Advice on spec and some queries.

[Panopticon]

Evening all,

Grateful for any thoughts on the build I'm looking at. I'll be using it as my primary laptop for general use and gaming and this is as far as I can stretch my budget.

My current laptop is near the end of it's useful life but it does have a 256gb Crucial SSD and 500gb 7,200rpm Seagate HD I can salvage and intend to refit to this. The noobish questions I have are:

1. Will PCS deliver a laptop without any Hard Drive? It won't save much but I'd feel wasteful junking the 5,400rpm one straight away.
2. I'll need to do my own Windows install once I've fitted my SSD. Do PCS provide the necessary drivers separately? Or would I need to track them all down?
3. Has anyone installed an HDD in the caddy themselves? Is it the same as in normal HDD compartments? I can't quite picture how you access it. Or do you need to take the entire laptop apart rather than just the panels?
4. How hot does this chassis with the 870m run? I'll usually have it on my lap (or on my stomach in bed) so it's hard to use an extra cooler.

Thanks all,

Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

= £1102

 

[keynes]

1 you may need to contact them directly. They won't deliver it without a drive, you will have to send yours to them if that's an option.
2 yes, all drivers will be provided
4 when gaming you will need a laptop cooler
I would also suggest getting a better wireless card and at least silver warranty

 

[Panopticon]

Thanks for the quick response Keynes!

I've read about the wireless card causing some issues. Is that why you recommend upgrading? If it's just for speed I tend to use a cable when I'm gaming or streaming.

Oh, and that price does include the silver warranty, just slimmed down the list and accidentally deleted. I'll have a closer look at coolers too.

Much obliged

 

[keynes]

I used the n135 and was pretty disappointing with slow speed and lost of connection.

 

[Panopticon]

Great. Thanks. I could probably stretch to a better wireless card if I forego a couple of beers during the World Cup (luckily the odds on England progressing should help with that!).