Optimus V 15.6 - Spec Check - Is an SSD really needed?

[Rahl]

Hello all,

£800 budget, primary use is mixed gaming/university work. Play games like Battlefield, Total War, Skyrim, Dragon Age etc.

My only concern is how big of an upgrade it would be to have an SSD for the OS? - putting one it takes it over £900 which is quite steep for me. Is it possible to get a smaller one put in more cheaply?

If you think this would last well and be able to play games on at least medium for the next 3-4 years I'd like to know.

Many thanks for any advice anyone can provide.

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 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk 500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

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 2 Channel High Definition Audio + 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

Battery Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)

Power Cable 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Operating System Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Keyboard & Mouse OPTIMUS SERIES 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

Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days


Price £833.00

 

[keynes]

The SSD is not essential. It is difficult to say it will last 3-4 years but for your budget I think that is the best laptop you can get.

 

[Rahl]

Thanks very much for your reply - my current laptop is an Asus K52J series (310M graphics) and it's on its last legs gaming wise! It's lasted me 3 years up to this point though. I was hoping to make a better a investment this time around

 

[mantadog]

Very similar to my brothers laptop, which at the time he bought it i guessed it would last for a couple years. Your GPU is slightly stronger so 3 years is not out of the question, and if you are happy with medium i can't see a problem, nothing is 100% on that front though.

The SSD is a nice upgrade, but far from essential. If you could afford it easily then it is worth getting, however as you are on a tighter budget you shouldn't worry about it.

 

[Rahl]

Would you recommend a desktop that has similar performance for a cheaper price? I'm never sure whether it's really true that a desktop is always the better option for people who like to game. (I'm a Uni student)

 

[keynes]

Would you recommend a desktop that has similar performance for a cheaper price? I'm never sure whether it's really true that a desktop is always the better option for people who like to game. (I'm a Uni student)

What will be your budget for a desktop? including OS and monitor?

 

[Rahl]

It would be a similar budget (~£800) for the desktop (inc OS and monitor) - would probably try to scavenge a monitor though

 

[keynes]

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-6350 Six Core CPU (4.2/3.9GHZ - 8MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7870 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5003AZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe AMD CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
BENQ GW2255 21.5" VA LED - 1920 x 1080, 4MS, D-SUB, DVI-D (£88)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £797.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-bulldozer-top-spec-pc/WeWxCNMxn3/

 

[Rahl]

wow thanks a lot for taking the time to do that! Going to have to give this some serious consideration.

The laptop route feels like it would be ~£800 every 3 years or so to upgrade whereas I'm guessing the desktop is considerably less in the long run? I'm just not sure on the portability issue, being able to take my laptop in my backpack between places is such a huge plus.

 

[mantadog]

A desktop would be more powerful for the same money, but obviously you loose the portability aspect, if that is important to you then you will have to go for a laptop.

Even an £800 desktop is going to be old and tired in 3 years for gaming I would guess. But if you had a couple of quid to spend on upgrades in 3 years it could extend the life a little further. Here would be my take on a desktop that you can upgrade in the future should you wish to.

Case
InWIN MANA-136 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4570 (3.2GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz X.M.P(2 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7870 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
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
Monitor
BENQ GW2255 21.5" VA LED - 1920 x 1080, 4MS, D-SUB, DVI-D (£88)
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £830.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-haswell-pc/HI7tfLWEWK/

Skips a few extras like the upgraded cooler, memory card reader and a slower HDD. Exchanges them for a better gaming CPU. I would go for the above spec if I had to choose but the spec posted above is equally good really just depend where you want to spend the money.

 

[Rahl]

thanks man - I'm a fan of intel and NVIDIA parts (always used them before and never had any problems) so I like the look of that. I'd consider the GTX 650 Ti Boost graphics (seems to be similar to the 765M) - provided that would be upgradable down the line (~£200 upgrade I guess).
It's still close to the laptop price once you add back in the memory card and cooling, so the portability might win this battle... who knew this would be such a hard decision

 

[keynes]

I'd consider the GTX 650 Ti Boost graphics

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The HD 7870 is significantly better than the GTX 650 ti, it will provide better gaming performance.

 

[Rahl]

ok good catch!

This (below) is £849 (assuming I can source a monitor elsewhere). It doesn't seem significantly better than the first laptop spec I posted? If so, the laptop portability would be a winner.

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4570 (3.2GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz X.M.P(2 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5003AZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK260 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£22)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

 

[keynes]

You need a better case, the one you selected is not ideal for a gaming rig. A good case will provide better cooling for your components.

 

[tom_gr7]

i'd also suggest 8gig of ram, some low end games will be fine with 4, but newer games are (for me anyway) heading over 5 gig...

 

[Rahl]

is there a way to get the 770M in a laptop for ~£800? If the Optimus V could upgrade to the 770M I'd buy it right now

 

[mantadog]

I would say that for gaming, overall the system much is better. Mainly because the GPU is about 2 times faster than your laptop GPU.

I would also like a better case in a build like that, I went with a £35 job because of budget constraints and since I have added a 7870 to my rig it could do with a little more cooling, not because of dangerous temps just because it gets noisy when pushing it hard.

You could swap the 660ti for a 7870 to afford the better case if you do decide to go down the desktop route.