Firstly, the specs:
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st*Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd*Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE HYBRID GEN3 SSHD Drive, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (5400 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 MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND*
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
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 17.3" Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence*
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
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)*
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1
The laptop took a total of 10 days from initial order to unboxing, a fantastic time frame in my opinion.
PACKAGING:
The laptop was delivered safely by DPD in a sturdy cardboard box clearly marked as fragile. It showed no sign of being mishandled or knocked about. Within the first box was a smaller box and some large air pockets the create a buffer between the two. The second box contained the laptop and accompanying bits secured within plastic sheeting and polystyrene. Having never ordered something so expensive and fragile online I found it reassuring that the laptop was packed extremely well and could probably take a beating in transit with no damage sustained.
CHASSIS:
On ordering I expected the chassis to appear basic and a little flimsy, though to my surprise it is quite the opposite. The brushed metal finish and glossed edges lend to a feel of understated power, and the whole piece feels heavy, solid and sturdy. It's actually quite a beautiful machine. Obviously the outer chassis has no branding to speak of and it doesn't have much of a 'gaming laptop' feel, so if you want something flashy and enjoy the idea of showing off your neon striped notebook, I'd look elsewhere. My only gripe with the chassis is that fingerprints do appear easily on the brushed metal finish, so you'll be cleaning it regularly.
ACCESSORIES:
Firstly, the power brick is massive. Seriously, along with the fact that this is a heavy 17 inch laptop, don't plan on slipping it into your manbag and taking it for a walk down to the library. Other bits that come along include your Windows disc, PCS welcome booklet containing insurance details etc, and the laptop instruction manual. All good stuff.
SCREEN:
The matte finish on the screen is far preferable, in my opinion, to my old rigs gloss one. It doesn't feel grainy when looking straight on though at an angle it can appear a little so. The screen is 1080p, more than adequate for a laptop, though the option to upgrade to a 3k screen would be tempting if it was there.
KEYBOARD:
Backlit keyboard with software to alter the colours already pre installed, you can change 3 different blocks to whatever colours you please as well as setting the brightness levels using the function keys. In a dark room it really does look fantastic. One issue however is that the Windows button is placed in the unfortunate position so that it rests just under your palm when using the W, A, S, D keys. I haven't yet pressed it by accident, though the possibility is certainly there. The keys themselves feel sharp and responsive to the touch, offering a satisfying click with every press.
TOUCHPAD:
The touchpad feels a little small for my liking, though that is of course personal preference. I have also found that as it has the same brushed metal feel as the chassis I have occasionally slipped off without realising I have done so. Also, as far as I can tell, there is no scroller in the touchpad, which can be a little frustrating and the left/right buttons feel a bit too spongy for my taste. A separate mouse is recommended.
SPEAKERS:
For a laptop I find the speakers more than adequate. They are certainly loud enough, with decent bass and good timbre. I had read previously that they may not be up to scratch, but I think that for casual use they should serve most needs without problem.
BATTERY:
It's a big rig, with some serious hardware. Battery power was never going to be amazing, but I'm still a little disappointed with what it achieved. I accidentally forgot to plug the machine in and proceeded to set up Skyrim and download some mods and I think it lasted just over two hours, and that was mainly browsing the Web with the occasional Skyrim load up just to make sure I hadn't broken my game via the mods. Not for long trips without power.
FANS:
A little loud after a half an hour gaming, but nothing too bad really. It's a gaming laptop, with a lot of heavy duty hardware under the hood - it's to be expected, and the machine has never felt anything more than slightly warm to the touch. I can put up with a little white noise in exchange for good cooling. And theres always headphones, right?
OS:
The SSD makes a real difference in Windows load times, taking what feels like less than 10 - 15 seconds to boot up (I haven't timed it but it's short) and PCS do a great job of not bloating your machine with random software packages before sending it out to you. A nice clean install ready to go.
PERFORMANCE:
I'm not going to be able to do justice to what this machine is capable of. The Gtx 980m/i7 4810 benchmarks are online and on these forums if you want to check them out, all I can say is that I have played Skyrim with Enb enhancements, Star citizen, BF4 and crysis 3 maxed out without so much as a stutter and never dropping below 40 FPS during even the most intense gaming sessions. Rest assured that whatever you've got, it'll play it at max settings and it'll probably do so for years to come when matched with a strong processor.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Exceptional. I knew what was happening the whole way through my delivery, and the guys on the phone/live support answered any questions I had with enthusiasm. Highly recommended.
OVERALL:
At these prices and with this level of quality, I seriously cannot understand why anyone would go elsewhere. My new rig is outstanding - all the performance of a top spec retail laptop for half the price. It looks brilliant, if feels solid, and it performs better than most of my friends desktops. From initial order to arrival at my front door the ordering process was simple and easy, and the machine is everything I wanted it to be. One very, very happy customer here. Well done PCS, well done.
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st*Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd*Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE HYBRID GEN3 SSHD Drive, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (5400 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 MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND*
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
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 17.3" Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence*
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
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)*
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1
The laptop took a total of 10 days from initial order to unboxing, a fantastic time frame in my opinion.
PACKAGING:
The laptop was delivered safely by DPD in a sturdy cardboard box clearly marked as fragile. It showed no sign of being mishandled or knocked about. Within the first box was a smaller box and some large air pockets the create a buffer between the two. The second box contained the laptop and accompanying bits secured within plastic sheeting and polystyrene. Having never ordered something so expensive and fragile online I found it reassuring that the laptop was packed extremely well and could probably take a beating in transit with no damage sustained.
CHASSIS:
On ordering I expected the chassis to appear basic and a little flimsy, though to my surprise it is quite the opposite. The brushed metal finish and glossed edges lend to a feel of understated power, and the whole piece feels heavy, solid and sturdy. It's actually quite a beautiful machine. Obviously the outer chassis has no branding to speak of and it doesn't have much of a 'gaming laptop' feel, so if you want something flashy and enjoy the idea of showing off your neon striped notebook, I'd look elsewhere. My only gripe with the chassis is that fingerprints do appear easily on the brushed metal finish, so you'll be cleaning it regularly.
ACCESSORIES:
Firstly, the power brick is massive. Seriously, along with the fact that this is a heavy 17 inch laptop, don't plan on slipping it into your manbag and taking it for a walk down to the library. Other bits that come along include your Windows disc, PCS welcome booklet containing insurance details etc, and the laptop instruction manual. All good stuff.
SCREEN:
The matte finish on the screen is far preferable, in my opinion, to my old rigs gloss one. It doesn't feel grainy when looking straight on though at an angle it can appear a little so. The screen is 1080p, more than adequate for a laptop, though the option to upgrade to a 3k screen would be tempting if it was there.
KEYBOARD:
Backlit keyboard with software to alter the colours already pre installed, you can change 3 different blocks to whatever colours you please as well as setting the brightness levels using the function keys. In a dark room it really does look fantastic. One issue however is that the Windows button is placed in the unfortunate position so that it rests just under your palm when using the W, A, S, D keys. I haven't yet pressed it by accident, though the possibility is certainly there. The keys themselves feel sharp and responsive to the touch, offering a satisfying click with every press.
TOUCHPAD:
The touchpad feels a little small for my liking, though that is of course personal preference. I have also found that as it has the same brushed metal feel as the chassis I have occasionally slipped off without realising I have done so. Also, as far as I can tell, there is no scroller in the touchpad, which can be a little frustrating and the left/right buttons feel a bit too spongy for my taste. A separate mouse is recommended.
SPEAKERS:
For a laptop I find the speakers more than adequate. They are certainly loud enough, with decent bass and good timbre. I had read previously that they may not be up to scratch, but I think that for casual use they should serve most needs without problem.
BATTERY:
It's a big rig, with some serious hardware. Battery power was never going to be amazing, but I'm still a little disappointed with what it achieved. I accidentally forgot to plug the machine in and proceeded to set up Skyrim and download some mods and I think it lasted just over two hours, and that was mainly browsing the Web with the occasional Skyrim load up just to make sure I hadn't broken my game via the mods. Not for long trips without power.
FANS:
A little loud after a half an hour gaming, but nothing too bad really. It's a gaming laptop, with a lot of heavy duty hardware under the hood - it's to be expected, and the machine has never felt anything more than slightly warm to the touch. I can put up with a little white noise in exchange for good cooling. And theres always headphones, right?
OS:
The SSD makes a real difference in Windows load times, taking what feels like less than 10 - 15 seconds to boot up (I haven't timed it but it's short) and PCS do a great job of not bloating your machine with random software packages before sending it out to you. A nice clean install ready to go.
PERFORMANCE:
I'm not going to be able to do justice to what this machine is capable of. The Gtx 980m/i7 4810 benchmarks are online and on these forums if you want to check them out, all I can say is that I have played Skyrim with Enb enhancements, Star citizen, BF4 and crysis 3 maxed out without so much as a stutter and never dropping below 40 FPS during even the most intense gaming sessions. Rest assured that whatever you've got, it'll play it at max settings and it'll probably do so for years to come when matched with a strong processor.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Exceptional. I knew what was happening the whole way through my delivery, and the guys on the phone/live support answered any questions I had with enthusiasm. Highly recommended.
OVERALL:
At these prices and with this level of quality, I seriously cannot understand why anyone would go elsewhere. My new rig is outstanding - all the performance of a top spec retail laptop for half the price. It looks brilliant, if feels solid, and it performs better than most of my friends desktops. From initial order to arrival at my front door the ordering process was simple and easy, and the machine is everything I wanted it to be. One very, very happy customer here. Well done PCS, well done.
