jamesbarton988
Member
How difficult is it to spec a laptop? Lightroom, spreadsheet and database. Every time I think I've got it, I read something else.
Reviews always highlight something - noise, poor components, build quality, slowing down when they get hot... So I thought I'd come back to PCS whence my still-going 12 year old desktop came. Mind you, that desktop is a bit like Trigger's broom.
I'm needing to replace a 6 year old Dell XPS 17 with an i7-2720QM that was top of the line at the time, so had lasted well. Sadly the number pad no longer records 7,8 or 9, and the latest Lightroom no longer works with the gt550 graphics card.
However, it is still quite fast, as I replaced disc 1 with an SSD for my operating system. At the time (2 years ago), replacing the second disk with a 1TB SSD was too expensive for such an old device.
The memory is at its maximum.
Lightroom is for RAW file editing and cataloguing. From Lightroom, I often open photos in Photoshop to merge them for HDR or for panoramas. Those are processor and graphics and memory intensive.
Spreadsheets are Excel and Libre Office Calc, and I can have 3 or 4 open at a time. I often get 'cannot clear clipboard' errors while copying - a sign of low RAM.
Databases include accounting software, and also outlook.
Because I help friends, including one running a business, I often have 3 or 4 browsers open as well as spreadsheets with some pretty interesting formulae and macros, and sometimes Teamviewer as well.
Once a week at least, the laptop is taken away from home, so it needs to be at least luggable.
If Dell still did a 17 inch XPS, I would go there, but they don't.
Office and high end laptops often have lesser specs, or don't actually give much improvement in the way of speed (certainly not according to comparison sites).
It looks as if I have to go for a gaming machine to get the speedy processor, enough connectors and enough RAM, and hard disks. But I don't want fancy colours and lights everywhere. That ruled out a few manufacturers.
Even here on PC Specialist, words and figures differ.
How much can be fairly easily changed on a PCS laptop at some point down the line? RAM, HDDs, battery, anything else?
This is what I am looking at to last another 6 or more years before having to go through all of this palaver again:
Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 120Hz 90% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) - I've tried 15.6 but find I miss things on spreadsheets. The extra size is also useful on photos, and at home I work with a 24 inch external screen using the laptop as extended display screen 2. Generally the bigger screen also gives a full sized keyboard and number pad, great for working away from home. The size and weight matches my current laptop.
As I will be using it for photos, the colour gamut is important 100% sRGB is the target. The FHD gives 90% NTSC which is better than that - the 4K version only has "N/A" as its gamut!
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache - PCSpecialist are the only ones who seem to have the i7-8700 which would give me a 126% boost. . The 7700HQ usually supplied by manufacturers only gives a 77% boost, which is a bit of a surprise 6 years on!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB) - but considering 32GB, or even 64GB. How much RAM is enough? When does it become pointless?
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 OC 1480 MHz - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1 - this appears to be the best compromise - it is little more expensive than the 1050 but gives a lot more. It should help Photoshop if not Lightroom, though Adobe claim to be working to make LR use graphics processors more.
1st Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 2.5" SSHD - UP TO 5X FASTER THAN HDD! - but maybe another SSD for reduction in heat/noise and speeding up particularly photo viewing and editing.
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W) - for OS and swap and programmes, plus the Lightroom database, outlook database and accounting database. Mmm, maybe 500GB like my current laptop, or that second SSD for the database elements.
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x 330W AC Adaptor - I keep one in the laptop bag
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead) - I keep one in the laptop bag
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1535 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.1 - future proofing - new logitech mice use bluetooth LE which is in the 4.1 specification
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports - enough ports for logitech unifying receiver, USB 3 disk for Windows File History, Graphics Card and Pen, camera or scanner. Type C and thunderbolt are future proofing. I probably need a docking station to simplify it
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH) - I have never found any reviews or statements as to how long that might last. The Octane 15.6 says 130 mins, so it is perhaps the same. The battery on my XPS is 90WH but hopefully these specs (particularly if I go for SSDs) are less power hungry!
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PADHopefully this is just one colour, and preferably not red which I find hard to see. The video and images look to be blue, or variable.
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1
Reviews always highlight something - noise, poor components, build quality, slowing down when they get hot... So I thought I'd come back to PCS whence my still-going 12 year old desktop came. Mind you, that desktop is a bit like Trigger's broom.
I'm needing to replace a 6 year old Dell XPS 17 with an i7-2720QM that was top of the line at the time, so had lasted well. Sadly the number pad no longer records 7,8 or 9, and the latest Lightroom no longer works with the gt550 graphics card.
However, it is still quite fast, as I replaced disc 1 with an SSD for my operating system. At the time (2 years ago), replacing the second disk with a 1TB SSD was too expensive for such an old device.
The memory is at its maximum.
Lightroom is for RAW file editing and cataloguing. From Lightroom, I often open photos in Photoshop to merge them for HDR or for panoramas. Those are processor and graphics and memory intensive.
Spreadsheets are Excel and Libre Office Calc, and I can have 3 or 4 open at a time. I often get 'cannot clear clipboard' errors while copying - a sign of low RAM.
Databases include accounting software, and also outlook.
Because I help friends, including one running a business, I often have 3 or 4 browsers open as well as spreadsheets with some pretty interesting formulae and macros, and sometimes Teamviewer as well.
Once a week at least, the laptop is taken away from home, so it needs to be at least luggable.
If Dell still did a 17 inch XPS, I would go there, but they don't.
Office and high end laptops often have lesser specs, or don't actually give much improvement in the way of speed (certainly not according to comparison sites).
It looks as if I have to go for a gaming machine to get the speedy processor, enough connectors and enough RAM, and hard disks. But I don't want fancy colours and lights everywhere. That ruled out a few manufacturers.
Even here on PC Specialist, words and figures differ.
- The video of the Octane is not the same as the still images. - The trackpad seems to have a fingerprint scanner either old-fashioned swipe between the buttons, or top left as a new-style touch.
- I can only find 3 USB A 3 ports in the pictures.
4 x USB 3.0 ports (USB3.1 Gen1 Type-A) - 2 left, 1 right. ONE MISSING
1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 port (Type-C) - left side
1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 port (Type-C) Thunderbolt Combo Port - left side - PCS is a UK company, yet the keyboard is US layout? Would I get a UK keyboard with a £ sign not a #, and a full enter key?
- The only review of an Octane is actually a desktop and linked wrongly to other devices too. Has anyone with an Octane a few minutes to do a review?
How much can be fairly easily changed on a PCS laptop at some point down the line? RAM, HDDs, battery, anything else?
This is what I am looking at to last another 6 or more years before having to go through all of this palaver again:
Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 120Hz 90% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) - I've tried 15.6 but find I miss things on spreadsheets. The extra size is also useful on photos, and at home I work with a 24 inch external screen using the laptop as extended display screen 2. Generally the bigger screen also gives a full sized keyboard and number pad, great for working away from home. The size and weight matches my current laptop.
As I will be using it for photos, the colour gamut is important 100% sRGB is the target. The FHD gives 90% NTSC which is better than that - the 4K version only has "N/A" as its gamut!
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache - PCSpecialist are the only ones who seem to have the i7-8700 which would give me a 126% boost. . The 7700HQ usually supplied by manufacturers only gives a 77% boost, which is a bit of a surprise 6 years on!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB) - but considering 32GB, or even 64GB. How much RAM is enough? When does it become pointless?
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 OC 1480 MHz - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1 - this appears to be the best compromise - it is little more expensive than the 1050 but gives a lot more. It should help Photoshop if not Lightroom, though Adobe claim to be working to make LR use graphics processors more.
1st Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 2.5" SSHD - UP TO 5X FASTER THAN HDD! - but maybe another SSD for reduction in heat/noise and speeding up particularly photo viewing and editing.
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W) - for OS and swap and programmes, plus the Lightroom database, outlook database and accounting database. Mmm, maybe 500GB like my current laptop, or that second SSD for the database elements.
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x 330W AC Adaptor - I keep one in the laptop bag
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead) - I keep one in the laptop bag
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1535 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.1 - future proofing - new logitech mice use bluetooth LE which is in the 4.1 specification
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports - enough ports for logitech unifying receiver, USB 3 disk for Windows File History, Graphics Card and Pen, camera or scanner. Type C and thunderbolt are future proofing. I probably need a docking station to simplify it
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH) - I have never found any reviews or statements as to how long that might last. The Octane 15.6 says 130 mins, so it is perhaps the same. The battery on my XPS is 90WH but hopefully these specs (particularly if I go for SSDs) are less power hungry!
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PADHopefully this is just one colour, and preferably not red which I find hard to see. The video and images look to be blue, or variable.
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1
