Laptop for college/gaming thoughts?

[Ross]

Im getting a laptop for college once my student loan comes in and I'll need it for programming and running databases etc but i also want to just use it for gaming, nothing too intense just fortnite, cities skylines, maybe some football manager. I dont need to play on ultra graphics or anything i just want to know if this should do the job and still be able to run stuff on a decent quality. I cant really go much over what im spending here.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
FREE PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Battlefield 1 & More! w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Battery
2 x Optimus IX Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
CoolerMaster MasterMouse Lite S Gaming Mouse
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,028.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/optimusix-17/pJ0HRu3MBa/

 

[Oussebon]

What's the budget? for databases, general productivity, and indeed football manager (which is a database as much as a game) an SSD would be extremely useful. Ideally I'd suggest a WD Black 256gb or a 970 Evo from the M.2 SSD Drive menu

 

[Ross]

My budget is probably at the very maximum 1100 but ideally id like to keep it as clos to 1000 as possible. Do you think switching to a 500gb seagate hard drive instead of the 1tb for my general storage like documents etc then getting an additional 250gb WD ssd would be better? Works out at £1077

 

[Ross]

Also just to check since im paying £60 for it. Does the 2x battery mean it has double battery life or is one of the batteries just a spare?

 

[Oussebon]

one of the batteries just a spare?

This. You're buying 2 batteries.

I wouldn't bother to be honest. How likely are you to be away from any power sources for extended periods of time? The batteries tend not to be light either.

You can order spare parts from your PCS account after purchase should you decide you want a 2nd battery, charger, etc.

We ordered 2 batteries with a laptop back in 2012 and the 2nd one hardly ever got used.

Dropping the 2nd battery. That would let you get a fast SSD like the WD Black (Black, not Blue) or 970 Evo and keep the 1TB HDD. The 1TB HDD is only ~£15 more than the 500gb one, and has a larger cache. It seems like a bit of a false economy to drop to 500gb, especially if you end up dabbling in a few other games as modern games eat a lot of storage space.

Note that if a 15.6" screen is acceptable, the Vyper would probably be a lot cheaper.

 

[Ross]

Wow thank god i asked that question haha, yeah I've definitely dropped that 2nd battery and i didnt even take into account that the smaller laptop could hold the same components so ive changed over to the vyper and upped the ram to 16gb. My only concern really is that it doesnt haveany option for the better thermal paste, do you think i might run into any issues with cooling? Is the cooling stand maybe worth an investment?

Chassis & Display
Vyper Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
FREE PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Battlefield 1 & More! w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB WD Black™ M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/s R | 1600MB/s W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Battery
Vyper Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9560 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
CoolerMaster MasterMouse Lite S Gaming Mouse
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,014.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/vyper-15/dedpMEAHSe

 

[Ross]

Thanks for all your help btw i appreciate it.

 

[Oussebon]

I've found cooling stands can shave a few degrees off - in the case of one laptop we had it made the difference between the fans periodically spinning up under office multitasking and the fans staying quiet, so was a quality of life improvement as well as a thermal one. Though I'm sure you don't need a cooling pad to use the laptop, just don't run the laptop on a bed/blanket/cluttered desk etc that would block the vents

You can always get a pad separately after purchase if you decide you need one. If you decide you don't, you've saved ~£20.

The spec seems well suited for your needs.

I don't think the thermal paste should be an issue at all. Someone else has the same question here: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?60297-Vyper-performance and is apparently asking PCS. You could wait and see what they say, or ask them yourself - if you do ask them yourself, please do let us know what they say

 

[Ross]

Alright i think I'll just go for that tbh, now to play the waiting game with SAAS so i can actually afford it hahaha.

 

[Remmieko]

My only concern really is that it doesnt haveany option for the better thermal paste, do you think i might run into any issues with cooling?

I had the same question as mentioned by Oussebon, and got a reply from PCSpecialist:
"You are correct that the cooling options on other laptops do offer additional thermal paste options. We do find however that the thermal operation on both the Vyper and Recoil chassis are well within limitation and guidelines to maintain performance on those high end components.

It does so occur however that the Vyper chassis requires extensive labour for a repaste to be possible. Should you wish to have aftermarket thermal paste be used on this chassis there is paste and labour cost of an additional £20 or 30eu.

I would however put my strong faith in the OEM paste which is used by the chassis manufacturer on this chassis. In our tests is performs very well when compared against our range and even compared against repasted other models with the same spec. The cooling system on this chassis is quite robust."

 

[Ross]

Thats good to know, im definitely going to place my order as soon as i get paid