The 15.6" SkyFire III laptop spec for gaming and general work

G

Gunface

Active member
Hello everyone,

I don't have a lot of experience configuring laptops, so could you please advice me on this setup? Mainly I will use it for gaming and general work (office, internet, maybe occasional CATIA/SolidEdge).

My budget is of around somewhat low, 1000€ (~820 pounds). My main concerns are:

-Will this processor be enough? Should I wait a couple months and save up for an i7?
-Is there a difference between placing the SSD memory as a primary hard disk or in the mSATA SSD Drive?
-I connect to the internet with cable, do I need the GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH?
-Is there no Spanish keyboard option in pcspecialist? I see many different nationalities keyboards but not Spanish.
-Is the upgrade of the thermal paste worth it? (12€)

Here is the spec:

Chassis & Display
SkyFire Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core Processor 3560M (2.40GHz) 2MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)

2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (12 €)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
SkyFire Series 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x European Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Keyboard Language
BACKLIT MSI UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 3.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Delivery
2 DAY DELIVERY TO SPAIN (24 €)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: 1 041,00 € including VAT and delivery.

Thanks in advance
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
For gaming I would not recommend a dual core processor. You can just drop the SSD, which is not essential, and get an i7 instead. The thermal paste is definitely worth it. Have you try contacting PCS regarding a Spanish keyboard? I just use alt +164 :)
 
M

matdan

Member
Gunface said:
-Will this processor be enough? Should I wait a couple months and save up for an i7?
-Is there a difference between placing the SSD memory as a primary hard disk or in the mSATA SSD Drive?
-I connect to the internet with cable, do I need the GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH?
-Is there no Spanish keyboard option in pcspecialist? I see many different nationalities keyboards but not Spanish.
-Is the upgrade of the thermal paste worth it? (12€)
Click to expand...
I asked the same question about the SSD and was told that it doesn't make a difference where the SSD is placed.
The gigabit LAN and wireless is standard and you will get it on nearly every laptop now.
The thermal paste is definitely worth it, it will reduce the temperature, giving your computer a longer lifespan.
I'm not too sure about the Spanish keyboard I'm afraid.
You definitely need to upgrade the CPU as keynes has previously stated, it is not at the required level you need. Although I would try and keep the SSD personally, makes using a computer so much more joyous! And you don't need an operating system, what OS are you planning on using?
 
G

Gunface

Active member
Thank you both for the answers! As I feared, I guess I do need a better processor... Though that raises the price to 1200€.

matdan said:
And you don't need an operating system, what OS are you planning on using?
Click to expand...
I plan on using windows 8

Btw, do you guys have any other ideas for a gaming laptop with similar characteristics for 1000€?

Thanks again!
 
G

Gunface

Active member
matdan said:
What games are you looking to play?
Click to expand...

At the moment I play mostly DOTA 2. However, over the years I've played MOBAs, MMORPG, FPS, a bit of everything.

I know DOTA 2 isn't so demanding, its just I would like this laptop to be able to play games comfortably for a few years. Do you think I should settle with lower specs (say GTX 765?

Again, any advice towards optimizing the performance or reducing cost will be much appreciated!
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Gunface said:
At the moment I play mostly DOTA 2. However, over the years I've played MOBAs, MMORPG, FPS, a bit of everything.

I know DOTA 2 isn't so demanding, its just I would like this laptop to be able to play games comfortably for a few years. Do you think I should settle with lower specs (say GTX 765?

Again, any advice towards optimizing the performance or reducing cost will be much appreciated!
Click to expand...

I stick with the first spec you posted but with at least an i5, drop the ssd to afford the better cpu. If it is mainly for gaming you want the best gpu within your budget. For £820 you can't do better than that.
 
G

Gunface

Active member
I think in the end I will stretch my budget a little bit and go with:

- Processor: i7-4710M
- 8GB kingston RAM
- GTX 870M
- 120 GB SSD primary hard drive
- 750GB scorpio (7200rpm) sencond hard drive

This comes to 1224€ (1005 punds). Do you think this is the best set up for this cost?

Another question that comes to mind, I see a lot of people choose the 15.6" Vortrex IV instead of the Skyfire III. Any particular reason for this other than the looks? Is the price difference worth it? I could maybe lose the SSD and go with the Vortrex for the same cost... is this a good idea?
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
vortex IV allows for a better gpu, slightly lighter and a different chassis. If you are sticking with the GTX 870m I would just get the skyfire III.
 
M

matdan

Member
Gunface said:
I think in the end I will stretch my budget a little bit and go with:

- Processor: i7-4710M
- 8GB kingston RAM
- GTX 870M
- 120 GB SSD primary hard drive
- 750GB scorpio (7200rpm) sencond hard drive

This comes to 1224€ (1005 punds). Do you think this is the best set up for this cost?

Another question that comes to mind, I see a lot of people choose the 15.6" Vortrex IV instead of the Skyfire III. Any particular reason for this other than the looks? Is the price difference worth it? I could maybe lose the SSD and go with the Vortrex for the same cost... is this a good idea?
Click to expand...

I think this is a very good spec now. Unless you want the 880m I'd stay with the sky fire. Have fun playing with it.
 
G

Gunface

Active member
Hello everyone,

I am now impatiently waiting for the build listed above and I'm thinking about possible monitors I would get along the road... I have a couple questions, let see if anyone can help:

1º Im not sure 24" or 27" I will use it in my desk about 50cm apart, so I'm not sure if 27 might be too big?
2º Im not sure whether to pick IPS or TF... Also, how relevant is the 60Hz vs. 120Hz?
3º Say I would go for 27" and x1440 resolution... Do you think my graphics card (870M) would be able to handle it?

I will use it for gaming, but Im not hardcore, plus I also watch movies series, etc...

Thanks a lot!
 
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