Lets start with the unusual part. Back in about late February, I bought 2! This is the gross mushy part... one for myself, and the other for my girlfriend. Because we're disgusting and get matching things. Also, we agreed she would be the one to write the review because she is better at these things, but she's also hella lazy so i'm giving it a go :tt2:
Anyway, after reading other reviews and looking at other potential places to buy from, we found PCspecialist to appear the most helpful, customer support wise (from other reviews), and best prices for the highest spec.
So our chosen spec:
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
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 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
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 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
BACKLIT OPTIMUS UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook 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 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
2
So, being logical, firstly the production times. The whole thing was completed in 9 days. Brilliant! Cannot be faulted. The anticipation still was a killer though. We were both checking every day, sometimes more than once, to see if there was any update. PCspecialist, through their website, keep you up to date throughout the entire process via their order tracking button, which for communication on their part... Brilliant! It left us in no doubt. Being the first time I have used this website, I have to say it was a good experience.
Packaging and delivery
I missed it on the first attempt. What a pleb. Then having to wait an extra day was just hell.
They came in their own separate boxes, very secure, and well packaged. Neither laptop had any real scuffs or blemishes or anything substantial due to production or transport. Again, all good.
Design
This section is just a quick cover of weight, size and things.
So, the laptop itself appears sleek, smooth and functional. Everything feels like it fits well, i.e, the keyboard and mousepad don't feel like they've been squashed onto the laptop. All the buttons work, and the USB ports seem to be spaced out fair enough apart that having 2 or 3 things plugged in next to each other hasn't been an issue yet. VGA and HDMI for external displays(etc). And the speakers sitting just above the keyboard, flush with the casing so sound projects upwards sort of toward you, rather than on some where the speakers are at the front and project into your lap.
It may be a boring silvery grey colour (I could cover it in stickers if i wanted because the lid is smooth and flat), but!, all in all a well thought out design that is functional and useful.
Mousepad
I thought this should get a quick say. In other reviews before i bought the laptops, people had been saying it was rough and uncomfortable to use. Having move from a macbook (which is smooth all over) over to an Optimus V, I can say that that just isn't the case. The touchpad just isn't as rough as people make it sound. It also has a few different functionalities, 2 finger scrolling, 1 finger scrolling, 2 finger tap right click (which coming over from a mac was very helpful! because that is a hard habit to get out of), and zoom functions.
Built-in Camera and microphone
The camera, isn't actually that bad for a basic 2MP built in camera, pictures come out a little grainy and that sort of thing, but it's to be expected really. What let it down was the very very basic software it came with. And there isn't much more I can say about that.
The microphone I haven't actually used yet, although I did a quick audio test and it seems to work well.
Sound (speakers and fan) and Heat
Lets start with the biggest complaint i've seen about the optimus V series. The fan noise. People have said things like "it's as loud as a hair-dryer" or it sounds like a plane taking off. Neither laptop has this issue, the fan comes on at a suitable speed for the heat it's producing and turns off again when it's not needed. Mine as been spooled up to 100% only a few times, and for maybe 10 seconds tops, and even then it didnt sound as bad as people make it out to be. It's loud at 100%, but no more than you would expect. It's not excessive or anything. The rest of the time it's just like any normal laptop noise. A sound you occasionally hear in the background.
The heat. Depending on what you're doing, it actually handles heat quite well, certain areas of the laptop get hotter than others, but i'm assuming that's where the graphics card is. But with a fan that adjusts speed as needed, and the cooling paste. There hasn't been a huge problem with heat. HOWEVER within the first month of having the laptops, they had both BSOD'd once each because of heat. BUT, one was being used in the sun, and the other on my lap, at the time it happened, and it hasn't happened again since.
The speakers. They are a 6/10. They're not the best. But they're not the worst by far. I would rate them lower average/average.
The Screen
Nice big HD resolution. I've not had a HD screen before now. Gotta say... There will be no turning back now! Matte as well, nice!
Both laptops, the backlight is good, the brightness, colour and contrast in adjustable. They are very nice screens.
My laptop though came with 1 dead pixel, not quite in the middle of the screen but it's in a place that is noticeable if you're watching or playing something which a lot of darkness in it. Which can be annoying. But it's 1 pixel, out of loads, on 2 laptops. So overall, we're very happy with the screens as well.
The Backlit Keyboard
Right, now this cause some confusion when reading other peoples reviews. Some said it does, some said it doesn't. So we thought, what the hell. If they have it they have it and if they don't they don't.
My laptops keyboard has a white backlight with 2 brightness settings.
Her laptops keyboard has nothing.
The function hotkey for the keyboard acts as if it's turning the light on, but nothing happens...
She says it doesn't affect her use of the laptop, so she doesn't want to really so anything much about it. "but it would have been nice if it worked". (I had offered her to swap at this point)
I don't know whether it's just a wire is not attached somewhere, or if it's actually broken... and although it's a minor thing, it's quite disappointing and I'm not impressed.
Overall performance
We both decided on this particular spec of laptop because at the time we were both in Uni (she still is) and both play games (i play more performance heavy games, she plays sims 2 and likes to photoshop)
In terms of multitasking, handling data and statistic analysis software and course related programs, no problems at all. Everything runs smoothly. And the same with gaming and other programs, the performance is brilliant. Occasionally there might be a game where you can't play it on highest spec, but that's no real loss, because it can still play the game without a problem. The only time there is a noticeable drop in performance, but again this is mostly with games on highest spec, which is when it's unplugged from the mains, but again it's noticeable, but not to the extent it makes things unplayable.
Battery life is good, obviously it depends on what you're doing. with with the built in VGA ability to switch between internal shared and Nvidia graphics chips, it only draws as much power as is needed, so is very well optimised for maximum battery life at best performance.
So this is a massive thumbs up
Anyway, after reading other reviews and looking at other potential places to buy from, we found PCspecialist to appear the most helpful, customer support wise (from other reviews), and best prices for the highest spec.
So our chosen spec:
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
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 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
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 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
BACKLIT OPTIMUS UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook 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 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
2
So, being logical, firstly the production times. The whole thing was completed in 9 days. Brilliant! Cannot be faulted. The anticipation still was a killer though. We were both checking every day, sometimes more than once, to see if there was any update. PCspecialist, through their website, keep you up to date throughout the entire process via their order tracking button, which for communication on their part... Brilliant! It left us in no doubt. Being the first time I have used this website, I have to say it was a good experience.
Packaging and delivery
I missed it on the first attempt. What a pleb. Then having to wait an extra day was just hell.
They came in their own separate boxes, very secure, and well packaged. Neither laptop had any real scuffs or blemishes or anything substantial due to production or transport. Again, all good.
Design
This section is just a quick cover of weight, size and things.
So, the laptop itself appears sleek, smooth and functional. Everything feels like it fits well, i.e, the keyboard and mousepad don't feel like they've been squashed onto the laptop. All the buttons work, and the USB ports seem to be spaced out fair enough apart that having 2 or 3 things plugged in next to each other hasn't been an issue yet. VGA and HDMI for external displays(etc). And the speakers sitting just above the keyboard, flush with the casing so sound projects upwards sort of toward you, rather than on some where the speakers are at the front and project into your lap.
It may be a boring silvery grey colour (I could cover it in stickers if i wanted because the lid is smooth and flat), but!, all in all a well thought out design that is functional and useful.
Mousepad
I thought this should get a quick say. In other reviews before i bought the laptops, people had been saying it was rough and uncomfortable to use. Having move from a macbook (which is smooth all over) over to an Optimus V, I can say that that just isn't the case. The touchpad just isn't as rough as people make it sound. It also has a few different functionalities, 2 finger scrolling, 1 finger scrolling, 2 finger tap right click (which coming over from a mac was very helpful! because that is a hard habit to get out of), and zoom functions.
Built-in Camera and microphone
The camera, isn't actually that bad for a basic 2MP built in camera, pictures come out a little grainy and that sort of thing, but it's to be expected really. What let it down was the very very basic software it came with. And there isn't much more I can say about that.
The microphone I haven't actually used yet, although I did a quick audio test and it seems to work well.
Sound (speakers and fan) and Heat
Lets start with the biggest complaint i've seen about the optimus V series. The fan noise. People have said things like "it's as loud as a hair-dryer" or it sounds like a plane taking off. Neither laptop has this issue, the fan comes on at a suitable speed for the heat it's producing and turns off again when it's not needed. Mine as been spooled up to 100% only a few times, and for maybe 10 seconds tops, and even then it didnt sound as bad as people make it out to be. It's loud at 100%, but no more than you would expect. It's not excessive or anything. The rest of the time it's just like any normal laptop noise. A sound you occasionally hear in the background.
The heat. Depending on what you're doing, it actually handles heat quite well, certain areas of the laptop get hotter than others, but i'm assuming that's where the graphics card is. But with a fan that adjusts speed as needed, and the cooling paste. There hasn't been a huge problem with heat. HOWEVER within the first month of having the laptops, they had both BSOD'd once each because of heat. BUT, one was being used in the sun, and the other on my lap, at the time it happened, and it hasn't happened again since.
The speakers. They are a 6/10. They're not the best. But they're not the worst by far. I would rate them lower average/average.
The Screen
Nice big HD resolution. I've not had a HD screen before now. Gotta say... There will be no turning back now! Matte as well, nice!
Both laptops, the backlight is good, the brightness, colour and contrast in adjustable. They are very nice screens.
My laptop though came with 1 dead pixel, not quite in the middle of the screen but it's in a place that is noticeable if you're watching or playing something which a lot of darkness in it. Which can be annoying. But it's 1 pixel, out of loads, on 2 laptops. So overall, we're very happy with the screens as well.
The Backlit Keyboard
Right, now this cause some confusion when reading other peoples reviews. Some said it does, some said it doesn't. So we thought, what the hell. If they have it they have it and if they don't they don't.
My laptops keyboard has a white backlight with 2 brightness settings.
Her laptops keyboard has nothing.
The function hotkey for the keyboard acts as if it's turning the light on, but nothing happens...
She says it doesn't affect her use of the laptop, so she doesn't want to really so anything much about it. "but it would have been nice if it worked". (I had offered her to swap at this point)
I don't know whether it's just a wire is not attached somewhere, or if it's actually broken... and although it's a minor thing, it's quite disappointing and I'm not impressed.
Overall performance
We both decided on this particular spec of laptop because at the time we were both in Uni (she still is) and both play games (i play more performance heavy games, she plays sims 2 and likes to photoshop)
In terms of multitasking, handling data and statistic analysis software and course related programs, no problems at all. Everything runs smoothly. And the same with gaming and other programs, the performance is brilliant. Occasionally there might be a game where you can't play it on highest spec, but that's no real loss, because it can still play the game without a problem. The only time there is a noticeable drop in performance, but again this is mostly with games on highest spec, which is when it's unplugged from the mains, but again it's noticeable, but not to the extent it makes things unplayable.
Battery life is good, obviously it depends on what you're doing. with with the built in VGA ability to switch between internal shared and Nvidia graphics chips, it only draws as much power as is needed, so is very well optimised for maximum battery life at best performance.
So this is a massive thumbs up
