Options for a portable laptop for work / moderate gaming

S

SnakeFighter

Member
Hi Everyone

I'm chewing over options for a new laptop- I do a bit of coding (VS Code, Android Studio), and some moderate gaming (Witcher III, FH5 etc). Also a whole lot of travelling. RTX3060 or similar should be plenty for me for the foreseeable future (my current laptop is rocking a GTX1050!!). I'm looking for something around 2.0kg or less, and about 20mm thick. That being the case, the Ionico and Defiance models look likely to me. See below for some draft specs on each!

There's quite a few reviews around for the Ionico and equivalent models from elsewhere, but I haven't found much on the Defiance. I'd be interested in thoughts on that chassis. I've reached out to PCS about the size and weight of the power bricks (never seems to be mentioned in specs!), and haven't had a reply yet, so if anyone has info to share on that as well, that would be great. The Iconico comes with a 230W charger, so I imagine it might be a bit of a lump...

Anything else I should know, I'd love to hear it!

Cheers
Charlie

*************DEFIANCE************

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 240Hz 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
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs


***********IONICO***************
Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 15.6" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
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
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
SnakeFighter said:
Hi Everyone

I'm chewing over options for a new laptop- I do a bit of coding (VS Code, Android Studio), and some moderate gaming (Witcher III, FH5 etc). Also a whole lot of travelling. RTX3060 or similar should be plenty for me for the foreseeable future (my current laptop is rocking a GTX1050!!). I'm looking for something around 2.0kg or less, and about 20mm thick. That being the case, the Ionico and Defiance models look likely to me. See below for some draft specs on each!

There's quite a few reviews around for the Ionico and equivalent models from elsewhere, but I haven't found much on the Defiance. I'd be interested in thoughts on that chassis. I've reached out to PCS about the size and weight of the power bricks (never seems to be mentioned in specs!), and haven't had a reply yet, so if anyone has info to share on that as well, that would be great. The Iconico comes with a 230W charger, so I imagine it might be a bit of a lump...

Anything else I should know, I'd love to hear it!

Cheers
Charlie

*************DEFIANCE************

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 240Hz 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
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs


***********IONICO***************
Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 15.6" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
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
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Click to expand...
What is your Max budget?

First reactions are you would ideally want to split your storage across two drives. If I were you I would have one 500GB drive for the OS and then a separate 1-2TB data drive for storage and programs.
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
SnakeFighter said:
Thanks for the reply.

The extra ssd is not a bad idea. Max budget is around 1.5k.
Click to expand...
Ok so below I have posted my recommendation. I would stick with the Defiance because your budget sits you firmly in the RTX 3060 price point, which for me means you want to be sticking with a 1080p panel, which the Defiance has. You can game 1440P with a 3060 but you would be far better off maxing your settings and having a silky smooth experience at 1080P

The build I have come up with is slightly over budget but ill explain my thinking.

I have adjusted your drive setup as previously mentioned with a Samsung 980 PRO as your primary OS drive. The 980 utilises PCIe 4 so will be lightning fast. For your data/program drive I have stuck in a 1TB 970 which is slightly slower but still a great drive.

To keep costs down I dropped the warranty to the silver warranty which is only £5 and I have added 1 year dead pixel grantee. Obviously this is a cost saving measure and has no bearing on the performance of the laptop.

I have also added
Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 240Hz 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
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Defiance Series Integrated 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (73WH)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
15" DEFIANCE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo PC50HP (6GB RTX-3060, i7-11800H, 240Hz N7, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 9 working days
Price: £1,538.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/defianceIX-15/B3pH62CKHf/
 
S

SnakeFighter

Member
Interesting ideas. Particularly the bit about the drives- I hadn't realised that either of these models supported PCIe 4- is that hidden somewhere in the specs, or are we just meant to guess?!

Any info on the chargers, btw?

Many thanks again.
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
SnakeFighter said:
Interesting ideas. Particularly the bit about the drives- I hadn't realised that either of these models supported PCIe 4- is that hidden somewhere in the specs, or are we just meant to guess?!

Any info on the chargers, btw?

Many thanks again.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure its not in the detailed specification. I guess its just assumed that people will know that the 11th gen Intel platforms support PCIe 4.

I am not sure about the power brick. Its only 180W so I cant imagine it is huge but for details you would have to contact PCS directly.
 
S

SnakeFighter

Member
PCS have still not been able to send any details on power bricks (we’ve had a pleasant enough email exchange, but no answers so far!), so just putting out another shout for anyone who’d be kind enough to share an idea of size / weight on the Defiance (180w) or Ionico (230w) chargers?
 
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