Have I done the right thing - I think so

[Pricey]

Hi fellow PC Specialist clients
I have been considering upgrading my laptop for sometime now and after browsing PC World and other outlets, I decided to have one custom built. I found out about PC Specialist UK in my PC Advisor Mag.

My spec on order is as follows
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Mobile CPU i7-620M (2.66GHz) 4MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
512MB ATi RADEON HD 4570 + HDMI & VGA
Memory - Hard Disk
320GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2x SATA BLURAY ROM + 8x DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer & 16x CD-RW (£99)
Network Facilities
StyleNote 10/100 LAN & WIRELESS 802.11G CARD (AS STANDARD)
USB Options
3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
StyleNote Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (4,000 mAh)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, Lifetime Tech Support)

My only issue is that I put this spec together with little PC knowledge and now hope it will be powerful enough to run my Office 10 applications and my Serif Web design application. I will also use it to access the internet via my broadband. I am not a computer guru, just someone in his fifties trying to make best use of technology. If anyone can comment on my spec as being suitable or otherwise for my purposes, all responses will be thankfully received.
Thank you

 

[PCS]

Hello Pricey, welcome to our forums

The laptop you have specified will be more than adequate for your office applications, in fact it's more capable of video editing and will be good for gaming (should you wish). When configuring a laptop the most important features are CPU, RAM and Graphics Card (where configurable). Your choices are well above the average specification and will handle what you intend to use it for with ease.

Hope this helps, but if you need anymore advice please do not hesitate to ask

 

[Meds]

I agree with PCS on this one. The specification you have put together will breeze through office applications and will cope with much more intense applications should you decide to use them such as photo/video editing or gaming etc.

If this specification is within your budget then the benefit of opting for a "high spec" laptop is that it is future proof. So in 2 or 3 years time you decide you might want to dabble with some photo editing you don't need to get a new system or make any upgrades - we all know that laptops aren't the best when it comes to adding components in the future as a majority of features are built into the chassis and cannot be changed/removed.

So in simple terms, it's better to get a bit more than you need now rather than regret anything in the future

 

[Tabasco]

While I won't comment on the actual spec, you may want to upgrade the warranty. For another fiver you get a full year collect and return rather than a month

 

[Xavien]

I agree that you cant go wrong with the extra warranty, personally i went for the 3 year one but then again i did spend a small fortune. Also welcome to the boards

 

[Pricey]

Extending the warranty

While I won't comment on the actual spec, you may want to upgrade the warranty. For another fiver you get a full year collect and return rather than a month

Thanks for the tip, I will contact PC Specialist right away.

 

[Tabasco]

Nice one,they should be totally fine with the addition...

 

[Pricey]

Hi everyone
My new Laptop arrived this morning as planned. Great service from PCSpecialist. Very pleased with laptop. One small question re the onboard videocam. How do I activate it.

 

[PCS]

Have you managed to sort this yet pricey? To use your webcam, start the program that you wish to communicate with, such as Windows Messenger for example. Then follow through the options to establish a video conversation.