Help appreciated to check spec for laptop gaming

[nicopp]

Thanks for taking time to look at the choices made by a novice in custom build.
Budget is £900 (and need to include OS, office home student and norton virus in that).
Any comments welcomed as playing mainly wow, oblivion, fallout 3, and possibly gothic 4 - not much fps. Would welcome comments about overheating potential as have had problems from outset with an off-shelf hp laptop which for 3 years since bought has been crashing - very frustrating.
Please let me know if choices are poor or incomprehensible - been conscious of balancing sound, display and speed but have I got it right?
Thanks for help

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Dual Core Processor i7-2620M (2.70GHz) (Special Offer)
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M - 1GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st 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)
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Surround 5.1 PRO (£64)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS 802.11N - IDEAL FOR ONLINE GAMING
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery - 48.85WH
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W Adaptor (GT 540M) / 120W Adaptor (GT 555M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (1 License Product Key Card) (£80)
Anti-Virus
NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2011 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£12)

 

[MadMan]

For £900 id get this as it has a better gpu and a quad core cpu.

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2630QM (2.00GHz) 6MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 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)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery - 48.85WH
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W Adaptor (GT 540M) / 120W Adaptor (GT 555M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (1 License Product Key Card) (£80)
Anti-Virus
NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2011 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£12)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 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 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £900.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusII/

 

[cb1173]

Madman beat me to it. the spec he has posted is the spec i have ordered (apart from i went for 15.6" screen).
Cant wait for it to arrive.

The processor is better being a quad core rather than a dual core.
The gt 555 is a class 1 card where the GT540 is a class 2 http://www.notebookcheck.net

 

[nicopp]

Thanks MadMan
If I read you right you suggest trading the upgraded sound and wireless for quad processing and 2gb graphics.
The package with the software comes to 1000pounds I think (not 900 as i posted) by the way.
I am novice and wonder why I need these, aren't they more than I need or is it about the combination that results - I love to listen to music on headphones and have experienced poor onboard sound cards and we have very fast home broadband which I thought killer card would help with multiple-applications (ie running audio streaming, downloading and gaming simultaneously) Really appreciate your thoughts now you know how I intend to use. Does it change your view? And does your spec help with heat or is that not an issue?
Cheers

 

[nicopp]

Cb1173. Thanks. Guess that i ask you same question - are you trading sound and multiple-tasking wirelessly (that's only way I connect to net) for gaming performance or have I over-specced the wrong stuff?!?
Thanks both for recommend on silver warranty too. Missed that option.

 

[MadMan]

IF you have wireless N then Id suggest getting the killer wireless card. As for the sound card Id prioritise the cpu and gpu especially on laptops as you cant really upgrade them. Also I think the cooling is good on the laptop but if i were you I'd buy an laptop cooler as it really helps as laptops can get really hot after long sessions.

 

[cb1173]

i have speced mainly for gaming so i have gone for the quad core and better graphics. The standard wireless card (depending on router) should achieve 150mbps.
also as madman says, invest in a laptop cooler, i have ordered a zalman zm-nc1500 (£24 on amazon) today as i have one under my compaq and it has helped keep it cooler when gaming as without it i could not touch the case where the hd and processor are.

 

[nicopp]

Thank you both. I have bthomehub which is N class (but doesn't in reality achieve anything beyond 150mbps as far as I can tell maybe because there are some other devices running without N class cards around the home) anyway I welcome your advice and on the cooler issue I had one for the hp which worked but was not very sturdy and didn't sit well on my lap or when perched on arm of sofa so I will look at the zalman. I'm thinking to ditch the sound card then and look to upgrade the CPU and graphic chips ... liked the web reference.
Head spinning trying to get the right set up. Will see what tomorrow brings in feedback and views from elsewhere, anyone? In meantime very warm thanks for tonights input. PLUR

 

[Fear]

That is a good spec from MadMan it's what i would go for.

Them killer wireless cards from all the reviews i have ever seen are a waste of time providing little to no performance boost but they do seem to have problems.

 

[nicopp]

Thanks Fear. Really helps to have some guidance in this. It's a lot of my money and don't want to waste. Your time appreciated. Comments on the killer card especially I will look at some reviews. I observe that you are all quad core/lower clock advocates - this is theme of this forum,no? Or just application-driven ie gaming. Right time to go to work. I'll be monitoring throughout day if anyone thinks these guys above are Mad : ) (pun intended madman but no disrespect)

 

[nicopp]

Thanks again. Order now placed. Took advice on key aspects of graphic card and CPU, went for intel s oundcard standard and the intel 6300 wireless to see if n class 3 antenna might provide some difference which seemed not over expensive. Silver warranty : ) will be ordering salmon cooler too.