Octane 17'3 Gtx 1080

[Limeako]

Hello guys, I'm totally newbie to the laptop, and its my first time I decided to purchase a customized laptop. I would like to make my laptop as good as possible so that I can use it longer.
I have choosen the following spec, can any one suggest any improvement to the current setting? I'm intensive gamer.

In addition, concerning the network card, which is best for playing moba games? I have seen even more expensive option (Asus dual band) , but the title says its an usb, so I don't really understand... meaning there would be no network card installed?

Is the sound card I have choosen worth the investment?

Many thanks ! sorry for my bad english



Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK 2.5" WD10JPLX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Power Supply
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1535 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.1
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH)
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Carry Case
Targus XL Laptop Carry Case
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL 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 5 to 7 working days

 

[Stephen M]

Sound is very much a personal preference but I find the on board sound card on the Octane is very good, although I use decent external speakers.

 

[Oussebon]

Is the sound card I have choosen worth the investment?
Sound Card
ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier

It may well not be worth it if you're not listening to beyond-CD quality music with fairly decent headphones. And if you are, you may be better off with a USB DAC + headphone amp combo.

There are some reviews that seem favourable:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/soundcard/zardon/asus-xonar-u7-echelon-edition-review/6/
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_xonar_u7_review,8.html
But then you hardly ever see reviews saying "Don't buy this, it's just not worth it". Most reviews also tend to be by PC sites rather than audiophile sites so it's hard to find an article that equates pc/gaming sound cards to USB DACs and AMPs.

As for the wifi card, the main point of the Asus USB one appears to be to offer "Wi-Fi speeds up to 1300 Mbps (5GHz) and 600 Mbps (2.4GHz)." as opposed to the other cards that offer 867 Mbps. However if you're not transferring large amounts of data around your home network, you just have a fast internet connection for online gaming, you may not really benefit from those increased speeds. It may help improve reception but if you don't have a problem with that currently you might not benefit proportionately to the cost. There are some reviews out there if you want to check them out

http://www.eteknix.com/asus-usb-ac68-dual-band-ac1900-usb-wi-fi-adapter-review/
http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-pce-ac68-802-11ac-pci-e-adapter-review
https://www.pcper.com/reviews/Netwo...IMO-Era-Begins/Killer-Software-and-Conclusion
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Killer-Wireless-AC-1535-Review.178877.0.html
(two of the Asus and two of the killer card).

 

[Tony1044]

Yeah if you're listening to streamed music or MP3's then it's already compressed to the point you're losing a lot of depth and detail.

And if you're using things like FLAC then frankly why would you do that on a laptop and not dedicated hardware?

Honestly...laptops are always a bunch of compromises - you compromise things like the future upgradability, performance etc. for portability ultimately.

 

[Limeako]

Thanks!
Concerning the sound card, ASUS™ XONAR-U7 Compact 7.1 USB soundcard and headphone amplifier, does it mean it comes with an USB , and I have to plug into the laptop everytime when I want to hear sound? So there's no sound card installed inside the laptop?

 

[Oussebon]

The laptop will still have its own sound whether you buy the USB sound card or not. The USB sound card is something extra you can plug in.

 

[Limeako]

Great! Can I ask few more questions please.
Upon receiving the laptop, How/ what should I check if the laptop is working as intended/ No faulty....etc..
Is it advisable to under volt off the bat?
I'm also looking to overclocking, Is there any guide I can look to specifically for octane 3? or is it the same for every laptop
What else should I do to make the laptop running coole/ perform better? So I can google it up...
Many thanks

 

[Oussebon]

Overclocking: Every CPU is different. There's no universal "add this much mv, set the frequency to this, 100% guaranteed". It's known as the Silicon Lottery.
Overclocking can also have warranty implications. See the PCS statement here: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?3284-Warranty-When-Overclocking!

You might want to get a sense of your temps before deciding whether to undervolt. There's a discuss of undervolting here: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...nd-Experiences&p=378474&viewfull=1#post378474

And if you scroll to the top of that topic you'll see a user's recommendations and thoughts based on their experiences.

You might want to wait for the laptop to arrive, have a look at the BIOS and the control software that I believe comes with it so you've got a sense of the layout, put the laptop through its paces, and then decide whether to do things like undervolting and/or overclocking (some lucky people may be able to increase the frequency while reducing the voltage).

As for checking the laptop is working as intended, do the things you do with it
You can also put it through its paces with benchmarks such as Unigine Valley and 3dMark / Firestrike / Timespy and all those. Cinebench for the CPU.
There are stress tests such as Prime95, Furmark, Firestrike Stress Test, AIDA64 but you will want to closely monitor your laptop while running these as they are basically torture tests that produce unrealistically high temps.

You can use a combination of HWinfo and Rivatuner Statistics Server to get an on screen display of all kinds of things about your hardware during games (per-thread load, temps, frequencies, etc). There are other OSDs but the HWinfo/Rivatuner combo is the most detailed one I know of (I've not seen another one that does per-thread load on the CPU cores, usually it's just per-core which is not ideal for an i7).
http://www.overclock.net/a/how-to-use-rivatuner-afterburner-on-screen-display-and-more

 

[Limeako]

Hard disk and M.2 SSD Drive

Hello, I m looking to configure a laptop. Do I need to pick both Hard Disk and M.2 SSD Drive, So that the laptop will function when it arrives to me ? Or can I just pick one M.2 SSD Drive and no hard disk, and it will function as well without further install a hard disk by my own

Thanks

 

[Stephen M]

Just an m2 will be fine. You have to pick at least one drive as PCS need it to test the computer. If you choose more than one you can specify where the OS is put if you just have an m2 it will be on there and you can always add HDDs for storage at a later date.

 

[Limeako]

Thanks for answearing ! I'm looking to pick 1TB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1800MB/W) as my only memory disk. But I have seen in the forum most people opt for an 500GB Samsung 850'evo 2.5''SSD option under Hard disk and one M.2 SSD Drive. Is this configuration better in anyway?

 

[Stephen M]

It depends on your budget. As SSDs are more expensive than normal HDDs most go for an SSD for the OS and main programs and HDDs for storage, my current config is a 240GB m2 and two 1TB WD 7200rpm HDDs. You will only really notice the SSD on boot up and loading so unless you have money to spare the SSD+HDD route is preferable.

 

[Scott]

Just a point of note to add to this thread. The Octane III has a built in DAC by Sabre Hifi. It's one of the best I have heard and it's just one of those features that's flown under the radar. Absolutely no point in spending any extra money on DAC for headphone support. I don't think you would feel let down with the standard sound processing either.