Another companies Laptops vs. PC Specialist. Which one?

[reiro]

Hello community,

I need advice on a laptop purchase. Its down between [company named removed] vs. PC Specialist.
Since they are both clevo resellers and have almost identical models i wonder who builds the better laptops and has the better cooling.

I want to buy a clevo laptop with 980 (desktop) graphics card and after research it comes down to 3 models:

1. Octane II Pro £1969

2. [company named removed] U716 £2238

3. [company named removed] U726 £2273

The Octane II Pro and the [company named removed] U716 have the same Clevo chasis and with the same setup (i7 6700 - 16GB - Nvidia GTX 980 - 250GB SSD/2TB HDD) and 2 year pick up & return but Octane costs £1969 while the [company named removed] U716 Laptop costs £2238. The bigger model [company named removed] U726 (identical to the vortex) with the same components costs even more.

Why are the [company named removed] Laptop almost £300 more expensive with the same components?

I read certain reviews on [company named removed] and they all seem to have a quite good cooling solution while running quite silent for so much power.
Where is PC Specialist saving the money to make it that much cheaper?

At the moment i dont know from which seller i should buy my clevo laptop since i could not find many reviews on the 980 Laptops from PC Specialist but heard that [company named removed] has a bad customer service which seems PCS strength.

Any advice would be welcome. Its just too much money to buy without enough info

 

[Wozza63]

PCS has a very low profit margin and components are sold at lowest prices possible. I'm not familiar with [company named removed] so I can't comment on their reliability and quality. You are on a PCS website so you are always going to be recommended the build from PCS, but in this case, I think it's fairly obvious which is the better choice when one is nearly £300 cheaper.

 

[reiro]

PCS has a very low profit margin and components are sold at lowest prices possible. I'm not familiar with [company named removed] so I can't comment on their reliability and quality. You are on a PCS website so you are always going to be recommended the build from PCS, but in this case, I think it's fairly obvious which is the better choice when one is nearly £300 cheaper.

Thanks for the response. For me its the opposite. I only knew [company named removed] since they are fairly big in germany and have a lot of presence and are highly praised on websites like notebookcheck.net

So PC Specialist was completely unknown before but heard good things about them. I had an [company named removed] before and had no complaints. So i assumed for £300 pounds cheaper there must be a catch for a PCS Laptop.

How are the octane ii pro series (980 version) cooled? Do they use the same cooling system/fans as the [company named removed]? Or are clevo resellers using different quality parts for cooling systems?

How are the IPS screens? How big is the sRGB and AdobeRGB color range?
[company named removed]uses the LG LP173WF4-SPD1, IPS panel with GSync.
How is the Intel sound compared to realtek ([company named removed])?
How is the support with PCS (gold 24month)?

Any experience especially with 980 (desktop) laptops from PCS regarding fan noise/heat welcome.

 

[Greenman]

I thought they were all based on the same Clevo chassis.

Could also ask what are you getting for the extra £300.

 

[reiro]

I thought they were all based on the same Clevo chassis.

Could also ask what are you getting for the extra £300.

It cant be a mistake on the PCS website can it? £1969 compared to £2238 is such a big price difference that [company named removed] simply cant compete with PCS with the 980 high end models in the UK.

Even for a german importing an Octane II Pro to germany it would be cheaper than buying it from [company named removed] Germany.

Because it seems on the 980m models the price difference between PCS octane II and [company named removed] u706 doesnt seem that big.
(under £100). It seems to me one is either selling their model too cheap or [company named removed] is not knowing how the market works.

 

[keynes]

It seems to me one is either selling their model too cheap or [company named removed] is not knowing how the market works.

I disagree. Different countries have different markets and different resellers are likely to have different deals with manufactufacturers.

 

[reiro]

I disagree. Different countries have different markets and different resellers are likely to have different deals with manufactufacturers.

Might be the case but will make it kinda hard for [company named removed] to compete in the UK.

Anyone can share their experience with the Octane II Pro?

 

[Bradden]

I've got one just before XMAS.. and love it. Notebook Review forum has lots of info.

 

[reiro]

I've got one just before XMAS.. and love it. Notebook Review forum has lots of info.

Thats good to hear. I wonder why the Clevo-P870DM cannot be equiped with the 980 on the PC Specialist Configurator.
I would prefer the P870DM chassis over the P775DM1 one (Octane II Pro). The P870DM barebone is bigger and probably cools the 980 better and might reduce fan noise slightly. I therefore wished PCS would also offer the "Vortex V Elite" with a single GPU.

I also found not many reviews for the P775DM1 (Octane II Pro) Lots of reviews on the P870DM out there though.

 

[Dash]

I would suggest you check the Vortex Elite has the same chassis as the [company named removed] U726 before you make any commitment.

 

[reiro]

I would suggest you check the Vortex Elite has the same chassis as the XMG U726 before you make any commitment.

Yes however its only offered with 980m in SLI mode. I just want a single 980 (Desktop) config.
So i hope PCS offers a 980 with Vortex Elite chassis in the future.

 

[reiro]

Anyone might have any info if the 17.3" Vortex V Elite is planned being offered with a single 980 GPU?

 

[keynes]

Anyone might have any info if the 17.3" Vortex V Elite is planned being offered with a single 980 GPU?

Only one that could know is PCS. For a quick response you could try to giving them a call.

 

[reiro]

Only one that could know is PCS. For a quick response you could try to giving them a call.

I got a response from PCS and they say that they already have the barebone iam looking for but with cards in SLI mode.
So i assume that means they don't know or are not planning to offer the vortex elite with a single 980 GPU in the future.
A bit of a shame.

Looks like i have to buy the U726 from [company named removed] if i want the best cooling solution (P870DM) in a laptop with a 980 or go down a bit in power and buy a 980m notebook.

So it comes down to
1. [company named removed] U726

or 2. Octane II

 

[Rakk]

reiro I have gone and removed the company name you keep putting in your posts since given the amount of times you mentioned them it could be construed as advertising for a competitor which is not allowed by forum rules.

 

[Dash]

I got a response from PCS and they say that they already have the barebone iam looking for but with cards in SLI mode.
So i assume that means they don't know or are not planning to offer the vortex elite with a single 980 GPU in the future.
A bit of a shame.

Looks like i have to buy the U726 from [company named removed] if i want the best cooling solution (P870DM) in a laptop with a 980 or go down a bit in power and buy a 980m notebook.

So it comes down to
1. [company named removed] U726

or 2. Octane II

Hello Reiro, I followed the same chain of thought as your own. But I my second option would be the Vortex Elite because I prefer the newer chassis. I too would prefer the GTX 980 in the P870DM-G (Vortex Elite) and PCS do not offer this, whereas U726 does.
Right now I am trying to find reviews for the U726 before I make a large financial commitment. (Note, the disparity of cost for the U726 for me is because I am opting for the premium warranty which is £265 extra). I have found some reviews, but not so much recently. Have you found any recent reviews?

 

[Singularity]

It would be nice if they added the GTX 980 to the P870DM. At the moment that is my ideal laptop. The P775DM just doesn't seem as sturdy, and the thermal solution in the P870DM looks superior. The 980m sli config for the Vortex V doesn't appeal to me at all. Sure it has more graphics power than a single GTX 980, but too many games are not optimised for sli and Nvidia doesn't provide great sli support.

 

[gunsch]

Agreed, the VortexV Elite Chassis with a single 980 would be amazing, why are we not funding this?
I'm from germany so i know that company too, and as far as i can tell the build quality on the octane II and the Vortex V is equal, if not slightly better than the 500 bucks more expensive (i see both prices in euro, the difference is that huge) 726 and 716. the only thing that would make the 726 more appealing is the possibility of a gtx 980 in a p870dm chassis.
PCS, y u no do this?
The demand seems to be good.
Please make it possible for a Vortex V Elite to house a gtx980. That would straight up be the best top-end gaming laptop on the market in my opinion.

 

[reiro]

Agreed, the VortexV Elite Chassis with a single 980 would be amazing, why are we not funding this?
I'm from germany so i know that company too, and as far as i can tell the build quality on the octane II and the Vortex V is equal, if not slightly better than the 500 bucks more expensive (i see both prices in euro, the difference is that huge) 726 and 716. the only thing that would make the 726 more appealing is the possibility of a gtx 980 in a p870dm chassis.
PCS, y u no do this?
The demand seems to be good.
Please make it possible for a Vortex V Elite to house a gtx980. That would straight up be the best top-end gaming laptop on the market in my opinion.

I second this. The other company which I won't name again told me that their p870dm with 980 is selling very well despite the 300 pounds price difference. Their guy told me that PCS must sell their 980 with a lower win margin to catch up to them in 980 sells. Now in PCS point of view I would offer the p870dm with 980, that's what people seem to demand. Listen to your customers

 

[agtrinity]

I second this. The other company which I won't name again told me that their p870dm with 980 is selling very well despite the 300 pounds price difference. Their guy told me that PCS must sell their 980 with a lower win margin to catch up to them in 980 sells. Now in PCS point of view I would offer the p870dm with 980, that's what people seem to demand. Listen to your customers

I agree with this.

The option should be available since the chassis can take it.

Also where is the 4k screen option?

Apparently the 4k screen is worth it on the P870DM