Photography focused laptop to replace desktop & create much needed space for nursery!

Good Spec. For Needs?


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chrasp

New member
Photography focused laptop to replace desktop & create much needed space for nursery!

Photography focused laptop to replace desktop & create much needed space for nursery!

Okay so photography is my interest and invariably post shot editing is increasing. Baby is due soon and I've need/ordered to dismantle the desktop and make some space! As a "compromise" the deal is a new laptop so naturally first port of call (now regrettably) was a MacBook Pro - decided against due to A) price and B) platform restrictions. Then looked at Delll XPS 15 and then a family member suggested pcspecialists and ultimately developed spec below with some assisstence. Main use will be digital editing (amateur not professional!), HD video playback, potential gaming, day to day use and travel.

Got close to 1tb of photos and 200gb of music - I back up but would also like to keep on laptop. Screen resolution is also very important. Other than "standard" programmes I use photoshops, Ms project/Asta and Revitalise/Autocad.

I would like to future proof as much as practically possible and don't mind spending money wisely to ensure longevity. That said, I don't want to spend more than necessary.

Questions are;
Is the below a balanced set up?
Is the below overkill?
Any suggestions for reducing cost or minor additonal costs for real added benefit (cost is around £1270)
Should I "self" build or stick to a tried and tested dell XPS 15 re-warranty etc?

Thanks in advance for post appreciate everyone is busy!

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Glossy 4K PLS LED Widescreen (3840x2160)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710HQ (2.50GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD SLIM BLUE WD10SPCX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs
WIRELESS N BROADBAND ROUTER (FOR CABLE USERS)
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) Professional DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Promotional Item
FREE PICK YOUR PATH DIGITAL VOUCHER with GTX 780 / 780Ti /970 / 980 GPUs!
Quantity
1
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
You may want to stick to one thread to get better feedback , Are you planning to do much gaming?
 

chrasp

New member
Not a great deal at the moment but potentially more as the retro Sega Megadrive is limited! Probably noting to extreme tho!
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Any views/comments?

I don't think it's overkill for your uses. I think going forward you may benefit from another 8gb RAM, but that's easy to put in yourself when you've got the cash.

My only comments would be to get an mSata drive as the OS disk, thereby leaving you room for 2 x 1Tb drives for storage, plus adding silver warranty:

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Glossy 4K PLS LED Widescreen (3840x2160) (£119)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710HQ (2.50GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE PICK YOUR PATH DIGITAL VOUCHER with GTX 780 / 780Ti /970 / 980 GPUs!
Memory - Hard Disk
1TB WD SLIM BLUE WD10SPCX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD SLIM BLUE WD10SPCX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
Plextor PX-G256M6e 256GB M.2 SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 625MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,591.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/defiance-15/ZkgJcrJ0Iv/
 

PeterW

Bronze Level Poster
Excuse my ignorance , Spyder Tracks , but does the M-Sata take over from the Hard Drive 1 which boots starts up the laptop etc , leaving Hard Drive 1 and Hard Drive 2 as storage ?
I've never had a laptop with 2 Drives , let alone 2 Drives and M-Satas so I wouldn't know how it worked or how to set them up .

I'm interested in the Defiance 11 17.3" laptop , I'm thinking of 500GB SSD IN HD 1 and ITB WD Blue 5400rpm in HD 2 - My main interests are Photography [ I have a 2TB external HD ] .
Apologies for hijacking your post .
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Excuse my ignorance , Spyder Tracks , but does the M-Sata take over from the Hard Drive 1 which boots starts up the laptop etc , leaving Hard Drive 1 and Hard Drive 2 as storage ?
I've never had a laptop with 2 Drives , let alone 2 Drives and M-Satas so I wouldn't know how it worked or how to set them up .

I'm interested in the Defiance 11 17.3" laptop , I'm thinking of 500GB SSD IN HD 1 and ITB WD Blue 5400rpm in HD 2 - My main interests are Photography [ I have a 2TB external HD ] .
Apologies for hijacking your post .

That's right, the msata would become the boot drive and any others would be storage. An msata drive is just a standard sad without an outer case, it's just the chips and pcb. It would appear like any other drive within the bios and Windows.
 
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