Optimus IV 17" - Ordered!

D

dlatimer

Bronze Level Poster
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
90GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
1st 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 MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
2 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor (£19)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days

Order summary:
After weeks of deliberation, I finally decided to go for the Optimus IV 17" model. It's terrific value for money and should meet my casual gaming needs and enhance my photo editing experience. I have an additional 320GB Seagate Sata hard-drive to add for storage, which I will do myself. The only downside to note thus far is that it appears PCS are very busy at the moment so my timing is poor. That said, as soon as the laptop arrives I will provide what appears to be one of few reviews on this particular laptop model. Suffice to say, I cannot wait to get it in my hands!

Lastly, thank you to all of those who offered advice prior to my final decision.

Review:
Check back as soon as she arrives! :)
 
Last edited:
R

raylotus

New member
Just thinking about ordering an Optimus but have been told by PCS, "overclocking is not supported on the chassis we sell".
Has nobody bought a laptop from PCS with Intel 3820QM (now 3840QM) or 3920XM (now 3940XM) from PCS that's overclocked?
 
D

dlatimer

Bronze Level Poster
Optimus 17" Review

Order process & delivery
Like many of those reading this review, I hadn’t ever purchased a machine from PCS before. Naturally, I was a little hesitant with my order at first but in truth there was never any concerns, as the order process from start to finish was absolutely brilliant. Once ordered, PCS provide you with a detailed flowchart of how your order will progress as it reaches each stage of production. Suffice to say, PCS updated my order daily and it was ultimately re-assuring to see and understand the progression without ever needing to pick up the phone.

The order itself, despite choosing the standard delivery, only took five working days to build and dispatch which I was truly impressed with. In all honesty, I had ordered my laptop during what appeared to be a mad Uni rush so I was expecting such a quick turnaround, which goes to show how prompt PCS are in terms of handling orders.

The delivery was also pleasing as DPD provided a 10:32 – 11:32 slot on delivery day. The driver turned up within the given schedule and subsequently handed over my Optimus IV in a well-packaged box with no visible bumps or knocks to note.

Un-packing the Optimus IV 17”
As stated above, the laptop itself was well-packaged inside two boxes – the first being a thick outer box that was unmarked, albeit with a delivery note on the side. Inside that was the a standard-looking laptop box which you would expect to see, of which was thinner and had a carrier handle on the top. Within the latter laptop box there were two compartments – a small rectangular area for the chargers (I ordered two), and obviously a much larger compartment for a well-packaged Optimus IV 17” laptop protected in fitted polystyrene. The box also contained a driver CD and a few manuals, a few small-threaded screws (spares?) and a battery that was secured in bubble-wrap.
The only slight negative to note is that the charger is bulky and quite heavy compared to most conventional laptop chargers. That said, it doesn’t get hot like other chargers and I’m impressed by its build quality so it depends how you look at this as to whether it’s a negative or not. For me, it’s not a massive issue but if you plan to travel then you might wish to keep in mind that you’ll need a bit of space in your bag for the charger. That aside, I have no complaints and I received everything I expected.

First look at the Optimus IV 17” build / model
The first thing that went through my mind was that it wasn’t as big or heavy as I had anticipated it being. Granted, compared to the 15” model the differences may be somewhat noticeable if you had them side-by-side. However, compared to my two year-old HP DV6 15.6” laptop the Optimus IV 17” had thinner, better quality casing and yet isn’t that much heavier than what I’m already used to. Furthermore, the finish on the casing itself has a nice feel to it and is comfortable to rest your hands & wrists on, particularly with its smooth rounded edges along the front.

IMG_2819.jpg

On the bottom of the laptop, you have a large rectangular area secured by three screws. If you were to remove these screws, you can push this part of the case away from you to reveal the memory slots, a cooling fan, and the secondary hard-drive slot. So, if you ever needed to add memory, clean a noisy-sounding fan or add a secondary hard-drive, you can do all of this and only have three screws to contend with, which his worth noting as I’m sure some of you (like me) will be interested in understanding how easy it is to get to these components.

IMG_2820.jpg

Using the Optimus IV 17”

Screen verdict – 9 /10
Put simply, the default Matte screen option that I opted for is superb. The image is crystal clear and the colours are amazing – it’s a truly brilliant HD laptop screen. When paired with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 you inevitably get lots of room for your desktop windows and/or folders, all of which you wouldn’t necessarily have with a branded “off the shelf” laptop.
For me, photo editing & gaming on this machine is 100 times better than what I was used to seeing before. Equally so, the matte finish is brilliant if you’re sat near a light source (window, lamp etc), because the glare is very minimal and with that the viewing angle is never seemingly impaired.
I have only shaded one mark off the score purely because for a little more cash you can get yourself an even better screen – yes, I said better! The AUO option has been given rave reviews by those who have purchased one, but all I can say is the default Matte screen is remarkable and a definite improvement on what you would get with a branded laptop (exc. Mac).

IMG_2814.jpg

Speaker verdict – 6/10
To be fair, I’ve never expected a great deal from laptop speakers and the same applies with the Optimus IV. Interestingly, the model comes with some new software as of the 5th October which may enhance the sound experience somewhat, but don’t expect to be blown away by sound quality. Granted, it’s a little better than what I’m used to hearing from a laptop but in any case I recommend that you get yourself some decent headphones or speakers to counter-balance the average score given here.

Keyboard verdict – 9/10:
The keyboard on this model may be a contentious topic – some will like the spaced out keys and others won’t. I personally love it – the keys are soft to touch and are quiet to press. The keys themselves unfortunately aren’t backlit, which is the only reason I haven’t scored this 10/10.
I would like to point out however, that this model comes with a standard-sized ‘Enter’ key – if you look at the Vortex models for example the ‘Enter’ key is a similar size to the ‘Shift’ key, which some may find challenging to get used to. Therefore, this keyboard may score better in that respect to others that PCS offer. Much like the charger comment stated earlier, there are pros and cons which will vary between each person and his/her requirements.

IMG_2815.jpg

Additionally, the laptop will come with software to manage hotkeys so if haven’t got the patience to learn the different key combinations on the keyboard you can use the software to adjust brightness, enable/disable touchpad etc etc. I thought this was a nice touch and some of you may equally find this to be quite useful.

IMG_2818.jpg

Touchpad verdict 8/10:
The touchpad is decent compared to most I've used in the past. It has a flat, smooth surface and it's a very nice size. The position of the touchpad itself is also excellent, because some branded laptops for me have the touchpad too close to the keyboard resulting in accidental movement. In fact, I find that my hands and wrists sit either side of the touchpad nicely without needing to stretch or lean over it, so I haven't had a single issue with accidental cursor movement to date during casual web browsing, document & photo editing and gaming. I guess with a 17" model there's more room to play with, but obviously layout has been well thought out and is a huge plus point.
As for the negatives, for me movement could be smoother at times. Moreover, vertical scrolling has been the biggest issue as it seems a little hit and miss as to whether I get good enough contact in the right place to trigger effective scrolling motion. Admittedly, I'm used to a much smaller touchpad surface area so this may improve over time as I become more familiar with it. Only time will tell!

Air-flow verdict 8/10:
So far, air-flow has been generally good for all components bar the secondary hard-drive. With the latter noted, there is a noticable hot point on the right hand-side of the keyboard where my secondary drive is located. It seems there is little ventilation for the secondary hard-drive bay, but the temperatures are nothing to be concerned about thus far - varying between 40-45c during use. The SSD drive however in the primary bay, is a good 10-13c cooler which is pleasing.
As for the GPU, overall temps idle at 30-35c and peak to about 40-50c under heavy use. Admittedly, I'm using my laptop on a cooling pad so the temps may be a little higher for anyone using it on a desk, for example. The temperature of the GPU is the most pleasing part as air-flow on previous systems with a lesser powerful GPU has been rubbish and subsequently peaked nearer 60c!
Lastly, CPU temperature with the £9 thermal paste keeps this at 20-22c idle and 25-32c under heavy use. Clearly, air flow for the main components is very good but I have marked this down purely based on the lack of ventilation for the secondary HDD bay. If you're not going to add a secondary disk, then for you this may well be close to a perfect 10/10 for you.

Performance verdict 9/10:
Well done for reaching this far!
Before I go any further, I'd like to point out my requirements and use of the GPU, as this rather dictates the 9/10 score I have given. In basic terms, it does everything I wanted it do and it does so to a high standard, but for those more intrigued by detail I've drafted a short list of games that I'm playing along with any graphical tweaks worth noting.

CS:GO - 70-90fps with High settings in extremely busy, open map areas. 120+fps at spawn, corridors, small rooms etc.
TF2 - as above (same engine), Mann vs Machine slightly more open and therefore lowers FPS to nearer 40-50 during major robot carnage!
F1 2012 -85-95fps with High settings, tree detail lowered but who cares abouts trees when you're driving so fast!?
Skyrim - 45-55fps with HD texture pack add-on, lowered anti-aliasing slightly for added FPS boost.
Football Manager 2012 - 5 nations selected, 13 leagues and approx. 65,000 players loaded. Running at fantastic speed and very minimal waiting times, unlike my previous laptop...
 
Last edited:
D

dlatimer

Bronze Level Poster
Conclusion
Put simply, it won’t take you long to be impressed with this laptop. It is truely fantastic value for money, and if you have the spare funds I would definitely recommend you purchase an SSD drive to go with it. You'll be amazed by the speed of your boot times and how quickly it will be able to load your saved game files. With FM2012 in particular, my save is over 600mb uncompressed and on my previous laptop it would take several minutes to load this (Zzzzz). On the Optimus IV with an SSD, it's loaded and ready in less than 30 seconds.

If you're an avid gamer who cannot play anything on less than Ultra settings, then perhaps the SkyFire or Vortex options are more suited to you as you'll have more powerful GPU's at your disposal.
If however, you're comfortable playing some of the newest and most popular titles on high settings with good frame-rates, I'd seriously recommend this laptop. The bonus of the GTX 660m is that it doesn't produce as much heat as the more powerful GPU's, as I have tried to demonstrate in the air-flow section above. More importantly, it's very cheap despite the fact you still get a great gaming experience. So with that in mind and taking everything else into account, you'll have a powerful, well-built laptop for many years to come, should you choose to buy an Optimus IV. If you do buy one, you won't be disappointed :)
 
Last edited:
D

dlatimer

Bronze Level Poster
I would have included a few more pics, had it not been for the fact I have written too much and exceeded the character limit :(

Thank you for the Rep, though!
 
RichyJ91

RichyJ91

Bronze Level Poster
Thanks for the review, you've got basically the same spec as the one I ordered (15.6) so it was useful to see what the GPU could handle.
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
Fantastic review, + rep :)

We have added your review to the configurator section on our website.
 
K

Kyzer

Member
thank you for the review write up, i have been slightly on the fence about ordering that model and the specs are very similar to the one you purchased... Its has made my mind up for me :)
 
D

dlatimer

Bronze Level Poster
**UPDATE**

Glad quite a few of you have found my review to be interesting.

Still very pleased with the laptop, temperatures still idle at around the same threshold which is fantastic. I've had laptops in the past that perform well on Day 1, but after time temperatures increase and heat becomes more apparent, but I haven't experienced any of this with my Optimus laptop.

Also worth noting that newer game titles, such as Tomb Raider, benchmark around 40fps with custom settings. I prefer Ultra textures whilst toning down a few less significant performance options. It's very playable and looks great for what I'd expect, being a casual gamer.

If anyone would like to know more about this model, please do not hesitate to ask in this thread :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top