Ordered a Vortex IV 17.3"

[NorthDakota]

Have a look and any feedback is welcome:

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4910MQ (2.90GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM)
32GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 880M - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
6x BLURAY WRITER, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) Professional DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Laptop Cooling Stands
Zalman ZM-NC11 Ultra-Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch
Carry Case
Targus XL City Gear 16
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Black Widow 2014 Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Mouse
Razer® Ouroboros Gaming Mouse
Gaming Mouse Pad
Razer Goliathus 2013 Large Control Mouse Mat
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets
Razer Black shark Gaming Headset
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Quantity
1

 

[steaky360]

Looks like you've simply chosen the most expensive options for each selection (apart from warranty strangely).

Could you provide a budget and intended use? That'll allow the other forum members to critique your spec and provide alternatives.

 

[NorthDakota]

Yeah looking back it looks that way, I have upgraded the warranty I simply forgot about that, regarding my use, I intend to make my laptop future proof for gaming and general day to day usage.

 

[keynes]

Yeah looking back it looks that way, I have upgraded the warranty I simply forgot about that, regarding my use, I intend to make my laptop future proof for gaming and general day to day usage.

For gaming is overkill, the ram seems like a waste of money. The CPU also offers very limited improvement in gaming performance. It is not very cost effective to try to futureproof by choosing the most expensive components. you could spend half of your budget and upgrade in a couple of years.

 

[NorthDakota]

Hmm so what would you suggest downgrading?

 

[keynes]

Hmm so what would you suggest downgrading?

I7-4810mq, 8gb ram. Only one SSD as the primary drive and a scorpion black as a secondary drive, windows home edition. I would also drop the sound card, it affects mobility and you could check how good the sound is without it before ordering one

 

[NorthDakota]

Okay I done what you recommended but went for the 1tb seagate instead 13 quid of a difference between that and the Scorpio

 

[NorthDakota]

Thanks for all your help you both

 

[LAG]

i am no expert and a little crazy but ...

as stated above, you may need a conventional HDD or hybrid secondary drive (choice yours) because you want to limit the amount of writing to your SSDs. if you are going to spend lots and have 2 SSD's then i suggest you keep 24gb to 32gb ram get yourself ramdisk program and have your swapfile loaded there (along with your browser cache).

i do not agree with cpu downgrading when it comes to future-proofing for games ... this is because games released this year and in future are and will be full multicore. you know what this means and if you look from this point of view: more work = more heat, a powerful cpu will do less work and generate less heat = which is important in a laptop.

 

[keynes]

i do not agree with cpu downgrading when it comes to future-proofing for games ... this is because games released this year and in future are and will be full multicore. you know what this means and if you look from this point of view: more work = more heat, a powerful cpu will do less work and generate less heat = which is important in a laptop.

Both CPU are 4 cores, the i7-4910mq has a higher clock speed that won't offer noticeable improvements in gaming, by the time the CPU is struggling you may as well need a new laptop. Are you suggesting 24gb ram to improve SSD performance?

 

[Stephen M]

Is the Seagate 1TB the hybrid, if it is I would not bother with it, the Scorpio will be better. On hybrid drives you do not get to choose what goes where so the SSD can be wasted storing mundane day-to-day stuff. I would also drop the primary SSD to 240GB or 120GB, depending on how many games you want on it at any time. Apart from the OS, games and any vital progs there is not much need for an SSD. The money saved could be used for external storage and back up, With the Kningston Hyper X 240GB you would save 250 quid and that would buy a lot of portable space with Seagate, I have been using them a long time and they are good drives for back up and storing my music, DVD collection, etc, plus easy to carry, the latest 2GB USB powered is not much bigger than a cigarrette packet and slimmer.

Whatever you go for, I would very much appreciate a review as I am thinking of getting the Vortex for my new machine.

 

[NorthDakota]

Latest Amendments:

Chassis & Display Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4910MQ (2.90GHz) 8MB
Change to: Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 32GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 8GB)
Change to: 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 880M - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Hard Disk Partitions 160GB, 840GB
2nd Hard Disk 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Change to: 1TB SEAGATE HYBRID GEN3 SSHD Drive, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk Partitions 1000GB
RAID NONE
mSATA SSD Drive NONE
2nd mSATA SSD Drive NONE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 6x BLURAY WRITER, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier
Change to: Creative Sound Blaster® Omni Surround 5.1 External
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire 1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Change to: 2 x 17.3" Vortex Series Battery Pack, 76.96WH (One Spare)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 8.1 (64-bit) Professional DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Laptop Cooling Stands Zalman ZM-NC11 Ultra-Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch
Carry Case Targus XL City Gear 16
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Keyboard Language INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Additional Keyboard Razer® Black Widow 2014 Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Notebook Mouse Razer® Ouroboros Gaming Mouse
Gaming Mouse Pad Razer Goliathus 2013 Large Control Mouse Mat
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets Razer Blackshark Gaming Headset
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Change to: WD 1TB Passport Ultra USB 3.0 External HDD - WDBZFP0010BBK
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Change to: 3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON)
Build Time FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH