Hi All,
After setting up & using my new Optimus VI I now feel in a good position to give an honest review of my whole experience.
The Order Process:
Unfortunately this was the worst part of the experience for me, taking 11 days to dispatch the laptop instead of the quoted 5-7 days. There was no finance involved & I paid fully when I ordered.
Now I'm a reasonable person, there might of been a problem with a component, the stock wasn't there, staff sickness, etc. But nobody got in touch to let me know what was happening?
I may not have spent a huge amount of money in comparison to what else is available through PC Specialist but it's just good customer service to keep me in the loop, even if it is bad news!
Despite this, when I made contact (even late into the evening) the staff were very helpful & were able to update me with where the laptop was in the que & when they thought it might be on its way. The web chat wasn't so good, with replies taking an age to come through then completely stopping... I gave up.
Once dispatched, delivery was fast & excellently tracked through DPD with the laptop being securely packaged.
The Laptop:
What I wanted was to replace my very old Asus G1 with something smaller with a lot of power to run games, SteamOS, video encode & general IT tinkering. The following is what I ordered (Italics are my factory options, Orange are my modifications so far):
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 13.3" Matte Full HD LED IPS Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 2GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1333MHz (1 x 2GB) (Now upgraded to 16gb Kingston HyperX)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 (DirectX® 12 with Windows 10)
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm) (I'm using my 7200 rpm HD with an SSD to follow soon)
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive NONE
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
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 Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 HMC (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery 13.3" Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language 13.3" OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee 30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
This is based on the Clevo Model W230SD and can be found elsewhere but PC Specialist seemed the best option for me.
It looks quite good with some nice lines and there is very little in the way of flashy extra gimmicks, not something that bothers me either way.
Now after installing windows 10 (and sorting all 2 of the niggling driver issues, impressed there wasn't more!) the laptop really flies! Nothing has phased it yet. Running current games at high graphic settings seems to be the norm and in the GeForce Experience software, everything seem to be optimised to run that way & it really does impress.
The full HD screen is excellent (my thought was to get the lower resolution screen to keep my graphics card good for as long as possible). Along with very little glare, it is incredibly sharp with excellent viewing angles (a perk of the IPS technology it uses).
The keyboard suits my taste, with island style keys and a white backlight with 3 different settings (off, low & high) it works very well for me. It isn't a proper gaming keyboard but for general usage is great.
I also like the fact that I can get inside the case without voiding the warranty & it being very easy to work on. There is (for me) one mystery component plugged into the lower left mSata port near the battery (Perhaps the Bluetooth adapter but I thought that was all integrated into the Wi-Fi card?) which if someone could shed some light on I'd be grateful. See below...
Some of the dislikes:
The plain laptop lid which, from previous experience, will be very easily marked (I think I might get it vinyl covered). The laptop casing feels a little cheap to the touch but is very sturdy, the speakers are a little tinny but they are laptop speakers so I'm not too fussed (as I use either my sound system or headphones). The hinges for the lid are strong & the opening is a two handed operation, a bit of a pain but will close happily with just one hand.
Other little things I've noticed, the touchpad buttons feeling a little flimsy and the battery is a bit fiddly to insert (but how often do you do that?). The power button needs some force to operate but this may just be my unit and I will discuss this with the PC Specialist guys.
And why can't I update the BIOS? I work with several major brands of laptop, BIOS updates are important to security, stability & performance that all come through on all the auto update programs as important or critical (The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 even comes through with windows updates!)... If there is a good reason not to then I'm yet to be aware of it. Gone are the days of BIOS updates being unreliable & difficult. (Sorry for the rant!)
So all in all I'd say 8 out of 10. The device exceeds my needs, the performance and value for money is excellent. In a perfect world I would have had 5th or 6th Gen Intel processors, a different lid covering & I would perhaps have some better quality plastics. These are some minor drawbacks but customer service is a big one and shouldn't have had to be included this.
After setting up & using my new Optimus VI I now feel in a good position to give an honest review of my whole experience.
The Order Process:
Unfortunately this was the worst part of the experience for me, taking 11 days to dispatch the laptop instead of the quoted 5-7 days. There was no finance involved & I paid fully when I ordered.
Now I'm a reasonable person, there might of been a problem with a component, the stock wasn't there, staff sickness, etc. But nobody got in touch to let me know what was happening?
I may not have spent a huge amount of money in comparison to what else is available through PC Specialist but it's just good customer service to keep me in the loop, even if it is bad news!Despite this, when I made contact (even late into the evening) the staff were very helpful & were able to update me with where the laptop was in the que & when they thought it might be on its way. The web chat wasn't so good, with replies taking an age to come through then completely stopping... I gave up.
Once dispatched, delivery was fast & excellently tracked through DPD with the laptop being securely packaged.
The Laptop:
What I wanted was to replace my very old Asus G1 with something smaller with a lot of power to run games, SteamOS, video encode & general IT tinkering. The following is what I ordered (Italics are my factory options, Orange are my modifications so far):
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 13.3" Matte Full HD LED IPS Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 2GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1333MHz (1 x 2GB) (Now upgraded to 16gb Kingston HyperX)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 (DirectX® 12 with Windows 10)
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm) (I'm using my 7200 rpm HD with an SSD to follow soon)
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive NONE
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
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 Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 HMC (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery 13.3" Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language 13.3" OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee 30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
This is based on the Clevo Model W230SD and can be found elsewhere but PC Specialist seemed the best option for me.
It looks quite good with some nice lines and there is very little in the way of flashy extra gimmicks, not something that bothers me either way.
Now after installing windows 10 (and sorting all 2 of the niggling driver issues, impressed there wasn't more!) the laptop really flies! Nothing has phased it yet. Running current games at high graphic settings seems to be the norm and in the GeForce Experience software, everything seem to be optimised to run that way & it really does impress.
The full HD screen is excellent (my thought was to get the lower resolution screen to keep my graphics card good for as long as possible). Along with very little glare, it is incredibly sharp with excellent viewing angles (a perk of the IPS technology it uses).
The keyboard suits my taste, with island style keys and a white backlight with 3 different settings (off, low & high) it works very well for me. It isn't a proper gaming keyboard but for general usage is great.
I also like the fact that I can get inside the case without voiding the warranty & it being very easy to work on. There is (for me) one mystery component plugged into the lower left mSata port near the battery (Perhaps the Bluetooth adapter but I thought that was all integrated into the Wi-Fi card?) which if someone could shed some light on I'd be grateful. See below...
Some of the dislikes:
The plain laptop lid which, from previous experience, will be very easily marked (I think I might get it vinyl covered). The laptop casing feels a little cheap to the touch but is very sturdy, the speakers are a little tinny but they are laptop speakers so I'm not too fussed (as I use either my sound system or headphones). The hinges for the lid are strong & the opening is a two handed operation, a bit of a pain but will close happily with just one hand.
Other little things I've noticed, the touchpad buttons feeling a little flimsy and the battery is a bit fiddly to insert (but how often do you do that?). The power button needs some force to operate but this may just be my unit and I will discuss this with the PC Specialist guys.
And why can't I update the BIOS? I work with several major brands of laptop, BIOS updates are important to security, stability & performance that all come through on all the auto update programs as important or critical (The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 even comes through with windows updates!)... If there is a good reason not to then I'm yet to be aware of it. Gone are the days of BIOS updates being unreliable & difficult. (Sorry for the rant!)
So all in all I'd say 8 out of 10. The device exceeds my needs, the performance and value for money is excellent. In a perfect world I would have had 5th or 6th Gen Intel processors, a different lid covering & I would perhaps have some better quality plastics. These are some minor drawbacks but customer service is a big one and shouldn't have had to be included this.
