Votex III pre-sales questions

[hargil]

I am looking to buy a vortex III 17.3 "

the spec is below - any comments would be gratefully appreciated but I have a few questions.

main uses are;
photo editing using Photoshop Elements and Nikon NX raw editing program.
very little video editing

program writing in C

watching videos streamed of the net, (junk TV - catch up TV sort of thing)
generally they are not HD content. I have a blu ray player for that sort of thing.

and the usual boring stuff that an IBM XT could handle ;-)

No gaming to speak of, solitaire occasionally - not a power hungry program
chess sometimes too.





Q1
If I order windows 7 with the build am I correct in saying pcs will install it for me
and supply me with the disc (cd-rom/DVD whatever it comes on)?
just in case in the future I need to re-install it.




Q2
Does anyone have any idea when windows 8 is likely to ship from pcs - seams a shame to
buy win 7 so close to win 8's release.





Q3
I assume I can extend the desktop and have two displays,
that is, can I plug my TV into the hdmi ports and stream a video from the internet
onto the TV while using the laptop screen for other stuff. I can on my acer (win xp).






Q4
I have been told by pcs that there is wi-di (wireless display) capability with the Vortex III laptops;

I was told;
"You would just need a centrino wireless card and a suitable router with Wi-Di technology.
The software for this feature should be on the CD that comes with the laptop."


how would I do this? is there any room left inside as I already have a Wi-Fi card in the build.

or do I order it without a Wi-Fi card and fit the Centrino myself?

OR as there are 4 options for Wi-Fi cards does one of them already have Wi-Di,
maybe it is called something else in Intel speak.
there is talk in the description about streaming HD video not sure if they mean Wi-Di though...


GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS N
WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & INTEL ULTIMATE-N 6300
KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS 802.11n CARD




Q5
is a matte screen better for photo editing as it has a 72% gamut?
I usually edit in a darkened room.




Q6
Would the 15.6" inch Vortex be a better bet as it has a 95% gamut




Q7
they say USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0

BUT...
the USB3.0 sockets 'look' a different shape/size than a USB2.0 socket.
so can I plug a USB 2.0 pen stick into a USB 3.0 socket?
I am not interested in any speed increase just compatibility.




Q8
How long is the Vortex III likely to be available?

Basically how often do PCS bring out/make obsolete laptop models?



Q9

does a 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD for the OS

and a 750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID for data

sound like a good idea?


Thanks


Spec.

Chassis & Display Vortex Series:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM) 16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk 750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200
rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack

Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Firewire 1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT

Battery Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor

Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Office Software FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Carry Case TARGUS XXL NOTEBOOK CASE TCC008EU (£46)

Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Dead Pixel Guarantee 1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)

Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days

[Teaz]

Specs are great and finely balanced for your use. Pretty much what I would have gone for.

I'll answer most, the rest will be covered by someone else.

1. Yes, pcs will install it all for you along with up to date drivers etc etc so it will be ready to use out of the box. The windows disc will be included.

2. That, I'm not sure but you might be able to get the upgrade for it when it comes since you will be purchasing windows 7. You can read it up here. Not sure if it is possible with a laptop but it should be. Hopefully an admin or staff could fully clarify that.

3. Yes, you should be able to in the screen resolution properties.

5+6. I believe it should as you dont have all the gloss in the way, just preciser colours. Not sure how much better the 95 gamut is to the 75. Personally, I wouldn't always rely too much on a laptop screen if you're using at home for photo editing, I would get a quality ips monitor and hook the laptop to it for use.

7. usb 3 ports shouldn't be looking any different to a usb2 port apart from it being blue. so you can plug usb2 devices like any other usb port.

9. Yes, keep the os and/or any main programs you use. the rest goes into the second drive or external drive. having data constantly written to the ssd will slowly degrade its performance so its not recommend for any storage on it.

[hargil]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

[PlasticTastic]

If I order windows 7 with the build am I correct in saying pcs will install it for me
and supply me with the disc (cd-rom/DVD whatever it comes on)?
just in case in the future I need to re-install it.

Yes, PCS will install W7 and the drivers. They will supply 2 discs: One with the OS, and one with the drivers, should you need to re-install.

Does anyone have any idea when windows 8 is likely to ship from pcs - seams a shame to
buy win 7 so close to win 8's release.

I don't have any idea, I know they used to (Don't know if they still do) an offer where you can get W8 for £15 if you order W7.

I assume I can extend the desktop and have two displays,
that is, can I plug my TV into the hdmi ports and stream a video from the internet
onto the TV while using the laptop screen for other stuff. I can on my acer (win xp).

Of course you can! I'm 80% sure you can have up to 3 displays as well

I have been told by pcs that there is wi-di (wireless display) capability with the Vortex III laptops;

I was told;
"You would just need a centrino wireless card and a suitable router with Wi-Di technology.
The software for this feature should be on the CD that comes with the laptop."

I have no idea about this one, sorry.

is a matte screen better for photo editing as it has a 72% gamut?
I usually edit in a darkened room.

If you're in a darkened room, then a glossy screen is better as the colours are more true to what they are. Matte screens are mainly for getting rid of reflections.

Would the 15.6" inch Vortex be a better bet as it has a 95% gamut

As mentioned above, you don't need the Matte screen. Also, with the 15", you can't have 2 hard drives AND a CD/DVD drive.

they say USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0

BUT...
the USB3.0 sockets 'look' a different shape/size than a USB2.0 socket.
so can I plug a USB 2.0 pen stick into a USB 3.0 socket?
I am not interested in any speed increase just compatibility.

I have used my USB 2.0 stick on my friend's USB 3.0 port on his Optimus II with success, however he has said that his mouse doesn't work on the USB 3.0 port and he must have it in a USB 2.0 port, so I don't know how compatible they are.

How long is the Vortex III likely to be available?

Basically how often do PCS bring out/make obsolete laptop models?

A good while. They have only been recently released, don't worry :P

does a 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD for the OS

and a 750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID for data

sound like a good idea?

Yes. You will get insane boot times (10 seconds?) and will still have room to store all your data.

[hargil]

Thanks fior that.

the Wi-Di i can live without, but it would be nice to not have a cable across the living room floor on the odd occasion i want stuff on the screen.

the only thing aboput the matte display is that it has a higher gamut value although how that pans out in real life i don't know.

the actuall difference may be too small.

i will have to have a think, see if i can have a look at a matte screen but as you say in a darkend room reflections ar not and never have been an issue for me.

my current acer laptop has a gloss screen and it's very nice, no reflections and nice colours.

thanks again for the info

[Teaz]

If you're in a darkened room, then a glossy screen is better as the colours are more true to what they are. Matte screens are mainly for getting rid of reflections.

I would like to see some verifications on that. Glossy screens are traditionally standard and usually are more saturated with colours to give 'boosts/enhancements' for the user. So I don't quite get how it is true even in a dark room?

Yes. You will get insane boot times (10 seconds?) and will still have room to store all your data.

It's not 10seconds in total time, thats only from the starting point of once it reaches windows which is where the ssd will kick into play.