Vortex VI build

[Harleyquin]

This laptop will primarily be used for gaming, but I do watch videos on it every once in a while. It's also meant for work when the need arises since it will replace my current 5-year old machine. Questions regarding some options are in Square brackets on the side.

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080) [60 Hz refresh rate only? Any advantages going for the 4K screen? My current screen predates the 4k technology and is a stock 60Hz 1080p screen with no fancy features.]
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
2 x NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DX 12.1, G-SYNC
Memory - Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW) [My current SSD is an Intel 510 with a measly 240GB. It's now on 85% health after 5 years of moderate usage so 1TB looks about right.]
2nd Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
6x Samsung Slim USB 2.0 External Blu-Ray Writer (£62) [Some of my games are on CDs. Rewritable Blu-rays for data backup never hurts]
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
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 (£9) [Any noticeable difference with the standard paste since this machine has a vapour cooling system?]
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0, vPRO
USB Options
5 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 3.1 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Elite 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,800 mAh/89.21WH) [Are customers able to order spare batteries later if the main one fails? If it costs more down the line then I'm happy to pay for a spare to keep in a dark cupboard until needed. My current battery is now on 47% wear after 5 years.]
Keyboard Language
VORTEX ELITE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£119)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2016 (1 License) (£85)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5) [I'm finishing my studies in the UK and will stay around until January 2017 at the latest. Not sure if silver is worth the upgrade if I'm not guaranteed to be in the UK for the whole 1 year collect & return duration]
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £3,815.00 including VAT and delivery.

I'm contemplating this or the Octane III with its single 1080 card. If it comes down to what games I intend to play, then the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt certainly could use the extra GPU power while Total War: Warhammer needs HDD space and a decent GPU to play at the highest settings. The other games I play are from an older era and won't be as demanding.

 

[Oussebon]

Any advantages going for the 4K screen

Err.. yeah. The advantage is that you're buying a laptop with 2xGTX 1080. A single GTX 1080 is around enough to game at 4k on very high settings on its own. Two of them in SLI would be totally wasted on anything less than a 4k screen.

If for any reason you don't want a 4k screen, and your work use of the laptop doesn't benefit from multiple GPUs, you'd be better off just getting something like the Octane with a single GTX 1080.

Given your budget, you might want to consider the '512GB Samsung SM951 M.2' SSD as it is incredibly fast. If 1.5tb sounds like enough storage for the time being, you could even drop one of the Evos in favour of the M.2. You'd still have the empty bay for more storage in future. The SM951 is certainly a luxury rather than an essential, but as a 4k gaming laptop with 2 GTX 1080s is inherently somewhat luxurious, and as the SM951 is ludicrously fast, I thought I'd make the suggestion.

 

[Harleyquin]

Err.. yeah. The advantage is that you're buying a laptop with 2xGTX 1080. A single GTX 1080 is around enough to game at 4k on very high settings on its own. Two of them in SLI would be totally wasted on anything less than a 4k screen.

If for any reason you don't want a 4k screen, and your work use of the laptop doesn't benefit from multiple GPUs, you'd be better off just getting something like the Octane with a single GTX 1080.

Given your budget, you might want to consider the '512GB Samsung SM951 M.2' SSD as it is incredibly fast. If 1.5tb sounds like enough storage for the time being, you could even drop one of the Evos in favour of the M.2. You'd still have the empty bay for more storage in future. The SM951 is certainly a luxury rather than an essential, but as a 4k gaming laptop with 2 GTX 1080s is inherently somewhat luxurious, and as the SM951 is ludicrously fast, I thought I'd make the suggestion.

There's already one game out on the market that kills dual 1080 on a 4k configuration and based on past experience I would not be surprised if the trend persisted forcing a downscale within two years.
I can't tell the difference between 4k and 1080p since there are no examples nearby for me to see in person. I think aspect ratio is the same but don't know what Windows 10 does with non-native resolutions (also have tons of digital wallpaper at 1080p and don't know what they look like on a 4K native resolution)

Based on current HDD usage, I'm squaring for 2TB (split into two drives) since I anticipate HDD usage to not kill the drives within 5 years and still have enough space left over for both videos and the AAA blockbusters which seem to occupy ludicrous amounts of HDD space. My budget isn't infinite and I already have a traditional 2.5" portable drive (3TB) lined up for data backup but thanks for the suggestion.

Based on other threads, there are rumours (?) that screen options will include 120Hz refresh rates for both 1080p and 4k variants. The 4k screen on the Vortex doesn't look like it's G-sync certified either but I have no clue whether that's necessary for a gaming machine.

 

[Oussebon]

There's already one game out on the market that kills dual 1080 on a 4k configuration

Which game? I assume it kills dual GTX 1080 partly because it has poor SLI scaling, rather than it being a scenario where it has really good scaling but the game is just that demanding. And some games like Deus Ex MD and FO4 are just pretty poorly optimised, making brutal demands of hardware for a pretty average visual experience.

If you buy 2 GTX 1080 for a single 1080p screen you are literally throwing money away. A single GTX 1080 will overpower that resolution for a long while to come. (sure, nobody can predict for certain the future of games, but if you took a poll asking whether dual GTX 1080 was a good fit for FHD resolution I'd wager you wouldn't get many people agreeing with you. Maybe not even anyone)

Based on current HDD usage, I'm squaring for 2TB (split into two drives) since I anticipate HDD usage to not kill the drives within 5 years and still have enough space left over for both videos and the AAA blockbusters which seem to occupy ludicrous amounts of HDD space. My budget isn't infinite and I already have a traditional 2.5" portable drive (3TB) lined up for data backup but thanks for the suggestion.

You'd have to abuse the drives pretty hard to kill them in five years, or at all tbh, but there's nothing wrong with the 850 Evo's performance for sure.

The 4k screen on the Vortex doesn't look like it's G-sync certified either but I have no clue whether that's necessary for a gaming machine.

It's not necessary, but it's desirable as it help eliminate tearing and produce a smoother image when the FPS produced don't match the refresh rate.

 

[Harleyquin]

It was Deus Ex I was referring to, but it's usually 3-4 years average when the AAA developers ramp up their minimum requirements to take advantage of the latest hardware on the market. If it's an SLI machine, I'll be lucky to get away with max settings at native resolution for 3 years, let alone 5.

Did a bit of extra reading elsewhere and it seems 4k screens can be downscaled to a reasonable degree. Since the option is there, you're right and I should probably take advantage of it.

Reading these forums and info elsewhere, G-Sync certified 4k screens should be around the corner for the Vortex VI (and the other Pascal-equipped notebooks with the 4k option) but I'm not going to get any written or verbal confirmation from this company until it's been made official. Should I hold back until the screens are available? It seems the G-Sync technology goes the extra mile for laptops without the top-end GPU spectrum but still looking to run the big blockbusters at the highest resolution and detail.

 

[Oussebon]

Deus Ex MD is a bit of a joke, at least in terms of benchmarks (and microtransactions, but let's leave that one...) Also, I've read quite a lot of reports that the game's benchmark is basically designed to punish Nvidia cards making their performance look rubbish in benchmarks, and that if tested in actual gameplay the performance is a lot better.
For instance, in game benchmark returns this at 1080p: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Performance_Analysis/Deus_Ex_Mankind_Divided/5.html (Fury X beats 980 ti by 20%)
While PCGH who benchmarked part of the prague level ('real' gameplay) found: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Deus-.../Specials/Benchmarks-Test-DirectX-12-1204575/ (980 ti beats Fury X by over 14%)
The German review uses a slightly modified Ultra preset, but so does everyone who plays the game because not turning down shadow softening and volumetric lighting wrecks performance for basically no gains in visual fidelity. Apparently some people say that the shadow softening setting at the highest level causes worse shadow pop-in too.

Gaming Evolved have done something pretty similar with Warhammer Total War, where some R9 200 series users report improved performance in the in-game benchmark in DX12 but reduced performance in actual gameplay. I can't prove it's deliberate, obviously, but... yeah.

I'd probably get a g-sync screen for a laptop, even if it meant holding off, as you are rather stuck with the graphics cards and can't upgrade when you start dipping below 60fps. A lot of users find that dipping into the 50s or even high 40s with gsync is much smoother than with a normal 60hz monitor. Am actually considering getting a gsync screen myself for modded Skyrim and FO4...

 

[Harleyquin]

Deus Ex MD is a bit of a joke, at least in terms of benchmarks (and microtransactions, but let's leave that one...) Also, I've read quite a lot of reports that the game's benchmark is basically designed to punish Nvidia cards making their performance look rubbish in benchmarks, and that if tested in actual gameplay the performance is a lot better.
For instance, in game benchmark returns this at 1080p: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Performance_Analysis/Deus_Ex_Mankind_Divided/5.html (Fury X beats 980 ti by 20%)
While PCGH who benchmarked part of the prague level ('real' gameplay) found: http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Deus-.../Specials/Benchmarks-Test-DirectX-12-1204575/ (980 ti beats Fury X by over 14%)
The German review uses a slightly modified Ultra preset, but so does everyone who plays the game because not turning down shadow softening and volumetric lighting wrecks performance for basically no gains in visual fidelity. Apparently some people say that the shadow softening setting at the highest level causes worse shadow pop-in too.

Gaming Evolved have done something pretty similar with Warhammer Total War, where some R9 200 series users report improved performance in the in-game benchmark in DX12 but reduced performance in actual gameplay. I can't prove it's deliberate, obviously, but... yeah.

I'd probably get a g-sync screen for a laptop, even if it meant holding off, as you are rather stuck with the graphics cards and can't upgrade when you start dipping below 60fps. A lot of users find that dipping into the 50s or even high 40s with gsync is much smoother than with a normal 60hz monitor. Am actually considering getting a gsync screen myself for modded Skyrim and FO4...

The thread was purely for research and is speculative since I can afford to wait for the system (ideally I'd like it ready by mid-September and certainly by November). I do appreciate your replies though.

I'm either not very good with the configurator or am completely illiterate since there's no clear indication that a model is equipped with G-Sync screens (do they have some kind of special identifier when I press the Question Mark?)
The big splash screen at the start says some laptops have G-Sync screens but not others yet I can't tell from the detailed configurator.

I suppose my last dilemma now is G-Sync 60Hz or G-Synz 120Hz. I'll plump for the 4K screen and hope downscaling in the future doesn't look horrible.

 

[Harleyquin]

Thanks for the replies, most appreciated.

Not sure what happened to my last post since it was somehow flagged for moderation and then deleted, so I'll ask again.

How does one tell if a screen option offered has G-Sync? Is the splash screen with all the models accurate or does one have to click on the question mark next to screen options to get a definitive answer?

 

[Oussebon]

Well I guess the definitive answer would be to phone PC Specialist and ask - they would also confirm availability and discuss waiting times should there be any shortage of the parts.

I'm assuming both the screens have g-sync, but I guess a £4k purchase is worth a call to double check the details.

 

[Harleyquin]

Cool. Thanks for the help. I'll have to wait at least one week anyway before I can consider getting the offer down.

 

[Rakk]

Not sure what happened to my last post since it was somehow flagged for moderation and then deleted, so I'll ask again.

When your posts get moderated they just appear as if they're not there, as they become invisible to anyone but a mod until approved

 

[Harleyquin]

Reading up elsewhere, an SLI system absolutely needs two PSU units or having dual cards is a waste since there won't be enough juice to power everything optimally.

Consumers can order two PSUs from the configurator but how does one get the item which links them both to the laptop?

 

[Harleyquin]

Just received an email from the company on my queries. I'll share some of the info which might be relevant to others.

1. The 4k screen is NOT G-Sync compatible, to top it off there are no plans for a screen update any time soon.

2. I've read about how this model can be powered by two power supply units (to feed both of the cards) but the company provides the second power supply unit ordered as a spare unit. The system will still work but will be underpowered for best performance.

Disappointing news as I was hopeful of getting an SLI system for the first time. The single card 1080 on the Octane III is still an option with just a 1080p screen though.