Whats that cheap PC brand called

[robjduk]

Hi all,

Its bugging me but whats that really cheap PC brand called..... its British built and is the sorta thing Lidi would knock out. Sometimes companies try to sell them to schools....

 

Ta

[robjduk]

my tech figured it.... Zoostorm.

[hardtailstar]

how old is the brand? Tiny was British and cheap but no longer about.

[JimHew]

I'd think twice about Zoostorms, they're the newest machines in our school and we want rid of them already!

 

[EDIT] Well... by newest I mean they were bought around 2014. If we could get rid of them we would but...

 

(all together now)

 

our budget won't stretch that far!

Edited July 2, 2018 by JimHew

[Accura2k7]

Medion....

[DJ-1701]

Aldi every once in a while do MEDION computers... technically German, but phone support comes from Swindon.

[Oaktech]

I've experienced Zoostorm.

 

They're fine when they're working... Actually, no they aren't fine at all.

 

Virtually non existent manufacturer back up, no way of telling what hardware you've got without examining each machine individually. In the room of 30 we had donated at my last school, whilst all of them were cosmetically the same there were multiple different models of main board from 3 different manufacturers which resulted in at least 10 different NIC drivers and 5 different chipsets.

 

I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

[JimHew]

I've experienced Zoostorm.

 

They're fine when they're working... Actually, no they aren't fine at all.

 

Virtually non existent manufacturer back up, no way of telling what hardware you've got without examining each machine individually. In the room of 30 we had donated at my last school, whilst all of them were cosmetically the same there were multiple different models of main board from 3 different manufacturers which resulted in at least 10 different NIC drivers and 5 different chipsets.

 

I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

Exactly this, another rather humorous feature is that whoever coded the BIOS couldn't be bothered to fill out the machine manufacturer. So when I say we have 30-odd Zoostorms, I mean we have 30-odd OEM TO BE FILLED BY MANUFACTURERs.

[DJ-1701]

Exactly this, another rather humorous feature is that whoever coded the BIOS couldn't be bothered to fill out the machine manufacturer. So when I say we have 30-odd Zoostorms, I mean we have 30-odd OEM TO BE FILLED BY MANUFACTURERs.

 

Used to have that fun with Dell, especially with their motherboard replacements. At least they had SMBIOS tools on their website so you could manually update them.

[synaesthesia]

Zoostorm can do one. Awfully cheap parts especially the power supply - the most important part of them all. Steer WELL clear.

[bossman]

I really cannot for the life of me understand why people still purchase brand new computers with only 1 years RTB warranty when there are perfectly good refurbished units to be had at a fraction of the cost with 2 or 3 RTB warranties for peanuts.....

 

I won't name the company we use on here as it could be classed as advertising but they hail from Lancashire.....

 

Alright Dave?......

[admars]

eBuyer sell zoostorm, not had one myself, but I know some ppl like the fact you can buy without OS, and just buy the base unit

 

i think Medion ones are good value for money aren't they, Sainsbury's has them as well sometimes, I think often they're 1/2 price in supermarkets here as they're last gen processors etc so they just want to get rid cheaply.

[JimHew]

I really cannot for the life of me understand why people still purchase brand new computers with only 1 years RTB warranty when there are perfectly good refurbished units to be had at a fraction of the cost with 2 or 3 RTB warranties for peanuts.....

I won't name the company we use on here as it could be classed as advertising but they hail from Lancashire.....

Alright Dave?......

 

 

I have always had the impression that the refurbs are never really that much cheaper - that is at least what I have gathered from other suppliers! I have just had a quick browse at what Dave could do for us, and I'll certainly consider him next time!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I really cannot for the life of me understand why people still purchase brand new computers with only 1 years RTB warranty when there are perfectly good refurbished units to be had at a fraction of the cost with 2 or 3 RTB warranties for peanuts.....

 

I won't name the company we use on here as it could be classed as advertising but they hail from Lancashire.....

 

Alright Dave?......

 

We're Forum sponsors, you can mention all you like sir

I have always had the impression that the refurbs are never really that much cheaper - that is at least what I have gathered from other suppliers! I have just had a quick browse at what Dave could do for us, and I'll certainly consider him next time!

 

The website prices are a good guide for smaller orders, but if you look at 20 units plus, drop me a line, we can offer some great deals.

[3s-gtech]

Like for like, they're massively cheaper. Yes, you may get a no-name with a Pentium CPU and trad HDD for similar money new, but the refurb will be much higher spec and have a longer warranty.

 

Out first refurb machines are 9 years(!) in service here, and working fine (massively upgraded obvs).

[HTCPCP]

Zoostorm machines, you can see where they cut costs (based on purchases between 2014 and 2017)

 

Case - flimsy but does the job

Motherboard - Usually Gigabyte or Asus, but if you buy 30 or so in a go, the chances are you will end up with 2 or 3 different matx entry level versions. As previously mentioned, they are quite lazy in putting in OEM data... but does the job and they could have cut corners more, but they are usually pretty robust

CPU - whatever they can get at the best price in bulk from Intel at that level. No bad thing, I've had batches with intel stock and other coolers in block Also, quite often not the newest generation, but can be great value

RAM - Had huge number of failed sticks - Bulk bought, sometimes branded, most of the time not. The failure rate and the packaging they use when sending out replacement makes me think it's seconds. Also, don't expect matching pairs... A real cost cut, which if they sorted it out,

Hard drives - Usually WD Blues, but also had blacks in there too. Normally got non SSD models and installed an SSD myself before WDS build

PSU - the biggest saving of the lot... Cheap, nasty and always has the risk of going bang. That being said, when I was there, only saw that with 2 and had about 10% failure rate. the Support team were never surprised when one went wrong.

Optical Drive - would have preferred not having one, and them spending the savings onto a better PSU

 

Warranty - when I was in education, we bought a load when they were offering a 3 year onsite warranty for edu (if they still offer that), with the engineer coming from the same local contractor for both Dell and Lenovo. The ones we had that weren't on the NBD warranty, they were more than happy to send out parts to us to make the change (excl motherboard or major issues) and then you ship the faulty part back to them.

 

All in, they are cheap, and you get what you pay for. Would I recommend it to anyone? probably not. But, if you want new, and don't mind spending a bit of time troubleshooting, a big saving can be made if you are buying 60+. Overall failure rates around the same level as RM or Fujitsu (around 10-15% over 3 years - most problems within a few months). Phone only support, wasn't exactly high quality, but did get to deal with the same person from start to finish, and the call back once repaired to check it was all working was a nice touch.

[round2it]

just got 12 refurb dells and they are better than what I have purchased new. 2 year warranty its a no brainer @ICTDirect_Dave

[bald_pig]

Aldi every once in a while do MEDION computers... technically German, but phone support comes from Swindon.

 

Owned by Lenovo though!

[nicholab]

ICT direct customer here as well just got 30 units what can I say packaging was much less. I got 30 units +20 stands for the price of 16 PC last year. I am getting close to all student machines being SSD and 8GB RAM.

[localzuk]

Zoostorm are bog standard cheap fare. Had a few of their PCs at my last job - cheapo cases but they did the job. We've just ordered some for this summer (our budget is super, super tight), and the spec we're getting list specific makes and models of mobo, SSD, RAM, etc... So, we shouldn't end up with a mix. The case is the same one used by other makers such as VeryPC and Stone. However, the proof will be in the pudding.

 

Refurbs are fine, but they aren't up to date models - so you are comparing Apples and Oranges really. We're getting 7th gen i3's, 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro, 21.5" monitors and 5 year NBD onsite warranties for £389.50 each.

Edited July 4, 2018 by localzuk

[howartp]

I've three Zoostorms at home ("Church office"), for my parents and as our "server" PC.

 

Been running untouched for years, no problems.

[robjduk]

This all came about when I needed a PC to my arch nemesis DT department. Found a refurb 3rd Gen i5.