Defiance 15.6" 3K

[Wolvo7]

Hello,

I've finally made the jump and decided to buy a laptop after toying between laptop and desktop for a while. My main question for this spec would be regarding the display, has anyone got experience with the 3 types of display offered. How do they compare in terms of real-life viewing angles, contrast etc?
I went for the matte display as I figured it would be less straining on the eyes vs a glossy screen for prolonged periods of use. My uses will be gaming, HD video watching and editing and multitasking.

Comments and suggestions welcome Budget £1400-1500

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte 3K IPS LED Widescreen (2880x1620) (£59)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6820HK (2.7GHz, 3.6GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD SLIM BLUE WD10SPCX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (5400 rpm)

External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
6x Samsung Slim USB 2.0 External Blu-Ray Writer (£62)

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 + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1525-AC M.2 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0

USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE 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 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,397.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[moheli]

I've heard many complaints that, for Laptops like this, anything over 1920x1080 may cause an uncomfortable viewing experience (or other inconveniences) and will just have to be resized anyway. It ain't worth the money, the 15.6" Defiance has a very nice display regardless and does not need upgrading. With your budget, you should look into the 15.6" Octane as you can get it with similar specs at around the same price except it literally has a desktop CPU rather than a standard mobile CPU (since you're looking for a desktop replacement). I've got an in-depth thread comparing the 15.6" Defiance and 15.6" Octane right here.

 

[Stephen M]

I have a 1920x1080 screen and the picture is fine, I don't game but watch a lot of films and use GIMP for picture editing and the screen resolution is great for cut-outs. It is a pity the Defiance only has a 7200rpm option for 500GB HDDs as their performance is much better than standard drives. If you are happy with less storage on the laptop and using an external drive for more storage I would consider the 7200 for your second drive.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Personally I would go with this build:

Chassis & Display Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080) 1080p is fine for laptop displays, plus the intel graphics struggle with anything above 1080p sometimes
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo) The standard CPU is fine, not much difference between the two
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12 Better graphics card
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW) 250GB SSD is a good size for OS and main programs
2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD SLIM BLUE WD10SPCX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive NONE
RAID NONE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
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
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1525-AC M.2 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0 Better wifi card
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language DEFIANCE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Game Streaming NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Games Controller 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 7 to 9 working days
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £1,208.33
Price £1,450.00

 

[Wolvo7]

Thanks for the link, that's a pretty detailed comparison. Been thinking of the Octane but decided in the end I'd go for something a bit more portable. And I think the Defiance runs a bit less hot too. The mobile CPU should be enough for my needs.

Stephen - I know, it's annoying, especially as there are 7200rpm Blue drives out there. I'd go for the 750GB Black if it was offered for the Defiance. I was actually thinking of picture editing when I went for the 3K screen as most of my pics are 16MP. But I spend more time watching movies so might just go with full HD.

George - thanks for the spec, looks pretty good!