Vortex II 17 Full Review + Pics

[aleluc]

Hi all

I thought i would add to the reviews on here and share my PC Specialist experience with everyone, old and new. Theres also only a few laptop reviews, so here's mine...

1st the Spec...

Chassis & Display Vortex II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card 1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (17.3" Vortex II)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB INTEL® 510 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 450MB/sR | 210MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & INTEL® CENTRINO® ULTIMATE-N 6300 WIRELESS upto 450Mbps
USB Options 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (3,800 mAh)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Miscellaneous FREE Batman Arkham City with any Nvidia® GeForce GTX560 or above!


Processed Date 20-09-2011
Pre-Production Date 27-09-2011
Build Date 28-09-2011
Test Date 30-09-2011
Awaiting Dispatch Date 30-09-2011
Dispatch Date 30-09-2011
Who Worked on This Order?

Built By Liam Ramsden
Tested By Carl Auckland
QC'd By Carl Auckland
Packed By Anthony Cunliffe


I started out looking for a bit of advice here on the forums. A great place to come if you need a spec checking or some advice on hardware/software. Thanks to Singularity, Rakk, Frenchy and Wozza to name a few for their helpful posts
I should also point out that the team on LiveChat are also particulary helpful.

When i ordered the average lead times were 7 days so PCS were on the money when i got mine in 10.

It arrived by Yodel, which as i expected showed top rate service. Box was in mint condition and everything inside perfectly placed.

I am overall incredibly happy with my new laptop. It looks very good, i love the plain brushed lid with no branding (It beats my old laptop with its liver lid and fujitsu spashed all over it!)

I do feel i have to mention that i have a single hot pixel on the screen. Under ISO regulations its not covered by warranty, so if i would like a new screen then i understand i have to pay for it. This i perfectly acceptable. I have spoken to PCS about it and they have kindly agreed to collect and return the laptop for free. I wont be too hasty about replacing it, just because as its not dead, there is always a chance that it may dissapear. In my mind, the plan is to have it replaced if it needs to be at the same time that backlit keyboards are released, in the hope that the new laptops have the same fit keyboards as the current one. Ill then get a new screen and lovley backlit keys at the same time.

I took some pics as i said i would....Enjoy

Nice Clean Lid

Anyone know this website??

Desk setup, cleaned especially for you guys (please excuse the cables)

These are my drive icons. I asked for help on another thread, so thought i would share my results

My dektop because everyone loves a desktop lol

If you want to ask anything, then go ahead, im happy answer questions on the laptop, or anything you see in the pics.

Thanks to PC Specialist for a top rated service

edit: I didnt receive anything Batman related with my welcome pack or laptop. Its on my invoice that i should receive a copy, so..... will i get an email with a code or something? Could someone that knows please let me know lol

 

[BennyBoyP]

Very sexy bit of kit that! Nice review and good pics. I hope the two of you are happy together

+Rep for the review

 

[Azirius]

I see you have the R.A.T gaming mouse, I contemplated purchasing one, but decided with the Razer Mamba 4G.


Anywho, lovely set up You have a lot of external memory there

Glad you got it safe and sound.

 

[Corfate]

+rep for pics

I believe you will get a code when the game is released

 

[aleluc]

Thanks Azirius. I strongly considered the Mamba 4G. But on the whole i was looking for a wireless mouse, and i new i'd forget to charge it overnight or something, and with the additional charging cable, its not wireless all the time and thats what i was looking for. A really good mouse though, Ive tried one out. I consider the Mamba software to be a bit more complex, in a good way mind. I think the RAT software needs to be changed, in more areas than one. Also, i dont think i could live without the presicion aim button...makes the headshots easier to come by lol.

Thanks Corfate. Thats what i thought. Although i read on someones review that they had a leaflet with a code on. Ill wait and see what happens on that one.

 

[Azirius]

Yep, the RAT looks really awesome, but, I'm a sucker for lighting on my peripherals It does have a 16 hour charge, plus allowing to attach the USB cable to the mouse is a great idea, too! But, that aside the RAT is a great piece of kit and received great praise.
I've never had any gaming peripherals before, so it'll be nice to see how much better they'll improve my skillz xD Lol.

I hope you really enjoy your new set up for a long time to come!