Odd budget point, could use a bit of advice.

[Kurenin]

Hello there, I've been looking for a laptop for a while now because i'm currently very often in and out of hospital for weeks at a time and it's incredibly boring to just sit there watching the same repeats of Dave over and over again. I'm also planning various trips abroad and need a decent desktop replacement laptop to allow me to continue working and gaming on the move. I did recently buy an Asus laptop but there was huge problems with delivery and simplyasus.com ended up asking me for more money, I have since told them to shove it and return my money.

When my money is returned I should have around £880 to spend.

Having played around with the configuration of various things I have found this is a very awkward price point as it's too little to get some things and it's too much in other ways (pretty much every configuration i've come up with is either £790ish or £950+, with very little middle ground).

I suppose i'm being a little vague and you may want some more information as to what i'm looking for.

I'd prefer a 15.6" screen (though 17.3" isn't totally out of the question), obviously the highest quality picture possible, preferably with DVI+HDMI output.
2-3 USB slots is sufficient
Blu-ray is nice but as I can't afford £20 per Blu-ray film and games are easier to buy on Steam, it's not particularly needed.
I do not require an operating system (or indeed any software at all really) as I have a spare 7 Professional key from my desktop build.
I would very much prefer a GeForce 560M over a 555M but the 555M is about the minimum i'd go to as the goal is a semi-portable desktop replacement.
Ideally a Sandybridge quad core.
Ideally i'd want a 7200RPM hard drive, but i'm unsure if that's more likely to fail in a laptop than a 5400RPM drive, i'd say 500-750gb is sufficient for my needs.

Funnily enough i'm in a similar situation to this chap: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?10105-Gaming-Laptop just, he has quite a bit more cash to splash on it.

I'm currently looking at:

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)

Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & INTEL® CENTRINO® ADVANCED-N 6230 inc BLUETOOTH

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Unfortunately this does have a 555M, no DVI output and is £90 under budget. If I beef it up a bit and go for;

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)

Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Then i've just gone over budget by a whopping £130, but i've built the laptop to pretty much the specifications I require. Unfortunately there's no way for me to dump the things I don't need such as the card reader. I could drop down on the quality of the screen - but i'm pretty unsure as to whether this would be a noticable drop in quality - would I be kicking myself for not forking out the extra 80 quid? I could also not have arctic paste, but honestly I would very much like the machine not to overheat and fry the processor. With that said, Sandybridge chips are cooler than the previous generation, do I really need the premium paste?

Really itching to buy something as soon as possible but i'm at a pretty horrible price point, any advice would be appreciated.

 

[InfernalBadger]

I could also not have arctic paste, but honestly I would very much like the machine not to overheat and fry the processor.

I wouldn't worry too much about that. The processor will never get 'fried', it will simple slow itself down when it gets too hot. Which is unlikely as long as you are giving it adequate room for cooling.

I would definitely try and stretch for the 560GTX as it seems to be quite a step up from the 555.

Good luck getting what you want

 

[Kurenin]

How about the screen? Does anyone have one? What's the main difference? Is it worth the extra £79?

 

[PCS]

How about the screen? Does anyone have one? What's the main difference? Is it worth the extra £79?

If you must have the most realistic/broad colour range (or use the laptop outdoors where glare is an issue) this screen is recommended. Otherwise the glossy screen is more than adequate.

 

[Kurenin]

If I were to order the above specced Vortex II without the matte screen, are all of those parts in stock and how long roughly would it take to build and ship if it were ordered on a Friday night (outside of working hours)?

 

[PCS]

All parts (except matte screens) are either in stock or due into stock.

Before placing an order it is important to note that your computer will be tailor made to your requirements. Because of this it is very difficult for us to provide every customer an exact delivery date. So that we can be as upfront as possible over how long your order is likely to take to be dispatched, please refer to the table below. The table shows live statistics based on orders that have been dispatched over the past 5 days and details the length of time orders have taken from process date to dispatch date.

Dispatches	7 days	14 days	21 days	28 days
Desktops	25.12%	73.91%	94.69%	97.58%
Mini PCs	42.86%	85.71%	100%	100%
Laptops	77.78%	88.89%	93.33%	93.33%

 

[Kurenin]

Bugger it, went for this;

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)
Free Item
FREE Batman Arkham City with any Nvidia® GeForce GTX560 or above!
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

 

[Kurenin]

Hey, my order just entered Pre-Production and I was wondering two things.

Firstly, are all my bits in stock (I want to blow stuff up in BF3!!) and;

Secondly, are the CPU/GPU user upgradable in the future? I plan on keeping this machine for as long as possible and that means i'll probably end up needing to replace at least the GPU down the line, is this something i'll be able to do or will I need to send it back to PCS to do this?

 

[PCS]

We do not provide stock updates on our forums, we hold stock of all parts and you can see on your online account if an item is out of stock.

The CPU is realtively easy to upgrade and GPU can be upgraded, but you would need to return the laptop to us for this. Please note that we can only offer upgrades if we are able to source compatible stock. There are no guarantees that we can perform upgrades if stock is not available.

 

[Kurenin]

Still in pre-production due to stock things on the screen, however I have noticed that if I were to cancel and re-order with the same things i'd be saving £16. Considering my laptop hasn't entered production yet, will this saving be creditted or do I have to pay the price of the components when I placed the order 20 days ago?

 

[PCS]

You can cancel and re-order, losing your queue position. However, would you be happy for us to call you if the price goes up before entering production to take an extra fee?

Our prices are updated regularly and we try to offer the best pricing at all times. Sometimes the price can move a little either way. At the moment prices are planned to increase due to the hard drive situation in Thailand.

 

[Maestro]

Nothing will be credited. When you place the order the price you pay is based on the cost of the components to us on the day you place your order. Wether the price goes up or down subsequently is irrelevant. A credit will not be given if the price drops , similarly we will not call you and ask for more money if the price rises. You obviously can cancel your order prior to it entering production without any penalty, but if you re-order it will begin at the back of the queue.