My New Defiance IX

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PhilHibbs

Bronze Level Poster
I ordered a Defiance IX on the 12th of January, and it was delivered on the 21st. Not bad!

Here are the important specs, and the thread where I posted them:

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte, Full HD, 144Hz, Pantone Validated 72% NTSC, LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 11800H (2.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 3000 MB/W)
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
6x Slim USB 2.0 External Blu-Ray Writer
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

I changed the OS for Windows 10 and the first SSD for a Samsung 970 Evo Plus after placing the order which was really simple using the online order amendment system. The 980 Evo Plus is not an option, presumably the Defiance IX doesn't support the latest version of M.2.

dysonsphere.jpg


Pretty happy with it so far. Slim, quiet, good keyboard layout, except that the trackpad is a bit far to the left so I keep thumb-heeling it when playing WASD games. As pointed out below, the Fn-F1 key toggles the trackpad on and off which is a must!

The keyboard layout is really important to me, as I'm a programmer and sysadmin and so I use the \ and | key a lot. My previous machine had the \ key over at the right hand side of the keyboard in an awkward place.
keyboard.jpg


I hope I don't regret the 3060 choice as against say the 3070 Max-Q. I don't think I need a monster machine that is world class at all the latest titles.

minecraft.jpg


I haven't opened up the back yet to see how the cooling is laid out for cleaning the fans and vents.

The built-in speakers sound washed out and weak, maybe that is because the machine is a lot lighter weight than the last one, the extra mass probably gave the speakers a bit more oomph. I haven't played with the sound profiles yet, as suggested below that might help but this really should be configured beforehand. I didn't even know there was a downloads area with loads of important drivers and software on it!

I've downloaded the Sound Blaster Atlas software, and it sound a bit better now. Still a bit weak. Need to get some speakers I suppose!

One last gripe: I wish there was an old-style USB port on the back, as I don't like having the mouse plugged in on the side all the time. I don't mind temporary devices like a USB stick or external DVD drive, but I don't like having permanent connections on the sides.
 
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SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
PhilHibbs said:
Ooh, it's Fn-F1! Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
No worries, it's the same on mine.

Unfortunately laptop speakers generally are still very old tech. It's only the premium chassis like Apple and Razer where they implemented new designs that make a huge difference. Fingers crossed it will start filtering down to the more mainstream manufacturers.

I'm impressed you got it pretty quickly, that's great. If you get a chance, post some pictures to your OneDrive and post links, would love to see it.

Or you can post photos to the site if you resize the files:

Dealing with Image uploads and files to the site

Hi all A bit of a helpful pointer should you wish to post images to the site. The maximum file size of an image you can upload is 1MB. It's quite normal for photos to be above this size, but there's an easy way to shrink down the file before uploading. Download Gimp. This is a free open source...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
 
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PhilHibbs

Bronze Level Poster
The speakers are significantly worse than the Vortex IV. Maybe it's because the Vortex was a heavier machine, the mass gave the sound a bit more weight and resonance.
 
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PhilHibbs

Bronze Level Poster
I'd just like to re-state how happy I am with how quiet the machine is. There is some fan noise when doing intense graphics or other processing, but it's not the hovercraft that the old Vortex IV was!
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
PhilHibbs said:
I'd just like to re-state how happy I am with how quiet the machine is. There is some fan noise when doing intense graphics or other processing, but it's not the hovercraft that the old Vortex IV was!
Click to expand...
Vortex IV is almost silent, I never hear mine.

If you hadn't serviced it it was very likely it was overheating which is why the fans would have been on loud.

Mine's quiet as a whistle.

But glad the new one is suiting you. But you will need to service it yearly or the same thing will happen.
 
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PhilHibbs

Bronze Level Poster
The Vortex IV was super easy to open. The Defiance IX has a lot more screws, and it isn't as obvious what part of the underside to remove in what order, there's a strip across the back that looks like it should come off first. I loosened the screws yesterday and had a go at loosening the cover but got nowhere. The user guide says "Do not attempt to service the computer yourself."

Anyone got any tips on how to safely dismantle and clean a Defiance IX?

Currently reading this: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/how-to-clean-your-laptop.33834/
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
Out
PhilHibbs said:
The speakers are significantly worse than the Vortex IV. Maybe it's because the Vortex was a heavier machine, the mass gave the sound a bit more weight and resonance.
Click to expand...

Out of interest have you opened your Creative Sounblaster App yet? If not that could be why your sound is so bad the app wont have configured you EQ's yet.
 
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PhilHibbs

Bronze Level Poster
barlew said:
Out of interest have you opened your Creative Sounblaster App yet? If not that could be why your sound is so bad the app wont have configured you EQ's yet.
Click to expand...
I can't find any such app installed, and it doesn't have SoundBlaster hardware. It says "Tuned by Sound Blaster X Pro-Gaming" on the case, but the sound hardware seems to be NVIDIA High Definition Audio.
 
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barlew

barlew

Godlike
PhilHibbs said:
I can't find any such app installed.
Click to expand...
This is probably your problem then. You should have audio software installed which manages your sound profiles.

I have had one with the last three PCS laptops I had. Each laptop sounded horrific until this software was opened, and configured for the first time.

Check your downloads section in your PCS account.
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
PhilHibbs said:
I can't find any such app installed, and it doesn't have SoundBlaster hardware. It says "Tuned by Sound Blaster X Pro-Gaming" on the case, but the sound hardware seems to be NVIDIA High Definition Audio.
Click to expand...
I don't think your audio drivers are installed. Check the download section in your PCS account and look for audio drivers and you should also have some sort of Sound Blaster control software. You need to download and install both. Then open the Sound Blaster for the first time and it will auto configure your audio.

You should see something like this in your download section:

1643044215975.png
 
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PhilHibbs

Bronze Level Poster
Running the Sound Blaster Atlas app and selecting a Gaming profile does seem to boost the sound quite a bit. Still a bit lightweight but I can't compare it directly to the Vortex as it's broken still!
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
PhilHibbs said:
Running the Sound Blaster Atlas app and selecting a Gaming profile does seem to boost the sound quite a bit. Still a bit lightweight but I can't compare it directly to the Vortex as it's broken still!
Click to expand...
Well I'm glad its helped to some extent.
 
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