Hey guys,
I would like to know if any of you is developing on a PCSspecialist laptop, like the Optimus and Vortex series, and in general what do you think about these machines.
They generally look really tempting because with half the price you can take home better machines than the famous gaming ones, avoiding at the same time the fancy stuff I don’t need like epic speakers and disco keyboard. On the other hand, though, getting to choose so freely the internal specs on PCSpecialist, makes me wonder if build quality/heat/noise problems arise.
I bought a pcspecialist laptop for my son at Christmas. I live in Switzerland so I was worried. I also had a problem when I wanted to change my order.
But their support is as good as I’ve seen. Very helpful and attentive, really, they were very good.
The laptop is superb. As you may have guessed, I’ve been using it.
I doubt anyone could ever recommend a laptop over a desktop, for this kind of graphics-intensive work. But it has excellent performance. This configuration has an Nvidia 780m graphics card and it is a treat. It’s not comparable to the desktop 780 but it is plenty powerful.
Heat: This was my concern. I’ve taken out a back panel, exposing the graphics and cpu/RAM, and I use a coolermaster Coolpad. It has three moveable fans and is virtually silent. (It connects by USB, a very nice design, it works - on the exposed chips - much better than I had hoped.)
The build quality is very good. The 17inch screen feels a little flimsy, but it is terrific to use. The keyboard is also excellent. It has a lovely backlit setup which is great for using late at night.
Pcspecialist say they test whatever setup you’ve requested (and unavailable setups are flagged when one is selecting options).
I also got a SSD plus a big mechanical drive.
Really, not a bad word to say about this laptop. It’s going to see a lot of mileage, with my boy killing zombies and me trying to build a few small things.
All laptops seem to die of heat death at some point and this one, with the intended usage, is a candidate. But the coolpad really makes a huge difference to the gpu and cpu temps. Without doing something about the heat I think you’ll find it a little uncomfortable, if you monitor the temps. (A bit like watching the meter on a long cab journey, except the cab might melt at the end, as well as your wallet.)
But, if the question is, is this as good as the ‘big name’ high-spec (super-expensive) laptops? Maybe, maybe not, (no little alien on the lid) but the price difference, and the ridiculously good service from pcspecialist, make it worth a look.
Unfortunately for me the keyboard is something really important, but the one on the 17" models is very different from the one on the LE version, which is a 15" model, and I’m afraid that would just feel uncomfortable when I get my hands on it. Also, I’m happy to keep reading good reviews from PCS laptop owners. Heating is a big problem for me too (considering working on UE is gonna be pretty hot), but probably, like you said, a good cooling stand will do.
To be honest, I would never go for an Alienware though, even if they costed way less than this, because they look too toyish and I don’t want to pay for the fancy stuff like disco leds all over the place. Instead, the new Razer Blade looks amazing, but at that price…(also, I don’t think it’s being sold in Europe).