Opinions on my spec

dpc25

Member
Hi all,

First time buying through PCS, so thoughts on my spec would be appreciated. I've just listed the (presumably) important/interesting specs.

I'm planning on installing Debian as my OS, so if anyone has had any experience running Debian on this particular machine it would be great to know whether or not it's all run smoothly.

Cheers!



Chassis & Display
UltraNote Series: 14" Matte Full HD IPS 60 Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-8550U (1.80GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12

1st Storage Drive
500GB SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)

Sound Card
Realtek 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0

USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED


Comes to ~£550. I'm a PhD student so don't have a massive income, but don't want to go spending much more than this.
 
Last edited:

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
That HDD is slow, you'd be much better off with the 7200rpm drive for only a few pounds more. A 512GB M.2 SSD would make a huge difference to performance however, and even though it's another 20-odd pounds it's well worth the money.

You don't say what applications you'll be using on your Linux system but if you drop to the i5 CPU you can afford a 512GB M.2 SSD and save some money. :)
 

dpc25

Member
So if I understand correctly, you're suggesting I should remove the HDD (i.e. put 'Not required') and instead select a SSD for the 1st M.2 SSD Drive?

Cheers
 

polycrac

Rising Star
So if I understand correctly, you're suggesting I should remove the HDD (i.e. put 'Not required') and instead select a SSD for the 1st M.2 SSD Drive?

Cheers

You could do both - change the HDD for a faster HDD, on that menu, and add a small M.2 SSD for your operating system and select software.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
So if I understand correctly, you're suggesting I should remove the HDD (i.e. put 'Not required') and instead select a SSD for the 1st M.2 SSD Drive?

Cheers

As polycrac says, if you can afford it then do both, in which case you could probably get away with a 256GB M.2 SSD for Windows and programs and a 500GB 7200rpm HDD for user data. If that's too pricey then go for the 512GB M.2 SSD and select 'not required' for the HDD. You can always add another HDD later when you can afford it.
 

dpc25

Member
OK, so a PC can run absolutely fine without a HDD?

For £28 extra I could get:

1st Storage Drive
500GB SEAGATE SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 300 MB/W)

In terms of getting the best performance for my money it'd be nice to have a SSD, so if there's no specific advantage to having both an HDD and SSD then I'd like to go for the SSD on its own.
 

polycrac

Rising Star
The advantage of the hdd is it is cheap and spacious. Not every file use benefits from being on a fast drive, so for most people the optimum is to have a hdd for cheap bulk storage (music etc.) and a smaller, fast m.2 or regular ssd drive for the operating system and the files/software that DO benefit.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I would ditch the conventional HDD and go for a better M2 drive personally (512GB). What is the price difference in the 500GB vs 1TB? Previously it was around £8, making the 500GB option a poor choice.

If you could use the "Post to forum" option and copy the spec along with the link it makes it much easier to have a look at your choices/options.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
For £28 extra I could get:

1st Storage Drive
500GB SEAGATE SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 300 MB/W)

In terms of getting the best performance for my money it'd be nice to have a SSD, so if there's no specific advantage to having both an HDD and SSD then I'd like to go for the SSD on its own.

I'd agree with polycrac's suggestion of a better and bigger M.2 and no HDD, but the SSD/HDD configuration here will give you much better performance than an HDD alone. An SSD for Windows and programs and an HDD for user data is currently the best price/performance compromise.

The issue I have with using an SSD for user data is that for most types of user data you really won't notice the improved speed that much. This is because about 80% of user data is in small files, and whilst they can be loaded much faster from an SSD than from an HDD the time difference is so small you probably won't notice. Music and video files get no benefit from being on an SSD at all, because they're processed (played) in real time. It's only high-res photographs that really benefit from the faster load times from an SSD.

The other (less important) issue I have with using an SSD for user data is that if the SSD fails the data is gone. With an HDD, as long as the disk still spins up you can often get the data back. It's thus even more important if you have an SSD only system to take regular backups.

On the other hand, in a small laptop where cooling is more of a challenge, an SSD only system will run cooler than with an HDD in there. It will also be a tad lighter.

OK, so a PC can run absolutely fine without a HDD?

All it needs is a drive of some type to hold Windows, programs, and data. That can be an SSD or an HDD or a combination of both. :)
 

dpc25

Member
Thanks for all your input guys. Here's what I've gone for:

Chassis & Display
UltraNote Series: 14" Matte Full HD IPS 60 Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-8550U (1.80GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
500GB SEAGATE SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 300 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 40W AC Adaptor
Battery
UltraNote IV Series 44WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Sound Card
Realtek 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
14" ULTRANOTE III SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1
 
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