Would this setup work well for gaming? Also, upgrades in future?

[Mooproxy]

This is my first time getting a custom-built laptop, and was wondering if this setup would be a good setup for gaming, or whether I'd be better off with a few tweaks in select places to optimise it. Budget-wise, I can add a little more money, but don't want to pay all that much more than is already listed (£1093) unless it'd really be necessary.

Chassis & Display - Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) - 8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card - NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk - 1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Thermal Paste - ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card - Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless - GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
Operating System - Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software - FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Warranty - 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Dead Pixel Guarantee - 1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance - 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Unique URL to reconfigure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/VortexIV-15/0RYgS4uHF8/


Secondly, am I right in thinking that if I wanted to upgrade this in future, for example adding an SSD, or maybe even upgrading the hardware then I could contact PCS and they'd be able to do that for me? Also, if I were to get an SSD and wish to transfer the OS and core programs to it, would that be possible?

 

[keynes]

if this setup would be a good setup for gaming, or whether I'd be better off with a few tweaks in select places to optimise it. Budget-wise, I can add a little more money, but don't want to pay all that much more than is already listed (£1093) unless it'd really be necessary.

The only main upgrade would be the GPU but that would be significantly over your budget. Better hard drive like the scorpio black.

Also, if I were to get an SSD and wish to transfer the OS and core programs to it, would that be possible?

yes but depends on the upgrade and availability of components, for instance if a new range of GPU and CPUs are released they are not likely to keep stock of old ones.

 

[Mooproxy]

yes but depends on the upgrade and availability of components, for instance if a new range of GPU and CPUs are released they are not likely to keep stock of old ones.

Naturally, but is it likely that if a new range were to come out, they'd be compatible with the laptop?

 

[keynes]

Naturally, but is it likely that if a new range were to come out, they'd be compatible with the laptop?

CPUs would have a different socket so it wouldn't be compatible, newer GPUs will require a BIOS upgrade that may or may not be release by Clevo

 

[Mooproxy]

CPUs would have a different socket so it wouldn't be compatible, newer GPUs will require a BIOS upgrade that may or may not be release by Clevo

Fair enough, so I suppose it'd be anyone's guess really.
Regarding the GPU, does the GTX 880M 8GB justify the extra £260? Also, would you say it's likely to remain in stock for a while should I wish to upgrade it later?

 

[keynes]

Regarding the GPU, does the GTX 880M 8GB justify the extra £260? Also, would you say it's likely to remain in stock for a while should I wish to upgrade it later?

I would go with the GTX 880m to futureproof my laptop and get the best available single GPU. Whether it is likely to remain in stock or not I don't know but getting the GTX 870m and then upgrading to the GTX 880m seems like a waste of money. I don't think it would be easy to sell your GTX 870m since it is a mobile GPU and getting the GTX 880m is going to be more than £260 if you are replacing it with an existing gpu.

 

[Mooproxy]

Excellent, thanks for the advice. I'll consider upgrading if I can find the money for it. One other question though, is there much of a difference between the regular Kingston SODIMM RAM and the HYPER-X IMPACT variety?

 

[TheGeeza]

You won't notice a difference for gaming.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Excellent, thanks for the advice. I'll consider upgrading if I can find the money for it. One other question though, is there much of a difference between the regular Kingston SODIMM RAM and the HYPER-X IMPACT variety?

The HYPER-X IMPACT just sounds cooler

As keynes said, get the scorpio black HDD. And I would either get the 880m now or just stick with the 870m, no point upgrading it later since you'll spend a load of money for not a performance increase that isn't worth that amount of money

 

[Mooproxy]

The HYPER-X IMPACT just sounds cooler

As keynes said, get the scorpio black HDD. And I would either get the 880m now or just stick with the 870m, no point upgrading it later since you'll spend a load of money for not a performance increase that isn't worth that amount of money

Right, I'll bear it in mind. Regarding the HDD, I will consider switching, but the highest scorpio black option is 750GB, so does its (presumably) faster performance justify having 250GB less space?
Regarding the 880M, if I don't get it, am I likely to come across a game I can't run smoothly, even if that means I'd have to turn the graphics down a little? I know Keynes said that the 880M would futureproof it, but am I likely to require it to run games at all in future or is it mostly for running at the highest settings?

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Right, I'll bear it in mind. Regarding the HDD, I will consider switching, but the highest scorpio black option is 750GB, so does its (presumably) faster performance justify having 250GB less space?
Regarding the 880M, if I don't get it, am I likely to come across a game I can't run smoothly, even if that means I'd have to turn the graphics down a little? I know Keynes said that the 880M would futureproof it, but am I likely to require it to run games at all in future or is it mostly for running at the highest settings?

Yes, it's much faster for loading And no, the 870m will run any game on high-ultra settings. I have the 850m and can run any game on medium or above and the 850m is a lot worse than the 870m.

 

[Mooproxy]

Well would the Scorpio blue work as well? (I don't know which feature of the drive increases speed the most) The blue has the same 6Gb/s interface as the black, but half the RPM.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well would the Scorpio blue work as well? (I don't know which feature of the drive increases speed the most) The blue has the same 6Gb/s interface as the black, but half the RPM.

It's the rpm that defines the speed... The SATA interface speeds will never be reached by an hdd.

 

[Mooproxy]

It's the rpm that defines the speed... The SATA interface speeds will never be reached by an hdd.

Fair enough, but having done a bit of tweaking, I don't think I have the budget for a SATA drive without either adding at least £100 or reducing the storage space to an unfeasibly small amount, though in future I suppose I could add one I suppose.
Also, if the RPM defines the speed, what's the 'Interface'? Just so I know what it means when comparing.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Fair enough, but having done a bit of tweaking, I don't think I have the budget for a SATA drive without either adding at least £100 or reducing the storage space to an unfeasibly small amount, though in future I suppose I could add one I suppose.
Also, if the RPM defines the speed, what's the 'Interface'? Just so I know what it means when comparing.

A 6Gb/s transfer can go twice as quick as the 3Gb/s transfer, but HDDs don't even go that fast, so it's nothing to worry about. The main thing is the RMP, the scorpio black is 7200RPM, where as the blue is 5400RPM, so go with the scorpio black