What are the Optimus V/Cosmos II speakers like?

bobbricks

Member
I'm considering buying a PCspecialist laptop. I've heard that the Cosmos 2 speakers are quite bad- is this true? For the Optimus V, I've heard mixed opinions- some say that they are quite awful, but then there's some reports saying that updating the SoundBlaster software/drivers fixed the sound...can someone confirm this? I won't be getting headphones, so will be quite reliant on my laptop speakers for good/okay sound (for movies/YouTube/the occasional game etc)
 

mrducking

Bright Spark
have in mind that this is my opinion:
you are buying a powerhouse laptop with a dedicated graphic card, you dont buy those based on the speakers they are one of the least expensive components and can easily be replaced with peripherics
IMHO if sound is really important to you i would save in something else and get headphones or speakers
all that said, what kind of games do you plan to play? because ths cosmos has the gtx 850m and the optimus has the gtx 860m, being the gtx 860m a lot better
 

bobbricks

Member
I'd be playing games like Call of Duty, Battlefield 4/other FPS games and possibly space simulation/sci fi games..Sound isn't extremely important but I'd like the sound to be good enough so it's clear and not muffled
 

mrducking

Bright Spark
for those games you will need the gtx 860m so the optimus
they say the sound is not that bad, but we would need someone with the optimus to tell us properly, there are a few reviews in the review section, so you should check them
anyway, if i were you i would get headphones, nothing will beat their sound, they dont even have to be super quality
 

Nedkelly

Member
You could find decent headphones in some shops (pc world for example).
I bought sony headphones for 15 pounds, and they are great to play with.
 

Jay84

Member
Hi, I can't really confirm or deny, but I found the Optimus IV speakers adequate but rather tinny for music/film playback. I wouldn't be overly optimistic that any other laptop offered much better tbh.

If I might offer a suggestion though.. Either use headphones as others suggested, or... I recently bought a "Kitsound Boombar Bluetooth Speaker" from Tesco for £20. Aside from a rather annoying flashing blue LED the sound is far superior to my laptop speakers. If you do go that route, which I would defo recommend for the price, then just make sure whatever laptop you get is Bluetooth compatible.

HTH
 

bobbricks

Member
Ive read some of the reviews and it seems installing 'SoundBlaster' on the Optimus Vseems to improve the sound of the speakers quite a lot- is this free software/does it come with the laptop? I'll also be getting it without an OS (as I'll install a clean copy of Windows 8 from a disc I have) so where would I get the drivers from?

Also, where are the speakers positioned on the Optimus V ? (if they're underneath, then I would've thought the sound would become muffled)

I've now rejected the Cosmos II due to the reviews saying the sound is muffled and the speakers are under the laptop, and due to a worse graphics card
 
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Jay84

Member
Sound Blaster is a sound card. I assume the posts you have been reading are suggesting a Sound Card upgrade. The upgrade cost is approx. £69 on the Optimus V.

If you look on the product images there is a dotted strip at the back of the keyboard. That is where the speakers are positioned.
The laptop will come with a driver cd (I think). They also become available in your pc specialist account to download at any time.

Personally I'm not convinced upgrading the sound card will give you a better quality output from your speakers. At least not enough to warrant the upgrade cost. I'm not sure if you read my suggestion about the Bluetooth speaker, but for the sake of £20 the sound quality, bass and volume is very good (check the Amazon reviews). The added bonus is that you can load a film up and sit the laptop across the room with the speaker next to you.
 
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SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Actually, the soundblaster cinema is a software audio processing codec if you like. It's licensed for the machine, not freeware. It does make a huge improvement to the sound. It would be in the downloads section of your pcs account.
 

gridref

Member
Optimus V speakers

I'm considering buying a PCspecialist laptop. I've heard that the Cosmos 2 speakers are quite bad- is this true? For the Optimus V, I've heard mixed opinions- some say that they are quite awful, but then there's some reports saying that updating the SoundBlaster software/drivers fixed the sound...can someone confirm this? I won't be getting headphones, so will be quite reliant on my laptop speakers for good/okay sound (for movies/YouTube/the occasional game etc)

The speakers on the Optimus V are rather ropey when initially shipped. I have heard louder phones. I downloaded the Vinyl HD audio drivers and that helped. I ended buying a Bluetooth speaker (though the Bluetooth is such a faff I end up plugging it in to the headphone jack). However when I read this forum I went and downloaded the SoundBlaster Cinema driver (I always puzzled about the sticker on the machine boasting of the SoundBlaster Cinema with nothing in the system
to suggest it was in there). Anyhow, the SoundBlaster does appear to make an appreciable difference to the volume and quality of the sound. It is still a long way off hifi but it will probably mean I end up plugging in my speaker less often). I do wonder how machines can be shipped without the drivers loaded...
 

bobbricks

Member
Actually, the soundblaster cinema is a software audio processing codec if you like. It's licensed for the machine, not freeware. It does make a huge improvement to the sound. It would be in the downloads section of your pcs account.

The speakers on the Optimus V are rather ropey when initially shipped. I have heard louder phones. I downloaded the Vinyl HD audio drivers and that helped. I ended buying a Bluetooth speaker (though the Bluetooth is such a faff I end up plugging it in to the headphone jack). However when I read this forum I went and downloaded the SoundBlaster Cinema driver (I always puzzled about the sticker on the machine boasting of the SoundBlaster Cinema with nothing in the system
to suggest it was in there). Anyhow, the SoundBlaster does appear to make an appreciable difference to the volume and quality of the sound. It is still a long way off hifi but it will probably mean I end up plugging in my speaker less often). I do wonder how machines can be shipped without the drivers loaded...

Thanks guys- can you two confirm that the speakers are indeed located near the screen at the holes and not underneath it since the Cosmos 2 images also show the holes near the screen, but the speakers I've heard are actually under the laptop?
 

gridref

Member
Thanks guys- can you two confirm that the speakers are indeed located near the screen at the holes and not underneath it since the Cosmos 2 images also show the holes near the screen, but the speakers I've heard are actually under the laptop?

Yes the speakers are indeed in the grill immediately above the keyboard. Looking through the grill you can see the oval speakers that are about 3cm x 1.5cm. They are ok and fit for purpose of getting sound out of the machine. They won't fill the room with bass though.
 

bobbricks

Member
Cheers, that's great- I don't suppose you'd know whether the Cosmos II speakers become more or less 'fixed' with soundblaster ? :)

Also, I need to some help in choosing between the i5 4210M dual core and i7 4710MQ processors:
I'll be occasionally playing first person shooter games like Call of Duty/FarCry/Crysis etc and also sci fi/ science games/software (like Space Engine/Elite Dangerous/Star Citizen). I'll also have a lot of tabs open in my web browser and quite a few different windows open. I'll be multitasking quite a lot as a result. Would I have any benefit in choosing the i7 processor as it's about £50 more expensive? I've decided that I will definitely get a Full HD screen so I can have more stuff on the screen simultaneously but not completely sure if I'd benefit from having a faster processor as I won't be doing any video rendering etc.
 
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