Any pointers would be gratefully received

S

StevenB

Member
Hello All

I have been monitoring these pages for a while and I am finally going to take the plunge and buy myself a new laptop (portability). I am in the process of buying a new camera which will capture images up to 75MB each. I would thus like to renew my laptop to cope with processing these files in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop (occasionally). I do not play games so probably will not need the quickest system.

My knowledge of IT will become apparent fairly swiftly by my questions / comments. I really would appreciate the benefit of your knowledge and experience to guide me through.

Would you please let me know your thoughts on the following (and any other related issues)

Do I need the 3740 processor above the 3630?
Is 8MB suitable for photo processing up to 75MB?
Is the Momentus drive suitable for my intended use? Better then an SSD? Do I need to partition? If so what do I need to specify?
My secondary drive will largely be for storage, if I opted for the 1TB 5400 rpm would this put me at a disadvantage?
I have opted for the 300mbps wireless unit, would this give me a usable advantage over the 150mbps?
Would I be wisest to stick with Win 7? Are there any benefits for me with Win 8? Are the initial problems solved? Are there conflicts with my spec?

My budget is not set in stone, a saving would be nice but I could also open the spec out if you thought it would be worthwhile to suit my needs.

Any advice would be gratefully received, thanks.


Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
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
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook 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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£12)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,091.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
kruppsy

kruppsy

Master
Here's my thoughts...

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) 6MB great little processor, higher clock will help the editing
Memory (RAM)
12GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (3 x 4GB) more ram, again to help with post processing etc
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm) will be fine, not as quick as SSD but you will lose a lot of added space if you specify one and it will probably work out more cash. Looks like you'll need plenty of space if your pics are 75mb
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm) this will be fine for storage and reliability of WD. The 750 Scorpio black is marginally cheaper and will be quicker copying files over I'd have thought, it's your call, extra space or speed
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)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH dont think you'll see massive gains having a 300Mbps
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79) id stick with windows 7, I prefer it but its very subjective
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£12)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,091.00 including VAT and delivery. same price!ish...add silver warranty :)

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/optimusIV-17/YgmqZA0t6q/

:)

Ps. don't partition, it's not worth it unless you intend to run two alternate operating systems.

Oops should have put a silver warranty on there...tut tut...
 
Last edited:
S

StevenB

Member
Hi Kruppsy

Thanks for your thoughts. I have updated my spec to take in your recommendations with the exception of retaining the glossy screen. I understand that there are issues with light sources /glare etc but I think I can work around them.

I can't believe I didn't add the Silver warranty after the number of tips that I have seen. I will ensure that I do.

All the best

Steve
 
kruppsy

kruppsy

Master
StevenB said:
I have updated my spec to take in your recommendations with the exception of retaining the glossy screen. I understand that there are issues with light sources /glare etc but I think I can work around them.

I can't believe I didn't add the Silver warranty after the number of tips that I have seen. I will ensure that I do.
Click to expand...

Both errors on my part, I missed the glossy screen, I would have left it alone, they are better for images if you can cope with the reflections. Again the silver warranty thing was all me, I missed it off, you had it in there. Think I need an early night to get back on my game!

Enjoy the laptop, it's a great spec.
 
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