 2 forms of ID plus the card you used to order whereas Scan only want the card. In practice I don't think Aria have ever asked for anything other than the card but in reality its not worth the potential hassle as if I go at lunchtime there's rarely any queue at the counter.

D-Dan · Jun 03, 2011, 02:49:34

Even with Q Collect I found Scan to be a shambles, sat around waiting for them and (on the day I went) hordes of people to battle through. Aria is rarely that busy and tend to get the stuff out to you a lot quicker.

pctech · Jun 03, 2011, 15:05:07

As long as the components are good quality and aren't from foxconn I'll be happy.

Glenn · Jun 03, 2011, 15:13:19

Not sure if they are still partners, but Foxconn were making boards for Gigabyte a while back http://www.cdrinfo.com/sections/news/Details.aspx?NewsId=9101

pctech · Jun 20, 2011, 19:09:38

Looks like Mesh maybe doing a Dracula and rising again.

Site is not loading but netcraft shows that domain now resolves to IP owned by a company called AJP Computers Plc

Gary · Jun 21, 2011, 10:48:25

Quote from: pctech on Jun 03, 2011, 15:05:07
As long as the components are good quality and aren't from foxconn I'll be happy.

Do you think other Chinese mass production units are really that much better? I srsly doubt it. Foxconn gets press because of who uses it, Asus Gigabyte etc all probably use cheap Chinese production with bad conditions, but media whores are not going to get a 'big story' about motherboards or graphics cards are they?

Technical Ben · Jun 21, 2011, 12:59:08

I thought the issue was over non standard layouts? IE 1 mem slot, or no PCI or just plain sparse on the general features?
?

Glenn · Jun 21, 2011, 13:02:57

Sounds like a Dell or HP PC.

pctech · Jun 21, 2011, 13:22:15

Quote from: Gary on Jun 21, 2011, 10:48:25
Do you think other Chinese mass production units are really that much better? I srsly doubt it. Foxconn gets press because of who uses it, Asus Gigabyte etc all probably use cheap Chinese production with bad conditions, but media whores are not going to get a 'big story' about motherboards or graphics cards are they?

Absolutely Gary.

I have to say I maybe being a little unfair on the company as I'm basing my opinion on that nightmare of a Dell PC I had which had a Foxconn motherboard.

It was probably more to do with the shoddy build quality of the Dell PC.

Gary · Jun 21, 2011, 13:36:41

Quote from: pctech on Jun 21, 2011, 13:22:15
Absolutely Gary.

I have to say I maybe being a little unfair on the company as I'm basing my opinion on that nightmare of a Dell PC I had which had a Foxconn motherboard.

It was probably more to do with the shoddy build quality of the Dell PC.

Dell and bad hardware go hand in hand these days, Mitch. Alienware was the same when dell took over it, the Alienware computers built in Ireland were built badly

the thing is everything that comes out of the PRC is dubious quality, no two items are the same even though they should be if they are off the same run, our thirst of new toys on mass has made such toys just that, expensive throw away items, how can you manufacture quality when you have to ship such large numbers

pctech · Jun 21, 2011, 13:44:25

I have to say I went to Dell initially because we have quite a few Dell desktops and a few servers at work (though have never looked inside 'em) so thought I must be fairly safe.

Several wasted days off later waiting for replacement units that when I rang the courier I was told were rejected because the box was dented when they collected it off the boat.

Gary · Jun 21, 2011, 13:56:18

Quote from: pctech on Jun 21, 2011, 13:44:25
I have to say I went to Dell initially because we have quite a few Dell desktops and a few servers at work (though have never looked inside 'em) so thought I must be fairly safe.

Several wasted days off later waiting for replacement units that when I rang the courier I was told were rejected because the box was dented when they collected it off the boat.

Do we actually manufacture any computer equipment in the UK these days?

pctech · Jun 21, 2011, 14:04:08

Mesh and Scan are UK system builders which sell to consumers (there's also Stone, RM, Viglen and Akhter that sell to education)

Intel have a plant in Swindon I believe.

We do have ARM holdings who design lower chips for smatphones and tablets but they licence the designs to iothers.

Glenn · Jun 21, 2011, 14:11:36

Intel in Swindon is a sales office according to their website, they also have a solutions centre in Winnersh, Reading. http://www.intel.com/jobs/unitedkingdom/sites/swindon.htm