Octane Series: 17.3 (UPDATED) - Powerful but at a cost.

Fellowplayer

New member
Got one of the best laptops they have to offer for the purposes of gaming, there are some pros and cons to it and I will detail them below but for my opinion I believe this machine is very good and at a good price. Looked at other places for a similar type of specification and found the same laptop model was used in all cases but with a different name so there was no getting around that, it gets a little warm in the middle and when you really kick it into gear those fans inside get a little on the loud side so it's certainly not a silent machine. The main issue I have was the way the drivers were installed, the main problem I have is the way they setup the audio system. For some reason sometimes when I start up the computer the audio makes the machine sounds like everything is under water the only way I can fix that is to restart the machine and it happens around 50% of the time, I am assuming it is a driver problem so I will fix it myself. Not entirely sure why they want a minimum of 3 images too as I am not sure what they expect me to show so enjoy these generic images.


Pros
Powerful machine for gaming. There is no game this cannot run smoothly, you will get a good amount of years game performance.
Fantastic speakers, you think of the audio difference between cheap stereo speakers and expensive bass speakers, this has the gold.
Very good at VR.
4 USB ports gives me what I need.
2 USB type-C used with a C-A USB adapter makes me use them like a type-A so this is also good.
Battery pack is small and can be removed easily.


Cons
Audio sometimes sounds like everything is underwater. Odd bug which I am assuming is a driver issue.
Gets a little warm easily even when idle but not too much of a concern.
Fans get a bit loud when used intensively.
Very heavy and bulky machine, not practical to carry around.
HDMI is located at the back with no adjacent USB type-A. My VR needs both so I have to twist the cables around to use it.
AC Adapter is HUGE and heavy.
Do too many intensive applications at once it does get a little laggy but that is only if you are really taking it to its limits.

Conclusion (UPDATED)
It is a good pick for your gaming needs. I would recommend you get a laptop cooling stand just to play it safe. If you also experience problems with the audio and that 'under water' feel, try replacing the drivers see if that works but restarting the machine usually fixes it as a temporary resolve. It is pretty heavy so think of this as a 'desktop replacement', don't go carrying this thing around.

UPDATE
After a month of having the machine the problem is still there but I do believe it is a driver issue as there seems to be 2 separate audio drivers that might be fighting each other for dominance. I do not believe it is hardware because just restarting it with the machine still powered fixes the problem, if it was hardware the problem would be more constant. My recommendation is it format your machine and start from scratch and install drivers yourself.
 

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ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
The audio issue might not be a driver problem, if you bought a Windows license with it then PCS will have installed all the drivers. If this sound issue only happens some of the times and fixes itself on reboot it could be a hardware issue - I would suggest you record the sound and contact PCS as soon as possible.
 
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