What would you change for this custom build laptop?

[Tanky]

This will be for professional work and some gaming. Photoshop as a main use, with multiple programmes open at the same time, video and photo editing. Professional printing. And also some gaming, such as games like Skyrim, Sims etc, heavily modded.
Is this a decent build or should I change some of the components?
I'm at my max budget, I cannot go any higher. Thanks so much!

hassis & Display
Recoil Series: 17" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24 Core Processor 14900HX (5.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair 5200MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 280W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Recoil Series Integrated 99WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
LIQUID METAL PERFORMANCE COOLING
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
RECOIL 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED IR+FHD Hybrid Webcam
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
TongFang GM7IX7N (8GB RTX-4070, i9-14900HX, 240Hz QHD)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £2,597.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Tron1982]

Hello,

So, you may want to upgrade your ram from 5200MHz to 5600MHz, it's only a 5£ upgrade and i think it will be worth it.
But, do you really need 64Go ? For gaming, it's useless (32 is the sweet spot for me nowadays), but maybe for you professional work, it can be justified.

I'm not sure that 2 4To ssd is a good idea, you want a fast and smaller boot drive with your usual software and your file in use, and everything else on the second drive (i'd go for 2 and 4 and even 1 and 4 To)

You should remove norton, it's a plague to remove and windows defender do a great job nowadays (if you have a internet connection)

And lastly, You really really should add the "optional" (non optional for me, with the over-powerful components in this chassis)

I hope this will help you

 

[Tanky]

Hello,

So, you may want to upgrade your ram from 5200MHz to 5600MHz, it's only a 5£ upgrade and i think it will be worth it.
But, do you really need 64Go ? For gaming, it's useless (32 is the sweet spot for me nowadays), but maybe for you professional work, it can be justified.

I'm not sure that 2 4To ssd is a good idea, you want a fast and smaller boot drive with your usual software and your file in use, and everything else on the second drive (i'd go for 2 and 4 and even 1 and 4 To)

You should remove norton, it's a plague to remove and windows defender do a great job nowadays (if you have a internet connection)

And lastly, You really really should add the "optional" (non optional for me, with the over-powerful components in this chassis)

I hope this will help you

Thank you so much for the reply! The norton etc I won't even use, it doesn't let me remove it for some reason. I'll try it again.
What do you mean by the "optional"?? Add the optional what? Or am I being thick haha.
I'll change to the 5600 right away if it's an option.

And also with me using a lot of downloadable files, fonts etc, that attach themselves directly to my software, I'd fill up 2tb in no time. The 2nd drive would be for surplus stuff such as images and things that I can drag and drop into software. Will 2x 4tb impact the computer speed? I really don't want to get this part wrong as this is exactly why I'm upgrading my machine, not enough readily available storage.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I really don't want to get this part wrong as this is exactly why I'm upgrading my machine, not enough readily available storage.

Odd, why not just upgrade the storage? Or is it one of the awful new types where they've soldered the SSD onto the board?

 

[Tanky]

Odd, why not just upgrade the storage?

Odd, why not just upgrade the storage?

That's not the only issue I'm having, it's just one of them. I have a checklist. And my current machine isn't upgradable. It's a microsoft surface book 3, before they discontinued it. It overheats within 5 minutes of running anything like photoshop etc. Not sure why I have to explain why I want to buy a new laptop though honestly. Can we stick to the subject matter please??

 

[Tron1982]

You should be able to remove norton.

With the recoil chassis, you have the choice to add, or not, the liquid cooling solution (the 5th choice in the configurator).
It's optional, as you may not take it when you config' the laptop, but, it's highly recommended (if not mandatory) to have it if you want to use the laptop to his best capacities (it's not pcs fault but rather the chassis designer)
So, for me, when i help with a recoil chassis, if highly recommend to take it

About the ssd, fair point. But, you have to know that, the fullest the ssd is, the slower it will be (it's a limitation of the ssd technology). It will not be slow in any case with your ssd choice, but yeah, it will become slower with the time ^^"


edit : sorry to answer in place of @SpyderTracks, i think they may have wanted to help you to avoid some avoidable expanses if they were not necessary ^^"
Knowing them, they only wanted to help you ^^

 

[Tanky]

You should be able to remove norton.

With the recoil chassis, you have the choice to add, or not, the liquid cooling solution (the 5th choice in the configurator).
It's optional, as you may not take it when you config' the laptop, but, it's highly recommended (if not mandatory) to have it if you want to use the laptop to his best capacities (it's not pcs fault but rather the chassis designer)
So, for me, when i help with a recoil chassis, if highly recommend to take it

About the ssd, fair point. But, you have to know that, the fullest the ssd is, the slower it will be (it's a limitation of the ssd technology). It will not be slow in any case with your ssd choice, but yeah, it will become slower with the time ^^"

I removed it, thank you for the heads up. I changed to the faster ram aswell. You were right, the difference in price was very small.
I'll have alook into this, thanks so much. It makes sense. I'm just not sure if I'll have space for it on my tray haha.
Exactly why I thought getting a higher storage capacity would be the better option, I read that over 60% full is when it starts to go downhill, so I figured if I overshoot it, that might help? If that makes sense hahaha.
Thanks so much for all your input so far. I've taken all of it on board.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Completely understand why you're upgrading in that case, surface book 3's were great at the time, but they're definitely dated by now.

These custom chassis, you can upgrade the storage and RAM as you like without affecting warranty just so you know. PCS are very accommodating in that respect, it's fully expected you'll make amendments to the machine over time, and PCS offer parts for that which you can fit yourself, or get them to fit, or you can source your own parts from elsewhere to fit yourself, the choice is yours.

I believe the water cooler component is only available with the 4080 and 4090 GPU's, so not applicable here.

 

[Tanky]

Completely understand why you're upgrading in that case, surface book 3's were great at the time, but they're definitely dated by now.

These custom chassis, you can upgrade the storage and RAM as you like without affecting warranty just so you know. PCS are very accommodating in that respect, it's fully expected you'll make amendments to the machine over time, and PCS offer parts for that which you can fit yourself, or get them to fit, or you can source your own parts from elsewhere to fit yourself, the choice is yours.

I believe the water cooler component is only available with the 4080 and 4090 GPU's, so not applicable here.

Yeah I've had it 3 years, I was hoping it would have a bit more life in it. I was counting on at least 5 before I'd need to upgrade. It started overheating at about 1.5 years in but was never great to begin with. Such a shame. I'm never making the mistake of buying something that can't be updated again. I'm so happy to hear that this won't be the case with this one.
As for the water cooling component it is coming up for me to add on for an extra 100. My budget is maxed out already, shall I drop the ram down to 32? will this affect the laptop negatively?
I don't know nearly enough about the difference between 32 and 64 to be completely honest.
Thanks so much for the help!

 

[SpyderTracks]

As for the water cooling component it is coming up for me to add on for an extra 100.

Oh really? It's stated as only available on the 4080 and 4090

But if it's available, I'd definitely say it's worth it.

My budget is maxed out already, shall I drop the ram down to 32? will this affect the laptop negatively?

Totally depends what kind of rendering you do as to how much RAM you'll need. Adding more RAM does nothing to improve performance, it only maintains performance IF the job you're doing is utilising that much. It's not that adding more will always be used, that's not how RAM works. So only you know how much you require.
Photoshop though almost certainly won't need over 32Gb and neither would gaming.

 

[Tanky]

Oh really? It's stated as only available on the 4080 and 4090

View attachment 40794
But if it's available, I'd definitely say it's worth it.


Totally depends what kind of rendering you do as to how much RAM you'll need. Adding more RAM does nothing to improve performance, it only maintains performance IF the job you're doing is utilising that much. It's not that adding more will always be used, that's not how RAM works. So only you know how much you require.
Photoshop though almost certainly won't need over 32Gb and neither would gaming.

You are right, it wouldn't let me keep it on when I clicked proceed. It doesn't warn beforehand that's why I assumed it was available. Never mind.
I always use a wooden tray anyway, so it should be okay I hope! I know it's not quite the same but it should help with its lifespan.
I might just get the 1 x 32gb ram and then upgrade it in future if needed. I don't want to buy something I don't need. Even google is telling me 64gb is overkill haha.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I always use a wooden tray anyway, so it should be okay I hope!

Elevating any laptop away from the desk surface has a big positive impact on airflow

I might just get the 1 x 32gb ram and then upgrade it in future if needed. I don't want to buy something I don't need.

RAM is dual channel so needs to be used in matched pairs.

You could run it on 1 x 32Gb, but then adding a second 32Gb may well lead to instability, rather than having a matched pair of 32Gb, it could of course work absolutely fine, it just increases the risk of instability. You also get a performance drop using 1 stick vs a pair.

 

[Tanky]

Elevating any laptop away from the desk surface has a big positive impact on airflow


RAM is dual channel so needs to be used in matched pairs.

You could run it on 1 x 32Gb, but then adding a second 32Gb may well lead to instability, rather than having a matched pair of 32Gb, it could of course work absolutely fine, it just increases the risk of instability. You also get a performance drop using 1 stick vs a pair.

It's not letting me do it anyway, I'd have to upgrage to the 4080 or so it says, and then it takes me a grand over budget. So yay, I'm going to sleep on this and figure it out tomorrow. You both have given me a lot to think about. Thanks so much.