Any thoughts on my new laptop?

[TrustMeItsWorthIt]

Hi all,
I'm thinking of ordering a new laptop, mostly for gaming and media consumption. I'm looking to be future proofed for the next few years ( as much as you can be when buying a laptop) and I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this build.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 7300HQ (2.5GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk
1TB SLIM SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
M.2 SSD Drive
250GB WD BLUE™ M.2 SSD (up to 540MB/s R | 500MB/s W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.0 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Battery
Cosmos VI Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Keyboard Language
SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Any advice is welcome

Thanks

 

[keynes]

do you have a budget? the gtx 1050 ti is an entry level gpu and if you can especially if you wish to futureproof I would suggest at least the gtx 1060.

 

[TrustMeItsWorthIt]

My budget is roughly £1000 but obviously the cheaper the better, yes I would like the 1060 but for that I'd have to move up to the Proteus iv which is well over £1000 once I've added my extras and forces me to pay for the i7 processor which I have no need for.

Thanks, keep the advice coming :helpsmilie:

 

[Oussebon]

The Optimus seems like a good fit then.

M.2 SSD Drive
250GB WD BLUE™ M.2 SSD (up to 540MB/s R | 500MB/s W)

You could look at the PM961 SSD. The WD Blue is slower than a decent Sata SSD and doesn't take advantage of what you could get from your M.2 slot.

 

[TrustMeItsWorthIt]

ok so having been looking at the benchmarks for the different GPUs i think i should take your advice about the 1060. that being so ill have to bite the bullet and spend the extra £200. ive been looking at the Defiance and the Proteus and came up with these builds;

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo) ()
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 2.5" SSHD - UP TO 5X FASTER THAN HDD!
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)

Price £1,175.00 including VAT and delivery

Chassis & Display
Proteus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 7700HQ (2.8GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK 2.5" WD10JPLX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)

Price £1,176.00 including VAT and delivery

as you can see the only difference is the processor, the storage options and the case.

so which would you pick? does the case make any difference? i have to say i prefer the Defiance for looks but does the Proteus offer better cooling?

how much difference does the difference in processor matter? i dont really think that i need an i7 tbh but as thats the only option available im stuck with it

also i know it says the hybrid drives are 5X faster! but are they really? is it worth paying for when my OS is going to be on an SSD anyway?

thanks in advance

 

[Rakk]

also i know it says the hybrid drives are 5X faster! but are they really? is it worth paying for when my OS is going to be on an SSD anyway?

No, if your OS is going to be on the SSD then you'll not use the SSD bit of the hybrid drive afaik.

 

[Oussebon]

as you can see the only difference is the processor, the storage options and the case.

Defiance has a gsync screen = instant win for the Defiance me.

Very surprising PCS aren't selling the Defiance with a 1TB WD Black (only 500 and 750gb). They certainly used to and I can't see a reason why they're not. I'd advocate for the WD Black over the SSHD in the laptops. You could always hpone them to see if they can fit one instead.

But the gsync still wins it for me. The gaming performance difference between the CPUs will generally be somewhere from non-existent to so small you won't see it. The storage won't affect gaming performance.

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo) ()
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 2.5" SSHD - UP TO 5X FASTER THAN HDD!
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 200W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.1 Type A, 2 x USB 3.1 Type C AS STANDARD
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 15 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,175.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/defianceIII-17/RmnQW7fvYZ/

 

[TrustMeItsWorthIt]

hmm yes ive read about this G-Sync screen but dont see anything on the Defiance page to indicate it has one, tbh im not really sure what G-Sync does so i should probably look it up lol either way ive email PCS about it and the possibility of a 1TB WD Black drive so ill find out soon. can i assume the case doesnt make much difference? and also i was wondering about the thermal paste, i know its only £9 but does it make any difference when your not overclocking your CPU?

thanks in advance

 

[Oussebon]

It certainly used to have gsync. Worth checking that with PCS.

Gsync synchronises your screen's refresh rate with the GPU's FPS output, which can have real benefits for smooth gameplay. E.g. with a traditional screen running at 60hz, if FPS drop below 60 it can feel really juddery. This isn't necessarily because your eyes really perceive the difference between 58 and 60 frames per second per se, but because you end up getting some frames duplicated to fill up the 60hz, which feels like stutter because you see some images for twice as long as all the others you also see in that second. As far as my crude understanding of it goes anyway.

This video sells it a bit thick, but basically shows what the point of variable refresh rates that techs like gsync and freesync offer is: https://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/technology/g-sync/videos

 

[TrustMeItsWorthIt]

thanks for the reply,

so i heard back from PCS and the Defiance does come with a G-Sync screen and they cant, for unspecified reasons, provide the Defiance with a 1TB WD Black HDD
so with that being so i think itll be the defiance i go for, thanks to everyone for all the advice

 

[TrustMeItsWorthIt]

hmm so im wondering if im going crazy, just logged in to take another look at the Defiance III i was looking to buy and the prices seemed to have jumped up overnight and it now costing £1,294.00 instead of the £1175 it was yesterday? do the prices usually change on saved quotes this quickly?

 

[Oussebon]

Is it now listed as having a 7700HQ CPU?

I suspect this is the cause of the increase as they've run out of 6700HQs that were about £100-£120 cheaper while on special offer.