Need a distraction...

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thocar945

Member
So I'm on day 15 (11th working day, 3 in Process, 8 on Pre-production) and like many of you have experienced I am sure, it is getting difficult not to check the tracking system less than 3 times a day...
:taz:
I am now also second guessing myself and having to double check my order, so to distract me from my mania I was hoping you good folks could review this for me and check I haven't missed anything important.

Usage will be as desktop replacement style daily use and gaming (I just don't have space for a proper rig at the moment hence going for the Vortex IV). Gaming is mostly MMORPG like GW2 with some casual FPS. Graphics card decision for longevity while I can afford it rather than needing the top spec...anyway, let me kow if you think I'm missing anything, just want to kill some of the waiting time now

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780M - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
1st 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 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
Microsoft® Office 365 Home Premium (12 Month Subscription) (£69)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Laptop Cooling Stands
Zalman ZM-NC3500 Ultra-Quiet Laptop Cooler, up to17.3 inch (£39)
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
Intel Anti-Theft Technology
FREE 90 Day Intel Anti-Theft Trial - Prevent Data Access upon Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1


Finally, I am thinking of getting a new keyboard and have been looking at the CM Quickfire Rapid or the Corsair Vengeance K60 as I prefer short form keyboard. Has anyone tried both or have an opinion on either one?

My thanks in advance... anything to distract me from the horror of Pre-Production:wacko:;)
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Do you have a budget? I'd suggest 8gb RAM , a scorpio black as the secondary drive and the 1202 killer wireless card.
 
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thocar945

Member
I'm currently £15 under budget at £1585 inc vat. Can you explain your reasoning behind the Scorpio black as my knowledge is lacking in that area probably.
I've been second guessing the RAM all week and think I will speak to PCS about upgrading that in the morning. is 1600mhz really worth the extra money over the 1333mhz stuff though (baring in mind that is one thing I can replace on a laptop fairly easily and cost effectively if needed in the future)

Since I'll mostly be using this as a desktop replacement, I don't intend to do any gaming wirelessly so not sure about the 1202 Killer...are there any other benefits to it if I can plug direct into my router?

Many thanks for the reply
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
A Scorpio black is going to be faster than the standard drive. For gaming there is not a significant difference between 1333mhz and 1600mhz, not sure how difficult it is to add more ram into the laptop. If you are using an Ethernet cable then you don't need to change the wireless card.
 
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thocar945

Member
Thanks Keynes, with just the change to the Scorpio I stay under budget. Just changing the RAM 8GB 1333Mhz puts me £4 over, both puts me £16 over budget.
I am trying to be strict on this because I already moved my budget to allow for the GTX 780M, and I know I still have some peripherals to upgrade later in the year...but I will sleep on it. If you were to make just one of these 2 changes though which would it be?

Cheers
 
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thocar945

Member
Ok, Now you have me very intrigued, I was under the impression that the SSD was going to give me the fastest loading performance hence going for that and the slower drive for keeping the data/photo/music/non-essential software on. Are you saying the speed difference is not significant enough to warrant going that route in investing in an SSD at this time?
 
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thocar945

Member
Hmmm, So I checked and for the same money as I am currently paying (+£2) I could go with the 1tb Seagate drive and 8Gb 1600 MHz Ram... why do I feel I need an SSD so badly still though? Have I been brain washed by hype?
 
DeadEyeDuk

DeadEyeDuk

Superhero Level Poster
Haha, not to derail (although that could actually help distract thocar :D ), but I did once have it running for about 4 hours...and either the same or a little bit more for both the 10hour "What is love (Night at the Roxbury)" and "Epic Sax Guy" ones :)

It just becomes background noise after a while :D
 
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D1craig

Enthusiast
you have seen all the adverts about ultrabooks with the "under2 second" boot times, thats why you want the SSD lol. if you look after the normal HDD it will take no longer than 10seconds. had my desktop for over a year now and it takes less than 10seconds still, admittidly i dont have any junk on it, just a few games.
 
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thocar945

Member
Haha! Subliminal advertising sounds like a good enough reason :)

Well, I took the advice and applied the upgrade to the RAM. Kept the ssd but did upgrade the 500gb storage to a Scorpio black. Happier now I'm not second guessing even if I'm a little over my original budget. Thanks to Tom Davies for helping adjust my order on Friday. Unfortunately his prediction on my systems being next in line for going into build didn't pan out :no: ...but I am hopeful for Monday at least...

Thanks to the distractions, good luck to all those waiting on build dates, You are not alone!! :wacko:
 
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