Considering a new laptop ...

[Simon]

Hi Forum

Keep thinking I'd like a new laptop. I'm not a gamer (sorry!), but I am a serious PC user who accepts no compromise on performance.
I'm considering this laptop as a partner to my two year old desktop (order number 345023 and see below for updates) and replacing my HP DV7-1055ea.
This is for use a mobile (and laptop) adjunct to the desktop machine and may be used for HD video editing as well as general purpose use) with no egg timers ever to be seen.

This specification looks good to me, but ..

• is it properly balanced (cpu, graphics, memory. ssd)
• is it going to be too hot to run on my lap WITHOUT the cooling stand
• 2.9GHz sounds a lit slow to me - will it reach 3.8GHz with Turboboost
• if I am likely to be purchasing around December, is there anything coming that would be worth waiting for (I'm dreading Windows 8, but would liked a bigger SSD)

Your thoughts appreciated, as always.

PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK QUOTATION



The specification below has been formatted so you can easily copy and paste this to our forums when discussing your specification. Once you've copied the specification, please click here to continue.


Chassis & Display
Vortex Series:17.3" AUO Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£85)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Extreme i7-3920XM (2.90GHz) 8MB

Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
480GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
480GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

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
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT

Battery
2 x 17.3" Vortex Series Battery Pack, 76.96WH (One Spare) (£49)

Power Lead & Adaptor
2 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor (£55)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Laptop Cooling Stands
Zalman ZM-NC2000 Ultra-Quiet Cooler, upto 20 inch (£39)

Carry Case
TARGUS XXL NOTEBOOK CASE TCC008EU (£46)

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Headsets (VOIP)
LOGITECH® WIRELESS GAMING HEADSET G930 - 7.1 SURROUND SOUND (£129)

Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)

Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days

Quantity
1

Price: £3,234.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/vortexIII-17/3PEEWQyYLN/

EXISTING DESKTOP SPECIFACTION ...

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE (£159)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Processor Extreme Edition i7-980X (3.33GHz) 6.4GTs/12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® RAMPAGE III EXTREME: 3-Way SLI & CrossFireX, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
12GB SAMSUNG DDR3 TRI-DDR3 1333MHz (3 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1536MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX480 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
600GB WD VELOCIRAPTOR® SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
3rd Hard Disk
600GB WD VELOCIRAPTOR® SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
4th Hard Disk
600GB WD VELOCIRAPTOR® SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
5th Hard Disk
600GB WD VELOCIRAPTOR® SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
6th Hard Disk
600GB WD VELOCIRAPTOR® SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£99)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£99)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W MODULAR PSU (HX1000) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£175)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£62)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£148)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Pro 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 2 devices) (£339)
Anti-Virus
MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS - Free Basic Protection
Speakers
LOGITECH Z-5500 Digital 5.1 THX-certified digital surround (£252)
Webcam
Logitech® Webcam Pro 9000 - 2.0Mp, AutoFocus and Carl Zeiss Optics (£55)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, Lifetime Tech Support) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE Just Cuase 2 Game (RRP: £34.99) with any GTX 4xx Series GPU!
Quantity
1


Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-core-i7-pc/j4OSrWHTYH/

 

[Simon]

No takers?

Hi

Perhaps I should have posted this under Laptops.
Or maybe I upset somebody / did something wrong (apologies if so).
And anyway, maybe I should just wait for Haswell ...

Simon

 

[vanthus]

Nice rig,but dont see the point of having two SSD's,also if not gaming you could downgrade the GPU.

 

[Simon]

Thanks, Vanthus. I use offline files to enable me to have a lot of the data stored on my desktop available when the desktop is sleeping or when I'm away from home. So, I need lots of disk space and I have found that disk is often the slowest component of the rig. I usually just opt for top of the range, but had already decided to specify a lower power GPU. However, for video editing and blu-ray movies I had thought it would be wise not to under-perform my desktop as regards GPU. Thanks for the advice, though. Any thoughts on Haswell???

 

[vanthus]

Sorry,I have no knowledge of Haswell,hopefully someone else can help.

 

[Simon]

Thanks again. My research indicates that Haswell is the replacement for Ivybridge, due in about 12 months, and the "tock" to the IVB "tick". So, I'm anticipating it will be a significant change although I have seen some reports that the processor is only likely to be 10% faster. I doubt that anyone other than Intel really knows, but in addition to my other questions I would be interested in other forum members (and PCS staff) speculations on this. And I'm sure you are right that there are others who will wish to comment ...