Comparisons With These Two Laptops

[Tiger Feet]

I want honest opinions here please. I also want you to forget the question; "what do you want to use the laptop for"

I simply want to know what differences I will notice when using these laptops and comparing the two specifications below. I also want to know the limitations between the two or in other words, what one can do above the other.

I've also realised that the Optimus has only one fan and one exhaust. How many does the Skyfire have?

Are there any plans in the near future to upgrade the Skyfire ll just as the Optimus has been upgraded from the Optimus lll to the Optimus lV?


Cheers

Product Category Product Description
Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 24GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (3 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/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 STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
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
Price Ex VAT £1080.83
Price £1297.00
Quantity 1
Total Order Price EX VAT £1080.83
Total VAT Amount £216.17
Total Order Price £1297.00

Compared With:

Product Category Product Description
Chassis & Display SkyFire:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Extreme i7-3940XM (3.00GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM) 32GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/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 Integrated 4 in 1 Card Reader (SDXC/MMC/MS/XD)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & INTEL WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery SkyFire Series 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam INTEGRATED 720P 30 FPS HD WEBCAM
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
(£5)
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
Price Ex VAT £1711.67
Price £2054.00
Quantity 1
Total Order Price EX VAT £1711.67
Total VAT Amount £342.33
Total Order Price £2054.00

 

[steaky360]

I simply want to know what differences I will notice when using these laptops and comparing the two specifications below. I also want to know the limitations between the two or in other words, what one can do above the other.

Given that you have asked us to forget what you are using the laptop for it is difficult to describe what you might notice when using either laptop. As for the limitations, I would suggest both laptops are good builds and will not be limited in any major way

I've also realised that the Optimus has only one fan and one exhaust. How many does the Skyfire have?

I am not certain but I think the skyfire has only one fan too, although it does seem to be vented around the rear of the chassis.

Are there any plans in the near future to upgrade the Skyfire ll just as the Optimus has been upgraded from the Optimus lll to the Optimus lV?

I think PCS are the only people who may answer this?

From what I can see the differences in the two builds (apart from the chasis) is the processor, ram quantity and graphics card.

A better processor should be able perform processor intensive tasks easier.

Benchmark i7-3740QM: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-3740QM-Notebook-Processor.80055.0.html
Benchmark i7-3940XM: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-3940XM-Notebook-Processor.80057.0.html

More ram (I believe you have discussed in previous threads) would benefit you but typically 16Gb is the most that would be required in most systems.

A faster graphics card tends to be more gaming orientated and a better card would usually mean better gaming potential.

Benchmarks 660m: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-660M.71859.0.html
Benchmarks 670m : http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-670M.72197.0.html

I appreciate this may not be what you were looking for, but still it is food for thought

 

[Wake]

The 670 is not the best card you can get for a £2000 laptop and I would want the best available for that money. You will not notice the difference between 16 and 32GB of RAM I suspect, let alone 24 and 32GB.

The biggest difference - and you will notice the difference - is that one has a matt screen and one has a glossy one. I game but I prefer glossy screens but then I don't game with the lights on

 

[dlatimer]

As above, screen is an obvious one when it's Matte vs Gloss. Pros and cons for each and so it depends on your own personal opinion. There are various YouTube videos which will highlight these for you.

I might also add that the 'Enter' key on the SkyFire II is much smaller - a similar size to a standard 'Shift' key in fact. It's a standard sized 'Enter' key on the Optimus IV model. Again, pros and cons which will vary between person. You might not care one bit if you're planning to use an external keyboard, but you haven't stated that so I thought I'd mention it.

You may gain a very slight performance improvement from the 670m compared to the 660m, but the latter does not produce as much heat & requires less power, so naturally cooling may appear better in the Optimus IV. The SkyFire will be able to handle this perfectly well, but if temperatures bother you in any way then you may be super-critical and notice that SkyFire temperatures tend to be higher than Optimus IV models.

I'm afraid we'll need a little more detail from you if we're not answering your questions fully

 

[moorw003]

I'll echo the sentiments above... 2k you would want a great graphics card, and the 670m is just a good one.

My advice, get a Vortex 3 instead, downgrade your processor to the 3840QM (which also has 8mb cache and is £410 cheaper for just 0.2ghz difference) and spend some of that money on upgrading to the 680m. The result is a better laptop for less. (and 2 vents too!!!)

 

[Tiger Feet]

I'll echo the sentiments above... 2k you would want a great graphics card, and the 670m is just a good one.

My advice, get a Vortex 3 instead, downgrade your processor to the 3840QM (which also has 8mb cache and is £410 cheaper for just 0.2ghz difference) and spend some of that money on upgrading to the 680m. The result is a better laptop for less. (and 2 vents too!!!)

What a great idea!

First of all, I didn't realise the Skyfire had a matte screen when I did the quote. Forget about what type of screens they are, I'm just talking about the computer itself.

Going by moorw003's suggestion, I can easily get the Vortex 3 with the 3840QM and 8mb cache and save quite a bit. The Vortex 3 comes with a 670m (is this its graphics card?) Would I be able to upgrade at a later date to a better graphics card?

There is a reason that I stated not to ask me what I would use the laptop for. I would use it utilising speech recognition, multitasking and later on down the line, I might want to start to game and have that option. I know I could do this with the Optimus also, but there would definitely be a difference if I plumped for that one. Wouldn't there?

Basically, I want to get as much for less as possible and this definitely seems the right approach does it not?

Cheers

 

[Wake]

No - you should get a desktop

 

[steaky360]

No - you should get a desktop

Not really helpful mate. At least elaborate

 

[Wake]

You have been seen the comparison specs? People, including myself, have been helpful. He doesn't want to anyone to ask what the laptop is for and has overspecc'd hacking into the Pentagon. He/she is either having a laugh or is a 'dumb-ass'. You know it, I know it and the Government of whatever planet he/she is from knows it.

In my honest opinion.

 

[steaky360]

I disagree, I actually know what he says he will be using the laptop for from other threads (and the response above) but its kind of irrelevant to my point about your comment being unhelpful. Just thought you could have explained why you figured a desktop would suit better when comparing two laptops

 

[Rakk]

You have been seen the comparison specs? People, including myself, have been helpful. He doesn't want to anyone to ask what the laptop is for and has overspecc'd hacking into the Pentagon. He/she is either having a laugh or is a 'dumb-ass'. You know it, I know it and the Government of whatever planet he/she is from knows it.

Try to play nice please!
No throwing insults at people.

 

[Wake]

Well, he/she says, " Basically, I want to get as much for less as possible and this definitely seems the right approach does it not?"

It doesn't seem the correct approach to me but I'm a logical person. Speech recognition, multi-tasking and gaming further on down the line? No mention of portability, replacement or anything else. No portability necessary - build a desktop for 1/3 the cost of the 2nd spec.

Tiger Feet - you should be more specific.

 

[Tiger Feet]

You have been seen the comparison specs? People, including myself, have been helpful. He doesn't want to anyone to ask what the laptop is for and has overspecc'd hacking into the Pentagon. He/she is either having a laugh or is a 'dumb-ass'. You know it, I know it and the Government of whatever planet he/she is from knows it.

In my honest opinion.

Wake,

Well it just so happens that your honest opinion means zilch to me and you have been as helpful as a chocolate teapot.

I do not want a desktop (as if I didn't think about that in the first place, durr) for these reasons. Now listen carefully Wake, or should that be "not awake."

I am disabled and the room where I can have some privacy is not big enough to house a desktop because of all the other items I have in it. I have to have privacy and quiet. The reason for this is because I use speech recognition and the microphone that I use will pick up every single little noise. That's why I need peace and quiet. Are you still awake, wake?

The second reason I need a laptop is because it sits across the bed that I lay in on a specially adapted table. So you see, a desktop would not only be impractical, it would also be impossible. Now do you see you ignorant fool. Plus, if you had read my post properly above, (keep awake, wake) I have mentioned what I want the laptop for as if that's a reason for your moronic outburst.

Now to get back to the reason I posted in the first place, I have compromised with the specs below. I have gone for a slightly better graphics card but would I be able to upgrade later if I wanted to in this area? In all honesty, is this a better chassis with better sound than the Optimus lV?

Cheers

Product Category Product Description
Chassis & Display Vortex Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM) 16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/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 MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire 1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
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
Price Ex VAT £1377.50
Price £1653.00
Quantity 1
Total Order Price EX VAT £1377.50
Total VAT Amount £275.5
Total Order Price £1653.00

 

[Rakk]

Ummm, that comment about playing nice applies to everyone please.

Please can both of you calm down (and no I don't care who started it)

 

[Ninjax]

i think for 2000pounds the 2 laptops mentioned in OP both suck ...in terms of future proofing and tech terms ....
I'm still singing the song about the vortex3 and vortex3elite , the elite can be had with decent spec for under the 2k budget (if I'm not mistaken)
If I was only going for 660m/670m/etc... I would really pay as little as possible ... like 17inch optimus, can be had from 600pounds plus ....
coz imo , the 600pound 660m vs 2000pound 660m are going to preform very similar ...., lol , just my 5c ...

 

[moorw003]

That is a much better spec IMO, better than the previous one and cheaper too.

Yes, the Vortex graphics card can be upgraded at a later date, they are soldered down on the Optimus so can't be done. Although if you want to make sure you probably don't need to upgrade for a long time, I'd pay the extra £72 and take an AMD 7970... it's a super card that will future proof you very well indeed.

As far as the memory in concerned, normally I advice people not to get the Kingston Hyper Genesis memory because it's not significantly better than the Samsung to justify the price. However, in your configuration, bizarrely the Kingston memory 16GB=2X8GB is actually £11 cheaper than the Samsung. So there's a good change and you can offset that to pay towards the 7970

As for everything else, looks perfect, nice hard drives especially.

 

[Wake]

I do believe I pointed out the most obvious difference in your specs - the screen. Good luck with your spec and hope you enjoy your gaming whenever you take it up. I'll go look up the word 'Moronic'....

In the meantime, you should reconsider the glossy screen, I would go for the 300 Mbps connectivity, ditch the 'extreme thermal conductivity compound' - if it overheats, send it back. You don't need a 240 Gb SSD and a 750 Gb conventional 7200 drive surely? I say this as you want to get the best spec for the lowest cost - also, someone has mentioned it before the I7 3840 is overkill, whatever you are doing with it.

As I said, 'Good Luck' - and stop being so touchy.

 

[Ninjax]

on the sound (and recording?) side the floor remains open as I see it, unfortunately I dont know much about sound specs ....
only cpu and graphics ...wink

 

[Wake]

Laptop audio isn't great - wireless headsets cure this or play with the sound off.

 

[steaky360]

You can also use external sound cards and speakers highly recommended on these forums I believe.