New Laptop, Might have over killed it!!

Hi everyone.

I have spent the past 10 years working with a laptop that has trouble getting up in the morning!! so i got a new job last month working off shore and when the bad weather hit and there is nothing to do i pull out my laptop to watch a film and the whole thing packs up on me, fair to say not impressed!! now that i'm earning a substantial wage i decided to buy myself a new laptop, as a treat (thats my excuse and im sticking to it)!!!
So came onto PC specialists and had a play about, gave myself a limit of 2.5k, substantial amount to get a laptop i though, Id best point out i'm not especially up to date with whats what in the computing world these days! I started playing around with different specs and came up with whats below. I know its a bit over the top as the reaction of my mate who is a bit more techy than me asked what the hell i was wanting to do with it?!?! i figured BF4 on down time offshore sounded good!!
Just a bit of feed back as to weather iv been a bit hasty with this or just any points of view about the specs would be appreciated!!!
Thanks
Frobbet

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4900MQ (2.80GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM)
32GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2 x AMD® Radeon® HD 8970M - 4GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLURAY ROM, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
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
Sound Card
ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
2 x Vortex Elite Series 8 Cell Battery (89.21WH) (One Spare)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 330W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2013 (1 License & Disc)
Anti-Virus
NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2013 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC *SPECIAL*
Laptop Cooling Stands
Zalman ZM-NC11 Ultra-Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch
Carry Case
Tech Air 17.3" Classic Backpack
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse
LOGITECH WIRELESS MOUSE M325
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
External Hard Drive
WD 1TB My Book Essential USB 3.0 External HDD WDBACW0010HBK

Total cost inc VAT = 2,592.00

You don't need the i7-4900MQ. Just get the i7-4800MQ and save yourself a few hundred quid. There's a couple percent difference in performance between the two.

Also, you don't need 32GB RAM. Drop it down to 16GB.

I would double the capacity of the Intel SSD to 240GB, so you don't need to worry about space when putting games on it.

That certainly is on hell of a machine you have made... However it really is a bit over the top, it will weigh about a tonne and unless you are serious about gaming at 60FPS at all time on the latest games at max settings you don't need it.

I would advise a single 780m, which has all the grunt you need to game, even if you have to turn the settings down a fraction (I can hardly tell if they are medium or ultra to be honest) will kick out less heat and if you game on battery it will last longer. The total spec is about £1500 + your bags etc so you will have the best part of a grand to go towards you next upgraded spec in a couple years time. Spending the money now probably wont help it last that much longer, you will get more benefit from saving the money fro the next upgrade.


Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB More than enough to game on, the returns for going higher are very limited and in the real world a waste of money,
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB) Plenty for gaming, if you really want you could consider 16 but will probably never use it. DO NOT GET 32 FOR GAMING
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780M - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 Cranking out impressive FPS, the fastest single card you can get for a laptop at the moment, dual 8970's would be slightly faster but again not worth the money. That's because adding 2 cards does not make the system twice the speed, generally it only gives a 50% boost with the 2nd card.
Memory - Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W) Bigger SSD for installing a few more games at once.
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) Help with cooling a little.
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + 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 & 230W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Intel Anti-Theft Technology
FREE 90 Day Intel Anti-Theft Trial - Prevent Data Access upon Theft
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,506.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/vortexIV-17/_Yj08ndhFR/

Looking at the benchmarks the 780m is capable of playing crisis 3 at 30FPS (minimum considered playable) at maxed settings, that is very impressive as crisis 3 is probably going to be similar in demand to BF4. Now turn those down to 'high', as I said above I doubt you could tell bf3 on the PS3 vs low on a PC is like 2 different games, and it reaches 70 FPS.

So please don't waste the money, im located in Aberdeen myself so if you really don't what the £1k I can meet you back from your next trip off shore. But seriously, it would be a waste of money to go for your original spec

If you're going to spend £1500 on a gaming Vortex just get the review build one for £1449. Best deal on the site for a gaming laptop

Damn that is a cracking deal.... Seen you mention it before but never looked it up. WOW Yes get that one... http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews/

Thanks for the advice guys, unfortunately in my over excitement 2 days ago i ordered it!! The joys of itchy fingers!! but been through my order and edited what i can and saved myself a few hundred on your advice so will take it from there, thanks for your input.
lesson learned, get advise on things you don't know about before parting with your money!!!
Bit of wisdom for anyone who hasn't learned already!!
Frobbet

SlimCini said:

If you're going to spend £1500 on a gaming Vortex just get the review build one for £1449. Best deal on the site for a gaming laptop

Click to expand...

Wow thats a nice promo indeed.
The sucky thing is i live in belgium and use an azerty keyboard but because its a review build i probably cant change it and still have the discount

Not necessarily... Ring PCS and ask, they build these review models from scratch.

it does say no changes can be made but it is always worth a try.