Help with new laptop

[petrow]

I bought a laptop in 2012 and I'm now looking to update to a newer machine. I have a maximum of £950 to spend but to be honest I don't know where to start. I would prefer a 17'3" screen and I use the machine predominantly for gaming. My desktop (also made by PCS) sits to the side now as I don't have the space to really use it so I want a laptop that can do well with games.

Can anyone give me some advice. Also are any of the current laptop models PCS have going to be updated soon? The last time I bought a laptop the newer model came out about 3 weeks later so if that's the case I'll wait.

Thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Slightly over, but it's worth it as it's the difference between a GTX965m and GTX970m which is quite a leap. All chassis have been refreshed recently except the Vortex IV, so this one is the latest refresh so won't be updated for some time...

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4720HQ (2.60GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7265 M.2 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £990.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/defiance-17/xXRzOWwc94/

 

[petrow]

Thanks for the help Spyder that looks about spot on for me. One question, if I wanted to upgrade to a SSD to hold the operating system and a few things here and there, can you simply transfer it from one HDD to another or is there a bit more to it than than? I was thinking when I get some extra cash I would buy a decent SSD and go down that route.

Thanks again.

 

[Stephen M]

There is space for a second HDD or SSD so that should not be a problem. How much or little do you use your desktop P. If you were happy to use the OS from that you could save 79 quid and put it towards an SSD, with Spyder's config changed a little to 250GB Samsung SSD it would cost 969.

 

[petrow]

Thanks for the reply. I think I will go with the 250GB Samsung SSD and then order my own hybrid HDD in the future and add it myself. I'll go a little over budget but ultimately I want a machine that I can rely on for a good few years.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for the reply. I think I will go with the 250GB Samsung SSD and then order my own hybrid HDD in the future and add it myself. I'll go a little over budget but ultimately I want a machine that I can rely on for a good few years.

If you have an SSD as the primary drive, you don't get any benefits from a Hybrid SSHD as a secondary drive, in fact a Caviar Black will run quicker as it's 7200rpm over the SSHD's 5400rpm. The SSD cache basically isn't used.

 

[petrow]

If you have an SSD as the primary drive, you don't get any benefits from a Hybrid SSHD as a secondary drive, in fact a Caviar Black will run quicker as it's 7200rpm over the SSHD's 5400rpm. The SSD cache basically isn't used.

Ah cool I didn't know that thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Ah cool I didn't know that thanks.

No worries

 

[petrow]

New Laptop Time

Time to replace my old laptop. Here's the spec I have gone with after Spyder gave some advice on another thread. I have added a 250GB Samsung SSD and will add my own HDD at another time. Any advice before ordering will be great. If not, the next update will be the photographs when it arrives. I went over budget by a bit but I'll rather do it now than mess around in the future wishing I had put parts in.

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4720HQ (2.60GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7265 M.2 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)


Total Order Price: £1048

 

[SpyderTracks]

Very good, I wouldn't change a thing. For info, the defiance will only fit 7mm HDD's so bear that in mind when fitting your own.

 

[petrow]

Awesome thanks for that, I'll be sure to make sure I get a 7mm then.

 

[accip]

Very good, I wouldn't change a thing. For info, the defiance will only fit 7mm HDD's so bear that in mind when fitting your own.

Spyder, I contacted PCS in regards to the HDD sizes that fit into the Defiance chassis and they replied that only the slim types fit (awfully vague answer, if you ask me). Additionally, they told me that the WD Scorpio Black 750GB, 7200 RPM HDD does not fit into the Defiance, but as far as I've seen - it is a 7mm HDD.

Could you please advise on this? If the WD HDD does not fit into the Defiance, then what would be the best alternative for a 7200 RPM HDD? Also, is there a specific zie of SSD that the Defiance can only fit?

Not the OP, by the way. Just thought this would be the best place to write this since you mentioned the size of the HDD.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Spyder, I contacted PCS in regards to the HDD sizes that fit into the Defiance chassis and they replied that only the slim types fit (awfully vague answer, if you ask me). Additionally, they told me that the WD Scorpio Black 750GB, 7200 RPM HDD does not fit into the Defiance, but as far as I've seen - it is a 7mm HDD.

Could you please advise on this? If the WD HDD does not fit into the Defiance, then what would be the best alternative for a 7200 RPM HDD? Also, is there a specific zie of SSD that the Defiance can only fit?

Not the OP, by the way. Just thought this would be the best place to write this since you mentioned the size of the HDD.

From looking up some of their supplied HDD's such as the WD Blue WD10 SPCX, it is a 7mm profile 2.5" standard HDD as per WD Page HERE. I looked on amazon when the defiance was released and I'm sure I was able to find 7200rpm WD black's which were 7mm also which confused me as to why PCS didn't stock them.

Afaik, there is only one standard 7mm profile so any 7mm drive should fit. If an SSD fit's then a 7mm HDD will fit also.