Specs:
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive NONE
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
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD + BT 3.0 (RTL8723BE)
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language BACKLIT OPTIMUS UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Windows 10 Upgrade FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price (excluding VAT) £590.75
Price £708.90
Overall, I think that this is a fantastic laptop! The screen is 1080p which was new for me but it makes working so much easier on it. The keyboard is backlit but you can turn this off using a shortcut (Fn+F12) which also changes the intensity of the light from the keyboard (there's 3 modes- off, on low intensity, on high intensity). I was initially worried that the speakers won't be that good since I'm not too fond of headphones and I have heard about the poor quality of speakers from other review so one of the first things I did was install the Soundblaster software (which you can get if you go into the drivers section on your account on the pcspecialist website after making a purchase). The speakers seem very loud and clear and I honestly don't know what the fuss was all about- if you're planning on watching movies or music then they will be perfectly adequate. The battery life is also good- around 5-6 hours but I'm sure I'd be able to get more if I optimised my laptop. The webcam's 2 megapixels so not much to say about that really. The touchpad is also good and so far haven't had any issues with it. The keyboard feels comfortable.
However, my one gripe is I found it slightly difficult to setup the laptop initially- I had ordered it with no OS, but it came with windows 8 on it ready to install (by no OS, it seems that they mean no product key, the laptop still has windows 8 on it). I wanted to install windows 7 on it though and it took me a few hours to work out what to do but basically you go into the bios, disable UEFI mode, change the boot order so your DVD/memory stick is first. Then, when you turn on your computer, press the key that allows you to boot from the memory stick/DVD drive. Once you get to the windows 7 setup, you need to delete ALL the partitions (I was intimidated by that at first because I didn't know if any of them were important or not) but then you should be able to install windows 7 on it. All in all though, for the price I paid, the laptop was a real bargain (I think Currys had a laptop with similar specs over £900!) and so would highly recommend you get a laptop from this company.
Hope this review is of some use :taz:
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive NONE
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
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD + BT 3.0 (RTL8723BE)
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language BACKLIT OPTIMUS UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Windows 10 Upgrade FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price (excluding VAT) £590.75
Price £708.90
Overall, I think that this is a fantastic laptop! The screen is 1080p which was new for me but it makes working so much easier on it. The keyboard is backlit but you can turn this off using a shortcut (Fn+F12) which also changes the intensity of the light from the keyboard (there's 3 modes- off, on low intensity, on high intensity). I was initially worried that the speakers won't be that good since I'm not too fond of headphones and I have heard about the poor quality of speakers from other review so one of the first things I did was install the Soundblaster software (which you can get if you go into the drivers section on your account on the pcspecialist website after making a purchase). The speakers seem very loud and clear and I honestly don't know what the fuss was all about- if you're planning on watching movies or music then they will be perfectly adequate. The battery life is also good- around 5-6 hours but I'm sure I'd be able to get more if I optimised my laptop. The webcam's 2 megapixels so not much to say about that really. The touchpad is also good and so far haven't had any issues with it. The keyboard feels comfortable.
However, my one gripe is I found it slightly difficult to setup the laptop initially- I had ordered it with no OS, but it came with windows 8 on it ready to install (by no OS, it seems that they mean no product key, the laptop still has windows 8 on it). I wanted to install windows 7 on it though and it took me a few hours to work out what to do but basically you go into the bios, disable UEFI mode, change the boot order so your DVD/memory stick is first. Then, when you turn on your computer, press the key that allows you to boot from the memory stick/DVD drive. Once you get to the windows 7 setup, you need to delete ALL the partitions (I was intimidated by that at first because I didn't know if any of them were important or not) but then you should be able to install windows 7 on it. All in all though, for the price I paid, the laptop was a real bargain (I think Currys had a laptop with similar specs over £900!) and so would highly recommend you get a laptop from this company.
Hope this review is of some use :taz:
