Earlier this March I bought a customised laptop, the 17" Octane from PCSpecialist. Here's a review of my experiences of both the laptop and PCSpecialist.
This is the first time I've made a purchase from PC Specialist, and I have to say from the outset, the experience to date has been a very good one.
I was looking for a high performance enthusiat level laptop with upgrageable components and the internet led me to PCSpecialist.
The PC Specialist website is one of the best sites I've come across to build yourself a machine, save your quote, easily change the configuration and even after changing your quote into a purchase order, you still have the option of adding to the spec (which I did), it all works very well and made for a very smooth transaction.
I was a little concerned at the time it was taking to build the laptop, as I'm more accustomed to placing an order and having it shipped within a couple of days. But here your laptop really is built to order, and although this takes a few days to complete, you are kept informed about your order as it moves through the various stages (which are explained in full).
I placed my order on the 5th and I took delivery on the 17th. Again, you are kept updated about everything that is happening, the name of the person that built your laptop, and tested it, and QC, and even the guy that packed it. All these details are updated in your account section. Even the delivery company give you the name of the driver and the ability to track your parcel in his van on the day of delivery..Spot on!
I did have one query about the order beforehand, and support promptly got back to me within a few hours. No waiting around for several days!
In summary, a well designed website making it easy to build a custom machine and track its progress right upto final delivery.
10/10
After a bit of research I discovered this model of laptop was just what I was after. Capable of running a desktop CPU, an MXM design GPU, and well engineered with excellent cooling, built for the enthusiast. There is a 15" model available with the more desirable IPS screens, but I wanted the bigger screen size, and had no need for 3K or 4K resolutions.
I decided to go for the 17" Octane fitted with the i5-4690K CPU and GTX980m GPU, 8GB of Hyper-X Impact RAM, no OS, and the cheapest HDD on offer as I already had a pair of SSD's. Sadly there is no option to remove certain key components from your order, as they are required for warranty purposes according to PCSpecialists Support. It would of been nice to skip the HDD option all together. I also took out the top level 3 year Gold warranty, and also the 1yr pixel guarantee.
The laptop arrived very well boxed and protected, and had several protective films attached to the bodywork. I've even kept the protective film across the wrist support to minimise the fingerprint stains the 'matt' bodywork highlights. Included are a pair of manuals and a driver disc, you also have the drivers available to download in your account section with PCSpecialist. This is great, for people like myself that want to install their own OS.
Even before booting up the laptop for the first time, I'd removed the included HDD, and fitted my own pair of SSD's, a 500Gb Samsung 840Evo, and 256Gb Samsung 830. Removing the two underside covers was very easy, and so was fitting the two drives. I did however have to reset the bios to default settings to get the drives recognised. I also found that the external dvd drive I purchased with the laptop only seemed to boot in one of the usb ports (RH side). This did lead to a bit of trial and error in getting my own copy of Win 8.1 booted and installed from DVD. But once done it was plain sailing. I dont know if this is a quirk of the laptop or dvd drive, bios setting, or even a fault.
The laptop itself is built very well, all the panels and plastics fit together perfectly, and gives the impression of a quality product, and I really like the design of the two cooling vents at the rear.
Performance wise the laptop is amazing! The i5-4690K and the GTX980m can run any game I own with all the settings maxed out, and maintain a high framerate. And if your into your benchmarks, my stock setup scores 8123 in 3DMark FireStrike 1.1
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6294571
I'm currently playing through Evil Within at maxed out settings, maintaining 60fps (the games limit) and keeping the GPU at just over 60C and the CPU at 70C. System memory in use is around 3500Mb and GPU memory 1500Mb.
As I type this the laptop is near silent, the cooling system is so efficient (having 7 heatpipes) that under normal tasks the fans barely have to move to keep the temps low, I'm currently sat here with the heating on and my cpu temp is 43C!
I havent got around to any video editing yet, but I cant imagine the temps getting that high.
Although the software is mentioned in the booklet, it is really important to install the Clevo Hotkey Control Center, and I would say get the latest version (currently 3.11.24) from the Clevo website. This piece of software is very powerful and controls quite a few important functions of the laptop..For me, using the XTU fan profile is a must! This setting gives the best profile for reigning in the temps while not having the fan noise be too offensive. Automatic mode just seemed a bit 'steppy' to me, and in one circumstance let the cpu get very hot.
The screen quality is pretty good considering its nothing fancy, the viewing angles are acceptable and so are the colours and response time. There's no wow factor about it which is a shame considering the quality of the rest of the laptop. But its plenty good enough.
The sound system seems pretty good, but I haven't really tested it, as I use a decent pair of headphones.
The keyboard is a joy to use and to game with, and the light system under the keys is fully configurable to suit your taste.
Sadly there are some little niggles where you think things could of been designed better.
First off, the powerbrick. Plain and simple the output lead is way too short! I have to sit the whole brick on the table because the output lead just isn't long enough to reach from the floor to my laptop that sits on the table, which is a bit daft.
Secondly, this is undoubtedly a superb gaming laptop, and gamers use a mouse and also headphones. So its a bit sad that the headphone socket isn't a bit further towards the front of the machine so the lead doesn't get in the way of a mouse. Or even better it should of been on the left hand side, but its nothing major.
Other than that the whole laptop package is amazing.
My only other concern, is the fact that my laptop has some coil whine. I'm not sure if the noise is manifesting from actual components or is feeding though the speakers in the laptop. But a buzzing noise is there if the sound is muted or not, and even with headphones plugged in. Though not through the headphones. The noise is only apparent when a program or game starts to 'use' the hardware. But soon after, the fan speed increases and drowns out the buzzing.
I've done a bit of searching on the internet and there are other users of the P750/1ZM & P770/1ZM that suffer from coil whine, and it would appear that although Clevo are aware of it, there is no solution available yet, be that a bios upgrade or newer motherboard version, or whatever else.
So I'm in two minds as to whether I mention it to PCSpecialist.
Other than that I give the laptop 9.0/10
A fantastic machine, very powerful, has upgrade potential, and superb cooling that keeps the fan noise down. A definite recommend.
Mick
PC Specialist
This is the first time I've made a purchase from PC Specialist, and I have to say from the outset, the experience to date has been a very good one.
I was looking for a high performance enthusiat level laptop with upgrageable components and the internet led me to PCSpecialist.
The PC Specialist website is one of the best sites I've come across to build yourself a machine, save your quote, easily change the configuration and even after changing your quote into a purchase order, you still have the option of adding to the spec (which I did), it all works very well and made for a very smooth transaction.
I was a little concerned at the time it was taking to build the laptop, as I'm more accustomed to placing an order and having it shipped within a couple of days. But here your laptop really is built to order, and although this takes a few days to complete, you are kept informed about your order as it moves through the various stages (which are explained in full).
I placed my order on the 5th and I took delivery on the 17th. Again, you are kept updated about everything that is happening, the name of the person that built your laptop, and tested it, and QC, and even the guy that packed it. All these details are updated in your account section. Even the delivery company give you the name of the driver and the ability to track your parcel in his van on the day of delivery..Spot on!
I did have one query about the order beforehand, and support promptly got back to me within a few hours. No waiting around for several days!
In summary, a well designed website making it easy to build a custom machine and track its progress right upto final delivery.
10/10
The 17" Octane, aka Clevo P771ZM.
After a bit of research I discovered this model of laptop was just what I was after. Capable of running a desktop CPU, an MXM design GPU, and well engineered with excellent cooling, built for the enthusiast. There is a 15" model available with the more desirable IPS screens, but I wanted the bigger screen size, and had no need for 3K or 4K resolutions.
I decided to go for the 17" Octane fitted with the i5-4690K CPU and GTX980m GPU, 8GB of Hyper-X Impact RAM, no OS, and the cheapest HDD on offer as I already had a pair of SSD's. Sadly there is no option to remove certain key components from your order, as they are required for warranty purposes according to PCSpecialists Support. It would of been nice to skip the HDD option all together. I also took out the top level 3 year Gold warranty, and also the 1yr pixel guarantee.
The laptop arrived very well boxed and protected, and had several protective films attached to the bodywork. I've even kept the protective film across the wrist support to minimise the fingerprint stains the 'matt' bodywork highlights. Included are a pair of manuals and a driver disc, you also have the drivers available to download in your account section with PCSpecialist. This is great, for people like myself that want to install their own OS.
Even before booting up the laptop for the first time, I'd removed the included HDD, and fitted my own pair of SSD's, a 500Gb Samsung 840Evo, and 256Gb Samsung 830. Removing the two underside covers was very easy, and so was fitting the two drives. I did however have to reset the bios to default settings to get the drives recognised. I also found that the external dvd drive I purchased with the laptop only seemed to boot in one of the usb ports (RH side). This did lead to a bit of trial and error in getting my own copy of Win 8.1 booted and installed from DVD. But once done it was plain sailing. I dont know if this is a quirk of the laptop or dvd drive, bios setting, or even a fault.
The laptop itself is built very well, all the panels and plastics fit together perfectly, and gives the impression of a quality product, and I really like the design of the two cooling vents at the rear.
Performance wise the laptop is amazing! The i5-4690K and the GTX980m can run any game I own with all the settings maxed out, and maintain a high framerate. And if your into your benchmarks, my stock setup scores 8123 in 3DMark FireStrike 1.1
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6294571
I'm currently playing through Evil Within at maxed out settings, maintaining 60fps (the games limit) and keeping the GPU at just over 60C and the CPU at 70C. System memory in use is around 3500Mb and GPU memory 1500Mb.
As I type this the laptop is near silent, the cooling system is so efficient (having 7 heatpipes) that under normal tasks the fans barely have to move to keep the temps low, I'm currently sat here with the heating on and my cpu temp is 43C!
I havent got around to any video editing yet, but I cant imagine the temps getting that high.
Although the software is mentioned in the booklet, it is really important to install the Clevo Hotkey Control Center, and I would say get the latest version (currently 3.11.24) from the Clevo website. This piece of software is very powerful and controls quite a few important functions of the laptop..For me, using the XTU fan profile is a must! This setting gives the best profile for reigning in the temps while not having the fan noise be too offensive. Automatic mode just seemed a bit 'steppy' to me, and in one circumstance let the cpu get very hot.
The screen quality is pretty good considering its nothing fancy, the viewing angles are acceptable and so are the colours and response time. There's no wow factor about it which is a shame considering the quality of the rest of the laptop. But its plenty good enough.
The sound system seems pretty good, but I haven't really tested it, as I use a decent pair of headphones.
The keyboard is a joy to use and to game with, and the light system under the keys is fully configurable to suit your taste.
Sadly there are some little niggles where you think things could of been designed better.
First off, the powerbrick. Plain and simple the output lead is way too short! I have to sit the whole brick on the table because the output lead just isn't long enough to reach from the floor to my laptop that sits on the table, which is a bit daft.
Secondly, this is undoubtedly a superb gaming laptop, and gamers use a mouse and also headphones. So its a bit sad that the headphone socket isn't a bit further towards the front of the machine so the lead doesn't get in the way of a mouse. Or even better it should of been on the left hand side, but its nothing major.
Other than that the whole laptop package is amazing.
My only other concern, is the fact that my laptop has some coil whine. I'm not sure if the noise is manifesting from actual components or is feeding though the speakers in the laptop. But a buzzing noise is there if the sound is muted or not, and even with headphones plugged in. Though not through the headphones. The noise is only apparent when a program or game starts to 'use' the hardware. But soon after, the fan speed increases and drowns out the buzzing.
I've done a bit of searching on the internet and there are other users of the P750/1ZM & P770/1ZM that suffer from coil whine, and it would appear that although Clevo are aware of it, there is no solution available yet, be that a bios upgrade or newer motherboard version, or whatever else.
So I'm in two minds as to whether I mention it to PCSpecialist.
Other than that I give the laptop 9.0/10
A fantastic machine, very powerful, has upgrade potential, and superb cooling that keeps the fan noise down. A definite recommend.
Mick
