Hey guys, this is a short review of my experience with PCSpecialist and the Optimus V 13.3" laptop. I will split this review into three sections: The laptop itself, Packaging and the Timescale in which it was built. First, the laptop:
LAPTOP
Features
The 13.3" Optimus V is a little powerhouse capable of running Battlefield 4 on Medium with ease. The trackpad sucks, and the speakers leave a bit to be desired, but chances are if you're a gamer (which i'll assume you are if you're considering this laptop) you'll be using a headset (the chassis has room for an audio out AND a microphone slot, which trumps the MacBook Pro) and a precision gaming mouse (negating the need to use the trackpad). Three USB3.0 slots and a HDMI out port sweeten the deal. An optical drive would have been excellent, but you can't have everything!
Gaming
The performance of this laptop is astounding - it will handle any current gen game you can throw at it and it will probably play high end games for years to come. Multi-tasking is carried out with ease.
Temperatures
This little demon is a little fiery, with idle temperatures ranging from 40-60 degrees and I find it necessary to utilise the Fn+1 key combination (in order to run the fans on full) in order to keep things nice and chilly. I recommend a good laptop cooler to accompany this laptop as the battery gets pretty toasty too, although the fan does a good job (when on full) of keeping everything nice and cool.
Reliability
I've noticed some minor hiccups when shutting down, like the backlit keyboard refusing to turn off - i'm assuming this is just a minor software fault which was fixed by a restart as it occurred only once.
Overall, a 9/10 product score.
PACKAGING
Basics
The laptop came well packaged inside a box which was inside another box and was prevented from moving by sturdy bits of polystyrene. This prevented damage to the laptop during transit. The laptop itself also had some foam between the screen and keyboard, offering a little more protection and plastic covering protected the chassis from scratches during shipment.
Problems
The main problem with the packaging was that despite notifying PCSpecialist that I was intending to use Windows 7 Professional on my new system, they pre-installed Windows 7 Home Premium and included a Windows 8.1 driver disk. When I enquired about this they advised me to visit the drivers section of their website and download them from there. Once I reinstalled windows, I found out that three out of the ten drivers wouldn't work and had to download them from the chassis manufacturer's website. I was not offered a windows 7 driver disk.
Overall, I give this a 6/10 as, although the packaging was presented well there were rather severe oversights here, preventing me from scoring higher which is unfortunate.
TIMESCALE
Basics
Unfortunately, my laptop was delayed due to a shipment of the chassis being delayed, resulting in around a two and half week delay. Fortunately, PCSpecialist addressed this by 'fast-tracking' my laptop and as soon as the parts arrived, the laptop was built, testing and dispatched within 2 days. This was a very satisfying resolution to a rather inconvenient problem.
For this reason, I give PCSpecialist a timescale score of 8/10, as my shipment arrived outwith the estimate, but this was understandable due to the delay and the laptop was built, tested and despatched in record time.
LAPTOP 9/10
PACKAGING 6/10
TIMESCALE 8/10
TOTAL 7.7/10 RECOMMENDED!
LAPTOP
Features
The 13.3" Optimus V is a little powerhouse capable of running Battlefield 4 on Medium with ease. The trackpad sucks, and the speakers leave a bit to be desired, but chances are if you're a gamer (which i'll assume you are if you're considering this laptop) you'll be using a headset (the chassis has room for an audio out AND a microphone slot, which trumps the MacBook Pro) and a precision gaming mouse (negating the need to use the trackpad). Three USB3.0 slots and a HDMI out port sweeten the deal. An optical drive would have been excellent, but you can't have everything!
Gaming
The performance of this laptop is astounding - it will handle any current gen game you can throw at it and it will probably play high end games for years to come. Multi-tasking is carried out with ease.
Temperatures
This little demon is a little fiery, with idle temperatures ranging from 40-60 degrees and I find it necessary to utilise the Fn+1 key combination (in order to run the fans on full) in order to keep things nice and chilly. I recommend a good laptop cooler to accompany this laptop as the battery gets pretty toasty too, although the fan does a good job (when on full) of keeping everything nice and cool.
Reliability
I've noticed some minor hiccups when shutting down, like the backlit keyboard refusing to turn off - i'm assuming this is just a minor software fault which was fixed by a restart as it occurred only once.
Overall, a 9/10 product score.
PACKAGING
Basics
The laptop came well packaged inside a box which was inside another box and was prevented from moving by sturdy bits of polystyrene. This prevented damage to the laptop during transit. The laptop itself also had some foam between the screen and keyboard, offering a little more protection and plastic covering protected the chassis from scratches during shipment.
Problems
The main problem with the packaging was that despite notifying PCSpecialist that I was intending to use Windows 7 Professional on my new system, they pre-installed Windows 7 Home Premium and included a Windows 8.1 driver disk. When I enquired about this they advised me to visit the drivers section of their website and download them from there. Once I reinstalled windows, I found out that three out of the ten drivers wouldn't work and had to download them from the chassis manufacturer's website. I was not offered a windows 7 driver disk.
Overall, I give this a 6/10 as, although the packaging was presented well there were rather severe oversights here, preventing me from scoring higher which is unfortunate.
TIMESCALE
Basics
Unfortunately, my laptop was delayed due to a shipment of the chassis being delayed, resulting in around a two and half week delay. Fortunately, PCSpecialist addressed this by 'fast-tracking' my laptop and as soon as the parts arrived, the laptop was built, testing and dispatched within 2 days. This was a very satisfying resolution to a rather inconvenient problem.
For this reason, I give PCSpecialist a timescale score of 8/10, as my shipment arrived outwith the estimate, but this was understandable due to the delay and the laptop was built, tested and despatched in record time.
LAPTOP 9/10
PACKAGING 6/10
TIMESCALE 8/10
TOTAL 7.7/10 RECOMMENDED!
Where you reviewing the standard one?