SigmaCloud
Member
Got a bit of a dilemma here, and would really appreciate your help.
I have a budget of about £850, and am looking to get a pretty decent gaming/multimedia laptop.
Yesterday I was pretty sure I'd be getting an Optimus III, specced as follows:
BUT today I thought I might just check out the Genesis IV chassis. I'm aware that the screen is smaller, and that the GPU is a 640M not a 650M. That is a bit of a shame, but I managed to build the Genesis IV as follows:
So obviously the Genesis IV is cheaper, but I'm wondering what difference I might notice (apart from the slower GPU) as a result of picking the Genesis over the Optimus. It looks like I'd lose one USB 3.0 port, but I can probably make do with 2. I would also lose the option to put better thermal paste in. This is something I'm not sure about: would it have a major effect on performance and lead to overheating? And obviously the screen would be smaller-- maybe awkward at full HD?
The plus side is that I would be able to upgrade to the newer and larger Seagate drive, and I'd still shave £24 off the total cost. But do you think the compromise will outweigh the savings? Are there build quality issues to consider with the Genesis?
Final question! Is it worth opting to upgrade the wifi card for pretty run-of-the-mill standard use?
I have a budget of about £850, and am looking to get a pretty decent gaming/multimedia laptop.
Yesterday I was pretty sure I'd be getting an Optimus III, specced as follows:
reconfig link here .Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 1.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 3 Gb/s, (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£49)
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® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus/Voyager Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)
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
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £847.00 including VAT and delivery.
BUT today I thought I might just check out the Genesis IV chassis. I'm aware that the screen is smaller, and that the GPU is a 640M not a 650M. That is a bit of a shame, but I managed to build the Genesis IV as follows:
reconfig link here.Chassis & Display
Genesis IV: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED 16:9 Widescreen (1920x1080) (£35)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M - 1GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£49)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Genesis Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1
Price: £823.00 including VAT and delivery.
So obviously the Genesis IV is cheaper, but I'm wondering what difference I might notice (apart from the slower GPU) as a result of picking the Genesis over the Optimus. It looks like I'd lose one USB 3.0 port, but I can probably make do with 2. I would also lose the option to put better thermal paste in. This is something I'm not sure about: would it have a major effect on performance and lead to overheating? And obviously the screen would be smaller-- maybe awkward at full HD?
The plus side is that I would be able to upgrade to the newer and larger Seagate drive, and I'd still shave £24 off the total cost. But do you think the compromise will outweigh the savings? Are there build quality issues to consider with the Genesis?
Final question! Is it worth opting to upgrade the wifi card for pretty run-of-the-mill standard use?