The last thread broke when I was editing it so sorry for the repost. Edit: Thinking I should have posted in the spec forum actually (?) but never mind!
Hi
Although it's still a very capable machine I'm gradually getting frustrated with my current laptop not being quite snappy enough, plus overheating if I do anything CPU intensive. I use it all day every day and often leave it on all night too (that bad? haha) I'm considering upgrading at some point this year but haven't decided when or exactly what spec I want. Just want to make sure when I do get it that it's a good enough investment really plus it's a matter of timing cost-wise particularly considering things like SSD. I've never gone for a custom build and had this many options to consider before or spent this much money!
I'm looking at something like Optimus IV / Skyfire II / Vortex III. I did consider downsizing to a 15.6" now that they come in full HD, but 17.3" is probably better for what I do plus gives everything more room so I'm almost sure on that. Question though: Directly comparing with 1920 x 1080 is the difference quite pronounced / things extremely small on a 15.6"? Any other negatives to consider with a 15.6" other than the keyboard?
What it's for:
Day to day I use text editors and IDE features (occasionally looking at huge files / doing search & replace), file searches, web browsing with usually about 30 or more tabs open at once, Photoshop for editing multiple images & web design, have emails open, plus some other programs like Skype and Office software, playing music and HD video content. I sometimes do things over LAN and use a local WAMP server for scripting & database editing. Also I often convert video files to different formats to publish to the web e.g. MP4 to OGV so would be nice if that's faster!
I also sometimes use a second monitor, but I assume that doesn't make much difference.
On the game side I'm not fussy about having everything set on highest graphics with high textures & lighting etc (though that's nice!) but would like to know I can play whatever I feel like and that it will run smoothly if a game comes out I want in say a few years from now. Right now apart from Minecraft the only big one I can think of I might get is Elder Scrolls online, but like to have my options open.
Main components:
Is the standard graphics you get with these models good enough and future proof? (GTX 660M / 670M?)
Would something like an i5-3210M be good enough for what I do or would I be best off investing a bit more for the long term on more Ghz or even an i7?
Although I want to keep costs down and was originally wanting to spend up to about £900, with all the things I do I really think a SSD would be worth it - I'm currently using a large portion of my 500GB hard drive though so space is an issue. I could probably get away with a 240GB SSD for primary use, plus an additional hard drive for backups and other storage. If I do that and the prices plummet again as bigger ones come out or something though I might be a bit miffed! Would like a 480GB really but the difference in price is huge and I'm guessing it's going to stay that way for a while right?
I definitely want to go up to 8GB RAM, but leaving it open to future upgrades would be nice. Is 2x4GB much better than 1x8GB or is it better to get the latter and leave an extra slot open? When I looked it was only £3 difference. Would more than 8GB be much benefit or just wasteful? (I thought 4GB was a lot when I bought my current laptop, ha!)
Extras / Details:
Current laptop has a bit of an overheating issue but I think that's just because it's a cheap build, should I get the better thermal compound or is standard good enough?
A bit tempted by Windows 8 just to feel up to date but I really love Windows 7 and 8 seems a bit of a mess, so I'll probably stick with my 7 Home Premium, maybe re-use my current license key if that's possible?
What is the use/advantage of the higher Wireless/LAN options? The default seems pretty fast to me. Would they be useful at all if I get a fibre broadband connection or something?
I guess the only other thing is a Blu Ray drive, is it easy to upgrade to one in future? I don't think I really need one right now. Maybe it depends on if I have a second hard drive though? Not sure if you can just change the DVD drive out.
Oops!
Sorry for the long post, I'm fussy! Thanks a lot guys, other than the price/timing for best bang for buck I think it's mainly future-proofing the SSD & processor combo and graphics that I'm concerned with.
Build
Here's a possible build I was looking at. Maybe the i7 2.4Ghz would be worth the little bit extra though?
Hi
Although it's still a very capable machine I'm gradually getting frustrated with my current laptop not being quite snappy enough, plus overheating if I do anything CPU intensive. I use it all day every day and often leave it on all night too (that bad? haha) I'm considering upgrading at some point this year but haven't decided when or exactly what spec I want. Just want to make sure when I do get it that it's a good enough investment really plus it's a matter of timing cost-wise particularly considering things like SSD. I've never gone for a custom build and had this many options to consider before or spent this much money!
I'm looking at something like Optimus IV / Skyfire II / Vortex III. I did consider downsizing to a 15.6" now that they come in full HD, but 17.3" is probably better for what I do plus gives everything more room so I'm almost sure on that. Question though: Directly comparing with 1920 x 1080 is the difference quite pronounced / things extremely small on a 15.6"? Any other negatives to consider with a 15.6" other than the keyboard?
What it's for:
Day to day I use text editors and IDE features (occasionally looking at huge files / doing search & replace), file searches, web browsing with usually about 30 or more tabs open at once, Photoshop for editing multiple images & web design, have emails open, plus some other programs like Skype and Office software, playing music and HD video content. I sometimes do things over LAN and use a local WAMP server for scripting & database editing. Also I often convert video files to different formats to publish to the web e.g. MP4 to OGV so would be nice if that's faster!
I also sometimes use a second monitor, but I assume that doesn't make much difference.
On the game side I'm not fussy about having everything set on highest graphics with high textures & lighting etc (though that's nice!) but would like to know I can play whatever I feel like and that it will run smoothly if a game comes out I want in say a few years from now. Right now apart from Minecraft the only big one I can think of I might get is Elder Scrolls online, but like to have my options open.
Main components:
Is the standard graphics you get with these models good enough and future proof? (GTX 660M / 670M?)
Would something like an i5-3210M be good enough for what I do or would I be best off investing a bit more for the long term on more Ghz or even an i7?
Although I want to keep costs down and was originally wanting to spend up to about £900, with all the things I do I really think a SSD would be worth it - I'm currently using a large portion of my 500GB hard drive though so space is an issue. I could probably get away with a 240GB SSD for primary use, plus an additional hard drive for backups and other storage. If I do that and the prices plummet again as bigger ones come out or something though I might be a bit miffed! Would like a 480GB really but the difference in price is huge and I'm guessing it's going to stay that way for a while right?
I definitely want to go up to 8GB RAM, but leaving it open to future upgrades would be nice. Is 2x4GB much better than 1x8GB or is it better to get the latter and leave an extra slot open? When I looked it was only £3 difference. Would more than 8GB be much benefit or just wasteful? (I thought 4GB was a lot when I bought my current laptop, ha!)
Extras / Details:
Current laptop has a bit of an overheating issue but I think that's just because it's a cheap build, should I get the better thermal compound or is standard good enough?
A bit tempted by Windows 8 just to feel up to date but I really love Windows 7 and 8 seems a bit of a mess, so I'll probably stick with my 7 Home Premium, maybe re-use my current license key if that's possible?
What is the use/advantage of the higher Wireless/LAN options? The default seems pretty fast to me. Would they be useful at all if I get a fibre broadband connection or something?
I guess the only other thing is a Blu Ray drive, is it easy to upgrade to one in future? I don't think I really need one right now. Maybe it depends on if I have a second hard drive though? Not sure if you can just change the DVD drive out.
Oops!
Sorry for the long post, I'm fussy! Thanks a lot guys, other than the price/timing for best bang for buck I think it's mainly future-proofing the SSD & processor combo and graphics that I'm concerned with.
Build
Here's a possible build I was looking at. Maybe the i7 2.4Ghz would be worth the little bit extra though?
Code:
Chassis & Display
SkyFire:17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3210M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 720P 30 FPS HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1
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