My New Vortex III 17.3" Configuration!

[robhar130]

Hello everyone! I'm new to this whole "build your own PC" stuff so I had a crack at it - after investing many hours into research (of what to buy and reasons for it) I have finally came up with a build that should fill my hungry gaming appetite. All opinions and recommendations are welcome, I would like to have a heavy duty gaming laptop that will last a fair while before the world of technology begins to take over and leaves me in the dark! Of course, I understand that technology is unpredictable and they could have all kinds of new stuff out this time next year that will make my system look like it was put together in the 90s'! But, let's get on with it and feel free to gander below;

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

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3720QM (2.60GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 << this is up for debate, please let me know your comments. I'm very tempted to whack the GTX 680 graphics card in this beast of a machine!

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)

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
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Surround 5.1 PRO External (£69)

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N NETWORK CARD

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 Ultimate 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
Belkin Black/Red 17.3" Neoprene Notebook Sleeve (£16)

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)

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

[EYEONME]

No point having the killer wireless card, not in stick and keep pushing back the ETA date.

[robhar130]

Yeah, I changed my build completely and this is the order I made;

Chassis & Display Vortex Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3720QM (2.60GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
RAID NONE
SSD CACHE DRIVE NONE
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 Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Surround 5.1 PRO External (£69)
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)
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 Ultimate 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Laptop Cooling Stands Zalman ZM-NC2500 Plus Ultra-Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch (£35)
Carry Case TARGUS XL CITY GEAR 16" - 17.3" LAPTOP CASE TCG417 (£43)
Monitor NONE
Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets (VOIP) NONE
Surge Protection 6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee 1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Charity Calendar NONE

[dangro474]

I would highly recommend going for the 680M. It is considerably more expensive, however as your performance bottleneck will undoubtably be your GPU opting for the substantially more powerful 680M will extend its "lifespan" as a gaming machine enormously.

[robhar130]

I would highly recommend going for the 680M. It is considerably more expensive, however as your performance bottleneck will undoubtably be your GPU opting for the substantially more powerful 680M will extend its "lifespan" as a gaming machine enormously.

I agree, after choosing the 675 I want to change it to the 680! This is something I may need to do at a later date as I am unable to change the graphic's card through the ordering system. Every other component is shown except the GPU. :/

edit: after trying again - I may need to contact PCS tomorrow during office hours!

[Dexterous]

I suggest getting the 7970m over the 680m as it performs generally better or the same and is considerably less expensive than the 680m.