I’d been looking for something to replace my VAIO for a month or so after getting annoyed at the driver issues with Sony and I’d seen ads for PCs and after spending a while deciding on a spec I ended up with this:
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MB
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675MX - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
I’ll be using the machine for gaming (2nd HDD is great for recording onto) and game development university work so I wanted something powerful that wasn’t going to be too big – especially after carrying the 17.3” VAIO I had around, it was just too big.
Screen – 9 (would be 10, see RMA)
At first I wasn’t sure what to expect, my desktop currently has 1 glossy and 1 matte screen and there’s a noticeable difference between them but after spending a few hours with the laptop I was even starting to think the colours on the screen were nicer than my glossy monitor. They’re sharp and look great, I’m very happy with it.
Keyboard – 10
I like anything with colourful lights. The only issue I have here is that I’m not used to having a half sized return key and end up hitting the wrong key, but that’s something I can learn to deal with. Overall the keyboard is great; it’s very responsive and feels solid even with heavy key presses and look absolutely amazing in low light with the backlight on.
Touchpad / Fingerprint Scanner – 9
I don’t usually use a touchpad but what I like most is that it’s part of the laptop case and not put in, it looks great and works well for the time I’ve used it.
Fingerprint scanners are usually a novelty on laptops but when it comes to logging onto the computer it can make it might quicker (especially if you have a complicated password) plus the safe storage thing is quite useful if you for some reason have documents to hide. My only issue with it was it refused to accept my left index finger for some reason but hey, maybe it’s just broken (my finger).
Hardware
I can’t exactly complain here because I chose it … the laptop is a powerhouse. I’m fairly sure that it outperforms my desktop and keeps cool in the process without a cooling pad. I’ve been playing Tomb Raider, Planetside 2 and some others on it no problem. If anyone’s interested in the performance of the 675MX I’ve got a YouTube video with some info.
Windows Experience Rating
CPU – 7.7
Memory – 7.7
GPU – 7.5
HDD – 5.9
Build & Delivery – 10
Total time – 17 working days
I rang PCS on the 3rd day to check on the stock of the parts as I was planning to pay the extra for the fast build but they were waiting on the chassis but told me they were expecting them in the middle of the next week which wasn’t bad at all.
4th March - Order placed.
21st March – Built, waiting for testing.
26th March – Testing and configuration then later awaiting dispatch!
27th March – Dispatched.
28th March – Arrived! (DPD is my favourite shipping company because of the timeslot delivery they give you, no mindless wandering around waiting all day.)
The packaging was excellent, took me some time to get it out of the box! Very secure.
RMA
Unfortunately when the laptop arrived it had a weird yellow screen tint, unfortunately it seems this was a screen issue and I think may be a part of the ribbon cable being caught in the hinge (there’s a bit of something sticking out) – contacted PCS about it, submitted for an RMA and at the time I’m writing this they should have just received it but I’ve been told that this shouldn’t be a big issue and it shouldn’t be with them long.
Overall 10/10
I’ve had a great experience with PCS and the laptop is great, especially for the value. Slightly sad to have to spend some time without it but I can see how the issue slipped through QA (I managed to make it stop being yellow by tapping the hinge and putting a bit if paper there but it would slowly return).
Thought I’d pass the time by writing a review!
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MB
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675MX - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
I’ll be using the machine for gaming (2nd HDD is great for recording onto) and game development university work so I wanted something powerful that wasn’t going to be too big – especially after carrying the 17.3” VAIO I had around, it was just too big.
Screen – 9 (would be 10, see RMA)
At first I wasn’t sure what to expect, my desktop currently has 1 glossy and 1 matte screen and there’s a noticeable difference between them but after spending a few hours with the laptop I was even starting to think the colours on the screen were nicer than my glossy monitor. They’re sharp and look great, I’m very happy with it.
Keyboard – 10
I like anything with colourful lights. The only issue I have here is that I’m not used to having a half sized return key and end up hitting the wrong key, but that’s something I can learn to deal with. Overall the keyboard is great; it’s very responsive and feels solid even with heavy key presses and look absolutely amazing in low light with the backlight on.
Touchpad / Fingerprint Scanner – 9
I don’t usually use a touchpad but what I like most is that it’s part of the laptop case and not put in, it looks great and works well for the time I’ve used it.
Fingerprint scanners are usually a novelty on laptops but when it comes to logging onto the computer it can make it might quicker (especially if you have a complicated password) plus the safe storage thing is quite useful if you for some reason have documents to hide. My only issue with it was it refused to accept my left index finger for some reason but hey, maybe it’s just broken (my finger).
Hardware
I can’t exactly complain here because I chose it … the laptop is a powerhouse. I’m fairly sure that it outperforms my desktop and keeps cool in the process without a cooling pad. I’ve been playing Tomb Raider, Planetside 2 and some others on it no problem. If anyone’s interested in the performance of the 675MX I’ve got a YouTube video with some info.
Windows Experience Rating
CPU – 7.7
Memory – 7.7
GPU – 7.5
HDD – 5.9
Build & Delivery – 10
Total time – 17 working days
I rang PCS on the 3rd day to check on the stock of the parts as I was planning to pay the extra for the fast build but they were waiting on the chassis but told me they were expecting them in the middle of the next week which wasn’t bad at all.
4th March - Order placed.
21st March – Built, waiting for testing.
26th March – Testing and configuration then later awaiting dispatch!
27th March – Dispatched.
28th March – Arrived! (DPD is my favourite shipping company because of the timeslot delivery they give you, no mindless wandering around waiting all day.)
The packaging was excellent, took me some time to get it out of the box! Very secure.
RMA
Unfortunately when the laptop arrived it had a weird yellow screen tint, unfortunately it seems this was a screen issue and I think may be a part of the ribbon cable being caught in the hinge (there’s a bit of something sticking out) – contacted PCS about it, submitted for an RMA and at the time I’m writing this they should have just received it but I’ve been told that this shouldn’t be a big issue and it shouldn’t be with them long.
Overall 10/10
I’ve had a great experience with PCS and the laptop is great, especially for the value. Slightly sad to have to spend some time without it but I can see how the issue slipped through QA (I managed to make it stop being yellow by tapping the hinge and putting a bit if paper there but it would slowly return).
Thought I’d pass the time by writing a review!