Specification/Price
My model has the standard Full HD display, i7-6700HQ processor, Geforce GTX 970M graphics, 32GB RAM, Killer Wireless, 250GB Samsung SSD and 1TB HDD. I had initially ordered only 16GB of RAM on the advice of these forums and also friends but later upgraded to 32GB in order to reduce the potential for needing to upgrade later as this is something that I have never done before and I felt it was maybe better to just order it to start with whilst I had the available funds. Truth be told this machine is overkill for my current needs as I don’t currently do any graphically intensive gaming, but the reason I don’t is because I’ve never had a machine that can handle it before and it’s something that I’m certainly hoping to be able to get into from now on.
In the end it came to just short of £1300 which was a little more than I had initially intended to spend but I chose to pay the extra for the Defiance over the Optimus as I wanted a better graphics card so that I could be sure I had a machine that would last for a good few years. Besides, it was a treat to myself for getting my first full time job after university and as I'm planning to move out soon I figured I should do it whilst I had the chance! My previous laptops have normally cost me around £500 off the shelf so this is quite a departure from what I’m used to buying. In terms of value for money, what I have found is that this is a higher spec than I have been able to find anywhere off the shelf and I’ve found plenty of places selling lower spec machines for higher prices. As such it seems to be good value for money however it’s difficult to really establish any direct comparison here.
Looks/Build
My very first impressions were very good. Opening the box, the laptop was well packed and the laptop seemed well protected. Taking things out of the box the laptop looked stunning and the box contained everything you could possibly need. Instructions, CDs (although the laptop has no CD drive), information leaflets and such. The charger was also well packed and the wires are a very good length. The power brick is a lot larger than I am used to but this was to be expected given I’ve never had a laptop anywhere near this powerful before.
Once you get past the packaging the laptop itself if beautiful. It’s a fantastic looking machine and feels very well built. The metal casing looks and feels really sturdy and you can certainly tell that this is more than your typical off the shelf machine. It’s a little angular in places giving the laptop a slightly unusual shape but I quite like this. I can see how some people might not be so fond of this however that’s ultimately down to personal preference. The laptop itself is also a little larger than other laptops I’ve had with the same screen size. Although it is very thin, it’s somewhat deeper than I’m used to with a larger frame around the screen. What I would say is that it’s a great looking machine but a little on the larger side for its screen size meaning that although it is portable to some extent I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it if portability is one of your main requirements. If like me however you want a machine that is going to stay in the house most of the time but can go with you if you are going away for a few days then it’s not going to be a major issue.
Screen
Ah yes, the screen. I already have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the screen. Frankly, it’s beautiful. It’s clear, sharp, the colours are fantastic, the image quality is superb... then I put it next to my old laptop (which I’m keeping as a spare) to make sure there was nothing on my old laptop that I hadn’t yet installed on this one. I’ve never been particularly fussy about computer screens before and I always found the screen on my old laptop to be perfectly acceptable but now I’ve seen the light I’ll never be able to look at my old laptop in the same way again. In comparison everything looks dull, flat and just somehow wrong. Long story short, the screen is great even with only the most basic option that I went for. It’s not an area that I’m normally picky about but even so, it’s noticeably better than other screens (my old laptop and also my partner’s laptop) when compared side by side.
Keyboard/Touchpad
This is the first thing I’ve had chance to write using the keyboard and I’ve got to say it’s very pleasant to use. The keys are a good size and it was very easy to get used to and adapt to other than a few minor changes from my old machine: a slightly smaller right hand shift key and a smaller 0 on the number pad as a result of the positioning of the arrow keys. Right now I’m not a big fan of the positioning of the arrow keys and the impact this seems to have on the keys around them however that’s something that I’m sure I’ll adapt to in time. I’ve got to say though that the keyboard is an absolute pleasure to type on. The keys are soft to touch but feel nice and sturdy and it doesn’t seem as quite as clicky as other laptop keyboards I’ve used, perhaps with one exception of the spacebar. The backlit feature also works well with five brightness settings. I quite like the white light although the option of other colours too as seen on some keyboards would have been a nice addition. That said, I would much rather have a white backlight without the option to change to a coloured backlight than vice versa.
The touchpad also seems fairly good and the buttons work well-again, not too clicky and quite soft to touch. There’s also an integrated fingerprint scanner that I’ve not yet had chance to use and realistically I don’t know if I will use it in the future. It’s a feature I personally have always found to be a bit unnecessary but still I suppose it’s nice to have it and not yet need it rather than not have it and potentially need it later on. Personally I will most likely use a mouse more often than not but that is down entirely to personal choice and is not in any way a reflection on the touchpad.
Performance
So far so good although I’ve not yet had chance to do anything particularly intensive or had much chance to play any of the more demanding games I already have. Everything that I have tried so far however has been fast and smooth and I’m yet to experience any stutter or any other problems. I may well update this later on once I’ve had more of a play about.
Conclusion
All in all, I’m very impressed. The service has been very good, it’s a great looking laptop and the performance seems excellent. I’ve only had my new laptop for less than a day and can’t wait to start putting it to good use.
My model has the standard Full HD display, i7-6700HQ processor, Geforce GTX 970M graphics, 32GB RAM, Killer Wireless, 250GB Samsung SSD and 1TB HDD. I had initially ordered only 16GB of RAM on the advice of these forums and also friends but later upgraded to 32GB in order to reduce the potential for needing to upgrade later as this is something that I have never done before and I felt it was maybe better to just order it to start with whilst I had the available funds. Truth be told this machine is overkill for my current needs as I don’t currently do any graphically intensive gaming, but the reason I don’t is because I’ve never had a machine that can handle it before and it’s something that I’m certainly hoping to be able to get into from now on.
In the end it came to just short of £1300 which was a little more than I had initially intended to spend but I chose to pay the extra for the Defiance over the Optimus as I wanted a better graphics card so that I could be sure I had a machine that would last for a good few years. Besides, it was a treat to myself for getting my first full time job after university and as I'm planning to move out soon I figured I should do it whilst I had the chance! My previous laptops have normally cost me around £500 off the shelf so this is quite a departure from what I’m used to buying. In terms of value for money, what I have found is that this is a higher spec than I have been able to find anywhere off the shelf and I’ve found plenty of places selling lower spec machines for higher prices. As such it seems to be good value for money however it’s difficult to really establish any direct comparison here.
Looks/Build
My very first impressions were very good. Opening the box, the laptop was well packed and the laptop seemed well protected. Taking things out of the box the laptop looked stunning and the box contained everything you could possibly need. Instructions, CDs (although the laptop has no CD drive), information leaflets and such. The charger was also well packed and the wires are a very good length. The power brick is a lot larger than I am used to but this was to be expected given I’ve never had a laptop anywhere near this powerful before.
Once you get past the packaging the laptop itself if beautiful. It’s a fantastic looking machine and feels very well built. The metal casing looks and feels really sturdy and you can certainly tell that this is more than your typical off the shelf machine. It’s a little angular in places giving the laptop a slightly unusual shape but I quite like this. I can see how some people might not be so fond of this however that’s ultimately down to personal preference. The laptop itself is also a little larger than other laptops I’ve had with the same screen size. Although it is very thin, it’s somewhat deeper than I’m used to with a larger frame around the screen. What I would say is that it’s a great looking machine but a little on the larger side for its screen size meaning that although it is portable to some extent I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it if portability is one of your main requirements. If like me however you want a machine that is going to stay in the house most of the time but can go with you if you are going away for a few days then it’s not going to be a major issue.
Screen
Ah yes, the screen. I already have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the screen. Frankly, it’s beautiful. It’s clear, sharp, the colours are fantastic, the image quality is superb... then I put it next to my old laptop (which I’m keeping as a spare) to make sure there was nothing on my old laptop that I hadn’t yet installed on this one. I’ve never been particularly fussy about computer screens before and I always found the screen on my old laptop to be perfectly acceptable but now I’ve seen the light I’ll never be able to look at my old laptop in the same way again. In comparison everything looks dull, flat and just somehow wrong. Long story short, the screen is great even with only the most basic option that I went for. It’s not an area that I’m normally picky about but even so, it’s noticeably better than other screens (my old laptop and also my partner’s laptop) when compared side by side.
Keyboard/Touchpad
This is the first thing I’ve had chance to write using the keyboard and I’ve got to say it’s very pleasant to use. The keys are a good size and it was very easy to get used to and adapt to other than a few minor changes from my old machine: a slightly smaller right hand shift key and a smaller 0 on the number pad as a result of the positioning of the arrow keys. Right now I’m not a big fan of the positioning of the arrow keys and the impact this seems to have on the keys around them however that’s something that I’m sure I’ll adapt to in time. I’ve got to say though that the keyboard is an absolute pleasure to type on. The keys are soft to touch but feel nice and sturdy and it doesn’t seem as quite as clicky as other laptop keyboards I’ve used, perhaps with one exception of the spacebar. The backlit feature also works well with five brightness settings. I quite like the white light although the option of other colours too as seen on some keyboards would have been a nice addition. That said, I would much rather have a white backlight without the option to change to a coloured backlight than vice versa.
The touchpad also seems fairly good and the buttons work well-again, not too clicky and quite soft to touch. There’s also an integrated fingerprint scanner that I’ve not yet had chance to use and realistically I don’t know if I will use it in the future. It’s a feature I personally have always found to be a bit unnecessary but still I suppose it’s nice to have it and not yet need it rather than not have it and potentially need it later on. Personally I will most likely use a mouse more often than not but that is down entirely to personal choice and is not in any way a reflection on the touchpad.
Performance
So far so good although I’ve not yet had chance to do anything particularly intensive or had much chance to play any of the more demanding games I already have. Everything that I have tried so far however has been fast and smooth and I’m yet to experience any stutter or any other problems. I may well update this later on once I’ve had more of a play about.
Conclusion
All in all, I’m very impressed. The service has been very good, it’s a great looking laptop and the performance seems excellent. I’ve only had my new laptop for less than a day and can’t wait to start putting it to good use.