So as an update to the thread I first made about a month ago, I've ended up going with the Optimus laptop as a upgrade to my 4 year-old workhorse Asus laptop- specs for the Optimus below, and pictues attached- Asus on the left, Optimus on the right.
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x 150W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Optimus X Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Pricing for the laptop was great at just over £1,300- roughly equivalent specs on the market from big brand names (with a noticeably smaller hard drive) would cost me about £400 more than this. The laptop was ordered on the 23rd of September and dispatched on the 7th of October, received on the 8th without any problems. It spent 10 working days on active production and testing. PC Specialist staff were great from start to finish and kept me updated on the status of the build throughout. When I had questions as well on receipt of the product they were also very prompt and responsive to my queries (thanks Stephen!)
Typing on the keyboard feels great, though am still easing myself into the new keyboard layout. The trackpad is also very nice, large and responsive. Additionally, whilst this is the first laptop I've had that is primarily made out of plastic, the build quality of the chassis still feels surprisingly quite sturdy in my hands. I'm also quite happy with its subdued look- not too flashy but still very sleek with power built into it.
Technology's advanced so much the last few years without me realising, and SSDs really are just as amazing as I'd hoped they'd be- boot times and the initial startup lag is basically blindingly fast compared to previously. The new chipset and graphics card are taking my games well too, in the limited time I've had to test them (Total War Three Kingdoms, CoreTemp screenshot included). Temperatures are pretty hot, though am guessing it's still in the 'normal' range for this generation of chips- would appreciate comments from others. I'm still yet to apply new thermal paste myself, as well as trying to undervolt to see how far I can get, will be interested to see the effects... Even so, this is coming out miles ahead of my old Asus which would have probably overheated and restarted itself long ago.
I should mention as an aside that the fans do run quite loudly when playing and under heavy loads- louder than I expected, and louder than my old Asus. I personally don't mind it, but would be something to keep in mind for others who see this.
Overall quite happy with my purchase and experience, would buy from PCSpecialist again
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x 150W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Optimus X Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Pricing for the laptop was great at just over £1,300- roughly equivalent specs on the market from big brand names (with a noticeably smaller hard drive) would cost me about £400 more than this. The laptop was ordered on the 23rd of September and dispatched on the 7th of October, received on the 8th without any problems. It spent 10 working days on active production and testing. PC Specialist staff were great from start to finish and kept me updated on the status of the build throughout. When I had questions as well on receipt of the product they were also very prompt and responsive to my queries (thanks Stephen!)
Typing on the keyboard feels great, though am still easing myself into the new keyboard layout. The trackpad is also very nice, large and responsive. Additionally, whilst this is the first laptop I've had that is primarily made out of plastic, the build quality of the chassis still feels surprisingly quite sturdy in my hands. I'm also quite happy with its subdued look- not too flashy but still very sleek with power built into it.
Technology's advanced so much the last few years without me realising, and SSDs really are just as amazing as I'd hoped they'd be- boot times and the initial startup lag is basically blindingly fast compared to previously. The new chipset and graphics card are taking my games well too, in the limited time I've had to test them (Total War Three Kingdoms, CoreTemp screenshot included). Temperatures are pretty hot, though am guessing it's still in the 'normal' range for this generation of chips- would appreciate comments from others. I'm still yet to apply new thermal paste myself, as well as trying to undervolt to see how far I can get, will be interested to see the effects... Even so, this is coming out miles ahead of my old Asus which would have probably overheated and restarted itself long ago.
I should mention as an aside that the fans do run quite loudly when playing and under heavy loads- louder than I expected, and louder than my old Asus. I personally don't mind it, but would be something to keep in mind for others who see this.
Overall quite happy with my purchase and experience, would buy from PCSpecialist again
