Second Opinion after speaking to PCS

[d4005]

That's sad to hear, I hope you don't have any issues with whatever system you decide to purchase

I do hear that only PCS PC's generate heat

In 25 years of PC ownership myself, having in that time owned I'd estimate about 12-15 PC's and Laptops, and being the designated family/friend support person for another 15 or so during that time, only one of them ever had an issue with overheating - my mother's 2011 PCS mini PC. It wasn't any kind of cram-it-all-in overclocked beast either, it was an off-the-shelf standard offering. Of those 12-15 PC's I've had myself, 3 of those were self-build with the fastest (reasonably priced) components and sometimes overclocked. My current self-build from 2011 which is rocking an i7-2600K @ 3.6GHz with 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 was back then a beast but is now just a good performer, but it's never spent a minute of these 3 years behaving oddly in any way.

So you can see why when I come looking in the forum with a question I was about to ask about illuminated keyboards and whether you can get one on the Optimus V, the first thing I see is overheating stories, my first thought is uh oh, not again. I'll feel safer I think with something like a Dell, or Asus. It's sad, because I'd really like to spec up an Optimus V to about 2 grand and retire my current desktop completely.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

In 25 years of PC ownership myself, having in that time owned I'd estimate about 12-15 PC's and Laptops, and being the designated family/friend support person for another 15 or so during that time, only one of them ever had an issue with overheating - my mother's 2011 PCS mini PC. It wasn't any kind of cram-it-all-in overclocked beast either, it was an off-the-shelf standard offering. Of those 12-15 PC's I've had myself, 3 of those were self-build with the fastest (reasonably priced) components and sometimes overclocked. My current self-build from 2011 which is rocking an i7-2600K @ 3.6GHz with 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 was back then a beast but is now just a good performer, but it's never spent a minute of these 3 years behaving oddly in any way.

So you can see why when I come looking in the forum with a question I was about to ask about illuminated keyboards and whether you can get one on the Optimus V, the first thing I see is overheating stories, my first thought is uh oh, not again. I'll feel safer I think with something like a Dell, or Asus. It's sad, because I'd really like to spec up an Optimus V to about 2 grand and retire my current desktop completely.

Usually overheating problems are caused by incorrectly applied thermal paste. It's usually only people who have problems that come to the forums, so you hear a lot of bad stories but not many good stories, so don't let it put you off.

I honestly wouldn't buy from dell, they're so overpriced that it's stupid. My friend bought a 5 grand alienware, when he could've bought a pc with a much better graphics card (a 680 at the time) for around half the price. His alienware also came with a faulty card, so they sent a refurbished one (wouldn't expect that when you've spend £5k), to which that one then burnt out, so of course they sent him another refurbished one. That was all within the space of around 6 months.

 

[daveeb]

I honestly wouldn't buy from dell, they're so overpriced that it's stupid. My friend bought a 5 grand alienware, when he could've bought a pc with a much better graphics card (a 680 at the time) for around half the price. His alienware also came with a faulty card, so they sent a refurbished one (wouldn't expect that when you've spend £5k), to which that one then burnt out, so of course they sent him another refurbished one. That was all within the space of around 6 months.

I'd agree with the Alienware side of Dell, they are rather overpriced, although i don't know how your friend managed to spend £5 K as there isn't really that much choice when it comes to customising them. To be fair to Dell i've had a really decent spec XPS 17 for 2 1/2 years, got it for a really excellent price and it hasn't missed a beat (however that was when they still allowed some component customisation, in my opinion they've shot themselves in the foot by removing virtually all hardware customisation...but their loss is PCS'S gain in my case).

 

[guyfawkes5]

I'd agree that the OP being told that this is normal or acceptable would put me off getting a high-spec laptop from PCS - I'd hate to sink a lot of money into something that won't be supported short of a blue screen or a fire. If it this is a consequence of the chassis size, then maybe component choice should be limited in the UI.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

I'd agree that the OP being told that this is normal or acceptable would put me off getting a high-spec laptop from PCS - I'd hate to sink a lot of money into something that won't be supported short of a blue screen or a fire. If it this is a consequence of the chassis size, then maybe component choice should be limited in the UI.

It never mentions it's due to the chassis size. It's most likely incorrectly applied thermal paste. They wouldn't allow components to be put in that run too hot.

 

[guyfawkes5]

You're correct it was speculative, but this was mentioned as a possibility earlier in the thread.

And I'm not sure if the heat is a concern to them, as apparently 90-100 C temperatures are acceptable in this support instance.

 

[mantadog]

the 'normal' sized laptops appear to be fine and have no inherent issues with heat. So I wouldn't let a high performance 13" laptop that is running quite hot put you off a 15-17 inch model.

 

[keynes]

I'd agree that the OP being told that this is normal or acceptable would put me off getting a high-spec laptop from PCS - I'd hate to sink a lot of money into something that won't be supported short of a blue screen or a fire

I hope it doesn't not sure my home insurance will cover fire coming out of a laptop
I have the vortex and I don't have any issues with high temperatures as many others (around 80'C at full load GPU but not constant just the highest).

 

[d4005]

OK, I'm back in. The world of configurable laptops out there is bleak. The only ones that really allow it is Dell and their options are too out of date. I think they only change their components once a year.

 

[daveeb]

OK, I'm back in. The world of configurable laptops out there is bleak. The only ones that really allow it is Dell and their options are too out of date. I think they only change their components once a year.

I take it you're not in the UK then, Dell seem to have removed all laptop hardware customisation in the UK (in the last year or so).