Buying Inferno - specs check

[Pigeon_Lady]

Hello good people,

I am thinking about getting a new laptop and, with an exceptional luck, I have stumbled across this website. I know just a tiny little bit about computers so not enough to be confident about everything I am choosing. I will be using the laptop for some gaming, video and photography editing, and just general things. I need a small laptop (I travel a lot) so I have decided to go for Inferno. These are the specs I am contemplating + some questions.
I should probably mention I have a tight budget but I do not mind spending money on a computer that will last me the next five years and still be ok. I want to save on things that are not really necessary at that point or can be changed in the future (like more RAM).

Chassis & Display
Inferno Series: 11.6" Matte HD LED Widescreen
Q: I might be going crazy but two weeks ago or so, there was an option of choosing the glossy version of the screen. (It was there only for a little while) Do you know if it is still possible to request it? I would love to have a choice. And speaking of which, is matte or glossy better for gaming?

Processor (CPU)
Intel Core i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70 GHz) 6 MB

Memory (RAM)
8 GB Samsung 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 Memory (1x8) [I thought I could possibly get another 8GB later]

Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - 2.00 GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120 GB Kingston HyperX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555 Mg/sR | 510 Mb/sW)
Q: Can I change Hard Disk in a laptop in the future? If in a year I wanted to have 240 GB SSD, could I have it fitted to the laptop without some extra hassle or is that something completely impossible?

+ Silver Warranty

Other questions
Q: Do I need this Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound? I know it is only £9 but if I can buy it later, then that is what I would prefer to do.
Q: Bluetooth and Wireless - what difference does it make? Will the Intel N135 802.11N (150 Mbps) be ok?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Toxophilix]

The spec looks fine.

Yes, the SSD could be replaced with a new one. You could consider starting with an HDD even, and swapping to an SSD in year or so, as SSDs ar getting steadily cheaper over time. (I mention that in case you are worried about 120GB being too cramped.)

You're right, there was a glossy screen option until recently. Most people prefer matte because it's not prone to reflected light messing up your view. I think matte is better for true mobility, if you envisage using the machine on trains, in cafes etc.

One thing to be aware of - apologies if it's obvious. The Inferno/W110ER is a desktop-replacement/gaming laptop in a small package, which means that it won't have great battery life compared with other very small laptops or netbooks. If seen figures of 3.5 hours for casual use or 90 mins gaming quoted. So there is a trade-off for all that raw computing power.

 

[floking96]

I actually own the inferno and I do hope you don't have the same problems as me but i've noticed the temps get ridiculously hot when playing demanding games for an extended amount of time, this has caused me to need 2 RMAs and I have another broken/fractured/I think burned motherboard so im in the middle of applying for a refund. However I think mine was a lone cas bcause no other reports ive seen have had the same problems, it's a nice little machine though.

 

[Pigeon_Lady]

floking, i know! I saw your post about it an it was kin of upsetting. I really hope you can get a refund. I haven't seen anyone else having the same problem so I might still risk the Inferno.

Hmmm, I didn't even think about HDD. Everyone is so obsessing about the SSDs that I didn't even check the other ones. I think I might get a normal drive for now and swap it in the future- might even be able to order the laptop even sooner because of that. Brilliant!

Thanks for the help.

 

[tom_gr7]

looks like a good spec

I'd probably keep the SSD, but maybe get a bigger one instead of a 120gb, that is of course if you plan on filling the 120gb's?

With it being small and mobile, i'd want that ssd boot speed in there. But if you need the hard drive capacity a seagate monmentus would be a good idea. - ( has a normal hdd and a SSD caching drive together )

 

[Toxophilix]

Yes, we have to choose right now between space and speed. I think it's matter of personal preference.

For me, I really don't like being short of disk-space. It takes me back to the dark ages, when I had a 20MB hard-disk and it always seemed to have less than 1MB free, so installing one program meant uninstalling another.

But the speed of SSDs is great, no question, and they make a lot of sense for laptops especially.

Btw, I have an Inferno on order myself which should come this week (it's in Awaiting Dispatch atm). I'll post something about it when it arrives.

Also:

I actually own the inferno and I do hope you don't have the same problems as me

I've been following your posts about it and it seems as though you've had the worst possible luck with it. Everyone seems to agree that the W110ER runs hot (well, it's bound to really) but it seems that in most cases it copes with the heat as accounts of it failing are quite rare. No comfort to you of course - I hope you get the refund without any more hassle.

As a matter of interest, which CPU do you have?

 

[floking96]

The i7-3630m however I think now I would have been better with an i5, the gpu was the bottleneck really so the cpu wasn't ever stressing!

 

[floking96]

floking, i know! I saw your post about it an it was kin of upsetting. I really hope you can get a refund. I haven't seen anyone else having the same problem so I might still risk the Inferno.


Thanks for the help.

No it's not worth other people not getting the inferno because mine seems to be the only one to have these problems, I intend to go for a more powerful larger laptop that can handle the heat a little better if I get this refund, although knowing my luck I imagine they'll send my inferno back to me without realising I wanted a refund.

 

[Pigeon_Lady]

eh, choosing between size and speed... The lifelong dilemma. (+ insert 'that's what she said' joke)

Toxophilix, please, do. Post some sort of review when you have a chance to use it. I would love to read some more opinions about it.

I am decided to go for SSD in the end. I can cope with only 120GB for now. But I remembered another question that I had. Should I get the dead pixel guarantee?
I can't believe I might be ordering in within the next two weeks. This is so very exciting. : )

 

[kruppsy]

Should I get the dead pixel guarantee?

I needed it, so if you can squeeze it into your budget...definitely.

 

[Pigeon_Lady]

Thank for the reply. I will certainly get it.

 

[Toxophilix]

Should I get the dead pixel guarantee?

If a small number of dead pixels would bother you then I think the insurance is a good idea.

The alternative is to say that if you get a few dead pixels early on then you'll just be philosophical about it. But that would work for some people and not others, I think.

 

[Toxophilix]

Toxophilix, please, do. Post some sort of review when you have a chance to use it. I would love to read some more opinions about it.

Here you go - https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...et-another-Inferno-review&p=195712#post195712

 

[Pigeon_Lady]

Thanks, have just read it. I might actually wait a bit with buying this laptop (will make a decision in the end of March). I have to carefully consider pros and cons. I will probably get it in the end either way, but at least I need to get a bit more peace of mind about spending so much money on a toy [I should have Win XP cd somewhere here, so I might get Win 7 a bit later. I have to think about it.]

 

[Pigeon_Lady]

Right, I have made some adjustments and have opted for a slightly weaker CPU. Not entirely happy with that but it saves me quite a bit of money and can be changed in the future. Besides, it means that I can actually order it without feeling the unbelievable guilt at spending money. I will stick to my Win XP Prof for now and maybe get Win 7 when it is cheaper.

Here is my final (for now) built:


Chassis & Display
Inferno Series: 11.6" Matte HD LED Widescreen (1366x768)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
What do you guys think about this one? Is it all right? Has any of you used it?

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
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 (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Inferno Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
Upgrade to 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor (£12)
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
11.6" SERIES INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Intel Anti-Theft Technology
FREE 90 Day Intel Anti-Theft Trial - Prevent Data Access upon Theft
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £715.00 including VAT and delivery.


Is it going to be ok for moderate gaming for now? I will upgrade the CPU and RAM (and probably the size of SSD) in about a year. I have soma catching up on games so I might just start with the ones released few years back. I hope it is going to be ok.

 

[floking96]

I can tell you that I have the exact same spec inferno, minus HDD as you, and I can say that the i7-3630m is excellent, in my opinion there's no need to upgrade further because the 650m is the bottleneck here, if I were you, i'd save my money and buy more games when I got it because the inferno can handle any game you throw at it; maybe not on max settings but it can run everything at the moment. Are you sure about the SSD though, you can't have a second HDD so you're sort of held back by the amount of space. If you change then I recommend the 750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm), I have it and get a great boot time, and really short load times. , it's supposed to be a mechanical HDD with the performance of an SSD, and it definitely is in my opinion! You might also want to know that your CPU will never use turbo boost whilst the 650m is enabled due to heat issues, and the CPU will underclock to 1.6GHZ on battery, so don't go for a CPU for the turbo boost! You wont see a performance increase anyway, even of you had it enabled because of the 650m bottleneck.

 

[Toxophilix]

I agree with floking96. The 3630QM has everything you need by way of performance and is the best value mobile i7 imo.

WinXP will not use more than 3.5ish GB RAM, so it will be quite a limitation with this machine. Also, it doesn't support TRIM, which is not good if you are using an SSD. Also also, I'm not sure Win7 is going to get cheaper.

 

[Pigeon_Lady]

Thanks guys, I am very happy about the CPU. Will keep that. But very unhappy hearing about XP. I knew about the RAM issue, but not about the SSD until now. How very annoying. Right, I will probably just instal Ubuntu for start and worry about the rest later. I checked the compatibility of most important specs and it seemed fine. Games will have to wait for later (although some of the ones I have should be playable on Linux). Also, I am planning to emotionally blackmail various members of my family into getting me Win 7 in the future (probably for my birthday or something).

Oh, and I will stick to the small SSD. I have checked the amount of space my current games take and it is not that much. Also, I have a slightly obsessive personality (thus, reading about Linux for the last 7 hours) and do not play many games at once. I tend to play one until I am sick of it, and then lay it off for at least several months. I should be fine for now. I can always change it in the future (more blackmailing).

EDIT: Screw it, I am going to get a normal HDD (probably SCORPIO BLACK since it is cheaper and will be changing it in the future anyway). I will review the choices in 6 months and decide whether I want to invest in SSD. A bit sad about it, but I can cope with that. Especially since the saved money will be spent on the fast built track