Knowledge of laptops very limited

[donegal]

Hi again chaps,

Been a while. I was here in October 2012 asking about a PC spec which I duly ordered and it has been superb since day one, and long may it continue to be so. Still whisper quiet and fast!

Now my old laptop is due for renewal and a grateful relative is looking towards giving it a home. So I am in the market for a new laptop. No great demands to be made of it except I want it to be quick whatever it does.

I have problems working out configuration particularly of storage. When I put in what I want on the configurator I get told off and have to change things around. Because of my lack of knowledge, I don't really know what I can and can't do.

Long story short - I want to boot from an SSD (120gb will do - OS only in theory) and have 500gb for data and programs. Because I put the SSD as the main drive and the 2nd drive as the Scorpio Black, it isn't allowed and I would have to do away with the DVD which I am loathe to do. Soooooo - I put the SSD as mSata and it accepted it (I don't even know what mSata is). The Scorpio Black is down as the first drive....

Question - will the laptop boot from the mSata?

Memory question - I want 2x4gb ram but Samsung memory doesn't have this option only 1x8gb ram, so I have had to plump for the Kingston variety. I went this route because I have read that 2x4gb is quicker than 1x8gb - is this correct and if so, is it worth worrying about?

Any observations on the following spec?

As ever, grateful in advance for your help. Great to see Grimezy still here and the usual suspects - Steaky and vanthus and the 'Godlike' keynes!!

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS MEDIA ACCELERATOR 4600
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
SSD CACHE DRIVE
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
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
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
COSMOS 17" SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

 

[keynes]

Hi,
You won't get a noticeable difference between 2x4gb and 1x8gb ram and the mSATA should be the primary drive for the OS but to make sure I would contact PCS to indicate that you wish to have the OS there. What is the intended use for the laptop?

 

[donegal]

Well, I have my PC as my main computer and that does the donkey work of video and photo editing, and a good job it does too. My current laptop is an old (3+ years) Compaq with a T4400 processor, and whilst it runs okay it is slow (I have been spoilt by my PC's i7-3770 performance). I want to expand the possibilities of mobile computing such as tethering my camera to the laptop, and perhaps even do some photo-editing in the field, but not to the extent that I would on the PC.

I am not a game-player (yet - I am an Elite Dangerous backer so will be soon), but speaking to my son (who bought from PCS two years before me) he said go for the best I can afford like he did (he is still running his i5 and he is a gamer, but needs a new battery). I figure by spending a bit more, it will last me a bit longer. It will probably do the usual Excel stuff, Word, perhaps some Lightroom 5 work; even the possibility of Premiere Elements fiddling if it is quick enough. Music editing is also a possibility. It's a general all rounder I am after - but generally quick and long-lasting is probably the best way to describe why I want it.

 

[Stephen M]

Another option, although more expensive, is to get a laptop with a bigger chassis, from the Optimus V 15.6" on, as these will allow for two standard hard drives.

I am unsure as to the difference between an mSATA and a the standard srives, although you get a bigger option of drives by avoiding the mSATA.

 

[donegal]

Oddly enough, I wanted the 15.6 screen but my son talked me into 17 (you know the argument - bigger is better etc.). I tried the configurator on the Optimus V but iirc to get the same spec in that body was much dearer. I shall have another go though.

 

[Stephen M]

Unfortunately they do get more expensive the further down the list you go. One question, how portable do you want your laptop to be. I have the 17.3" Voyager (discontinued) and although it is excellent it can be bulky and using it on trains, especially if there are others sat at the same table, is a real problem. I chose it because of my sight and that I wanted something to watch movies while away, so the big screen was better. For portability the 15.6" is better.
Finally, it is always worth checking out the review section, there are often bargains to be had there, although it is down to luck if it is the right set up as these are already built and cannot be reconfigured. Saying that, there is noting to stop you upgrading once you have bought it, so, if you are happy to do it, adding as SSD would be a possibility.

 

[donegal]

I just ran through the configurator again - to get the same spec in Optimus V (cpu, memory, disk drives) would cost nearly £200 more. The difference seems to be a backlit keyboard and the gtx 765m whereas with the Cosmos I was happy with the Intel onboard graphics. I don't have a choice with the Optimus.

Portability isn't too much of a problem. I have never had my current laptop out of the house except to sit in the garden. Like a few others I have seen on here, I like the idea of having the freedom to have pc power anywhere I like around the house or garden. I don't always want to sit at my desk.

I like the look of the Optimus - the build quality looks better than the Cosmos - the other bits and bobs look good too but I cannot see 200 quidsworth over the Cosmos, especially as the screen is smaller!

I think I will get on to tech support or sales and makes sure that the mSata setup on the Cosmos allows me to use it as the primary disk and therefore boot drive.

 

[donegal]

I think I will get on to tech support or sales and makes sure that the mSata setup on the Cosmos allows me to use it as the primary disk and therefore boot drive.

Just spoke to sales and was told 'we would as standard install Windows on that'. :yes: