# Buying new gaming Laptop



## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

Hello all!

Around Christmas time im planning on buying a new laptop. Looking for a mid range gaming laptop. 

At the moment im looking at PCSpecialist.co.uk The 15.6" Optimus VII

PCSPECIALIST - OptimusVII 15, Gaming OptimusVII 15, Build Your Own OptimusVII 15, Buy OptimusVII 15
This is the Spec i have gone for.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12

mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
128GB M.2 2280, SATA 6Gb/s (510MB/R, 310MB/W)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
2nd/3rd HDD HARD DRIVE OPTICAL BAY CADDY (9.5mm)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 2

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Keyboard Language
OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

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

This comes in at £709.

I was wondering if anyone knows a better option for around the same price up to a max of £750 or if this system is good for the price and if there is anything you would change.

The GTX 960M or better is a must(looking at benchmark results the 960M will be more than ok for my gaming needs). 

I selected the mSATA as the drive only because you need a drive to buy and i already have a 120GB Hyper X SSD and a WD 1TB drive that i will put in my self. I will just use the mSATA for Windows and the odd few programs, the SSD for the games i play most and the WD drive for everything else.

I dont need windows pre installed as i can get it cheaper elsewhere(they supply the drivers with the laptop) .I will just install that when i get the laptop.

I would rather have a hard drive caddy as i would rather have the extra space for storage

Hope you can give me some pointers and recommendations

Thanks Ben


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I havent had any experience with their laptops but know people who have bought their desktops and the outcome has not been very good. I would go to a better company such as overclockers but the only laptop they have which is near your budget is this https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-056-GI&groupid=959&catid=1828


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

the issue i have found everywhere i look for the price you cant get a laptop with an i7 and a GTX 960M for under £800. i cant justify spending more and getting less when i can spend less and get a easily upgradeable laptop with an i7 and GTX 960M for less?

with the laptop you have shown alot of the things are lower spec compared to the custom build and £70 more.

I think this is the main reason im swaying to Pc specialist. i shall have to do a review search on them and check that out.


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

upon reviewing the company ( https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.pcspecialist.co.uk ) its seems to be the laptops them self are good but the customer service is rubbish if you have any issues. 

if anyone has any more ideas please do throw them at me!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

check out Award winning supplier, performance hardware & systems - Scan.co.uk


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

I do like scan and i have brought many products from them in the past but still there cheapest custom build with a i7 and GTX 960M is over budget @ £828 and thats with some things not even on like the mSATA drive. plus the build options are more limited compared to PCspec.

having looked if it can be found with a good deal the GTX 860 would be ok as it doesnt seem to have much less of FPS drop compared to 960M i can deal with that ha!


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Christmas is still a long time away and the hardware will change by then. Hard to expect the a laptop now will be the same price and hardware in three months.


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

Thats a very good point. Never really thought about that. Maybe by the time christmas comes current model laptops will become cheaper hopefully


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Come back at the start of December and then it would be a good time to look. :smile:


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

Will do thanks


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

Right time has come to look again. 

having herd lots of mixed things about pc specialists i have decided to avoid them.

im looking at these at the moment. any thoughts?

i7- 

Buy Zoostorm GT6 15.6 inch Core i7 8GB 120GB 1TB Gaming Laptop at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Laptops and netbooks.

NX.MQLEK.015 | Acer Aspire V-Nitro VN7-591G 15.6 INCH Core i7-4720HQ 12GB 1TB + 8GB SSD NVIDIA GeFor - Laptops Direct

Inspiron 15 7000 Series Laptop | Dell UK

i5

Buy Zoostorm GT6 17.3 inch Core i5 8GB 1TB Gaming Laptop at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Laptops and netbooks.

Has anyone brought Zoostrom products before? seems they have been round a while

cheers


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

I've never heard of Zoostorm, they must not be a US brand.

I'd personally go with the Dell because I think its going to be the nicest. It has the latest i7 in it and a GTX 960m which should play most games on maximum settings.


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

The dell is the main ond im thinking of now. 

the only thing thats worrying me is that a few reviews i have looked at say the screen is a bit dark and i saw a video of someone bending the screen quite badly. So I'm thinking down the line might be an issue


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Anything will bend with force to it. I have a 7000 series and while the display is made of metal, slight twisting force would destroy it, but you would have to do it with intentions.

As for the screen, perhaps they didn't know of the brightness key. :lil:


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## mrbenjamin (Feb 21, 2008)

Thanks i have changed my mind on a laptop and have decided it would be much more fun and for the money i could get a better system if i build my own Steam machine


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Sounds good to me!


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