Right first up, my specification was as follows -
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
AMD® Radeon® HD 7970M - 2GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
90GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD7500BPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N NETWORK CARD
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 Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard & Mouse
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1
Change to: ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9) from STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Change to: GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps) from GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N NETWORK CARD
Value For Money -
I believe the laptop presents exceptional value for money. Normally the laptop would be more expensive, though I was lucky enough to be buying at a time when the laptop was available on special offer (and still is, check out the reviews section!)* But even so, it ends up hundreds of pounds cheaper than much of the competition, including the big brand names.
* The only downside to this is that you're tied to the chosen specification. Even so, it's a very good one so no real problems there. Note the Gigabit Killer LAN cards are currently unavailable due to issues with the manufacturer, an issue outside of PCS control.
Order Process -
Exceptional service as always. My order was held up slightly due to the said network card issue and to await stock of the blu-ray drive, but waiting times were relatively short and I was kept well informed along the way. I've had no need to contact customer support but I know from past experiences customer service is as good as it gets. I would always recommend a phone call where possible, it's the quickest and easiest way to resolve any problems you may encounter. For smaller, non-order related issues always give these forums a go; We're here to help!
Build Quality -
So the good and the bad. Starting with the good, the chassis is very sturdy, and really feels like a premium product. It's heavy and not particularly portable, but this is true of all 17.3" gaming laptops. The design and finish is stylish without being overly garish, which is a rare thing. If you like a professional, businesslike appearance without the flamboyance of say, Alienware products, then you'll love this. The keyboard is better than most, but some might find it takes a bit of getting used to at first due the the smaller size of certain keys, like the enter key. This said it's very comfortable to use with good feedback, decent spacing and a number pad is included. The backlit keys are a real bonus and are highly customisable with many different colours, up to three at once across the three different sections. These are optional and can be turned off or changed at anytime. The touchpad is really excellent, very spacious with a definitive click from the two buttons too. All of the notification LEDs you could want or need are present, with plenty of hotkey functionality to enable/disable features such as WiFi.
Moving on to the bad. The screen is a bit too wobbly for my liking, and personally I'm concerned as to how well it will hold up over time. It's a bit disconcerting to see the screen wobble as you're typing, in my opinion. At least no reasonable amount of pressure I applied on the panel caused the image to visibly degrade. Luckily then the display itself is fantastic, clear and bright with good contrast and wide viewing angles as LED screens go. It is surprisingly reflective though, so some may find a matte screen justifies the extra cost. The speakers are marketed as a premium Onkyo model, and to be honest, while they're a cut above your average laptop speakers, they're nothing to shout about. The THX software provided improves them significantly but they're still too tinny for my liking. This is afterall a sofware, not hardware solution and can only do so much without sounding artificial. Though significantly improved, even through my ASUS Vulcan headphones, which sound great via my desktop (both onboard and dedicated soundcard) the results weren't as crisp as I would like. Various adjustments to an equalizer helped a fair bit by boosting the bass, but they remained too tinny sounding for me. All of this said I am a bit of an audiophile so most will not be as picky as me in this department. Nonetheless, I was a tad disappointed in this area, hoping, maybe even expecting a little more. Of course, nothing an external soundcard couldn't sort out, and surround speakers are supported by the audio jack outputs which is a nice thing to have. The battery life isn't too great, even with the high capacity and low power graphics switching, but I must stress this is true of all gaming laptops and a fact of life so you can hardly hold that against it. Don't take this one too far away from the mains socket. However, I did manage to watch one blu-ray all the way through on the integrated graphics chip (which is more than adequate for HD playback) with power saving settings enabled, which is still more than can be said for many desktop replacements.
So, to recap...
+ Build Quality
+ Design & Finish
+ Backlit Keys
+ Key Feedback
+ Touchpad
+ 5.1 Audio Output Supported
- Wobbly Screen
- Non-Standard Enter Key
- Tinny Audio Output
Performance -
Not much to say here and you probably know the answer already, it's an absolute beast. A score breaking 20,000 on 3DMark Vantage on a laptop is incredibly impressive and at the very least on par with anything else on the market. This gives my primary high end desktop rig from two years ago (see sig) a real run for its money. Given they were both a similar price at the time of purchase, that's even more impressive given how much more laptops cost, despite the two year time lapse!
To give you an idea of gaming performance, Skyrim runs at a constant 40+ fps with everything on the highest settings (so you have 10 fps to play with when installing graphics mods, which should be enough for most of the major ones). Battlefield 3 is perfectly playable on high settings for the campaign, ultra proves a bit too inconsistent during intensive sections of the game. For multiplayer I would recommend medium settings to ensure a steady framerate. Very impressive figures for a laptop and most games aren't going to be any trouble at all maxed out, all will be playable to some degree and there's a bit of room for future releases here too.
Conclusion -
All in all, once again I'm a very satisfied customer and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this product. If you have any other questions or would like something else added to this review (I'm bound to have forgotten or missed something out) please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
Good job PCS.
[video=youtube;4XwNaX4VNRo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XwNaX4VNRo[/video]
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
AMD® Radeon® HD 7970M - 2GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
90GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD7500BPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N NETWORK CARD
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 Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard & Mouse
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1
Change to: ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9) from STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Change to: GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps) from GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1102 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N NETWORK CARD
Value For Money -
I believe the laptop presents exceptional value for money. Normally the laptop would be more expensive, though I was lucky enough to be buying at a time when the laptop was available on special offer (and still is, check out the reviews section!)* But even so, it ends up hundreds of pounds cheaper than much of the competition, including the big brand names.
* The only downside to this is that you're tied to the chosen specification. Even so, it's a very good one so no real problems there. Note the Gigabit Killer LAN cards are currently unavailable due to issues with the manufacturer, an issue outside of PCS control.
Order Process -
Exceptional service as always. My order was held up slightly due to the said network card issue and to await stock of the blu-ray drive, but waiting times were relatively short and I was kept well informed along the way. I've had no need to contact customer support but I know from past experiences customer service is as good as it gets. I would always recommend a phone call where possible, it's the quickest and easiest way to resolve any problems you may encounter. For smaller, non-order related issues always give these forums a go; We're here to help!
Build Quality -
So the good and the bad. Starting with the good, the chassis is very sturdy, and really feels like a premium product. It's heavy and not particularly portable, but this is true of all 17.3" gaming laptops. The design and finish is stylish without being overly garish, which is a rare thing. If you like a professional, businesslike appearance without the flamboyance of say, Alienware products, then you'll love this. The keyboard is better than most, but some might find it takes a bit of getting used to at first due the the smaller size of certain keys, like the enter key. This said it's very comfortable to use with good feedback, decent spacing and a number pad is included. The backlit keys are a real bonus and are highly customisable with many different colours, up to three at once across the three different sections. These are optional and can be turned off or changed at anytime. The touchpad is really excellent, very spacious with a definitive click from the two buttons too. All of the notification LEDs you could want or need are present, with plenty of hotkey functionality to enable/disable features such as WiFi.
Moving on to the bad. The screen is a bit too wobbly for my liking, and personally I'm concerned as to how well it will hold up over time. It's a bit disconcerting to see the screen wobble as you're typing, in my opinion. At least no reasonable amount of pressure I applied on the panel caused the image to visibly degrade. Luckily then the display itself is fantastic, clear and bright with good contrast and wide viewing angles as LED screens go. It is surprisingly reflective though, so some may find a matte screen justifies the extra cost. The speakers are marketed as a premium Onkyo model, and to be honest, while they're a cut above your average laptop speakers, they're nothing to shout about. The THX software provided improves them significantly but they're still too tinny for my liking. This is afterall a sofware, not hardware solution and can only do so much without sounding artificial. Though significantly improved, even through my ASUS Vulcan headphones, which sound great via my desktop (both onboard and dedicated soundcard) the results weren't as crisp as I would like. Various adjustments to an equalizer helped a fair bit by boosting the bass, but they remained too tinny sounding for me. All of this said I am a bit of an audiophile so most will not be as picky as me in this department. Nonetheless, I was a tad disappointed in this area, hoping, maybe even expecting a little more. Of course, nothing an external soundcard couldn't sort out, and surround speakers are supported by the audio jack outputs which is a nice thing to have. The battery life isn't too great, even with the high capacity and low power graphics switching, but I must stress this is true of all gaming laptops and a fact of life so you can hardly hold that against it. Don't take this one too far away from the mains socket. However, I did manage to watch one blu-ray all the way through on the integrated graphics chip (which is more than adequate for HD playback) with power saving settings enabled, which is still more than can be said for many desktop replacements.
So, to recap...
+ Build Quality
+ Design & Finish
+ Backlit Keys
+ Key Feedback
+ Touchpad
+ 5.1 Audio Output Supported
- Wobbly Screen
- Non-Standard Enter Key
- Tinny Audio Output
Performance -
Not much to say here and you probably know the answer already, it's an absolute beast. A score breaking 20,000 on 3DMark Vantage on a laptop is incredibly impressive and at the very least on par with anything else on the market. This gives my primary high end desktop rig from two years ago (see sig) a real run for its money. Given they were both a similar price at the time of purchase, that's even more impressive given how much more laptops cost, despite the two year time lapse!
To give you an idea of gaming performance, Skyrim runs at a constant 40+ fps with everything on the highest settings (so you have 10 fps to play with when installing graphics mods, which should be enough for most of the major ones). Battlefield 3 is perfectly playable on high settings for the campaign, ultra proves a bit too inconsistent during intensive sections of the game. For multiplayer I would recommend medium settings to ensure a steady framerate. Very impressive figures for a laptop and most games aren't going to be any trouble at all maxed out, all will be playable to some degree and there's a bit of room for future releases here too.
Conclusion -
All in all, once again I'm a very satisfied customer and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this product. If you have any other questions or would like something else added to this review (I'm bound to have forgotten or missed something out) please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
Good job PCS.
[video=youtube;4XwNaX4VNRo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XwNaX4VNRo[/video]
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