Why is it so hard to buy a custom spec HP business laptop in UK?

Hello all,

After my disastrous experience with a Dell Precision laptop, I'm still on the market for a laptop.

I've almost decided on a Clevo-based laptop from PC Specialist, since it can be built to custom specifications. I realise, though, that the fan noise will most likely be louder than the very quiet Dell Precision.

Since I don't want to buy from Dell again, I've been looking at HP, but their UK website is heinous. There appears to be no way to customise any of the laptops ( unlike on the HP USA site), many of them aren't in stock, and the information about resellers is scant.

The lack of customisation options wouldn't be so much of an issue were the basic specifications not so meagre. None of the Elitebook "P" series models has more than 4GB RAM, for example. RAM sticks are available as "accessories", but I don't want an accessory, I want a customised laptop!

Am I overlooking something? Is there a way to get a custom spec HP business laptop in the UK?

Any info would be appreciated.

 

You're not overlooking something! The UK doesn't even get the fantastic 8460w which I'd jump on straight away if I could.

Here is what I did:
- Buy an 8460p with the 1600x900 screen (Don't but the other screen!)
- Purchase an ADP warranty (Mayor help if you come to sell at a later date)
- Buy 16Gb ram for £190 from ebay as you'd be INSANE to buy from HP!
- Slap in an SSD of YOUR choice for less cash
- Buy the DVD caddy adapter for a second hard drive.
- It's your choice to buy the model with the Radeon or Intel HD 3000
- Buy a cheap WWAN adapter from ebay
- Buy and fit a Quad core cpu... one listed in the Maintenance manual. VERY easy to do

Although HP offer a few pre-configured models NONE of them are as cost effective as doing it yourself from other sources. Sure, obviously, you might not want to do it yourself but that's what we get in the UK

 

Hello,
Thanks for confirming my suspicions!

I understand what you mean about the possibilities for customising a preconfigured laptop. However, in my case, one of the main reasons why I'm now looking for a laptop rather than a desktop is that I feel I've spent enough time building computers. In other words, if I'm going to go down the self-building route, I may as well stick with a desktop.

It's HP's loss, really... all the other major business laptop vendors offer customisable models to the UK market! What on earth are they thinking? And why is their website so badly laid out?

Thanks for posting.

 

Hmm, I've been looking into this a little more and I must say it really is exasperating.

I entertained the idea of a ThinkPad W520 but was so alarmed by reports of sudden shutdowns that I have now returned to the Elitebook (or Probook) idea.

I emailed HP via their UK website on 8 May outlining the specification I'm looking for and haven't had a response yet.

On the HP US site, I was able to find and customise within about 10 minutes the perfect machine. I tried to get a shipping quote, just to see, but it looks like they only ship in the US.

So my question is - notwithstanding excalibur1814's earlier reply, has anyone in the UK successfully ordered a custom HP laptop, either through the UK sales line or direct from the US site? Is it humanly possible?

 

I think you need a Business to Business HP account to do this, at least here in Denmark, you can't configure a HP notebook without an account.

 

Just rang them up and they confirmed that it's completely impossible, regardless of whether you're a business or not.

Lost sale from me, then. Silly HP!

 

If/when you find a UK oem that custom builds return here to let us know.

Thanks

 

well that's just sill... they manufacture their custom laptops in china... one would think it'd be cheaper to ship to the UK than the US...
Have you tried to get a custom made through a third party? For example costco or bestbuy. They may be willing to ship over seas.

 

It gets worse: after my frustrating phone call, I looked again at the HP site and found a link to email Nick Wilson, the Managing Director of HP UK and Ireland.

I sent this message:

I received an encouraging auto-reply:

But the following day I received this deeply unhelpful stock message from customer service:

No wonder HP doesn't have a large enough share of the UK market to sell custom laptops if this is how they handle potential customers!

My experience with a Dell Precision laptop was poor, but at least they always replied very promptly to sales queries.

I haven't found a third party that offers custom HP laptops. I'd be a bit wary of getting one from an overseas reseller in case I ever need to return it. Part of the point of looking for an HP laptop was that it's a big international company and should be able to provide UK sales and service.

@excalibur1814 - regarding your earlier post, is the DVD bay caddy something you bought directly from HP? And also, what's wrong with the "other" screen you mention? Thanks.

 

You can buy the caddy from HP as an actual item. :/ I would share a link but the probook/elitebook range on hp.co.uk has vanished?!

Here's the one for the 8560w which should fit the 8460p (Not 100% certain)

The other screen is the 1366x768 model. There's two, 1366x768 or 1600x900 with the 900 screen being much better (But still nothing compared to the Radiance Envy 13 screen)

 

Thanks for the reply and info. I was hoping for a 1920x1080 resolution screen, really.

Trying to find the right laptop could become a full-time occupation...