Hello,
I have been looking at the various laptop options pcspecialist have available for the past few weeks. I have been going back and forth between the Skyfire IV 14" and the 15.6" Defiance. I decided to go for this latter because i think it's got everything i need in a laptop and with great value. My previous laptop is now over 3 years old and whilst it runs as good as it ever did, it's struggling to play any new graphically intensive games, so it's time for an upgrade.
I think most of these specs speak for themselves, I don't quite think the 980m is worth the extra cost and 8Gb of ram should serve me fine in regards to what i am using the laptop for.
One area I probably do need advice on is the Hard Drive(s). In the current spec I have chosen a fairly standard 500Gb HDD and an additional 120Gb SSD. I have never owned an SSD before but have heard only good things regarding Boot times and game loading speeds. In PCS hard drive options though they list a "500GB MOMENTUS XT HYBRID". Is this potentially a better option for me as its cheaper than my current spec and would allow me to add an additional HDD for more storage. Are hybrid drives any good?
The main use for the laptop will be gaming.
Any feedback will be welcome, Thank you.
Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4720HQ (2.60GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item: FREE DYING LIGHT DIGITAL VOUCHER with GTX 965M / 970M / 980M GRAPHICS!
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
120GB KINGSTON SSDNow M.2 2280, SATA 6Gb/s (550MB/R, 520MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
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-7265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
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
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£12)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON) (£19)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
I have been looking at the various laptop options pcspecialist have available for the past few weeks. I have been going back and forth between the Skyfire IV 14" and the 15.6" Defiance. I decided to go for this latter because i think it's got everything i need in a laptop and with great value. My previous laptop is now over 3 years old and whilst it runs as good as it ever did, it's struggling to play any new graphically intensive games, so it's time for an upgrade.
I think most of these specs speak for themselves, I don't quite think the 980m is worth the extra cost and 8Gb of ram should serve me fine in regards to what i am using the laptop for.
One area I probably do need advice on is the Hard Drive(s). In the current spec I have chosen a fairly standard 500Gb HDD and an additional 120Gb SSD. I have never owned an SSD before but have heard only good things regarding Boot times and game loading speeds. In PCS hard drive options though they list a "500GB MOMENTUS XT HYBRID". Is this potentially a better option for me as its cheaper than my current spec and would allow me to add an additional HDD for more storage. Are hybrid drives any good?
The main use for the laptop will be gaming.
Any feedback will be welcome, Thank you.
Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4720HQ (2.60GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item: FREE DYING LIGHT DIGITAL VOUCHER with GTX 965M / 970M / 980M GRAPHICS!
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
120GB KINGSTON SSDNow M.2 2280, SATA 6Gb/s (550MB/R, 520MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
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-7265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
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
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£12)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON) (£19)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
