Revised 13/8/21

TLDR: Computer components stock worldwide is low, you may need to change parts or there maybe a delay to your order, please don't order from us if you are in a rush or the order is time critical, for the most part it is out of our control, we cant go any faster and part manufacturers cannot produce parts faster, despite shortages we are probably the fastest place in the UK to be able to fulfil orders, please scroll down the page for regular updates but do please take the time to read all of this info.

The entire Custom PC industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges that are at levels that have never been seen before or even thought were possible and we want to consolidate as much information as possible in one place to reduce our enquiry workload which is currently overwhelmed and impacting our productivity. Throughout most of 2020 the availability of stock has been difficult and this has mainly been down to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pandemic has played a hand in multiple ways; reduction of staff for component manufacturing, reduction in staff and supply of parts that make up component manufacturing as well as what is being made is having trouble getting around the world due to the logistics industry suffering from staff shortages as well as a massive rise in workload. In other words, less parts are being made and its difficult for manufacturers to get the stock out of the factory to supply distributors around the world.

Throughout most of 2020 UK Gaming Computers were managing to cope, naturally with short supply of stock it made it harder and more labour intensive to secure certain lines which unfortunately did impact our productivity and slowed us down but for the most part, orders were going out on time and only some customers only needed to make minor adjustments to their orders.

As 2020 progressed the situation did become worse, not only did the Pandemic effect output of parts that make up a PC it also forced much of the world inside and as a result the demand for home consumer goods rocketed. With a lot of effort and suspension of services UK Gaming Computers managed to remain open whilst still being able to follow government advice, however if we were forced to close and stay home I'm pretty sure the first thing we would have turned to was PC gaming to pass the time! In addition, working from home has now become the norm and when people work from home they need the gear to be able to do so. Many opted for new laptops to dial into the office however with the advantages of desktops over laptops there was also a strong uptake with office spec desktops which we sell and also share parts with our gaming systems. At points of 2020 it was impossible to be able to buy a laptop, lower end monitor, webcams and printers! With demand outstripping supply each individual PC part that makes up a single PC then started to go into constraint and as a result some manufacturers had no choice to allocate components and parts to retailers, whilst difficult and disruptive most system builders like us were able to just about cope.

As 2020 progressed and we moved into 2021 things have become worse. The Custom PC market is naturally very buoyant - We have seen a vast amount of new processors, new graphics cards, strong game launches that have driven demand plus with the rise of streaming popularity and Youtube (let alone without people stuck at home) PC gaming is now very much so mainstream and is no longer considered something that's just for "geeks". Now is a really good time to buy a PC....if you can get the parts! The Nvidia RTX 30 Series graphics card launch and availability has been well documented by us as well as media all over the world.

We also now face Brexit complications, anyone would think no one knew Brexit was coming! UK customs is severely backlogged so that 95% of stock that comes from the far east that is already well overdue is now getting held up buy 2-5 working days with no way of knowing how long it will take. This is a nightmare for distributors as they are unable to tell us when they will get the stock and thus when we will get the stock to fulfil orders!

The other issue faced is both airports and seaports are massively backed up thus getting stock in and out countries is also being delayed by again an unknown amount of time which we cannot predict. Some lines have not left their country of origin for 6 weeks now as the manufacturer is unable to book freight out as its simply too busy and for those lucky enough to get a booking slot freight costs are being bumped up as much as 700%!

Just to throw a couple more issues into the ring - "Scalpers" are buying up MSRP priced products and selling them on marketplaces at greatly inflated prices reducing inventory further and with the recent rise of the price of Bitcoin, the demand for all AMD and the new Nvidia RTX graphics cards and high end power supplies power supplies as also jumped significantly in a short space of time. We can now add in the recent HGV driver shortage.

We wanted to publish this information and be us upfront and transparent as possible with all our customers as understandably most are completely unaware of what is going on, to them they may have only been impacted by not being able to pick a loaf of bread up from their local supermarket but we are getting the odd customer going off on one blaming us for these stock shortages and ultimately those kind of comments are wearing thin. UK Gaming Computers are of course working round the clock and as close to manufacturers, vendors and distributors as possible to obtain as much (non overpriced and inflated) stock as possible and ultimately believe we are sat in prime position with said suppliers as we hold the highest ASP in the UK industry and ultimately make those suppliers the most money under normal circumstances so it is in their best interest we are well looked after. Naturally we are trying to keep our website as up to date as possible and removing products we think we will have no chance of getting in a reasonable amount of time whilst also trying to maintain a decent level of choice but there is only so much we can do.

WE MUST EXPLICITLY STATE THAT FOR ANY ORDERS THAT ARE EITHER TIME CRITICAL OR ARE NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE MAYBE DELAYS OR THE NEED TO CHANGE CERTAIN PARTS THEN PLEASE MAKE YOUR ORDERS ELSEWHERE.

IF THERE IS A STOCK ISSUE THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO RESOLVE BY THE END OF YOUR ESTIMATED BUILD AND TEST TIME WE WILL CONTACT YOU WITH A PLAN B. PLEASE BE PATIENT, THE MAJORITY OF OUR ORDERS CURRENTLY AFFECTED BY SUPPLY SHOULD BE RESOLVED BEFORE YOUR ESTIMATED BUILD AND TEST TIME WITHOUT THE NEED TO CHANGE. WE ARE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO ENSURE ALL ORDERS ARE BEING COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Motherboards

 Approximately 20-40% of the range is affected by shortages. This is affecting all motherboard manufacturers. We have an OK amount of alternatives. Little to no disruption to orders but maybe a slight delay or the need for a change. We may change motherboard to an appropriate similar spec motherboard automatically.

Cases

Small selection of cases affected by shortages. We have discontinued most of what we can not obtain. Little to no disruption on default case options but maybe a slight delay or the need to change.

Intel CPU's

Small shortages. We have alternatives. Little to no disruption to orders but maybe a delay or the need to change.

AMD CPU's

Shortages. We have plenty of alternatives. There maybe a delay to orders or the need to change.

Nvidia 30 series graphics cards

Severe RTX 30 series shortages. Well documented here.

Other Nvidia graphics cards

Severe shortages. Well documented here.

All AMD Graphics cards

Severe shortages. NO AMD ALTERNATIVES. What little is available costs more than the Nvidia counterpart yet performs worse.

Power Supply's

Severe shortages. We were are well stocked up on all models however this stock has dwindled. Unlikely disruption however there maybe the need to change. We may change the PSU to an appropriate similar spec PSU automatically.

RAM

Small shortages. We are well stocked. Almost no disruption but maybe a slight delay or the need to change.

Storage

Small shortages. We are well stocked. Almost no disruption.

Overall

Despite shortages affecting most categories significantly we have more stock than pretty much everywhere else and are in a good position to complete most orders without disruption. We are top of Partners lists given past trade and are likely to be the soonest option in the UK to be able to supply systems with categories affected by shortages.

IF THERE IS A STOCK ISSUE THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO RESOLVE BY THE END OF YOUR ESTIMATED BUILD AND TEST TIME WE WILL CONTACT YOU WITH A PLAN B. PLEASE BE PATIENT, THE MAJORITY OF OUR ORDERS CURRENTLY AFFECTED BY SUPPLY SHOULD BE RESOLVED BEFORE YOUR ESTIMATED BUILD AND TEST TIME WITHOUT THE NEED TO CHANGE. WE ARE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO ENSURE ALL ORDERS ARE BEING COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER.