17.3" Optimus IV - Advice

[Andronath]

Hi guys. I'm looking to buy a new laptop, as my old one can safely retire in a few weeks. Basically, I'm looking after a mid-range gaming laptop, as I'm on a rather strict budget (750pounds). This is one configuration I was thinking about.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)


Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB


Memory (RA
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)


Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11


Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)


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)

Sums up to 749pounds, no operating system as I have a Windows 8 Pro license I look forward to use.

Few questions:

1. I've read a few reviews about Matte/Glossy screens but most of them go into many technical details and while I understand most of them, I'm looking for less technical opinions, so feel free to tell me what kind of screen you have and which one you think I should get.

2. I'm still unsure if I need the i7, or actually an i5 would be more than sufficient for a laptop.

3. If I would get the base version of an i5, I could fit a second hard drive (500GB 7200rpm WD Black) or I can stick with the i7 and as soon as I get more money, I can fit a second HDD. If this would be the case, can I do it myself or does it void the warranty,etc.

Feel free to suggest a possible build, or give me any advice on what to do!

Kind regards.

 

[Keithg]

I have the matte screen and it is great. I dont tend to like glossy due to the reflective screen. I have no regrest about the matte, very good colour contrast and very sharp.

I went with the i7 and would recommend you do the same. Installing a second HDD is very very simple and will not void any warranty.

Add silver warranty for £5 and you have the same spec as me, which you will love. Definitely the most powerful laptop you can get at this price.

 

[Pagey]

I second Keith, I have the 15" version.

 

[Andronath]

Thanks for the advice. I'm now 95% sure I will buy this laptop with the specified configuration. A couple more questions before I do this though.

1. What's the battery life in general? Not that I plan to be mobile for long, but I do intend to take it with me to Uni from time to time.

2. Did any of you run any benchmarks on this laptop? I don't need the full details(i.e 3DMark06 scores) but generally how much can I stress the laptop(with ultra settings in games, fullHD,etc) without overheating it, push it too far,etc. (Could you give me your Windows Experience ratings for each component just as a comparison with other laptops)

3. Maybe tell me some pro's and con's from your experience? (I read some of the reviews posted on the forum/site, but would like to know more if possible)

Thanks for the help provided so far, it's been very helpful in deciding if this is worth it.

Kind regards.

 

[Keithg]

I run windows 8 so this is that experience.

CPU : 7.4
RAM: 7.7
Desktop Graphics: 5.1
Gaming Graphics: 6.8
HDD: 7.6

Not sure why the desktop score is low, its obviously using the intel card, but not bothered either.

I never really tend to use it off battery as i am gaming when i am using it, but i have certainly ran it for more than a couple of hours but never fully tested.

I have also not ran any generic benchmarking software either, although I have used the metro 2033 benchmark and posted my results in that thread. All i know is that I can run the latest games (Guild Wars 2 all maxed except med shadow and no reflections due to bugs) with the pretties and a very good fps. And I have no been able to overheat the machine no what what I have thrown at it for extened periods of time.

I am about to game for a while, i will monitor my temps and post them here.

 

[Keithg]

after an hour of playing guild wars 2 my temps were just shy of 70C max for GPU and 78C max for the CPU.

So all in all nothing to be remotely concerned about.

 

[Pagey]

Fwiw: I use both high power and UMA low power modes, I only use high power when it's plugged in and use UMA with the batteries, I can get around 5 hours run-time, so if you're typing stuff up or surfing, keep it low power and you'll be running for a few hours.

 

[Kreeeee]

Thanks for the advice. I'm now 95% sure I will buy this laptop with the specified configuration. A couple more questions before I do this though.

1. What's the battery life in general? Not that I plan to be mobile for long, but I do intend to take it with me to Uni from time to time.

2. Did any of you run any benchmarks on this laptop? I don't need the full details(i.e 3DMark06 scores) but generally how much can I stress the laptop(with ultra settings in games, fullHD,etc) without overheating it, push it too far,etc. (Could you give me your Windows Experience ratings for each component just as a comparison with other laptops)

3. Maybe tell me some pro's and con's from your experience? (I read some of the reviews posted on the forum/site, but would like to know more if possible)

Thanks for the help provided so far, it's been very helpful in deciding if this is worth it.

Kind regards.

1 - Pretty good for the size. Web browsing/streaming I get a good 5-6 hours.

2 - WEI:


My laptop never every gets hot no matter how much I stress it, with the GPU never going above 62 degrees. The 660m is a very efficient GPU and has very low thermal output, and the lower i7's (I have the i7 3610QM) are also excellent for heat. The laptop eats up games at 1080p in my experience.

3 - The sound is pretty bad, but voices are very clear so you can watch TV series etc fine but movies and music will be lacking bass and high range detail. Other than that, I am very impressed overall and for the price you simply cannot get better performance.

 

[Tehmoe]

3 - The sound is pretty bad, but voices are very clear so you can watch TV series etc fine but movies and music will be lacking bass and high range detail. Other than that, I am very impressed overall and for the price you simply cannot get better performance.

Found this to be true on my Optimus II, its very quiet aswell, I went back to my dell machine the other day and I put the volume to max like I normally do on my Optimus II and omg I was almost deaf. The difference was just to much on the Dell it seemed 10% volume was more then the Optimus maxed out.