It has arrived!
I will be using this thread to keep some information and some mini-review things on my new PCS Vortex IV LE that arrived today. Hopefully someone, some time, will find it of use!
First, the specs!
Next, what I intend to use the machine for.
This machine, as you can see from the spec, was ordered with no Operating System (OS). This is because I intend to use this machine with a Linux operating system - specifically, Linux Mint 16, which is due to be released soon. This machine will be used with an open source office suite for word processing and spreadsheets, VirtualBox by Oracle for running Virtual Machines (VMs) for training purposes, as well as a Windows 7 VM for things I just have to run in Windows, some basic image editing with GIMP, and browser based web surfing and web applications. I will also hopefully be using the machine for some gaming using Steam which has recently seen great progress on Linux and hopefully the amount of available games will expand.
Quote process: quick, easy, price updates as you change components, easily see how much each change is making, and can save multiple quotes so no need to make notes elsewhere.
Order process: simple, easy to follow.
Payment: I chose the finance option and found the process from the 3rd party credit firm easy to use, a simple process, and plenty of notifications along the way and afterwards. A welcome bonus was the ability to digitally sign the paperwork instead of causing a delay by printing or being sent the papers and then sending them back in afterwards. This simple and modern approach likely shaved a good 3-4 working days off of the entire process, not having to wait for postal services.
The waiting game: as you can see from my spec above I ordered this using the 5 day dispatch option. I chose this parly because I am impatient, and partly because we are moving shortly and I wanted to get it all sorted before the move happens. I ordered this late on Wednesday 20th November. The build happened on the Thursday, quality checked on the Friday, the unit went "Awaiting dispatch" on the Saturday, and was released on Monday 25th. There were notifications every step of the way, and when I enquired on the Monday over the phone about whether the dispatch was going to happen on the Monday or Tuesday, the agent was very helpful, called through to the dispatch team for me, and gave me all the information I needed. The website order page was updated as well and allowed me to monitor the progress.
Delivery: this was released at about 15:30 on Monday 25th and given to DPD. DPD are one of the far better couriers that I have had experience with and I was reassured by PCS using them. I received email notification from PCS about the delivery and was given the consignment number by text and by email. The PCS site also allows tracking to save you going to the DPD website. I also received a text message from DPD the same evening to confirm the delivery would be made the next day, and there were replies I could have sent back to change the delivery date or redirect delivery to a neighbour (please note, I would not have been able to redirect this delivery as it was on finance, this must go to the home address). I also received a text message on the morning of delivery (this morning) stating the one hour time slot my delivery was timetabled for and again the options for putting the delivery off or having it directed to a neighbour. The delivery was within the one hour time slot as specified. The packaging was undamaged and well sealed. The laptop was inside an outer box, and packaged sufficiently so it couldn't move arond.
Unboxing: the laptop was well packaged in its own box. Documentation and driver discs were provided, although I am yet to test these as I think it won't be applicable as I will be using Linux and these drivers are, I believe, designed for Windows operating systems. The battery and two chargers I ordered were also well packaged and in a seperate section of the box from the laptop to avoid them damaging the chassis. The laptop had protective plastic over the screen, both back and front, and a piece across the area below the keyboard, but with the trackpad exposed. I assume this is so the trackpad can be used during building/testing, but without marking the area surrounding it.
The chassis and presentation: the chassis feels of solid construction, the weight is to be expected with a laptop of this size and spec, and the colour seems (to my partially colour blind eyes anyway) slightly darker than the pictures, which I personally appreciate. The screen is of a good quality, it is clear, unmarked, and so far no dead pixels. I haven't tested the speakers set (Onkyo) but have read mixed things about these. I will update this post when I have tested. There are lights around the chassis so you know when it is on, powered, caps/num/scroll lock on, etc. Touchpad is a little rough to the touch but over time will probably feel more comfotable. The keyboard has a good layout to it, and feels nice to type on. I have used it to write this post and have had no problems finding my way around it. For those that like to know where buttons such as Home, End, Page Up/Down, etc., are you will find these mostly as functions of other keys, as you may see in my images further down this post. This for me will take some getting used to but only because I have been using a larger laptop recently so a lot of things are on their own keys. I have yet to use the ports or webcam so cannot comment on that. A slightly oddity - to me anyway - was the bay where the CD/DVD drive would normally be. I replaced this on my spec for a secondary HDD bay. I was expecting the bay to have a blanking plate across it, instead of just a void there, but instead the cover of a DVD drive has been used so it visually looks like a CD/DVD drive should be there, particuarly as it has the CD and DVD logos on it. Just seemed a little strange to me that it didn't have a blank face.
Software: the laptop booted up first time and I started off my adventure by going into the BIOS. This was clearly labelled during bootup ([F2]) and it was easy to see straight off which components were installed; CPU, RAM, HDDs, etc., were all listed. I was able to check on settings throughout the BIOS. I had to set the time which was easy, and I am sure any other changes I need to make will be easily accessible. As I've said I will be looking to install a Linux distro but I was pleased to find Windows 7 Home Premium was already installed from the testing phase so it allowed me to test out some of the features of the laptop and double check on the hardware before starting to work on my own OS setup. Of course, my usage is going to differ from most peoples so I can't speak for how it would arrive for someone buying it with Windows 7 or 8 preinstalled.
I think that is about all I have so far, but I intend to respond or update this post as I start using it more, and either adding stuff here or in the Linux part of the forum for any issues or how I go about doing things on this machine. As a relative newbie myself, it may help others.
I hope you've enjoyed this read, and below are just a couple of pictures of the machine. If I have missed anything of note or you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask and I will try to help where I can.
Thanks for reading,
-- Danoni
P.S. I wa struggling to insert an image from the computer so I have attached the images for now.
I will be using this thread to keep some information and some mini-review things on my new PCS Vortex IV LE that arrived today. Hopefully someone, some time, will find it of use!
First, the specs!
Next, what I intend to use the machine for.
This machine, as you can see from the spec, was ordered with no Operating System (OS). This is because I intend to use this machine with a Linux operating system - specifically, Linux Mint 16, which is due to be released soon. This machine will be used with an open source office suite for word processing and spreadsheets, VirtualBox by Oracle for running Virtual Machines (VMs) for training purposes, as well as a Windows 7 VM for things I just have to run in Windows, some basic image editing with GIMP, and browser based web surfing and web applications. I will also hopefully be using the machine for some gaming using Steam which has recently seen great progress on Linux and hopefully the amount of available games will expand.
Quote process: quick, easy, price updates as you change components, easily see how much each change is making, and can save multiple quotes so no need to make notes elsewhere.
Order process: simple, easy to follow.
Payment: I chose the finance option and found the process from the 3rd party credit firm easy to use, a simple process, and plenty of notifications along the way and afterwards. A welcome bonus was the ability to digitally sign the paperwork instead of causing a delay by printing or being sent the papers and then sending them back in afterwards. This simple and modern approach likely shaved a good 3-4 working days off of the entire process, not having to wait for postal services.
The waiting game: as you can see from my spec above I ordered this using the 5 day dispatch option. I chose this parly because I am impatient, and partly because we are moving shortly and I wanted to get it all sorted before the move happens. I ordered this late on Wednesday 20th November. The build happened on the Thursday, quality checked on the Friday, the unit went "Awaiting dispatch" on the Saturday, and was released on Monday 25th. There were notifications every step of the way, and when I enquired on the Monday over the phone about whether the dispatch was going to happen on the Monday or Tuesday, the agent was very helpful, called through to the dispatch team for me, and gave me all the information I needed. The website order page was updated as well and allowed me to monitor the progress.
Delivery: this was released at about 15:30 on Monday 25th and given to DPD. DPD are one of the far better couriers that I have had experience with and I was reassured by PCS using them. I received email notification from PCS about the delivery and was given the consignment number by text and by email. The PCS site also allows tracking to save you going to the DPD website. I also received a text message from DPD the same evening to confirm the delivery would be made the next day, and there were replies I could have sent back to change the delivery date or redirect delivery to a neighbour (please note, I would not have been able to redirect this delivery as it was on finance, this must go to the home address). I also received a text message on the morning of delivery (this morning) stating the one hour time slot my delivery was timetabled for and again the options for putting the delivery off or having it directed to a neighbour. The delivery was within the one hour time slot as specified. The packaging was undamaged and well sealed. The laptop was inside an outer box, and packaged sufficiently so it couldn't move arond.
Unboxing: the laptop was well packaged in its own box. Documentation and driver discs were provided, although I am yet to test these as I think it won't be applicable as I will be using Linux and these drivers are, I believe, designed for Windows operating systems. The battery and two chargers I ordered were also well packaged and in a seperate section of the box from the laptop to avoid them damaging the chassis. The laptop had protective plastic over the screen, both back and front, and a piece across the area below the keyboard, but with the trackpad exposed. I assume this is so the trackpad can be used during building/testing, but without marking the area surrounding it.
The chassis and presentation: the chassis feels of solid construction, the weight is to be expected with a laptop of this size and spec, and the colour seems (to my partially colour blind eyes anyway) slightly darker than the pictures, which I personally appreciate. The screen is of a good quality, it is clear, unmarked, and so far no dead pixels. I haven't tested the speakers set (Onkyo) but have read mixed things about these. I will update this post when I have tested. There are lights around the chassis so you know when it is on, powered, caps/num/scroll lock on, etc. Touchpad is a little rough to the touch but over time will probably feel more comfotable. The keyboard has a good layout to it, and feels nice to type on. I have used it to write this post and have had no problems finding my way around it. For those that like to know where buttons such as Home, End, Page Up/Down, etc., are you will find these mostly as functions of other keys, as you may see in my images further down this post. This for me will take some getting used to but only because I have been using a larger laptop recently so a lot of things are on their own keys. I have yet to use the ports or webcam so cannot comment on that. A slightly oddity - to me anyway - was the bay where the CD/DVD drive would normally be. I replaced this on my spec for a secondary HDD bay. I was expecting the bay to have a blanking plate across it, instead of just a void there, but instead the cover of a DVD drive has been used so it visually looks like a CD/DVD drive should be there, particuarly as it has the CD and DVD logos on it. Just seemed a little strange to me that it didn't have a blank face.
Software: the laptop booted up first time and I started off my adventure by going into the BIOS. This was clearly labelled during bootup ([F2]) and it was easy to see straight off which components were installed; CPU, RAM, HDDs, etc., were all listed. I was able to check on settings throughout the BIOS. I had to set the time which was easy, and I am sure any other changes I need to make will be easily accessible. As I've said I will be looking to install a Linux distro but I was pleased to find Windows 7 Home Premium was already installed from the testing phase so it allowed me to test out some of the features of the laptop and double check on the hardware before starting to work on my own OS setup. Of course, my usage is going to differ from most peoples so I can't speak for how it would arrive for someone buying it with Windows 7 or 8 preinstalled.
I think that is about all I have so far, but I intend to respond or update this post as I start using it more, and either adding stuff here or in the Linux part of the forum for any issues or how I go about doing things on this machine. As a relative newbie myself, it may help others.
I hope you've enjoyed this read, and below are just a couple of pictures of the machine. If I have missed anything of note or you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask and I will try to help where I can.
Thanks for reading,
-- Danoni
P.S. I wa struggling to insert an image from the computer so I have attached the images for now.
