Questions on a new Enigma IV.

J

JimmyDeemo

Member
Hi all,

I am hoping to squeeze enough performance out of my ~£600 to enable me to play Guild Wars 2 (and a few other games) on...well anything but the lowest of low settings (my current laptop is a low-mid range Dell from 2010). I guess it would help, seeing as I am looking for advice, if I layout where I am currently at.

  • Firstly, I am on a tight budget. I need to get this system as close to £600 as possible and some of the questions I have below are based on where extra could/should be spent.
  • GPU - I've chosen to go for the GT650M as I think it would benefit me a lot. I have looked at more budget friendly options (GT645M, AMD Radeon HD 7730M on other systems) but the step up with the 650 is large from what I have read. That's my reason for choosing the Enigma IV. I would really like a Clevo base system as I have heard good things but the Optimus IV (GTX660) is out of my range.
  • I am aware the GW2 is bound by the CPU. So I don't want to drop below the entry level quad core i7 offered in the Enigma IV.

So with those points in mind if anyone is able to help me on the following points that would be awesome;

  1. How does the Compal chassis stand up in terms of build quality? I am unable to find a detailed review of the base unit its self. I know I don't *really* have a choice here but it would be good to know that the Compal build quality is good.
  2. This is going to sound silly but, if I was to call sales would they be able to sell me a Enigma IV without a HDD at all? Perhaps saving me a few quid? The reason is that I have an SSD currently that I would like to use in it and any saving would be helpful.
  3. Given that I am on an entry level i7 and a GT650, is a Full HD screen going to benefit me? I'm pretty much certain that GW2 won't run great in full HD unless I crank stuff down and i'm not that into BlueRay. 1366x768 seems sufficient, thoughts?
  4. Dead pixels, I hate thinking that I might get them. 30 day covers seems silly when you get a full year for £19 but what are peoples experience with dead pixels, are the LCDs generally sound from PCS?

tl;dr; Please take a look at the numbered list above and help me out if you can. Thanks. :D
 
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SmokeDarKnight

SmokeDarKnight

Author Level
With reference to your GPU please see this link for an idea on how the GT650M will perform

1. I dont have that laptop chassis so i couldn't comment but i do know that PCS take build quality very seriously and would say that there laptops are great quality for day to day use, excessive travel can cause issues but if looked after during transport they wont let you down.
2. Yeah i think if you call them up you can make changes to the order, i think you can even send in your hard drive for them to instal into your machine for you.
3. I have the HD6990 and am finding that it is a very performance hungry game, i have the entery level i7 and it seem to be fine for the game but its the GPU thats restricting my graphics so i think the i7 would be fine. The HD screen will benifit you on streaming videos etc but if you arent going to be using 1080 and arent worried about it then i think that the 1366x768 would be better, you should get better framerates at that resulution also
4. Dead pixel is something i never take but i've been lucky also so it comes down to risk or a gambel really.

Hope this helps a bit.
 
kruppsy

kruppsy

Master
1. Not sure tbh. My Vortex is solid though.
2. I have seen it suggested that people send in their HDDs to PCS for building but I've never heard if this is actually viable. You may need to speak to them directly for an answer.
3. 1366x768 on a 15" screen will still look good and would mean you can get a bit more out of the video card. On a tight budget I'd say it was sufficient.
4. Get it! I got a dead pixel after a couple of hours use, thankfully I had the cover and PCS had it back to me within a week. I wouldn't be able to live with one myself, some people can though. £19 well spent imo when you consider the cost of a replacement screen and the carriage fees involved should you get any.
 
J

JimmyDeemo

Member
Wow, thanks for the quick replies guys.

Re: HDD/SDD - I am assuming that popping the lid and installing my SSD wouldn't void any warranty or anything like that? I don't have a problem with installing my SSD and putting on Windows; I had already opted for no OS as I have a retail Win7. Just looking to save where I can. :D

Couple more questions;

5. What do people think of the Thermal Paste upgrade? I intend to keep my laptop on a cooling stand when gaming, as I'll mainly be connect to the mains. Is this upgrade really for my price range or more for overclockers?
6. How much real world benefit will I find from choosing 8GB over 4GB RAM? I will have periods of hobby coding when I am not gaming. I don't use anything resource hungry like Visual Studio though.

Thanks once again guys.
 
SmokeDarKnight

SmokeDarKnight

Author Level
5. I have thermal paste and just run it without a cooling stand and am hitting temperatures of about 85 to 95 degrees which is normal for a laptop GPU, anything about 102 i would begin to worry. for the cost i would recommend it is not just for overclockers, a cooler GPU is a happy GPU :D
6. If it is for price saving you could safely go for 4GB Ram in the mean time, like Vanthus says this is an easy upgrade that can be done later and again will not void your warranty.
 
J

JimmyDeemo

Member
Back again, with more Q's! Thanks for the previous answers.

7. I read somewhere (can't find the link now) that the 1366x768 LCDs in the Enigma are of poorer quality than the Full HD ones? Any thoughts on this? (If there are any 1366x768 Enigma IV lurkers reading this then please speak up. :D)

8. Is it worth waiting for Haswell? All the buzz at the moment suggests that Haswell will be releasing this month. Even if I don't intend of getting a Haswell chip (probably expensive right?) it should in theory push the price of the Ivy Bridge chips down. How quick were PCS to get the Ivy Bridge chips when they were announced?

Once again guys, all answers are much appreciated.
 
J

JimmyDeemo

Member
keynes said:
If I remember correctly sandy bridge prices were not lowered, ivy bridge were sold at a slightly higher price.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. Suppose that makes sense from a business perspective. So waiting for Haswell will only pay of if I actually want a Haswell then. :D

Edit: Also, I have just realized that I've accidentally placed this thread in the Tech Support section rather than the Sales section. My apologies, if a mod reads this could you please move the thread for me?

Edit2: Tried altering the title but it didn't propagate to the main forum. Anyway I can flag this to a mod?

Edit3: Just thought of another question regarding Dead Pixels. PCS state that their LCD panels are covered by ISO-9241-302, 303, 305, 307:2008, which is fine but what class of panels do they use? I understand that each class has it's own allowances.

Edit4: Scratch the above. I found out that all LCDs from PCS should be considered Class 2 unless stated otherwise.
 
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J

JimmyDeemo

Member
Any thoughts on question 7 guys? (see post above)

Also, I contacted CS about the 'no HDD' thing. Turns out the above posters were right, I would need to order and then send in my SSD to have it installed by PCS. After which they would refund the HDD price on my card. I don't really have a problem with that, but does anyone know how much I would save by doing this? Also whats the best way to go about arranging this? I have asked those questions to CS for an official answer but they haven't got back to me yet.
 
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