allankchambers
New member
INTRODUCTION
This is my first review on, well to be honest, anything on the internet, as I usually hide in the shadows, but no more...
A bit about my self so you know the type of user that I am. I have been working in IT Hardware and Software Support for 12 years. And have been building Desktop computers for about 15 years. I am 30 years old and I started quite young in building computers as loved the challenge and reward from doing so.
I have always avoided building my own laptops, as for me, it wasn't very cost affective and to source your components is not widely available.
I wanted a laptop that could replace my Custom Built Desktop PC, that was now near on 3 years old. The Desktop was Huge and the lady of the house wanted it gone as it was too big and ugly (ouch).
I came across PC Specialist from a review site and it really peaked my interest as I did not know that anyone provided a service where you can custom build a Laptop with TOP Components at a fantastic price!
I opted for the Optimus V 13"... I loved the idea of a 13" small Laptop that can be light and portable and play Games.. but not just "play" games, I mean "PLAY GAMES" at high detail and at a very good FPS.
SPECIFICATION
Processor: i7-4700MQ (2.4 gHz)
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB Kingston Hyper-X Genesis 1600mHz)
GPU: GTX 765M
HDD: Separately purchased SSD Crucial 480 GB (VT480M500SSD1) <-- fantastic SSD by the way
Wifi: Gigabit LAN & Killer 1202 + Bluetooth 4.0
Others: Upgraded the paste and purchased the Zalman ZM-NC3500 Cooling pad
ORDERING PROCESS
I understood before hand that purchasing from PC Specialists to receiving the goods make take a few weeks. I was one of those unlucky ones in September 2013 where my order too exactly 6 weeks to arrive at my house. The two issues with my order were the 1 extra week delay with the CPU and another 3.5 weeks with the delay of the 13" Chassis. There was an issue with shipping and PC Specialist kept me up to date each time I queried the delivery over email. PC Specialists in September was getting a lot of flak over the forums with the delays, but as working in a similar industry occurrences like this can happen were you try your best to get things done on time, but other things out of your control like "shipping" can really mess the process up. With that said I was very patient with my order and understood I was unlucky this time.
UNPACKING THE LAPTOP
Opening the box I was quite impressed with the box packaging... to be honest I was, for some reason, just expecting a custom built laptop to just be wrapped up in bubble rap. But it was in a nice box with some really good manuals in there for new users to computing, i.e. step by step guides on how to Install Windows. I thought that was a nice touch for people who are not really IT Savvy.
LAPTOP INSTALL
I opted for no OS to be installed on my laptop as I had Windows 8.1 on a USB3 stick ready and waiting. This was another nice touch from PC Specialist's where they installed Windows 7 on a mechanical hard drive (was the cheapest one I opted for to save money) so I could power it up and quickly see if everything is working. I was really pleased and relieved to see no dead pixels and a good nice clear screen with no wash outs. The Laptop had no scratches and no defects, I was a happy bunny as you always have that fear when ordering things on-line that these goods may arrive damaged.
I turned off the Laptop and popped in my SSD and Windows 8.1 USB3 stick and.... wow... Windows 8.1 installed in 5 minutes! USB3 and a SSD - what a great combo in installing an operating system!
After the OS installed in record time, I was on the hunt for Drivers. PC Specialist provide "most" drivers on a DVD. The Optimus 13" does not have a CD/DVD Drive so I attached a USB portable DVD Drive and put the Driver DVD in. The only driver that was missing from the DVD was the Wireless LAN & Killer. I used the ladies laptop to download this from http://www.killergaming.com/support/ and moved that over to my new laptop. Now with access to the internet I downloaded the latest NVIDIA graphics Driver (a must if you attend to play Battlefield 4) http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk.
The whole OS and Driver install process took me about 20 minutes. I was no up and running.
THE 1 MONTH OF USAGE
Lets break this up for people. The big topic for most that I noticed on these forums is fan noise.
Noise:
There is about 4 stages of "noise" from this laptop.
1st = Idle zero fan noise
2nd = Very small spin of the fan... practically in audible
3rd = Fan speeds up to about 80%.... audible, as loud as a the larger PS3 when gaming (this speed always happens when playing games)
4th = Very loud fan speed is up to 100% sounds like a hair dryer.
When looking around the Windows 8.1 Apps or browsing the web or typing a document or maybe writing this review with the brightness at 100% the fan speed is around the 1st and 2nd stages. This made me extremely happy, as I can work and browse the web with out annoying the Misses.
When playing Games using "only the Intel onboard graphics - not the NVIDIA" the fan speed is at Stage 2 and now and again does a burst of stage 3. This is good when playing lesser graphic games and wanting to play in a quiet environment.
When playing Games using the NVIDIA graphics card the fan speed will always be at Stage 3 and will only hit Stage 4 "IF" your lap or desk is covering the Air intake of the base of the laptop. Stage 4 for me is very rare as I position my laptop in away where it can get very good air flow.
AUDIO
For laptop speakers these are the worst part about the laptop. They are probably the worst speakers I have ever heard on any laptop. They are so quiet and tinny. You can improve the loudness via the Creative Software that comes with the Driver DVD or when watching a video using VLC 200% volume. But like most on these forums I just plug in a good pare of headphones and the sound is then awesome. With headphones in you cannot hear the fan at all even if it hits that Stage 4 turbo mode
PERFORMANCE
Amazing. The CPU + GPU combo of Intel's 8 cores and Nvidia 765M in this laptop is just... umm incredible. This laptop replaced my Gaming Desktop PC and for the new games the laptop out performs it!? Skyrim.. amazing, Civ5....superb, BF4... wow hows does this laptop do so well!? ITS A LAPTOP it should be rubbish right? Even if you wanted to be crazy and play Bf4 on ultra detail... the laptop will take it and give you around 30 fps. High detail 60-80... Medium 70-100... Low 90-150. For someone who likes his First Person Shooters to get these high FPS on a "small" laptop is an achievement in my book.
If you do purchase this laptop be kind to it and make sure you purchase a Solid State Disk instead of the old Mechanical type drives. You really will not regret it.
Cold bootup time is 8 seconds. Shutdown is around 6 seconds. Standby sleep time is around 4 seconds... and Standby wake time is 1 second and about 3 seconds until you can browse the web if on Wifi.
GLITCHES/ISSUES
The first major issue was the LAN & Killer wifi. Every 10 minutes the WIFI disconnected. OR if I was doing a big data transfer... i.e. copying my files from the old computer to the laptop... the wifi would die. It would not reconnect unless I disable the network adapter and then re-enable it.
Through a bit of research on the web it looked like this was a common issue with the Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Driver. You could tweak the existing Device Properties of the Driver to prevent this issue. But no need to go into that now as LAN & Killer released a new driver, which has fixed the issue. I am currently using version: 10.0.1.268 and I do not use the Software that comes pre-bundles with the driver.
I have also been experiencing Shutdown and Sleep issues. I can tell when it happens, as when I hit shutdown or standbye/sleep the fan goes into Stage 3 and the lights all stay lit but the screen is off and the keyboard is non responsive - this could be a problem if you just shut the lid and expect it to go into standby but really the laptop is still on. This has happened randomly. I cannot replicate the error. Its probably happened to me 5 times so far. I think its the Graphics Driver for Windows 8.1 that's causing the issue. NVIDIA are releasing a new driver soon so I hope that could fix this issue. Or it could just be a Windows 8.1 issue. I am tempted to put Windows 7 back on the laptop to see if the issue ever occurs. This is a software issue and not a hardware issue in my view.
CONCLUSION
Easy conclusion this. The laptop is the best bit of kit I have ever used. It ticks all the boxes; It is small... light... clear screen... FAST... Quiet when Browsing.... Loud when gaming, which for me is to be expected. Touch pad is good, keyboard is a joy to type on and its backlit. The look of the laptop is also nice. Speakers are terrible but audio over headphones is great. Wireless is now superb thanks to the latest drivers. Oh and did i say this laptop is fast? I forget
I have now sold my Desktop PC and this has fully replaced it.
Highly recommend!
Allan
This is my first review on, well to be honest, anything on the internet, as I usually hide in the shadows, but no more...
A bit about my self so you know the type of user that I am. I have been working in IT Hardware and Software Support for 12 years. And have been building Desktop computers for about 15 years. I am 30 years old and I started quite young in building computers as loved the challenge and reward from doing so.
I have always avoided building my own laptops, as for me, it wasn't very cost affective and to source your components is not widely available.
I wanted a laptop that could replace my Custom Built Desktop PC, that was now near on 3 years old. The Desktop was Huge and the lady of the house wanted it gone as it was too big and ugly (ouch).
I came across PC Specialist from a review site and it really peaked my interest as I did not know that anyone provided a service where you can custom build a Laptop with TOP Components at a fantastic price!
I opted for the Optimus V 13"... I loved the idea of a 13" small Laptop that can be light and portable and play Games.. but not just "play" games, I mean "PLAY GAMES" at high detail and at a very good FPS.
SPECIFICATION
Processor: i7-4700MQ (2.4 gHz)
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB Kingston Hyper-X Genesis 1600mHz)
GPU: GTX 765M
HDD: Separately purchased SSD Crucial 480 GB (VT480M500SSD1) <-- fantastic SSD by the way
Wifi: Gigabit LAN & Killer 1202 + Bluetooth 4.0
Others: Upgraded the paste and purchased the Zalman ZM-NC3500 Cooling pad
ORDERING PROCESS
I understood before hand that purchasing from PC Specialists to receiving the goods make take a few weeks. I was one of those unlucky ones in September 2013 where my order too exactly 6 weeks to arrive at my house. The two issues with my order were the 1 extra week delay with the CPU and another 3.5 weeks with the delay of the 13" Chassis. There was an issue with shipping and PC Specialist kept me up to date each time I queried the delivery over email. PC Specialists in September was getting a lot of flak over the forums with the delays, but as working in a similar industry occurrences like this can happen were you try your best to get things done on time, but other things out of your control like "shipping" can really mess the process up. With that said I was very patient with my order and understood I was unlucky this time.
UNPACKING THE LAPTOP
Opening the box I was quite impressed with the box packaging... to be honest I was, for some reason, just expecting a custom built laptop to just be wrapped up in bubble rap. But it was in a nice box with some really good manuals in there for new users to computing, i.e. step by step guides on how to Install Windows. I thought that was a nice touch for people who are not really IT Savvy.
LAPTOP INSTALL
I opted for no OS to be installed on my laptop as I had Windows 8.1 on a USB3 stick ready and waiting. This was another nice touch from PC Specialist's where they installed Windows 7 on a mechanical hard drive (was the cheapest one I opted for to save money) so I could power it up and quickly see if everything is working. I was really pleased and relieved to see no dead pixels and a good nice clear screen with no wash outs. The Laptop had no scratches and no defects, I was a happy bunny as you always have that fear when ordering things on-line that these goods may arrive damaged.
I turned off the Laptop and popped in my SSD and Windows 8.1 USB3 stick and.... wow... Windows 8.1 installed in 5 minutes! USB3 and a SSD - what a great combo in installing an operating system!
After the OS installed in record time, I was on the hunt for Drivers. PC Specialist provide "most" drivers on a DVD. The Optimus 13" does not have a CD/DVD Drive so I attached a USB portable DVD Drive and put the Driver DVD in. The only driver that was missing from the DVD was the Wireless LAN & Killer. I used the ladies laptop to download this from http://www.killergaming.com/support/ and moved that over to my new laptop. Now with access to the internet I downloaded the latest NVIDIA graphics Driver (a must if you attend to play Battlefield 4) http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk.
The whole OS and Driver install process took me about 20 minutes. I was no up and running.
THE 1 MONTH OF USAGE
Lets break this up for people. The big topic for most that I noticed on these forums is fan noise.
Noise:
There is about 4 stages of "noise" from this laptop.
1st = Idle zero fan noise
2nd = Very small spin of the fan... practically in audible
3rd = Fan speeds up to about 80%.... audible, as loud as a the larger PS3 when gaming (this speed always happens when playing games)
4th = Very loud fan speed is up to 100% sounds like a hair dryer.
When looking around the Windows 8.1 Apps or browsing the web or typing a document or maybe writing this review with the brightness at 100% the fan speed is around the 1st and 2nd stages. This made me extremely happy, as I can work and browse the web with out annoying the Misses.
When playing Games using "only the Intel onboard graphics - not the NVIDIA" the fan speed is at Stage 2 and now and again does a burst of stage 3. This is good when playing lesser graphic games and wanting to play in a quiet environment.
When playing Games using the NVIDIA graphics card the fan speed will always be at Stage 3 and will only hit Stage 4 "IF" your lap or desk is covering the Air intake of the base of the laptop. Stage 4 for me is very rare as I position my laptop in away where it can get very good air flow.
AUDIO
For laptop speakers these are the worst part about the laptop. They are probably the worst speakers I have ever heard on any laptop. They are so quiet and tinny. You can improve the loudness via the Creative Software that comes with the Driver DVD or when watching a video using VLC 200% volume. But like most on these forums I just plug in a good pare of headphones and the sound is then awesome. With headphones in you cannot hear the fan at all even if it hits that Stage 4 turbo mode
PERFORMANCE
Amazing. The CPU + GPU combo of Intel's 8 cores and Nvidia 765M in this laptop is just... umm incredible. This laptop replaced my Gaming Desktop PC and for the new games the laptop out performs it!? Skyrim.. amazing, Civ5....superb, BF4... wow hows does this laptop do so well!? ITS A LAPTOP it should be rubbish right? Even if you wanted to be crazy and play Bf4 on ultra detail... the laptop will take it and give you around 30 fps. High detail 60-80... Medium 70-100... Low 90-150. For someone who likes his First Person Shooters to get these high FPS on a "small" laptop is an achievement in my book.
If you do purchase this laptop be kind to it and make sure you purchase a Solid State Disk instead of the old Mechanical type drives. You really will not regret it.
Cold bootup time is 8 seconds. Shutdown is around 6 seconds. Standby sleep time is around 4 seconds... and Standby wake time is 1 second and about 3 seconds until you can browse the web if on Wifi.
GLITCHES/ISSUES
The first major issue was the LAN & Killer wifi. Every 10 minutes the WIFI disconnected. OR if I was doing a big data transfer... i.e. copying my files from the old computer to the laptop... the wifi would die. It would not reconnect unless I disable the network adapter and then re-enable it.
Through a bit of research on the web it looked like this was a common issue with the Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Driver. You could tweak the existing Device Properties of the Driver to prevent this issue. But no need to go into that now as LAN & Killer released a new driver, which has fixed the issue. I am currently using version: 10.0.1.268 and I do not use the Software that comes pre-bundles with the driver.
I have also been experiencing Shutdown and Sleep issues. I can tell when it happens, as when I hit shutdown or standbye/sleep the fan goes into Stage 3 and the lights all stay lit but the screen is off and the keyboard is non responsive - this could be a problem if you just shut the lid and expect it to go into standby but really the laptop is still on. This has happened randomly. I cannot replicate the error. Its probably happened to me 5 times so far. I think its the Graphics Driver for Windows 8.1 that's causing the issue. NVIDIA are releasing a new driver soon so I hope that could fix this issue. Or it could just be a Windows 8.1 issue. I am tempted to put Windows 7 back on the laptop to see if the issue ever occurs. This is a software issue and not a hardware issue in my view.
CONCLUSION
Easy conclusion this. The laptop is the best bit of kit I have ever used. It ticks all the boxes; It is small... light... clear screen... FAST... Quiet when Browsing.... Loud when gaming, which for me is to be expected. Touch pad is good, keyboard is a joy to type on and its backlit. The look of the laptop is also nice. Speakers are terrible but audio over headphones is great. Wireless is now superb thanks to the latest drivers. Oh and did i say this laptop is fast? I forget
I have now sold my Desktop PC and this has fully replaced it.
Highly recommend!
Allan
