Back after 11yrs

[Returned11]

Hello,

I bought a PC Specialist laptop back in 2014.
I am using it right now to type this message! Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte (i7-4710MQ, 8GB, GTX 860M)
I am impressed by the quality of PC Specialist - for the laptop to last this long!

However, the screen hinge is broken and I thought its about time I buy a new laptop.

Please can anyone tell me if the following is any good and anything else better ?

Mainly to use for day to day computing, but wouldn't mind the opportunity to play a computer game if one took my fancy e.g. future GTA game?
I really want a laptop that is fast to start and can run programs quickly, play films etc.

I dont know much about computers.

Appreciate your help - thank you

Chassis & Display
Lafite Series: 14" Matte QHD+ 120Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2880x1800)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 14 Core Processor 125H (Up to 4.5 GHz) 18M Cache
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated Intel® Arc™ Graphics
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3200 MB/R, 2700 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
AC Adaptor
1 x 100W USB-C PD Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Lafité Series Integrated 80WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB-A 3.2
Keyboard Language
14" LAFITÉ SERIES SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Home Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home 2024 (1 Digital License)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED IR+FHD Hybrid Webcam
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GX4MRXL (U5-125H,AX211, QHD+ 120Hz sRGB 100%, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £989.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/lafite-pro-IV-14/ympuTsMhDg/

 

[Ekans2011]

Please can anyone tell me if the following is any good and anything else better ?

Mainly to use for day to day computing, but wouldn't mind the opportunity to play a computer game if one took my fancy e.g. future GTA game?
I really want a laptop that is fast to start and can run programs quickly, play films etc.

What's your max budget?

The above laptop is not gaming-ready; at the absolute least, a mid-tier dGPU (not less than a 5070ti, IMHO) is necessary to handle that resolution at a reasonable level.

 

[Returned11]

I was hoping for under £1000 if thats possible. Im not really a gamer, but would like the option to play from time to time if I wanted.
Will this be good enough for day to day use, quickly?

 

[Scott]

It's not the way I would go personally. I think you could probably do better off the shelf with that budget, rather than a custom laptop.

This budget kind of defeats the purpose of a custom laptop (which tends to be performance).

Changes below are the tweaks I would make to your build. The build is under £1000 but you've bolted on office, this should never be considered as part of your hardware budget so I've presumed that the PC being around the £1k mark is acceptable.

It'll play games, but it's not going to be very good at it. Hopefully just a dabble from time to time will be OK though.

Chassis & Display
Lafite Series: 14" Matte QHD+ 120Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2880x1800)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 14 Core Processor 125H (Up to 4.5 GHz) 18M Cache
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 5600MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated Intel® Arc™ Graphics
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR, 1625MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
AC Adaptor
1 x 100W USB-C PD Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Lafité Series Integrated 80WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB-A 3.2
Keyboard Language
14" LAFITÉ SERIES SINGLE COLOUR 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
Microsoft® Office Home 2024 (1 Digital License)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED IR+FHD Hybrid Webcam
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GX4MRXL (U5-125H,AX211, QHD+ 120Hz sRGB 100%, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,083.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/lafite-pro-IV-14/Ryfe9WMtk4/

 

[Ekans2011]

It'll play games, but it's not going to be very good at it. Hopefully just a dabble from time to time will be OK though.

I'm afraid the i5 125H iGPU won't be able to play anything, unless the OP is willing to decrease the resolution and details to the minimum. 😞

Intel Releases Core Ultra H and U-Series Processors: Meteor Lake Brings AI and Arc to Ultra Thin Notebooks

www.anandtech.com

i5 125H has Arc Xe-LPG 96EU

Intel Core Ultra 5 125H Specs

Meteor Lake, 14 Cores, 18 Threads, 3.6 GHz, 28 W

www.techpowerup.com

i9 285K has Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Specs

Arrow Lake-S, 24 Cores, 24 Threads, 3.7 GHz, 125 W

www.techpowerup.com

i7 155H has Arc Xe-LPG 128EU

Intel Core Ultra 7 155H Specs

Meteor Lake, 16 Cores, 22 Threads, 3.8 GHz, 28 W

www.techpowerup.com

Here are some bench on the i9 285K one

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Review

Finally! Intel's new Arrow Lake architecture is launched. The new CPUs are full of design changes, like removal of Hyper-Threading, new Lion Cove P-Cores, an improved Thread Director and more. In our review we got surprising results that were both impressive and disappointing.

www.techpowerup.com

Here are some on the i7 155H one

https://www.pcmag.com/news/first-tests-is-intels-arc-good-enough-for-gaming-on-integrated-graphics

I can't find anything specific on the i5 125H, but we may presume it's somewhere in the middle.

I was hoping for under £1000 if thats possible. Im not really a gamer, but would like the option to play from time to time if I wanted.
Will this be good enough for day to day use, quickly?

If you don't really need to play with it, @Scott's build will be perfect for your office needs.

 

[Returned11]

Thanks both for your help. I dont understand the technical language, but I can use the notebook check benchmark website (https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html) to compare processors - is it reliable?

If so ill see if I can find anything within my budget off the shelf with a better processor. If you have any examples, please let me know - thanks again

 

[Scott]

I'm afraid the i5 125H iGPU won't be able to play anything, unless the OP is willing to decrease the resolution and details to the minimum. 😞

Indeed, I was saying it will play them, it just won't be very good

Minimum settings is still playing them.

GTA 5 would run on one of my old laptops with a rubbish dGPU years ago. I think I managed 10 fps.... it could play games too

 

[Ekans2011]

Indeed, I was saying it will play them, it just won't be very good

Minimum settings is still playing them.

GTA 5 would run on one of my old laptops with a rubbish dGPU years ago. I think I managed 10 fps.... it could play games too

Well, technically true: if you can run it, you play it.

 

[Ekans2011]

Thanks both for your help. I dont understand the technical language, but I can use the notebook check benchmark website (https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html) to compare processors - is it reliable?

Usually they do extensive testing with their reviews, especially if they go over disassembly / upgradability of a laptop during the review.
That being said, I don't bother looking at synthetic benchmarks because are biased and not conclusive of real world testing.

The easiest approach to understand how a specific laptop will perform in-game is to search for reviews and videos, find the same CPU/GPU that you intend to get, and see how it performs.

Jarrod's Tech is a good source for laptops IMHO

Jarrod's Tech - Laptop Reviews, Guides, Tips and News!

We cover everything you need to know about gaming laptops - from reviews, benchmarks, real world testing and more!

jarrods.tech

Jarrod'sTech

I make gaming laptop reviews & comparisons to help you pick the right tech! I aim to go the extra mile with detailed testing and accurate benchmarks, so if that sounds like the type of content you're interested in then join our community! I also run the gaminglaptop.deals website to help you...

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