Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 13.3" Matte Full HD LED IPS Widescreen (1920x1080)
-- Because the QHD, although supposedly better, would be more power hungry and the resolution would be too high for a small screen. I would still run on 1920x1080.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
-- Because the i7 Quad Core is magnitudes better than the previous iterations, yet the differences between the 2.5Ghz and the 2.80Ghz are negligible. The price however, isn't. Wouldn't justify.
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
-- Because the HyperX memory's only advantage is ability to auto-overclock over 1600Mhz. Since no motherboard specification is posted, I assumed 1600Mhz is maximum it supports, so HyperX is not justified to be bought.
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11
-- Only choice available, but very happy with it.
1st Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
-- Because a SSHD hard drive wouldn't be justified since I also added a mSATA SSD for the OS and temporary storage. This is a permanent storage drive and game drive, as a result, the 7,200rpm is a better choice.
M.2 SSD Drive
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
-- Naturally, a best choice for running one or two OS on this, plus maybe small temporary storage until moved to permanent storage. A bigger SSD wouldn't be justified because there's the bigger 7,200rpm storage drive to be actually used for storage. As a result, 120GB SSD is enough to comfortably run both Windows 8 and Linux with plenty of software installed, and still have some space left.
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
-- No comment on this. I don't use this that much, but could come in handy.
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
-- Because for a 13.3" case, as based on past reviews, I understand this little monster will run quite hot. I'm hoping this will help to keep a 50C idle and a max of 80 in moderate use. If not, I will return the laptop, since running a 90+ for 2+ years will reduce the life of the laptop and battery significantly.
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
-- Not a sound junkie. Do not care about sound that much. I occasionally play songs and do not game that much. Most of my sound comes from YouTube which has ****ty quality anyway. I think this choice is justified for me.
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
-- Because the others would be overkill. I do not think my connection speed will surpass 300Mbps over the next 2-3 years. Maybe only 2-3 weeks a year when I go visit parents back home in Romania where we have the 1Gbps connection, but for 3 weeks, another Wi-Fi card wouldn't be justified. I know it's not only about speed, but my reasons remain.
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
-- No comment. I understand one of these is an A/C port which is very nice to hear.
Battery
13.3" Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)
-- Knowing that the case is produced by Clevo, a company with a somewhat shady website, I'm just hoping to get at least 2.5h of battery time out of this, for around 2.5 years, without blowing up.
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
-- I'm hoping the adaptor will be long enough, not too bulky, and won't run as hot as the temperature of the sun.
Keyboard Language
13.3" OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
-- Currently own a HP ProBook 4520s. Two buttons gave up after 3 years, the text is faded on 3 buttons. I'm hoping the keyboard from the Optimus will be AT LEAST as good, and will be a comfortable to use chiclet. I'll miss by numeric keypad though....
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
-- Already own a license for Windows, but plan to mainly run Linux anyway.
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
-- Because DVD is more or less obsolete. Might get an external Blu-Ray in the future, maybe.
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
-- Got it already.
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
-- Already have BitDefender. It's awesome. No virus in 8 years.
Browser
Microsoft® Internet Explorer
-- I'll mostly run Chromium.
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
-- The touchpad on my ProBook 4520s has been pretty good. Hoping at the same quality. Would have loved separate buttons (no integrated in the touchpad).
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
-- Again, same webcame as I currently have, hoping at a similar quality.
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
-- I took the 1 year collect and return because for the extra few quid, really, it's very worth it. Many do not realize the insane postage cost of an object as big and heavy such as a laptop.
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
-- Generally, if no pixel gives up within a month of continuous screen-on activity, then I'm good to go for at least a year of two. Generally. If the screen isn't of the worst-there-is-quality.
I'm having mediocre expectations for this laptop, mainly because I tend to be quite influenced by strong brands, but more importantly, because some of the most important components are built by a Chinese company with a less-then-desirable website or history. Battery, case, (screen?), and cooler. I'll definitely keep a close eye on the cooler.
I'll come back with a review after a month or so of use.
Optimus Series: 13.3" Matte Full HD LED IPS Widescreen (1920x1080)
-- Because the QHD, although supposedly better, would be more power hungry and the resolution would be too high for a small screen. I would still run on 1920x1080.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
-- Because the i7 Quad Core is magnitudes better than the previous iterations, yet the differences between the 2.5Ghz and the 2.80Ghz are negligible. The price however, isn't. Wouldn't justify.
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
-- Because the HyperX memory's only advantage is ability to auto-overclock over 1600Mhz. Since no motherboard specification is posted, I assumed 1600Mhz is maximum it supports, so HyperX is not justified to be bought.
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11
-- Only choice available, but very happy with it.
1st Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
-- Because a SSHD hard drive wouldn't be justified since I also added a mSATA SSD for the OS and temporary storage. This is a permanent storage drive and game drive, as a result, the 7,200rpm is a better choice.
M.2 SSD Drive
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
-- Naturally, a best choice for running one or two OS on this, plus maybe small temporary storage until moved to permanent storage. A bigger SSD wouldn't be justified because there's the bigger 7,200rpm storage drive to be actually used for storage. As a result, 120GB SSD is enough to comfortably run both Windows 8 and Linux with plenty of software installed, and still have some space left.
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
-- No comment on this. I don't use this that much, but could come in handy.
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
-- Because for a 13.3" case, as based on past reviews, I understand this little monster will run quite hot. I'm hoping this will help to keep a 50C idle and a max of 80 in moderate use. If not, I will return the laptop, since running a 90+ for 2+ years will reduce the life of the laptop and battery significantly.
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
-- Not a sound junkie. Do not care about sound that much. I occasionally play songs and do not game that much. Most of my sound comes from YouTube which has ****ty quality anyway. I think this choice is justified for me.
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
-- Because the others would be overkill. I do not think my connection speed will surpass 300Mbps over the next 2-3 years. Maybe only 2-3 weeks a year when I go visit parents back home in Romania where we have the 1Gbps connection, but for 3 weeks, another Wi-Fi card wouldn't be justified. I know it's not only about speed, but my reasons remain.
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
-- No comment. I understand one of these is an A/C port which is very nice to hear.
Battery
13.3" Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)
-- Knowing that the case is produced by Clevo, a company with a somewhat shady website, I'm just hoping to get at least 2.5h of battery time out of this, for around 2.5 years, without blowing up.
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
-- I'm hoping the adaptor will be long enough, not too bulky, and won't run as hot as the temperature of the sun.
Keyboard Language
13.3" OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
-- Currently own a HP ProBook 4520s. Two buttons gave up after 3 years, the text is faded on 3 buttons. I'm hoping the keyboard from the Optimus will be AT LEAST as good, and will be a comfortable to use chiclet. I'll miss by numeric keypad though....
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
-- Already own a license for Windows, but plan to mainly run Linux anyway.
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
-- Because DVD is more or less obsolete. Might get an external Blu-Ray in the future, maybe.
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
-- Got it already.
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
-- Already have BitDefender. It's awesome. No virus in 8 years.
Browser
Microsoft® Internet Explorer
-- I'll mostly run Chromium.
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
-- The touchpad on my ProBook 4520s has been pretty good. Hoping at the same quality. Would have loved separate buttons (no integrated in the touchpad).
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
-- Again, same webcame as I currently have, hoping at a similar quality.
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
-- I took the 1 year collect and return because for the extra few quid, really, it's very worth it. Many do not realize the insane postage cost of an object as big and heavy such as a laptop.
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
-- Generally, if no pixel gives up within a month of continuous screen-on activity, then I'm good to go for at least a year of two. Generally. If the screen isn't of the worst-there-is-quality.
I'm having mediocre expectations for this laptop, mainly because I tend to be quite influenced by strong brands, but more importantly, because some of the most important components are built by a Chinese company with a less-then-desirable website or history. Battery, case, (screen?), and cooler. I'll definitely keep a close eye on the cooler.
I'll come back with a review after a month or so of use.