Looking to buy a Vortex IV

Cricky

Cricky

Enthusiast
Hi,

I've been looking around for a new gaming laptop to replace my existing 7555GX and after much searching I've settled on the Vortex IV 17".

Before I buy I just thought I'd ask here to see if I've picked the right components or made a glaring error. :)

17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel Quad Core i7-4700MQ (2.4GHz) 6MB
8GB Samsung 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1x8GB) (leaves me 3 free slots for future upgrading)
AMD Radeon HD 8970M 4GB DDR5 (I know the 780M is better but £300 is a lot extra)
240GB Kingston V300 SSD Sata 6GB (450MB/R, 450MB/W) (I have a 1TB SSHD i bought recently to use as the secondary drive)
8x SATA DVD +/- R/RW/Dual Layer
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio
Gigabit LAN & Wireless Intel Ultimate N-6300 (450Mbps) (upgraded for 5GHz for future proofing)
3 Year Silver Warranty (5 quid extra for a year of returns costs seemed like a decent deal)

I'm removing windows 7 to save £79 and I'll install my own. I have a spare Vista key so I'll put that on my old laptop.

Anything obvious I've missed?

Cheers!
 
Cricky

Cricky

Enthusiast
I think it was about £1180 when I checked. That's pretty much my budget. I didn't want to go too much above £1000 but I was prepared to pay a bit more for better components.
 
S

SlimCini

KC and the Sunshine BANNED
For £1180 that's pretty good. I'd get the hyper-X SSD for an extra £20 as it's a bit faster. Do you really need 240Gb though? What you planning on putting on there apart from the OS? Also get the arctic thermal paste. And a good choice to upgrade from the N135 wireless... I had that initially and it was a bit lame so I got the N6300 and now get consistent 120 speeds the whole time...
 
Cricky

Cricky

Enthusiast
Thanks for the advice! :) I just realised I hadn't noticed there were more SSD options at the bottom as I hadn't scrolled down. Doh! I'll switch to the Hyper-X.

So you think 240GB SSD is overkill then? I haven't had an SSD before so wasn't sure what to put on it apart from the OS. Switching down to 120GB would save me £72 now and it is one of the components I could upgrade in the future if needed.
 
S

SlimCini

KC and the Sunshine BANNED
I've got a 120Gb SSD and a 750Gb scorpio black HD (see my sig). I've got the OS and a few things on there like Office installed on the SSD but not much else. Everything else is on my scorpio black. All depends on how many large, complex pieces of software you'll be installing which take time to be opened up every time. Complex pieces of software tend to benefit more because they take longer to load so an SSD can have a more significant impact.

The OS will be the largest and most complex piece of software on there so the bootup is the main thing that will be boosted by an SSD. Games may load a fraction quicker but does waiting 7 seconds really make any difference to waiting 5 seconds? Whereas bootup, the difference is more significant. But an £72 for a bit more SSD space just for barely noticeable software opening speedups? Up to you though. If money was no object I'd just get a massive SSD! But I doubt your SSHD will be particularly slow loading anything so it's not as if you're going to be impeded by it.
 
Cricky

Cricky

Enthusiast
I had thought about getting one a while back but was dubious about their effectiveness. Do you think they make a difference in cooling the laptop?
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
Cricky said:
I had thought about getting one a while back but was dubious about their effectiveness. Do you think they make a difference in cooling the laptop?
Click to expand...
A cooling stand is definitely a good investment for a gaming laptop.
 
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