HelBic
Bronze Level Poster
Well, I've ordered myself a Vortex laptop and have posted the specs below. It's currently in the 7th day of building as PCS are awaiting delivery of the CPU. I had an email yesterday morning (26/06/12) saying they were expecting them in on that day, but then again last night I got another email stating they'd be in on Friday 29th June.
Some may find this annoying or disappointing, which I did initially and I have noted elsewhere that PCS have received some criticism for this andhave been marked down on customer service. However, my view is that this is the information given to them by their suppliers and they've passed it along to me, their customer in good faith. They are keeping me informed at every stage of the process no matter if the information is good or bad. So, much as I was disappointed, I do appreciate it and won't knock them for it.
So, on to the spec. I will add to the post when I take delivery and so on but it would be good to know what you all think of it.
Maybe you'd like to know why I bought it in the first place? (Maybe not but then, this is my story so you'll hear it anyway).
I used to be a games player (until I took an arrow in the knee). Every year I'd spend £1,000 to £1,500 upgrading my PC to keep up with modern games and even then, it'd struggle to get the best frame rates on Doom or Quake (yep, I'm that old). So, I made a decision. I'd buy a console which would mean I would only have to change it every 3 to 5 years.
I bought a PS3. Loved it, and still do. I play on it most days. But then I made the fatal error of asking for Skyrim for Christmas. It remained unplayed for some months as I was beating the crap out of F1 2011. Then one day I picked up Skyrim.
Oh how my life has changed! I now actually dream of it. I know, sad isn't it?
So, I have been playing it happily (now up to level 52) and beating the crap out of everything and everyone that gets in my way when I had a revelation. If I were to buy the PC version I could play it when my wife was watching Eastenders, or Holby or whatever. So, I got a copy for £25 and installed it on my laptop.
You know what's coming. It's just a business laptop, no graphics card, 4Gb RAM - bog standard off the shelf stuff.
It ran like a dog; or if you prefer, a tortoise.
This coincided with an Ad on TV for Alienware.
I went to the Dell site and configured a killer laptop.
Went to the bottom of the page and was really happy to note I was sitting down, as I'd have fallen down.
It was over £2,500.
I search on t'internet and found PCSpecialist and configured what I have below.
Now, I have to hold my hand up and admit that I have lost touch with processor technology and specs and just picked one down near the bottom of the list. I do know that Core I7 processors are supposed to be quick and did the same with the graphics card, so I'm sure some of you will say I could have chosen better; or more wisely.
But hey ho, this is what I got (and there was no reason I didn't buy the higher rated thermal paste, I just didn't see the point, if PCS tell me they're recommendation is up to the job, why pay more?).
So here it is:
Specification:
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79) I bought the 15.6" one as the larger one is just too big.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3820QM (2.70GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB) I went for 16gb as I'm always running out of RAM - I do too much at once when not playing games
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 This seemed like a good choice and now I've read up some more, I still think it is
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) This is arguably the fastest hard drive for laptops - it's best in a number of areas and second or third in others, but overall it looks to be a killer.
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BD-5750H 6x BLURAY WRITER & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£79)
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
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH I have ADSL at home but also have 1gb connectors if needed for faster internet/network access
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & LicenceI think I made a mistake here as I have now been told it's cheaper to buy Windows 7 Basic and upgrade than to buy Pro outright. Then I saw today on the PCS website that for £15.00 I can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro... arghhhhhhh!
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (1 License Product Key Card) (£82) I need office so this was the easiest way to buy it
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL I should have said no A/V but as it was already there, I just left it.
Everything else is bog standard
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
HelBic: "Then one day I took an arrow in the knee"
Some may find this annoying or disappointing, which I did initially and I have noted elsewhere that PCS have received some criticism for this andhave been marked down on customer service. However, my view is that this is the information given to them by their suppliers and they've passed it along to me, their customer in good faith. They are keeping me informed at every stage of the process no matter if the information is good or bad. So, much as I was disappointed, I do appreciate it and won't knock them for it.
So, on to the spec. I will add to the post when I take delivery and so on but it would be good to know what you all think of it.
Maybe you'd like to know why I bought it in the first place? (Maybe not but then, this is my story so you'll hear it anyway).
I used to be a games player (until I took an arrow in the knee). Every year I'd spend £1,000 to £1,500 upgrading my PC to keep up with modern games and even then, it'd struggle to get the best frame rates on Doom or Quake (yep, I'm that old). So, I made a decision. I'd buy a console which would mean I would only have to change it every 3 to 5 years.
I bought a PS3. Loved it, and still do. I play on it most days. But then I made the fatal error of asking for Skyrim for Christmas. It remained unplayed for some months as I was beating the crap out of F1 2011. Then one day I picked up Skyrim.
Oh how my life has changed! I now actually dream of it. I know, sad isn't it?
So, I have been playing it happily (now up to level 52) and beating the crap out of everything and everyone that gets in my way when I had a revelation. If I were to buy the PC version I could play it when my wife was watching Eastenders, or Holby or whatever. So, I got a copy for £25 and installed it on my laptop.
You know what's coming. It's just a business laptop, no graphics card, 4Gb RAM - bog standard off the shelf stuff.
It ran like a dog; or if you prefer, a tortoise.
This coincided with an Ad on TV for Alienware.
I went to the Dell site and configured a killer laptop.
Went to the bottom of the page and was really happy to note I was sitting down, as I'd have fallen down.
It was over £2,500.
I search on t'internet and found PCSpecialist and configured what I have below.
Now, I have to hold my hand up and admit that I have lost touch with processor technology and specs and just picked one down near the bottom of the list. I do know that Core I7 processors are supposed to be quick and did the same with the graphics card, so I'm sure some of you will say I could have chosen better; or more wisely.
But hey ho, this is what I got (and there was no reason I didn't buy the higher rated thermal paste, I just didn't see the point, if PCS tell me they're recommendation is up to the job, why pay more?).
So here it is:
Specification:
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79) I bought the 15.6" one as the larger one is just too big.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3820QM (2.70GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB) I went for 16gb as I'm always running out of RAM - I do too much at once when not playing games
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 This seemed like a good choice and now I've read up some more, I still think it is
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) This is arguably the fastest hard drive for laptops - it's best in a number of areas and second or third in others, but overall it looks to be a killer.
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BD-5750H 6x BLURAY WRITER & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£79)
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
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH I have ADSL at home but also have 1gb connectors if needed for faster internet/network access
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & LicenceI think I made a mistake here as I have now been told it's cheaper to buy Windows 7 Basic and upgrade than to buy Pro outright. Then I saw today on the PCS website that for £15.00 I can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro... arghhhhhhh!
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (1 License Product Key Card) (£82) I need office so this was the easiest way to buy it
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL I should have said no A/V but as it was already there, I just left it.
Everything else is bog standard
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
HelBic: "Then one day I took an arrow in the knee"