What if i dont want a 'gaming' PC?

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sg86

Active member
Hey all, i am a little confused at the pricing on the main page for laptops.

I am not after a 'gaming' PC at all, but as the prices increase for the laptops, greater GPUs seem to be added to the machines. But there is no options to remove them. What if i want to pick one of the other chassis that are like £800 for the build, but i dont want some of the hardware?

I really want a barebones system, just an i3/i5 with some decent ddr3 RAM. I have no need for a 2GB GPU, 1TB hard drives, blueray writers and card readers. As for graphics i just need it to run GNOME3.

What am i missing, is there a way to pick whatever chassis and custom build as i please?

thanks :)
 
S

sg86

Active member
jonny123 said:
well if theres only one option for the gpu then you cant downgrade what laptop ar you looking at?
Click to expand...

? if you read my OP i am talking about the chassis and screen size etc. Why do i need a 2GB GPU to have a larger screen and different case? My point is i like the look of some of the more expensive 'starters' on the main page, but i dont need some of the hardware they come with.

Or am i mistaken and all chassis are the same? maybe the naming of the 'packages' are confusing me. I am mainly here because i can purchase without OS, and this site and novatech seem the only ones in the UK that offer this.
 
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jonny123

Bright Spark
You only get the options available in the configurater so if you click on a laptop you like and cant downgrade the gpu or whatever you want to downgrade you cant.If you want one of the better "starters" you have to have the minimum spec of that chasis.
So for example if you look at the skyfire you cannot downgrade the graphics card for example if you want that chasis then you have to pay for that GPU
 
Frenchy

Frenchy

Prolific Poster
It may be something to dow ith compatability, however I would suggest ringing PCS on monday as they will be able to give you exact details. Its generally the case that people want the better GPU but I would have thought PCS could let you do this, but might have to arrange it by email/phone.
 
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sg86

Active member
jonny123 said:
You only get the options available in the configurater so if you click on a laptop you like and cant downgrade the gpu or whatever you want to downgrade you cant.If you want one of the better "starters" you have to have the minimum spec of that chasis.
So for example if you look at the skyfire you cannot downgrade the graphics card for example if you want that chasis then you have to pay for that GPU
Click to expand...

now thats just stupid lol :) to get a different chassis you need a 2GB GPU lol. I dont consider the more expensive packages better at all. To me a 2GB GPU in a laptop is useless, thats what my desktop is for.

I will call them Frenchy or wait for a reply here,

thanks
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
It all depends on the mobo and the cpu. What are you looking to get? I would recommend a low end GPU like a 520, even if you aren't gaming. They help a lot. Anyway, what are you looking for and I can try and get you a spec. As far as I know, you can't remove the GPU I don't think. They are soldered down and it would probably cause all sorts of problems. You would have to boot windows in safe mode with networking the whole time I think. Anyway, let me see if I can get a spec for you and then go from there.
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
I don't know the exact reason for the optimus series but I do know that the Vortex series and probably the Viper just don't have integrated. I think the GPU is actually part of the mobo so it kinda comes with it.
 
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jonny123

Bright Spark
sg86 said:
now thats just stupid lol :) to get a different chassis you need a 2GB GPU lol. I dont consider the more expensive packages better at all. To me a 2GB GPU in a laptop is useless, thats what my desktop is for.

I will call them Frenchy or wait for a reply here,

thanks
Click to expand...

Thats just how it works im afraid :S
 
Frenchy

Frenchy

Prolific Poster
jonny123 said:
Thats just how it works im afraid :S
Click to expand...

Answers like this really dont help because people are left wondering why, I'm limited with my knowledge of custom laptops and so I was also confused. Explinations like Music Guy gave are much clearer and help explain why this is the case.
 
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jonny123

Bright Spark
Frenchy said:
Answers like this really dont help because people are left wondering why, I'm limited with my knowledge of custom laptops and so I was also confused. Explinations like Music Guy gave are much clearer and help explain why this is the case.
Click to expand...

Yeh i know sorry i dont know that much and im trying to learn from these forums.I should of just left it to someone else like music guy
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
jonny123 said:
Yeh i know sorry i dont know that much and im trying to learn from these forums.I should of just left it to someone else like music guy
Click to expand...

Don't worry old chap, it is not that bad! We aren't all perfect and you learn from your mistakes. Don't worry, I don't know that much either, I just know how to find the answer - google!
 
S

sg86

Active member
Music Guy123 said:
It all depends on the mobo and the cpu. What are you looking to get? I would recommend a low end GPU like a 520, even if you aren't gaming. They help a lot. Anyway, what are you looking for and I can try and get you a spec. As far as I know, you can't remove the GPU I don't think. They are soldered down and it would probably cause all sorts of problems. You would have to boot windows in safe mode with networking the whole time I think. Anyway, let me see if I can get a spec for you and then go from there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this and other replies, quite helpful.

However, i still cant see how this voyager lappy comes with a 1GB GPU, but a celeron processor.. i know i can upgrade the processor, but for standard the GPU seems way over the top? maybe i would regret a 512GPU i dont know, im really just trying to get a decent processor and RAM for the money.

So i would like the i5 2450 i think, with 4GB of RAM, and a nice looking case. Does anyone have any 'real' pictures of these cases, like not the stock photos, but maybe with a digital camera etc?

I am comparing the price to this:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/laptop/range/eliteoptima2450.html?th=b

And it seems you guys come out cheaper? £570 vs £520?
 
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Wozza63

Biblical Poster
i think you would regret not having its own GPU, it certainly helps, my laptop used to lag after a while on everyday things such as youtube video, so i recommend getting it with the 520m as it will definitely make sure you are ok on the basics

bear in mind that you can't compare a card by its memory, seeing as 1GB is pretty much standard these days
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
Yes, but make sure you get a branded HDD, at least the seagate momentus, they will be much better than the standard things. I would also recommend you get 1x4GB stick of RAM, that way you can add another later. If you can afford it, other things i would recommend are the screen res upgrade, possibly a cpu upgrade to the i7 quad core. But these are your choice and it depends on your budget.
 
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sg86

Active member
and any pics of cases? the stock ones dont really give me a good 'feel'

budget is prob 500 max, and im hoping to claim VAT back, so really my budget is more just over £400
 
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