Vortex, Mixed first impressions

J

Jazman

Active member
My Vortex 15.6" Laptop arrived on Tuesday on it's 14th working day. After having set it up etc and got to know it, I thought I'd posts my first impressions based on unpacking and setting it up which are mixed at the moment.

The laptop arrived very well packaged, a Box withing a box, nice and padded and packed in well. No complaints here. My first impressions upon seeing the laptop itself were good as I was a bit nervous about it's looks and and size. I've moved from a 17" to a 15.6" and am glad I did. A 17" would have been too big for my liking. Overall looks are pleasing, it's plain but looks and feels smart and isn't too heavy or light. The keyboard is a nice size and the keys respond well. The touchpad has a rough surface which I prefer to a smooth one. The build quality is good but has let me down ever so slight in a couple of places which I'll get to at the end.

I ordered my laptop with no operating system as I have my own x64 copy of windows 7 pro to install onto it. When I started it up I was surprised at how quick it boots up and to find that PCS left a trial version of Windows 7 Home Premium which I would make it easier for me as I could have just upgraded to Pro using my key and disk (Which supports anytime upgrade). Unfortunately I wasn't able to do this which is were my first bad impressions comes. I formatted the drive and installed Windows 7 Pro on it. PCS kindly made sure that I was provided with Windows 7 drivers, however this is were problems began. When I tried to install several of the drivers such as the Graphics and WLAN drivers, the installers could not find any hardware compatible with the drivers. Obviously all the hardware is there. I had to plug the laptop directly into my network to get an internet connection so that windows could find some of its own drivers and download the WLAN drivers and Graphics Drivers myself.

I have fully set it up and configured it now and am happy with how it runs, it runs very well in my opinion, I tested SKyrim which the laptop had no trouble running on Ultra High settings, which the game chose to use based on its hardware scan. I've noticed two things that are bugging me ever so slightly in terms of the build quality I mentioned previously.

Right speaker appears to not fit correctly as the cover is loose and can be pulled up easily and does not click down, but is perfect on the left side:
rightspeaker.jpg


Also the screen appears to be brighter / paler on the top right to the left, can anyone tell me if this is normal or damaged?
screenright.jpg


Apart from those things really I'm impressed and I do feel that it was worth every penny and the wait, and would recommend to others any time.
 
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keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
I can't see anything wrong with the screen from the picture. Do you get the same issue when gaming?
 
J

Jazman

Active member
keynes said:
I can't see anything wrong with the screen from the picture. Do you get the same issue when gaming?
Click to expand...

Its similar yes but more obvious when Gaming, I mean its not that much of a big deal, Just wondering if its normal, I should hope not with the costs and stuff. I've updated the picture to compare on the opposite sides of the screen. I thought it may have been my background at first but it doesnt look like it
 
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Tom DWC

Tom DWC

Moderator
Moderator
If you take a picture of the screen with a solid black background that will be the easiest way to see the difference.

Most monitors have a bit of variation, my IPS screen is from LG and wasn't exactly cheap but that has a different hue in the bottom left corner, it's not ideal but you only ever notice it against blacks. I'm not saying it's right but pretty much all reasonably priced backlit monitors tend to be a bit uneven. I guess it's the nature of the technology to an extent - only plasmas are absolutely perfect.

But yeah it's very hard to say from those pics weather it's within the "norm" so to speak - try a pic against a black background.

If you're dissatisfied with the way the speaker is seated get in touch with PCS - again it's hard to see from the pic what you're referring to, does it move if you apply pressure?
 
J

Jazman

Active member
Tom DWC said:
If you take a picture of the screen with a solid black background that will be the easiest way to see the difference.

Most monitors have a bit of variation, my IPS screen is from LG and wasn't exactly cheap but that has a different hue in the bottom left corner, it's not ideal but you only ever notice it against blacks. I'm not saying it's right but pretty much all reasonably priced backlit monitors tend to be a bit uneven. I guess it's the nature of the technology to an extent - only plasmas are absolutely perfect.

But yeah it's very hard to say from those pics weather it's within the "norm" so to speak - try a pic against a black background.

If you're dissatisfied with the way the speaker is seated get in touch with PCS - again it's hard to see from the pic what you're referring to, does it move if you apply pressure?
Click to expand...

Ahh I didn't think about trying it against a blank background. I have noticed in games that it is all the way down the side of the screen though. I'm not sure it's anything I'd really send it back over, was just wondering if its normal as it's the first time I've had an LED screen.

As for the speaker, the speaker doesn't move but the cover does, it's loose and comes up easily, if I wanted to I could very easily pull the entire strip off :-\
 
SmokeDarKnight

SmokeDarKnight

Author Level
The strip come off quite easily i take if off for cleaning purposes and to move the ram under the keyboard. Just pops back on. I use a credit card or store card to pop it off. If its damaged im sure PCS would send you out a replacement if you asked them.
 
J

Jazman

Active member
SmokeDarKnight said:
The strip come off quite easily i take if off for cleaning purposes and to move the ram under the keyboard. Just pops back on. I use a credit card or store card to pop it off. If its damaged im sure PCS would send you out a replacement if you asked them.
Click to expand...

I'd expect it to come off quite easily, however over the right speaker it's just hanging loose and doesn't click into place like it does on the left next to the power button, there its level but over the right speaker it's raised
 
J

Jazman

Active member
SmokeDarKnight said:
Oh right, i get you, i take you you have taken it off just to check there's stuck under there obstructing the speaker grill.
Click to expand...


Yeah Lifted it up, the clip that holds it down had snapped by the looks of it and was wedged underneath, Moved this and put it back on, and its find now, just a broken clip xD

Also tried looking at the screen with a black background, it is definitely brighter on the right side
 
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