~~~~~IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - Regarding Intel Sandybridge CPU/Motherboards (1000's IN STOCK)!!~~~~~

[Gibbo]

im sure a certain etailer can beat ocuk's stock somehow and then some.

There are some etailors out there who will hold close to 10M stock levels, maybe more. So yeah we can be easily beaten in overall stock level.

But on something like a 2600K and 2500K well we have more stock than anyone else, Intel have confirmed this because I was one of the first to forecast and order stock and thats why my warehouse is full of them.

 

[Gibbo]

I'm friends with someone who works there. They said apparently they only have 10 units in the warehouse, with more coming 'late next week' at some point.

10 would not last us probably 5 minutes, for a hot launch like this you need a minimum of 100 and as many as you can get. Thats why in total we had 1200 units arrive.

We want to be able to deliver on time and not keep our customers waiting, I'd be well and truly annoyed as a customer if I ordered the latest hardware, paid next day shipping and did not get it for 1-2 weeks later.

Thats why OcUK was well prepared, we forecasted, ordered our stock early and now will ready to go, just gotta hit the big red button.

 

[Gibbo]

My uncles sisters dog has told me that this is not true.

Yeah I only counted 6-8 in there picture, but who knows.

All that matters is we got plenty of stock to go round for all and people will get them next working day fact.

 

[Gibbo]

Many people would be happy to wait a week or two if it meant saving £30.

I doubt anyone will be £30 cheaper than us, or even £20, but lets see. Plus those who advertise £30 cheaper with no stock don't count.

 

[Gibbo]

Well well, all very funny I guess you were right Gibbo, the other etailer that tried to bash ocuk went live a few mins after this site but today the SB cpu's 2500k and 2600k are all pre-order now, one customer went into their store today to purchase one to be told that they will not have any SB cpu's in stock until early next week!! So the ones they have up as 'IN STOCK' do not exist.
Anyway the said customer is very happy now as he drove to your store and everything was 'in stock' due to the RAM being on offer he paid less at ocuk.

I don't really want to start all this bashing again, I just couldn't resist!!

Well what can I say, Ive read over there too, it seems 2-3 customers tried buying from them Saturday in their shop to only be told "we have no stock, its a website error."

I've been in this industry for 10 years plus and I have it on good authority they got a handful of chips of all which they used for testing bundles/systems of cause this could be wrong though I doubt it. They should never have got that stock due to not been Intel covered, but as seen on their forum they bribed their supplier with drinks and chocolates to get that handful of stock.

So maths would mean that leaves them with no stock and the evidence seems to point that way, though I am sure they will have some clever/excuse explanation come Monday, no doubt something to do with an NDA they never intended on following but then changed their minds. All I can say is I bet any customer turning up at 9am Monday in their shop would be told the same, sorry no stock, were waiting on our delivery even though their website shows stock.......

Which basically means I was correct, OcUK has plenty of stock as do other Intel covered partners, but they do not and won't have probably until at the earliest Monday (tomorrow) but no doubt later in the week.

Whats funny is how they call us scumbags and liars, so far I only see the truth here at OcUK and its them who are misleading customers, lying regarding stock levels they don't have which I guess makes them a bunch of hipocrits, one member of staff said "eh they want a way, they got one" or at least implied, only problem is I guess OcUK won at the first hurdle.

It might all be a bit childish but ocuk has not mislead any customers, infact we have several happy customers with sandybridge setups because we have stock like we promised and more than enough to go round.

Regarding OcUK only offering bundles at 4.6GHz is down to simple fact, these chips to run at 4.8GHz and beyond require higher voltages and such voltages OcUK would not recommend for 24/7 running as with time the CPU will no doubt suffer electromigration and degrade over time. Also lets compensate at the moment for winter lower running temperatures, in summer any current bundle will run 10-20c hotter due to increased ambient temperatures and humidity. OcUK is confident in its bundles running stable and many years to come at the advertised clock speeds. We would not be confident at a bundle running at 4.8GHz or 4.9GHz for such period of time, were not saying its impossible as there will be some CPU's that are fine though we believe very rare and offering such a bundle would be misleading especially with such a short time period for a testing window.

The competitor offering these bundles is not Intel covered, has had a handful of chips for a matter of days which means they have only been testing for a week maximum and they release bundles at such clock speeds, thats a mistake as they simply have not done enough testing time. Intel covered partners like OcUK has had ES chips for a couple of months and stock of large volume for a few weeks and as such time to do proper testing and factor in failure percentage, this such competitor has not. It seems to me they are desperate to get any kind of win they can to try and win custom from much larger etailors like ourselves and other Intel covered partners. So far we have evidence of them lying regarding stock levels, misleading customers by taking pictures of stock but then clearly not having enough to go round, then claiming to be cheapest, yet they are not on everything and now trying to win custom with very high clockspeed bundles. Sorry it all looks very desperate to me and misleading, plus the owner has said himself on the forum he bribes suppliers with gifts in an attempt to get stock.

Once more OcUK has more than enough stock, we guarantee next working day delivery, you can collect any CPU from our shop and our prices are competitive on our CPU's and across our range. They claim to be the cheapest on everything which they are not and OcUK nor myself claims we are the cheapest, but one thing for sure we do not mislead our customers or lie regarding stock levels. Also our bundles have had weeks of testing in multiple setups as we have had chips for several weeks giving us more stock to test and a much longer time window to do so.

Expect to see many post on their forum from staff with well thought out excuses for their stock system mis-reporting and how they will get stock out early in the week. Fact is they had no stock when they said they did, way below the belt.

 

[Gibbo]

Roflcopter

I should be bloody mystic meg just as expected, here come the excuses.... as you say mate ROFLCOPTER!

 

[Gibbo]

Why all the focus on that one particular store? there's another place with stock and the 2600k is over £10 cheaper.

Most likely the focus is due to the fact that store feels the need to lie regarding stock they have not got or it seems that way from reading customers findings on their very own forum and how they bribe suppliers (again admitted on their own forum) and the accusations they've been throwing OcUK's way call ourselves scumbags and liars, need I go on....

OcUK has never claimed to be the cheapest on launch, wheras that store claims to be the UK's cheapest on all CPU's, when infact they are not, ocuk is cheaper on some lines and other etailors are cheaper on others, so another false claim......

This certain etailor seems to be going out of their way to mislead customers with false claims and a stock system that clearly can't be trusted from reading customers feedback on their forums. Then by releasing bundles at 4.8GHz and above when they clearly admit they have had very little stock and only for a matter of days, so based on that alone I don't think much of their testing methods, seems they are desperate to get any business they can.....

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

I've spoke to Intel this morning and got the following answers from them:-

1. Anything over 1.40v on air is risky, upto 1.50v on water should be OK but risky.
2. Anything over 1.50v on memory is not recommended but should not kill a CPU.
3. Clocking on BCLK is highly un-recommended due to onboard graphics.

So the biggest factory they say is vcore, pushing above 1.40v is a risk, therefor I'd say don't go beyond 1.35v. BCLK clocking is a no no for sure.

I've asked for documents regarding 1.50v as motherboards manufacturers seem to think 1.65v is the safe limit, though Intel are saying 1.50v is more advisable.

I am going to update all our CPU descriptions with this information.

Anyone with 1.6-1.7v memory should run the memory at 1.50v as in theory it will run fine at those voltage as all memory manufacturers are now on new IC's.


In our own testing we have found the only thing killing the CPU's is core voltage. We've found setting memory voltage at 1.65v seems to be doing no harm, but were now gonna setup 3 rigs, one with 1.45v core volts, one with BCLK overclocking and one with 1.65 memory clock to see which one if any dies first. We shall do this on 2500k chips.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

Another update:-

Intel recommend 1.50v for all their I5 and I7 processors, not just Sandybridge, which makes us further believe the culprit for dead CPU's exceeding 1.35-1.40v range on vcore.

 

[Gibbo]

Thanks for the update Gibbo

Regarding CPU; thats along the lines of what I've mentioned previously in this topic, 1.3-1.35v is safe limit for clocks of up to 4.6GHz.

You have quite a lot of RAM modules showing 1.6-1.7v (average being 1.6v), including the Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) which is included in the oc bundle. Could you update all RAM descriptions too?

We shall improve our range of 1.50v RAM but the 1.65v works fine and our test rigs which have been running for a week plus under constant prime have not died with 1.65v memory voltage.

However were now gonna conduct more testing and actually try to kill a 2500k to find out what really kills them. Nathan is setting up a rig now.

 

[Gibbo]

Ocuk, I hope this is a sample cpu test to try what cause to kill the chip, or otherwise Intel won't be very happy to replacement it but we all know that Intel cannot found out if the cpu had died after been overclocked.

We have to do this, its a service we provide to our customers and its why were Overclockers UK.

People complain about our pricing, but were always first to market with stock and I don't see our competitors actively going out of their way trying to discover what can harm these CPU's and putting in lots of hours of research into this and then posting warning on our website.

Were the only company to do this and it takes a lot of time and money to do so.

But we pride ourselves on giving customers info first.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

The XMS3 however is proving excellent in our testing today, so far stable at 1.40v at rated timings (1600MHz 9-9-9-24).

 

[Gibbo]

Gibbo, can you please reply to my emails mate. Thanks

You request is been discussed by our Dons mate.

 

[Gibbo]

So to overclock these CPUs:

1. Set BCLK to 100 manually.
2. Set RAM Voltage to 1.5V.

While ( CPUVoltage < 1.35V ) => Multiplier = multiplier + 1

If unstable => Increase CPUVoltage

Would that be correct?

Yes but to begin with leave CPU voltage at stock, our rig here is running 4GHz prime stable at stock CPU voltage with RAM at rated timings with just 1.40v, very impressed.

To get more out of CPU push multiplier higher and increase voltage as needed but be aware that going above 1.35v not advisable, but if you want extreme clock speed some have gone as high as 1.70v Vcore, but the CPU's lifespan could be seriously reduced.

 

[Gibbo]

Meh, considering there was a £30 mark up on the asus delux last time I checked I doubt the 20% back cuts it. Though I guess its good to see that ocuk are at least giving it too. Be interested to see which company put it up first

OcUK were first, clearly evident from time stamp on the threads, infact I think OcuK was first by almost 24hrs, the other competitor followed.....

 

[Gibbo]

Come on gibbo stomp everyone and do an asus P8P67 + i5 2500K bundle for £299 including VAT and shipping seems the majority are JUST above that £300 mark without shipping apart from one which is £301 inc shipping

Hi mate

What is it your after as bundle?

P8P67 normal or Pro?
2500k yes?
Heatsink?

If so I shall setup a home & office bundle tomorrow and put it in the CPU section with the other office and home bundles, these are not overclocked or pre-configured, so no surcharge, infact they tend to have discounts and I could probably put a £10 discount on such a bundle.

Prices have been moving around for 2 reasons:-

Our first batch was booked into our stock using an exchange rate of 1.57, this batch sold through over the weekend, our second batch was sold to us by another distributor who was using an exchange rate of 1.54, hence a much higher cost to ourselves. Our price went up due to this.

Our price then rose again due to supply and demand, out of the 1200 CPU's we got, we've got less than 600 left, we've sold more than half the stock and Intel have informed us the parts are in constraint. So we need to make them last and hence the price increases.

Were a business and due to business effects we sell a product based on what it will sell for in a timely manner before it is replenished, its better we have stock at a higher price then sell out and have no stock even if our price is low. Looking at our competitors, there is only one other with stock and were within £10 of their price but we are supplying Lost Planet 2 game wheras they are not.

I shall see what I can do on bundle tomorrow, just let me know if you mean P8P67 standard or the Pro?

 

[Gibbo]

I mean the standard, going by various prices it'd be far too hopeful to get a pro + 2500k for under £300

If you can do a P8P67 + 2500K for Less than £302inc VAT though then you've beaten all competition, as those are the two most popular parts currently (going by reviews and polls, you may be able to tell my differently by sales) you'd probably get a fair few buyers on that too! (most likely including me )

The cheapest i found anywhere else, inclusive of VAT and shipping was £301.32 BUT they didn't have the processors in stock.

Our best selling mainboard has been the P8P67 Pro, done 200 since Saturday.
The standard one we've sold about 80.

I shall see what kind of bundle deal I can do it on it tomorrow and put it live on website.

 

[Gibbo]

I think there would be more demand for the pro rather than the standard at least I thought most were going for the pro? Would be a pretty nice deal you go going there if you put it up. Be nice to see deals like that more oftern, possibly with ram too.

We do great deals all the time, but its not always the deal people want.

A few of the top of my head done recently:-

Corsair 4GB 1600MHz kits - £35 Inc. VAT
MSI 5850 Twin FrozR - £125 Inc. VAT
GTX 580's - £399 Inc. VAT
XFX 5870's - £185 Inc. VAT
I5 2300 - £136.99 Inc. VAT *current deal*
HIS 69xx launch pricing and never running out of stock!

See This Week Only, GeIL RAM amongst other kit.

We always have deals on and are sometimes the UK cheapest, many of the above perfect examples, but you can never cater for all thats the problem.

Our Christmas day deal with 5% off and free shipping for all went down a storm, we did 3x more business than any previous Christmas, was very popular, made Christmas day as busy as a normal trading day.

 

[Gibbo]

The pro only really offers SLI compatibility as an extra, wouldn't of thought there was much demand for that? (and a different network chip but that's not worth the extra)



That's surprising to me, as i wouldn't have thought that many people would have need for SLI?

Popular due to 6950's I'd imagine, as were selling 250+ 6950's a week, so Crossfire/SLi is very important to a lot of our customers.

 

[Gibbo]

The standard only has x4 on the second crossfire as well. I remember seeing a more indeapth analysis by someone on these forums. There are a few other subtle changes but I admit it's not huge. Still I'd rather the pro I think, but I'm not too fussy about budgets.



Thats good to hear. To be honest, considering how the owners talk I'm not actually surprised it was them who copied.

Do you think you could get into the habbit of doing bundles which have discounts not huge surcharges on more oftern? While I don't doubt the overclocked bundles probably sell well to those who don't have the know how, this is a site named overclockers so would be nice to get some bundles aimed at us.

The bundles provide a service, were here for the long term picture, not a quick win, therefor our bundles are tested properly qhich is clearly evident by the fact a competitor has changed its bundles from 4.8GHz down too 4.6GHz, I mean what testing and R&D did they do, or did they just read our forums and think oh beep beep better change those quick before we get them all back.......

We test ours thoroughly for several days if not a week before going live, we then warrant the bundle will run at those speeds and are confident in doing so, this is where the premium comes from and its for our money customers who don't want to risk doing it themselves or getting kit that can't hit those speeds.

We expect our more knowledgable customers to buy the components and do it themselves as afterall they can't have their cake and eat it.

I can look into offering a few more motherboard + cpu and possibly + ram bundles, but these would not be pre-configured or overclocked/tested in anyway and as such we could maybe give a discount on those as the only time is that of myself in configuring them online for sales.