New gaming laptop, help requested

W

whiskey29

Active member
Hey,

Updated, thanks to the comments so far

So thinking of making the switch from my Desktop PC to a gaming Laptop, but having a few doubts and a few questions!

Im not a "Hardcore Gamer" I mostly play MMOs like Wildstar and WOW, but do play them for long periods, so concerned about cooling :eek: I also travel a lot (hence the move to a laptop) and have an extensive Film collection, both Blu Ray and external HDD, so i need a blu ray drive.

The spec Im considering is below, its around my desired price range, any savings would be gratefully taken, vice versa though, if there is a strong argument for an upgrade, im not adverse to considering it!

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) thanks for educating me!
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB Thanks for the feedback, going to stick with this
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)Thanks for the feedback, going to stick with this
Graphics Card[/I][/B]
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11Thanks for the feedback, going to stick with this
MSATA SSD[/I][/B]
240GB KINGSTON SSDNow, mS200 mSATA (upto 540MB/sR, 530MB/sWThanks for the feedback, going to stick with this
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
6x BLURAY ROM, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack I feel getting a dedicated soundcard is kind of pointless as the laptop speakers wont do it justice, and I never really notice the difference anyway. Will play on headphones or desk speakers.
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0 Thanks for the feedback, going to stick with this
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79) Thanks for the feedback, going to stick with this

Laptop Cooling Stands
CoolerMaster NotePal I300 Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch (£25) Anyone have any knowledge of cooling stands, im guessing they're essential for gaming, is this a good one? Would i be better getting one of the others, happy to spend more here
Carry Case
Belkin Black/Red 17.3" Neoprene Notebook Sleeve (£18) Thanks for the feedback, will probably buy a cheap one from currys!
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee so cheap, seems silly not to have it.


Price: £1,415.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/vortexIV-17/WPoEsXe0wR/
 
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S

SlimCini

KC and the Sunshine BANNED
Faster SSD I'd get.

I would agree with getting a better wifi card... though that killer one you're partially paying for bluetooth connectivity. if you don't need bluetooth then go for the Ultimate N6300, or buy a killer 1103 online and fix it yourself.

You could save yourself £15 and get a cheap laptop sleeve from Currys/Amazon for a few pounds.
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
I don't have time to go through each point but I will say this.

1. CPU is ideal, spending more is not justified for the performance return.
2.For gaming 8GB is plenty
3. The 870m and the 880m arnt hugely different in terms of performance. Make up your own mind by looking at the 870m benchmarks and the 880m benchmarks
here http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-880M.107622.0.html and here http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-870M.107792.0.html
4. the v300 is a rubbish SSD, get at least the hyper x if you plan to buy the SSD from PCS. Not sure how many bays for drives that chassis has but you wont be able to fit more than 1 conventional HDD and have a blue ray drive I would imagine. Consider an mSATA if you want more drive options.
 
X

Xii_Damian

Bronze Level Poster
I have found the standard wifi to be fine - got to take into account bag parts/bad drivers(needing to be re-installed)/bad internet - so I wouldn't worry about it.
 
M

mdwh

Enthusiast
Matte means you get no (or very little) reflections. It's better for outdoor use or near a window (where glossy screens can end up looking like a mirror). Also if playing a game with dark areas on screen, glossy can be more distracting to see your own reflection.

The downside of matte is that colours look slightly less vibrant, though personally I find them fine. The only reason I'd pick glossy if it was significantly cheaper, and for an indoor machine - this was the case with the Vortex 3, but now it's glossy that is actually more expensive, and I see no reason to go for that unless you really prefer the "shiny" look of a glossy screen.

More info:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/05/23/glossy-vs-matte-screens-why-the-pc-industrys-out-of-touch/

http://www.howtogeek.com/181727/glossy-vs.-matte-lcds-which-should-you-choose-when-buying-a-display/

I'm not aware of Windows 8 being a massive performance boost, with the exception of much faster boot times (mine went from ~23s to 13s). A full list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_8 , up to you whether it's worth the £79.
 
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