erik_0000
Bronze Level Poster
Summary
This is my review of my purchase of an Optimus VIII.
Pre sales support, not great, everything else, 10/10.
Background
I develop software on Windows and Linux. For very many years I have been buying Dell hardware on which I dual boot Windows and Linux. Before this latest purchase my primary workstation was a Dell Inspiron that I bought in 2012 on which I installed Ubuntu and Windows 7.
I decided to upgrade to new hardware, but I hesitated to install Windows 10 because of how it takes over the machine, so I decided to try installing only Linux, and running Windows 10 in a virtual machine.
Dell
I went on to the Dell website to order new hardware as I have done many times before. But I ran in to a few problems.
- I wanted to order hardware on which Windows was not preinstalled. I have done this with Dell in the past, but now it seems that this option is no longer available.
- Whenever possible I prefer a wired network connection over wireless. But the latest Dell laptops do not include an Ethernet port. You have to pay extra for an external adaptor.
- The monitors on all of the high end Dell laptops are touch screens. It's pointless to have a touch screen on a laptop, it's easier to use the mouse and keyboard. I want a high end monitor without a touch screen.
So, for the first time in a very long time, I decided to look at alternatives to Dell.
Price Comparison
A colleague recommended PC Specialist so I did a quick price comparison, doing my best to compare like with like.
Dell: XPS 15, i7 CPU, Windows 10, 32 GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 4GB graphics. GBP 1,898 excl. VAT
PCS: 15.6" Optimus VIII, i7 CPU, Windows 10, 32 GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 4GB graphics. GBP 987 excl. VAT
What's the relative quality of the hardware? I can't comprehend how there could be such a huge gap in price. You would think that a big company like Dell could easily outsell the competition through economies of scale.
Dell force me to take a touchscreen, and a copy of Windows, that I do not want. PCS include an Ethernet port which is not available with Dell. The only downside I could see with PCS is that they do not include a DVD drive while Dell does. I decided to take a further look at PCS.
PCS Web Site
The PCS web site is 99% perfect, but that last 1% caused me long hours of confusion.
Initially I was trying to choose between the Ultranote IV and the Optimus VIII. In either case I wanted a separate monitor. When you select Ultranote + monitor, the site prompts you to choose between an HDMI cable or a mini-HDMI cable. But the Ultranote spec doesn't specify which it is. If you select Optimus + monitor you are not prompted for any HDMI cable at all - should I take that to mean that the cable is included?
The web site prompts you to order thermal paste, but doesn't say whether or not PCS will apply the paste before shipping the machine.
I started a thread on the PCS forum, where I asked these and other questions, including whether or not linux would run on this hardware:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...aptop-for-Ubuntu-ULTRANOTE-IV-or-OPTIMUS-VIII
Preorders
I contacted PCS pre sales support directly. I asked them to help me with my questions, and I sent them the link above.
They replied "the Forums are not an official channel for support", "we do not support Linux", ... and they did not answer any of my questions.
I don't understand either of their points:
1) Forums. I contacted PCS directly, and asked for answers to questions that I had posted to the forum. Nothing prevents PCS from reading my post and replying directly to me.
2) Linux. I appreciate that PCS can't guarantee that Linux will run on their hardware. But the rest of my questions had nothing to do with the operating system.
I can't understand how any business could afford to treat potential new customers with such contempt.
Normally I would have dropped it there, but... there are not many alternatives in the market for non-Windows laptops, so... I plowed on...
Order
After long deliberation, this is what I went with in the end:
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 7700HQ (2.8GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk 2TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
M.2 SSD Drive 256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
Memory Card Reader Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor 1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf European Power Cable
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options 1 x USB 3.0 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Battery Cosmos VI Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Keyboard Language SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT USA KEYBOARD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language US International/USA - US English Language
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser Google Chrome™
Stand-Alone Monitor ASUS VE248HR 24" LED DISPLAY
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
When I ordered Optimus + monitor, the site did not prompt me to select an HDMI cable. And pre sales support would not say whether or not the cable was included. So I didn't order a cable. After placing the order, I messaged PCS again to ask, for the second time, whether or not the cable was included. This time they answered, to say that the cable was not included. So I had to place a second order for the cable... yawn.
Delivery
The site gave real time updates on the status of the order, which arrived well packaged and on time.
When ordering I had been prompted to choose between a UK power cable or an EU power cable. I chose the latter. The machine arrived with both, so that was nice.
The Laptop
This machine was delivered in early April and I have been using it full time since then and so far I give it ten points out of ten.
I installed Ubuntu 17.04 Beta to the M2 drive. It worked like a charm on the first attempt. It boots up lightning fast.
I have not yet gotten around to firing up Windows in a virtual box. I have not yet gotten around to upgrading from Ubuntu 17.04 Beta to Ubuntu 17.04 Final.
The touchpad is left of center. I guess they decided to center the touchpad behind the letters, without taking account of the number keypad. It's offputting. I constantly click the right button when I mean to click the left. I hope that I will get used to it eventually.
This laptop emits a lot of heat, even with casual use. The case is molded with space underneath and the machine vents heat very well, much better than my old Dell laptop.
I am not sure about the sturdiness of the machine. The USB ports are very solid. The casing seems to have a little bit of give, but hopefully it's all right. Let's see how it holds up over time.
Overall I could not be happier with this purchase.
This is my review of my purchase of an Optimus VIII.
Pre sales support, not great, everything else, 10/10.
Background
I develop software on Windows and Linux. For very many years I have been buying Dell hardware on which I dual boot Windows and Linux. Before this latest purchase my primary workstation was a Dell Inspiron that I bought in 2012 on which I installed Ubuntu and Windows 7.
I decided to upgrade to new hardware, but I hesitated to install Windows 10 because of how it takes over the machine, so I decided to try installing only Linux, and running Windows 10 in a virtual machine.
Dell
I went on to the Dell website to order new hardware as I have done many times before. But I ran in to a few problems.
- I wanted to order hardware on which Windows was not preinstalled. I have done this with Dell in the past, but now it seems that this option is no longer available.
- Whenever possible I prefer a wired network connection over wireless. But the latest Dell laptops do not include an Ethernet port. You have to pay extra for an external adaptor.
- The monitors on all of the high end Dell laptops are touch screens. It's pointless to have a touch screen on a laptop, it's easier to use the mouse and keyboard. I want a high end monitor without a touch screen.
So, for the first time in a very long time, I decided to look at alternatives to Dell.
Price Comparison
A colleague recommended PC Specialist so I did a quick price comparison, doing my best to compare like with like.
Dell: XPS 15, i7 CPU, Windows 10, 32 GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 4GB graphics. GBP 1,898 excl. VAT
PCS: 15.6" Optimus VIII, i7 CPU, Windows 10, 32 GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 4GB graphics. GBP 987 excl. VAT
What's the relative quality of the hardware? I can't comprehend how there could be such a huge gap in price. You would think that a big company like Dell could easily outsell the competition through economies of scale.
Dell force me to take a touchscreen, and a copy of Windows, that I do not want. PCS include an Ethernet port which is not available with Dell. The only downside I could see with PCS is that they do not include a DVD drive while Dell does. I decided to take a further look at PCS.
PCS Web Site
The PCS web site is 99% perfect, but that last 1% caused me long hours of confusion.
Initially I was trying to choose between the Ultranote IV and the Optimus VIII. In either case I wanted a separate monitor. When you select Ultranote + monitor, the site prompts you to choose between an HDMI cable or a mini-HDMI cable. But the Ultranote spec doesn't specify which it is. If you select Optimus + monitor you are not prompted for any HDMI cable at all - should I take that to mean that the cable is included?
The web site prompts you to order thermal paste, but doesn't say whether or not PCS will apply the paste before shipping the machine.
I started a thread on the PCS forum, where I asked these and other questions, including whether or not linux would run on this hardware:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...aptop-for-Ubuntu-ULTRANOTE-IV-or-OPTIMUS-VIII
Preorders
I contacted PCS pre sales support directly. I asked them to help me with my questions, and I sent them the link above.
They replied "the Forums are not an official channel for support", "we do not support Linux", ... and they did not answer any of my questions.
I don't understand either of their points:
1) Forums. I contacted PCS directly, and asked for answers to questions that I had posted to the forum. Nothing prevents PCS from reading my post and replying directly to me.
2) Linux. I appreciate that PCS can't guarantee that Linux will run on their hardware. But the rest of my questions had nothing to do with the operating system.
I can't understand how any business could afford to treat potential new customers with such contempt.
Normally I would have dropped it there, but... there are not many alternatives in the market for non-Windows laptops, so... I plowed on...
Order
After long deliberation, this is what I went with in the end:
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 7700HQ (2.8GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk 2TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
M.2 SSD Drive 256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
Memory Card Reader Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor 1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf European Power Cable
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options 1 x USB 3.0 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Battery Cosmos VI Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Keyboard Language SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT USA KEYBOARD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language US International/USA - US English Language
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser Google Chrome™
Stand-Alone Monitor ASUS VE248HR 24" LED DISPLAY
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
When I ordered Optimus + monitor, the site did not prompt me to select an HDMI cable. And pre sales support would not say whether or not the cable was included. So I didn't order a cable. After placing the order, I messaged PCS again to ask, for the second time, whether or not the cable was included. This time they answered, to say that the cable was not included. So I had to place a second order for the cable... yawn.
Delivery
The site gave real time updates on the status of the order, which arrived well packaged and on time.
When ordering I had been prompted to choose between a UK power cable or an EU power cable. I chose the latter. The machine arrived with both, so that was nice.
The Laptop
This machine was delivered in early April and I have been using it full time since then and so far I give it ten points out of ten.
I installed Ubuntu 17.04 Beta to the M2 drive. It worked like a charm on the first attempt. It boots up lightning fast.
I have not yet gotten around to firing up Windows in a virtual box. I have not yet gotten around to upgrading from Ubuntu 17.04 Beta to Ubuntu 17.04 Final.
The touchpad is left of center. I guess they decided to center the touchpad behind the letters, without taking account of the number keypad. It's offputting. I constantly click the right button when I mean to click the left. I hope that I will get used to it eventually.
This laptop emits a lot of heat, even with casual use. The case is molded with space underneath and the machine vents heat very well, much better than my old Dell laptop.
I am not sure about the sturdiness of the machine. The USB ports are very solid. The casing seems to have a little bit of give, but hopefully it's all right. Let's see how it holds up over time.
Overall I could not be happier with this purchase.
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