Buying a laptop for Christmas, but can't decide between these two builds.

[thegreb]

My girlfriend has wanted a new laptop for months, so I've decided to buy her one for Christmas. I've put these builds together, but want some opinions on them. I'm going to buy her Sims 4, and I think that's the most demanding game she'll play on it. It'd be good if she could play the game on high graphics settings. The builds I've put together will cost £635 and £661 respectively, but I could probably stretch to £675. So, what do you all think?

Build 1
Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 6300HQ (2.3GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 950M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 12

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD BLUE 2.5" WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)

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 (£9)

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

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Keyboard Language
COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

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) (£5)

Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)

Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 15 working days


Build 2
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 6300HQ (2.3GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD BLUE 2.5" WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
Ultra Slim 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

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

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 2

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Keyboard Language
OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)

Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 15 working days

 

[Robert.S]

Really nice build. Definitely go for build 2, the GPU will be miles better. Probably could run The Sims 4 on high/ultra at 1080p, the IPS screen means you will have nicer viewing angles. One thing - the 5400rpm HDD is usually the slowest HDD on the market. Try an M.2 or normal SSD to go along (120GB is fine for Windows + a few games or software) or a 7200rpm HDD. My sister has a 5400rpm HDD and it wears of and gets slower and slower... Get and SSD an she will have almost no loading times.

 

[thegreb]

Thanks for your response. I just changed the HDD to a 750GB WD Black, and the price dropped by £2!

 

[Stephen M]

Agree with Robert, the GPU far better in second option. I have a couple of WD Blacks and they are superb drives, fast and reliable. You also have the option of adding an m2 later on if your girlfriend wants an SSD, it is an easy upgrade and PCS allow you to work on their machines without voiding the warranty.

 

[thegreb]

Thanks for that advice. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[thegreb]

Sorry for the double post. I have a quick question. Will the Optimus work OK with Windows 8.1, or does it require Windows 10?

 

[Stephen M]

I would check with PCS, email or phone, about the Windows 8.1 as it is not listed on the configurator. I cannot see why it should not but would want some reassurance.

 

[thegreb]

OK. I've E-mailed them. Hopefully the drivers will support Windows 8.1.

 

[thegreb]

I got a response saying "I am afraid this system only currently supports Windows 10. We are working with the manufacturers to see if we can get it fully operational under Windows 8 but we have not been able to at this stage." I had a spare copy of Windows 8 which I was going to install on the laptop I bought her, but now I won't be able to do that.

 

[thegreb]

I just had an idea, but I don't know if it'll work. I thought I could install Windows 8.1 on the laptop, then connect to the Internet straight away and upgrade for free to Windows 10. Do you think that'd work? I mean, at most the only driver I'd need is the wireless network driver. I could even connect to the Internet through an Ethernet cable if need be.