Dell DIDN’T Screw Me Over - $1500 PC Secret Shopper 3 Part 1
Linus Tech Tips2023-10-01
PC Shop#Computer Shop#Apple#Dell#Lenovo#RAM#CPU#Laptops#Desktops#Windows#HP#Starforge#Origin PC#gaming#cyberpower#ibuypower#maingear#NZXT
2M views|11 months ago
💫 Short Summary
The video explores the process of purchasing a gaming desktop PC within a $1500 budget, comparing options from different integrators like Dell, HP, Maingear, and Starforge. It discusses the importance of system specs, customer service, budget considerations, and additional fees like shipping and taxes. Despite challenges in finding affordable options, the video highlights the value of quality over price and the need for knowledgeable sales representatives. Ultimately, it emphasizes the customer's experience, budget constraints, and the decision-making process when selecting a gaming PC within a specified budget.
✨ Highlights
📊 Transcript
✦
Secret shopper investigates pre-built computers from popular integrators with Linus and Plouffe.
01:24Ugreen charging solutions are highlighted during the investigation.
Shopper evaluates $1500 pre-built options.
Shopper interacts with Dell sales representative to discuss budget, usage, and preferences for gaming and streaming.
Shopper settles on an Alienware gaming desktop after considering different brands and specifications.
✦
Comparison between Alienware and XPS gaming desktop options, focusing on price, hardware specs, and budget considerations.
04:39XPS offers a budget-friendly option with comparable GPU capabilities to Alienware at a lower price point.
Additional features such as warranty and software support should be considered when choosing a gaming PC.
The process of ordering a gaming PC is detailed, including hold times, order completion, and the absence of financing offers.
Mention of CyberPower's previous shortcomings and optimism for future improvements, along with recommendations for gaming PCs.
✦
Highlights of gaming PC recommendations within a $1500 budget.
09:02The recommended system features an i7 processor and a 4060 graphics card for optimal performance.
Sales representative impresses with tailored options and a focus on customer needs.
Transition to HP Canada sales call, where a cheerful representative assists in finding a suitable gaming PC based on customer interests in gaming and video streaming.
✦
Customer seeks advice on computer specifications, focusing on graphics, memory, and processor.
16:56HP representative assists customer, but lacks experience and proper support.
Discussion includes budget considerations, component comparisons, and importance of motherboard and processor for gaming performance.
Customer is recommended a specific gaming PC model with optimal specifications.
✦
Sales rep excels in customer experience despite lacking computer knowledge.
17:40Customer is impressed by $500 warranty and $200 discount offered upfront.
Ugreen sponsors a 65W GAN charger with fast charging capabilities, thermal guard protection, and GAN fast tech.
Customer explores pre-built RDY systems for gaming PC, ready to ship and cheaper than custom builds.
Sales rep provides detailed explanations and effectively guides customer through options.
✦
Customer discusses purchasing a desktop PC with Maingear representative.
24:20Representative transparently informs customer about potential fees like shipping and import taxes.
Customer appreciates detailed breakdown of costs to stay within budget.
Customer finds a system that fits their budget despite potential additional expenses.
Customer expresses interest in proceeding with the purchase.
✦
Challenges of shopping internationally include extra fees and hesitation to discourage purchases.
25:58Comparison of different PC components like CPU and RAM.
Positive experience with MainGear customer service.
Frustration with NZXT lack of sales line.
Recommendation for pre-built PC for best value, such as Player One Prime or Player Two system within budget.
✦
The challenges of affordability in the gaming desktop PC market.
31:21A customer with a $1,500 budget is informed that the lowest price offered is $1,700 with a discount.
The representative struggles with telling the customer they can't afford premium products.
The company has a history of poor performance in accommodating lower budgets.
Despite challenges, it may be better not to compromise quality for a lower price point.
✦
Starforge recommends the Horizon 2 Prime system for gaming and content creation within a $1,500 budget.
34:10The Horizon 2 Ultra is suggested for enhanced streaming capabilities at a higher price point of $2,099.99.
Despite budget constraints, Starforge offered the Horizon 2 Prime system to the narrator.
The narrator is eager to compare performance and build quality of the recommended system.
The purchase is pending with anticipation to observe any enhancements in product quality and customer service.
00:00There's a shopper out there He's shopping for all the deals
00:11So if you see a sale price Do exactly what they say
00:19I wish I was joking But every integrator be choking
00:25Secret shopping with Linus and Plouffe Yeah, that's good
00:32Another faulty pre-built Any ideas, Sebastian?
00:37Aluminum case, mid-tower footprint That could be anyone
00:42The laptop over there has footage on it That's the secret shopper
00:48You've cracked the case!
00:50Not yet But to review it, I'd like to go somewhere
00:53A little cleaner That's right
00:57It's secret shopper time again And this year we're sponsored by Ugreen
01:01They have tons of great charging solutions That we use here at the office all the time
01:05From their super cute Nexode RG 30 watt chargers With smart charging display
01:10To the big boy 300 watt 5 port power delivery GAN fast charger
01:14With thermal guard protection And a flame retardant protective shell
01:18No matter what you need to charge Ugreen has you covered
01:21Just like we've got you covered When it comes to buying a pre-built
01:24We sent secret agent Notalie On a mission to procure $1500 computers
01:29From some of the most common system integrators on the market
01:31All the same guys as last year Now with Starforge
01:35Have things improved?
01:37Let's find out You know, they were the worst last time
01:43Maybe they've gotten better?
01:45The perfect Dell is the one you build yourself So why am I shopping with Dell?
01:50Download the latest music Still the ultimate
01:52Download the latest music Okay, this was from 10 years ago
01:58Download the latest music Thank you for calling Dell sales
02:02My name is **** How can I help you today?
02:06Hello, I'm looking to get the best gaming desktop PC for my budget
02:10Which is about $15,000 sorry $1,500 tax in US I could hear the salivation
02:20Through the phone line 15 grand
02:23Sales commission May I know if you're looking to purchase in
02:26US or Canada?
02:28This is something we should address While some of these brands will ship from
02:31their US site to Canada allowing us to have an exactly apples to
02:35apples budget for some of them you do need to use the Canadian
02:38site so we used a converted budget
02:40About 2000 Canadian dollars So that I can make a recommendation
02:44May I know what would be the day-to-day usage on the system?
02:49Yeah, so I'm looking to play some games on it
02:51Use it just for personal use I stream sometimes
02:55So that would be nice if it could do that This is good though
02:58Yeah What will you use the computer for?
03:00Yeah, gaming Solid
03:01A little bit of streaming Some normal desktop use
03:04Any particular specification or a specific graphic card you're looking for
03:08Or you're fine with anything with your usage?
03:11I actually really like this question These days there's at least two legitimate
03:16choices in pretty much every single category And if somebody has a preference, why am I
03:20trying to push something on them that, in the end, if they're not happy with, is now
03:24my fault?
03:25Yeah, especially if they've got stock Like I've got a few personal brands that
03:28I try to just avoid for my own reasons Yeah, I game and then I stream sometimes
03:33So whatever you would recommend based off of what I'd like to do
03:39Sure May I know which games you would mostly be playing?
03:42Wow That's a good question
03:43Their script has improved a lot Yep
03:46And you want it to stay within 2,500 Oh, well, that's not what she said
03:50Uh, just 2,000 Canadian 47 seconds
03:54The best desktop would be the Alienware gaming desktop
03:59We have different options in that Okay, things are falling apart a little bit
04:05The best Alienware gaming desktop is the Alienware gaming desktop
04:10I'm not convinced that you have a great understanding of the product line here, but let's see
04:16Let's see where we go from here It would be slightly on the higher price
04:20range And the games which you've mentioned
04:22We already told you the price range They are basic games which would be great
04:25on, but it will not require that much of an intensive program
04:32She's right, because she mentioned She is, but why did she just tell me it's
04:35higher priced if what I'm playing is not intensive?
04:39But if you're planning to add more games later on, then we can consider going with the Alienware
04:45It comes with the right hardware and cooling system
04:48So for a basic option in the Alienware, we have the R15 gaming desktop
04:53You don't really need the i7 with the 3060 She doesn't know what's going on, no
05:00This is priced at $2,299.99 before taxes I unfortunately need to stay pretty near
05:09my budget of $2,000 That is $300 more than our budget
05:14Wow, yeah, that's too much Alienware starts at $2,300 Canadian?
05:19No, because we bought something, so there must be a cheaper option
05:22Why would she present that to us? Unless they're instructed to go for 10-15%
05:28over a stated budget So XPS is also a good
05:33I don't know what XPS is In the XPS, we have an option on deal right
05:37now It comes with the 12th generation i7 processor
05:42Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti graphic card This is on a clearance and
05:48It's priced at $1,899.99 before taxes It's basically right under budget
05:53It's 100 bucks under And she got a 3060 Ti this time
05:58Allow me a minute here Two minutes later, we got a quote
06:01Yeah It's not bad
06:03Good They've sped up a lot
06:05So the totals after taxes It would be $1,781.14
06:11Yeah, that sounds right within my budget I'm sorry, I think I gave you the wrong one
06:17Okay, so earlier I mentioned the option for $1,899.99, right?
06:22I don't 100% remember, maybe? Okay, because we have two options
06:27One is with the RTX 3060 graphic card That is priced at $1,599.99
06:33That is also on a sale That is the RTX 3060
06:38And the one for $1,899.99 It's the RTX 3060 Ti
06:43Whoa, so that's like an extra $200 to get the Ti?
06:47I was going to say something completely different I'm more upset that this is $400 less than
06:51the Alienware that they quoted and has the same GPU as that
06:54Yeah, what are they getting? What are you paying $400 for?
06:58Oh, you get a fancy case It looks like an Alien
07:00I'll email you that as well so that you can compare them side by side
07:06Okay Okay, thank you
07:08You know what, that is a really good way of handling accidentally giving the wrong quote
07:12Yeah, send them both Hey, yeah, whoops, sorry about that
07:17Here's both and you just let me know so that you're not putting pressure on the customer
07:21Yeah It also includes an optical drive
07:23And it comes with a McAfee LiveSafe 12 month subscription as a part of the promotion included
07:30in the price I would personally recommend you to consider
07:33the premium support warranty It includes support for both hardware and
07:38software related issues If she asks once
07:41It's okay That's okay
07:42That's a script And it does include software coverage so she
07:46knows what to expect Yes
07:48Thank you but no, I'm okay Okay
07:50It says order complete, thanks for your order Sounds great, thank you very much
07:56In around 20 minutes total, we've waited on hold, explained our situation, been coached
08:01through some of the different options and we've managed to place our order
08:04That is not bad Yeah, super reasonable
08:07And only one offer of extended warranty and no offers of financing
08:12Which is not actually what I was asking for last time
08:14You can offer it Just not three times
08:17Yeah Now just a second
08:22If I recall correctly, CyberPower has gone full failure to launch in the past
08:27Outright refusing to provide any recommendations So the good news is they can only go up from
08:33here We'll see how they do
08:36CyberPower how can help you Hi, I am looking to purchase a gaming PC
08:43and I was hoping you could help me figure out what I can get with my budget
08:48Sure, what you're looking for maybe like let's start with that
08:53Totally What kind of system first, like what kind
08:56of system like maybe the specs wise or the price wise?
09:02So my budget is about $1500 His microphone needs to be replaced yesterday
09:09In all fairness, I actually really like how you can't hear like the call center background
09:14All I can hear is him he needs a better mic
09:18Maybe what kind of game like game wise like shooter game
09:25I play like Minecraft, Overwatch, Stardew Valley, stuff like that
09:31Really good question though Shooter game
09:32Yeah, good question Could have asked it a little better but yes
09:35it's a good question Alright, in the front page there is a system
09:41called Daily Deal 4060 That one is very good
09:46It has an i7 already and a 4060 graphic card at 16 gigabyte and 2 terabyte M.2 hard drive
09:54This is absolutely going to stomp the machine that Dell recommended
10:004060 versus 3060 Ti Well, okay, hold on
10:04That's not that big of a difference unfortunately That's been a whole thing
10:09It will significantly outperform a 30 series card with DLSS or with ray tracing
10:14Yeah, frame generation And it looks like that's a 13th gen processor
10:19as well I also want to give massive kudos to the sales
10:22rep for going straight to what was on a deal
10:25Yeah, for real Don't try to sell me some higher priced
10:29you know, crap that you guys are trying to get rid of when the best deal is the one that's
10:33right on the front of the website Great, and this will fit under my budget
10:37because it's on the deal, right? You can even go higher
10:42Like in customization page, let's say you want to change the case to something you like
10:46different color or He's clearly identified the kind of customer
10:51that he's dealing with and he's offered options that will be meaningful
10:54to that customer That's either good training or good sales
10:58instincts right there Seems to know what he's talking about
11:01Cosmetically you want something different We have options like that, too
11:06He just needs a better mic It's not awful, but it's not good
11:10It's pretty awful Great, yeah, it's mostly just the credit card
11:16stuff from here Great, thank you so much for your help
11:21Oh no problem, call back anytime Okay, have a great rest of your day
11:25Look at that, that was like five minutes Wow, now I will say this
11:31and this is not a bad customer experience but if I was going to give some advice to
11:35Cyberpower's management, he should close that sale
11:40Don't let someone get off the phone when you can take their money
11:44But is that just how they operate, though? Because so many people, like I said, they've
11:47got the website They shouldn't operate like that
11:50That's a business They should close the sale
11:51I don't disagree, but that's a business decision Close the sale, Cyberpower
11:55Alright, HP Is this our phone?
12:02What the heck? It fixed itself.
12:06Hi, thank you for calling HP Canada sales welcome to our back to school sales
12:10My name is **** How may I help you with your purchase today?
12:13Hi **** I'm looking to get a gaming PC and I was
12:18just wondering if you could help me out Sure, I'd love to
12:21May I know, do you have a specific model in mind?
12:25I don't Well, it's totally fine
12:30I'll be helping you out and don't worry, I'll be asking you a few questions
12:34She's cheery, she's bubbly, she's a little bubbly Do you have a specific specs in mind
12:38or specifications for the RAM, processor? I don't have any specific specs in mind
12:46I know a game a little bit She's so excited to offer a recommendation
12:52though You mentioned that you were into Minecraft
12:56and also video streaming I just want to confirm, are you into more on
13:01saving a lot of data outside of that? Doing what data?
13:04Saving a lot of data Oh, do you need a lot of storage?
13:06I think she's asking about recording video She's the first one to ask that
13:10Yeah, and it's a pretty good question That's a great question
13:13Do you consider some graphics, memory and graphics in mind, for example, 4GB for the
13:19graphics to ensure the display of the system? That is a great question and I would
13:25love your advice on it I'd love to share it with you, thank you
13:35so much for trusting me well, we have, ideally for gaming, me too, I have a brother who's gaming on Minecraft
13:44as well He has 4GB and at least for him, he's doing well
13:50with that laptop though that is not in HP Full points for honesty
13:55She is genuinely digging into her personal experience to provide the best advice she
14:00can Is it the best advice?
14:03Not necessarily The frame buffer on your GPU is not the most
14:07important thing No, especially these days
14:10Well, not in the way that she thinks it is Sure
14:13And how about for the memory? Is she asking about memory again?
14:18Yeah, she's mentioned it quite a bit I gotta give her full points for trying,
14:21but this feels a little bit like the blind leading the blind right now
14:24I would have liked to see HP have a better support structure for this
14:27They clearly have a phone rep here that is hyper enthusiastic and genuinely wants to
14:31help the customer But they need internal resources where she
14:34can go Hey, let me put you on hold for a second
14:37Look it up Go look it up or go ask somebody and come
14:40back with a more informed suggestion Yeah, I don't mind being on hold as long
14:43as it's not for more than like 5 or 10 minutes And how about for the processor, do you have
14:48an idea with processors for your tower or She is desperate for Shea to have a preference
14:56for this computer Yep, I have here Omen by HP
15:01I should hope it's by HP Yep, this is the Omen by HP, 25 litres, GT12-1309
15:09The litre doesn't, you know, we don't care about case size, but she does get to the actual
15:15Really? That's the first thing you're going to tell me is the internal volume
15:18I'm sorry, am I buying milk? Okay, I'm on your website and I'm on the
15:23desktops Omen, I believe 25 litres
15:27In fairness to the rep, whoever the product manager is for HP who works on their site
15:32Why is the case volume? Case size is the first thing in the product
15:36description She's just reading it
15:37That is terrible That is a multi-level breakdown here
15:43I really appreciate her saving us a bunch of money
15:45We are way under budget here, is that Canadian dollars?
15:481300 bucks, yeah, wow It's a 3060, so it's going to be a little
15:52behind the TI And a 5600X
15:54But at 1300 bucks, that's a way better deal Canadian, yeah, that's really good
15:59Haven't checked storage or anything yet No hard drive, no optical drive
16:03That's fine It sounds like a really good deal, but if
16:07I spend closer to the max of my budget, which is the 2000 dollars, could I get better
16:13specs? Sure, I'll let me go ahead and have a look
16:16at that Sure, let me go find a random computer that
16:18costs that much And I'd love to know, how is your day going
16:21Shea? It's going lovely so far, thank you so much
16:26for asking I've got a wonderful tea here, how's your
16:29day going? Oh, really great, actually, you're one of
16:34the nicest customers that I speak with today and I'm really grateful for this call
16:38Aww That's the reason why I wanted to know your
16:40day and thank you so much I believe her
16:43Yeah She seems pretty sincere
16:45I believe her She's going to end up with a crappy computer
16:48I think Well
16:49But she's going to have a great time Look at the look on her face
16:52She is a happy customer, yes, She's a happy customer
16:56The reason why, I recommend to you this one It has a better motherboard or processor
17:03This will be the best performing gaming PC we've seen
17:053070 Ti, 5800X, I think that's it Yeah
17:10Above all, the reason why we choose this is because it has a better support system for
17:17the overall performance of the PC The cold hard truth is that this sales rep
17:22doesn't know anything about computers, unfortunately Yeah, probably not
17:25She needs internal support She needs a bit of training
17:28She does a great job of making sure the customer has a fantastic experience but she needs some
17:32help We do also have a care pack or like an extended
17:36warranty which is the HP 2-year on-site hardware support
17:40service for this desktop for only $474.99 Did she just offer me a $500 warranty on this
17:48computer? Canadian
17:50Sorry excuse me, a $350 US dollar warranty? Right now, Shea are you ready for the good
17:58news? I am ready for the good news
18:01Perfect, so yep I have here, as you see here we have a 37% off for this specific omen
18:08So I can provide to you an up to, hold on, yep additional $200 off
18:14Yo How is that?
18:16Free money, I'll take $200 off That's amazing, oh my gosh thank you
18:21Yeah, the sale is already made 'kay, that's a big deal
18:26Offering someone a discount up front before you've taken their payment information?
18:31Okay sure Offering someone a deal after you've taken
18:35their payment information? That is sigma tier customer service
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19:31I have a feeling this won't be quite the same
19:33Thank you for calling that by power, how can I help you?
19:35Hi there, I'm looking to buy a desktop PC
19:40And I was hoping that you could help me figure out what would be best within my budget
19:46Of course, and okay so to start, what is your budget?
19:51Oh, he's got the one I hate when you can hear it, it's bad
19:55Oh man, going from **** to hi, how are you, you want a computer?
20:04And what will you be doing on the computer, gaming, coding, work?
20:09Good question, good start
20:10It's for personal use, but for gaming definitely things like Minecraft and Overwatch and Stardew and stuff
20:18Quality is good otherwise, I think it's just like right by his mouth.
20:22So there's two ways that we could go about it
20:25There are RDY systems that we offer
20:28These ones are already packaged up, built, tested, ready to go
20:32They ship out the next business day and they have two days shipping
20:36You cannot alter these in any way, they are just sold as is
20:40But it would be the fastest way to get a system if you need one now
20:43But it's also going to be a little bit cheaper than a custom computer
20:47As a custom computer might cost a little bit more even for the same specs
20:51Because we do build those made to order
20:54That's a really, really good explanation of my options
20:57Yeah
20:58Gotcha, I think the first then, if that's the easiest route
21:03Alright, are you on our website right now?
21:07I think so, yes
21:09Okay, so what I have done is I went to RDY pre-built computers on the top of the page
21:15And then the two that I am looking at, they're right next to each other
21:18One of them is the Gaming RDY EMRRG213
21:24ERMERGER
21:25213, oh I do not like their naming for this
21:28No
21:29Okay, so those are going to be the two systems that we're going to be looking at
21:334060 TI though
21:34And I like that he's given us two options here
21:37Both like under budget and then one a little cheaper if I want to save a bit of money
21:41That's not bad
21:42Yep
21:42And the CPU that's in the SLMBG221 is an Intel i7
21:49Which is a step above the previous or the other CPU in the other system
21:54Which would give you the benefit if you definitely are going to be streaming
21:58He addresses her use case
22:00He explains why the parts he's chosen are valid for her
22:04That's a really clear explanation of why more cores is more good
22:08Yeah
22:08Yeah, the better one that you were talking about looks like it would fit under my budget
22:14Yeah, that would be the better one
22:16And it's mainly just that CPU like I said
22:18They're essentially the same
22:20I believe the case is different
22:21So if the case is going to be a deal breaker then go with the other one
22:25That sounds great
22:28And then of course all of these computers they can be upgraded in the future
22:32down the road if you ever need to make upgrades
22:34Especially because he said originally that these come like pre-built as a unit
22:39I'm glad you clarified that
22:40Oh okay, cool
22:42Great, that's good to know
22:44Yeah, did you have any other questions?
22:46Um, I don't think so
22:48I can just buy it through the site
22:50Yeah
22:50Buy it through the site
22:51This guy's great
22:52He just needs a new microphone
22:54If you have any other questions even before you purchase it
22:56Just go ahead reach out to us
22:57We are here to help you out
22:59Once again, doesn't close the deal
23:02Close the damn deal bro
23:10Thanks for calling Maingear, this is **** speaking.
Hi my name is Shea and I'm looking to get a desktop PC and I was hoping you could help me out with that.
23:19Sure, absolutely, so were you looking at something specific, you probably had something in mind that I can help you with? Or I can just give you general suggestions as well.
That's good. Really low pressure, I like that
I have a budget and that is all I have at the moment Gotcha
23:35Yeah, I mean that 100% works
23:37So yeah for that we could definitely take a look at one of our MG-1's
23:42Like the pre-configs
23:44The only thing that I would that I wonder right is the fees right
23:49Because once you're importing to Canada there's shipping
23:53Wow
23:54I am detecting a genuine concern for the value that I'm going to be getting out of this transaction
23:59I feel extremely cared about right now
24:03No one else mentioned that
24:05Um, but there's also import taxes, right?
24:08Which typically come about like 10-15%
24:11He just walked me through all the additional fees that could surprise me
24:15Yeah
24:16And set a budget that's going to keep me within my total target
24:20So that said uh the gold it's right around that price range is $1,299 US
24:30So like just taxes themselves uh themselves would actually bring um you know the system up to like
24:37$1,500 bucks US in shipping
24:40But it's it I'll say it's still around that you know price range you're looking for
24:44Um is that the system you're interested in?
24:47Uh yeah I think if if that works um the shipping and the stuff uh it still feels
24:53pretty close to my budget so I think that sounds good I think
24:59Yeah you know absolutely and I mean you know it's just an option I know that you know
25:02shopping international could be you know challenging you because you do have those
25:06extra uh um uh fees right there so
25:10He is doing the most humanly possible to talk us out of getting a bad deal here
25:15without just explicitly saying do not buy from me go away run
25:20Yeah
25:20The MG-1 and then it's going to be um the gold
25:254060 TI
25:26It's not even that crappy
25:27No
25:28But we definitely skimped on the CPU so 13400
25:34KF too doesn't even have onboard graphics
25:36If you're you know you're running to memory uh like high memory usage
25:43then it'll probably be worth like upgrading that RAM later on
25:46This is too jargony it's an A- now
25:49Yeah she's already getting bored
25:50She's tuning out yeah
25:51Great thank you for the recommendation so I I have it open here and I will just press
25:58add to cart and great I guess I just go through the the steps of checking out
26:05And if you have you know any questions whatsoever um any help setting up anything of that nature
26:12we're always here to to help all right
26:13Absolutely thank you so much for your help I appreciate it
26:15I am not surprised that CyberPower and iBuyPower didn't close the deal
26:19I'm very surprised that MainGear didn't close the deal
26:22Really why MainGear?
26:24Because from our experiences with them in the past they're pretty well trained very professional
26:29Yeah he knew what he was talking about
26:30And it's been start to finish
26:32Mmm
26:37They don't have a shopping line for NZXT
26:40No sales line
26:42Yeah so we had to call a support line and we weren't even sure if they'd be able to help us or not
26:46Interesting I mean I'm not even upset I'm a lot more upset
26:49if you don't have a support line and you do have a sales line but like
26:52I know it's 2023 but a lot of people still like to call in and get advice
26:56Yeah
26:57Hi thank you for calling NZXT this is **** how may I help you
27:00Hi my name is Shea and I have been looking on your website for a gaming PC
27:06and I would kind of like some help here
27:11Of course yeah I can definitely help you out with that
27:13Is this your first time buying a PC?
27:16Yeah it's my first time buying my own PC yes
27:20Also a great question first time buying or not
27:23That's a really good question
27:24That'll really tell you a lot of like whether they need hand holding or not
27:28Awesome and then what kind of PC are you looking for?
27:30Is there anything like you're trying to achieve with this new system?
27:38I want to use it for gaming
27:40Would you know what resolution you'd be playing at?
27:43That's a good question
27:44Good question
27:451440p
27:46And have you had a PC before?
27:48Are you like impartial to certain brands or like CPUs or anything like that?
27:54Oh what a great way of asking that
27:57Yeah this guy's gonna get poached
28:02So in my opinion I would most likely want to go for a pre-built system
28:07That way you can just get the most from your money without having to pay for any service fees
28:12Immediately goes straight for the best value
28:14Having identified that this is not a particularly picky customer
28:18So I would probably recommend one of the the player the player one prime
28:22That's a pretty good system and then you could also like change some components in it
28:27Perfect yeah so I would either recommend the player two system
28:31Not the prime because that would just be a little bit outside your budget
28:34They're going to crush the performance if they can
28:36convince Shay to spend another hundred bucks or if they can offer her a deal
28:40I mean we just use regular components that you could get purchase yourself
28:44So you're more than welcome to upgrade these systems in the future if you like
28:49Brings up upgrading well
28:51Yeah I just see the player two it's uh one thousand five hundred and ninety nine dollars
28:58So it's a bit outside of the $1,500 U.S budget
29:02Like okay well no it's $2,000 Canadian but that's like about
29:07I think if I'm doing my conversions correctly it's about fifteen hundred U.S
29:11Yeah roughly that's what I've seen at least online with online conversions
29:15About $2,000 Canadian is just a little under fifteen
29:18So if I click the player one um and then I which of the
29:25There seems to be a bunch of different collections uh or different choices
29:29In regards to that if I were to make any changes to your system
29:34I would probably just upgrade the CPU
29:37It just allows it's just at a higher clock frequency
29:40And also I believe it has more cores if I'm not mistaken
29:43And it would just perform a little bit better especially with games like Minecraft I would say
29:47I'd probably recommend that too
29:50Okay he's already got the 4060 Ti and that's the highest end they offer on the system
29:54Yeah get the 12600k which is a significant upgrade over the 12400F
30:00Honestly I'd take the 12400F and a 4070 for 14 she told him 1440p
30:07She did you're right it's not 1080p
30:08Just do note so there is an international shipping fee I believe it's a hundred dollars from
30:15To ship from the U.S to Canada through our website and then since we don't charge you
30:21Any taxes you may incur a customs fee when the system is being delivered to you or attempted to be delivered to you
30:29Okay for someone who supposedly works in product support knows about computers
30:35Well not just that but he warned us about import duties and stuff
30:39Yeah that's yeah that's a good point
30:41Outstanding like who is this guy?
30:43Might as well be a sales rep
30:44Yeah
30:46Okay great
30:46Was there anything else I can help you out with at all or any other questions or concerns?
30:51I don't think I don't think so I'll go through the proceed to check out stuff
30:55And thank you so much for your time I appreciate it
30:57Maingear stood out so far head and shoulders above the rest in the past
31:02So far head and shoulders above the rest in the past
31:06Not as much as time it's not the case anymore
31:08There's been like no hold times too nothing longer than like two minutes tops
31:17Thank you for calling origin pc how can I help you
31:21Hi my name is Shea and I am looking to purchase a gaming desktop PC
31:28My budget is $1,500 US
31:33So for desktops I don't believe we have any that would go that low just because we're a high end
31:43Did Shea just get called too poor?
31:45Yeah well in a nice way in a nice way we don't have anything that fits in your budget
31:52So all of the parts that we have are parts that came out last year or this year
31:58How does that make any that doesn't mean anything if anything last year's parts should be cheaper
32:04Lower end for us would be a thousand seven hundred with the two hundred dollar discount
32:10So we wouldn't be able to make you a build that low or at the fifteen hundred USD
32:17The rep sounds really uncomfortable yeah she does
32:21She doesn't want to tell someone hey I'm sorry you can't afford our premium products
32:26But it would be either under our gaming desktops it would be either under the Neuron gaming desktops
32:33So I would say just play around and see if you can find something that would work for you there
32:38But otherwise it wouldn't be able to be lower than that for desktops
32:42Okay uh thank you very much I'll take a look and I'll call you y'all back if I need
32:49To Origin's credit they have performed extremely poorly at our budget in previous secret shoppers
32:56And maybe there's a degree of honor in just kind of bowing out and hey look if this price point
33:04Doesn't work for your margin model just kind of going okay then we're not doing forget it if we're
33:07Not competitive we're not going to sell something that sucks but look at the look on Shea's face
33:19So we ended up emailing Starforge because we couldn't find a number to call them with just
33:25Asking if there is a number to call because we want to purchase a computer and they got back to us
33:29So they said thank you for reaching out we appreciate your interest in us here at Starforge
33:34Sincerely I'd be happy to help make a recommendation for one of our systems based on a few factors
33:39They asked what our budget is what's the use case for our system if we're gaming creating content
33:44Streaming or using it as a workstation for creative processes like 3D art and then the last
33:50Question is what are our space constraints with the system no one else has asked about space
33:55Constraints well HP made a point of uh 25 calling out how many litres their computer was so we were
34:01Replying to them letting them know our budget is fifteen hundred dollars us personal uses for
34:06Internet surfing as well as gaming with games like Minecraft, Overwatch and Stardew Valley
34:10So StarForge responded oh yeah this is like right away half an hour, ten minute response times
34:16So like okay we couldn't call but that's really fast email support yeah uh they said hey Shea
34:22Sure thing based on your wants and needs for a new system I would highly recommend our Horizon 2
34:28Prime this system will perform fantastically in all of those use cases especially in the
34:33Gaming titles that you mentioned for such if you have the interest of pursuing more of your
34:38Streaming endeavors to a greater depth I would make the suggestion what is this email for the
34:43Horizon 2 Ultra instead this would allow for your stream to look flawless because of the additional
34:49VRAM okay they've made good recommendations but what's their pricing cool okay so it looks like
34:57We have Horizon 2 Prime which is $1,349.99 U.S
35:05And the more expensive version that he suggested was the Horizon 2 Ultra but No
35:15Oh ouch $2,099.99 U.S
35:20Hey couldn't help noticing that uh you don't have enough money for this system but I'm gonna send it
35:26to you anyway we're going with the Horizon 2 Prime because that fits within our $1,500
35:31budget it's like you know I hear your budget's $1,500 but we also offer this
35:36$3,000 when you compare that to the reps that were concerned about shipping and
35:44Taxes and duties affecting our our budgetary requirements but you know what this is like
35:52Sheer zero F's given yeah I don't know here you go one's in budget I am very excited to see how
35:59these stack up in terms of performance unlike previous years there's some trade-offs here that
36:04I'm looking at going yeah depending on what we play this could be a pretty close race especially
36:10now that both DDR5 and DDR4 are both still on the market and being used in all of our systems I'm
36:16also really interested to see how Starforge's build quality has improved since last time sure
36:21I found errors that I had to fix the last time I bought a computer from them and they said we're
36:27taking this very seriously well let's find out just how serious they take it that's it for now
36:32then they're ordered we're gonna see what shows up in a week or two but first we got to talk a
36:36little bit more about today's sponsor Ugreen. Ugreen presents the world's first 300 watt
36:42five port GAN charger with a dedicated 140 watt output this allows you to fast charge multiple
36:48laptops at once streamlining your charging setup you can charge a 16 inch MacBook Pro to 56 percent
36:55in just 30 minutes and power up to five devices simultaneously their thermal guard system ensures
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37:13with a premium design with a sleek space gray matte finish and a convenient two meter power cord
37:18for flexible placement you can check it out at the link down below if you guys enjoyed this video
37:23maybe go check out some previous secret shoppers there aren't any more parts of this one to watch
37:28yet but they will be coming hopefully over the next three to four weeks so watch out system
37:33integrators we've got our eye on you
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