BMC
New member
I know I'm being odd here but I'm going blind using the configuration tool so figured I'd cut the grief and just ask.
I know more or less the parts I'm looking for but am struggling to find a base unit to accommodate other than the Enigma II range.
Regarding the specs, I'm really looking for something along the lines of...
CPU: i5-540
RAM: 4 GB 1333 (2x2GB) - 8 GB 1333 (2x4GB) highly preferred
Video: 5650
HDD: 500 GB 7200
Wireless: N'Card
Fluff I would probably add would be the Blu Ray so something with a native of 1280x720 or higher (aka 720p).
I'm sure the Enigma II is a fantastic piece of kit but their are a couple of personal issues with it that just put me off, primarily aesthetically, at least from the images I've seen it doesn't "grab me" for the want of a better way of putting it.
I realise I'm being difficult so I apologise for that but can anyone suggest a base to build from that allows for the sort of components I've listed above?
Additionally before I forget, 1920x1080 (aka 1080p) while a lovely idea is not necessary particularly as I'm yet to see a flat panel scale down really well which I'm sure will be a requirement for most new/newer PC games but as long as its at least 1280x720 for Blu-Ray playback and has the HDMI so it can be whacked up to 1920x1080 (aka 1080p) for the telly.
Oh, and one other small query, many laptops come with some sort of "kick it" button to push the CPU on the fly (specifically for gaming it seems), was wondering if you folks at PCSpecialist do something similar on your custom units as I didn't see a mention of it.
Anyway, I better post this before I ramble on any more, again sorry to be a pain in the backside.
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UPDATE
Doing some more twiddling found the 18.4" Viper II to be very interesting.
Only concerns here are max memory of 4 GB 1066 (2x2GB) and instead of the 5650 its a 5156, knowing how model range numbers tend to work I would usually dismiss it out of hand but noticed on a few sites and benches people noting the difference between the 5156 and 5650 is almost nothing more than DirectX11.
A good example of where I'm seeing this information is the benchmarks listed here once you expand them:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5165.24579.0.html
Seeing as I won't be playing games on higher settings with a laptop anyway I wouldn't be using DirectX 11 so...
Back to the RAM though, that does concern me a bit, I've been using 8 GB of 1333 on my desktops for a while now since I went 64 bit, I know many think its unnecessary but it really seems to help with "chugginess" when using apps like Photoshop or in general with games.
It's also 1066 rather than 1333.
Am I overreacting, will it make much of a "real world" difference? I couldn't care less if one of them gets a 0.00000216% performance increase over the other in an artificial benchmarking tool, its day to day use that concerns me and the "go and stick the kettle on" while waiting for something to happen reality.
PS, I know I'm being shallow but the Viper II from my personal aesthetic standpoint looks lovely, wish they had a 15-16" model.
****************************************************************************
I know more or less the parts I'm looking for but am struggling to find a base unit to accommodate other than the Enigma II range.
Regarding the specs, I'm really looking for something along the lines of...
CPU: i5-540
RAM: 4 GB 1333 (2x2GB) - 8 GB 1333 (2x4GB) highly preferred
Video: 5650
HDD: 500 GB 7200
Wireless: N'Card
Fluff I would probably add would be the Blu Ray so something with a native of 1280x720 or higher (aka 720p).
I'm sure the Enigma II is a fantastic piece of kit but their are a couple of personal issues with it that just put me off, primarily aesthetically, at least from the images I've seen it doesn't "grab me" for the want of a better way of putting it.
I realise I'm being difficult so I apologise for that but can anyone suggest a base to build from that allows for the sort of components I've listed above?
Additionally before I forget, 1920x1080 (aka 1080p) while a lovely idea is not necessary particularly as I'm yet to see a flat panel scale down really well which I'm sure will be a requirement for most new/newer PC games but as long as its at least 1280x720 for Blu-Ray playback and has the HDMI so it can be whacked up to 1920x1080 (aka 1080p) for the telly.
Oh, and one other small query, many laptops come with some sort of "kick it" button to push the CPU on the fly (specifically for gaming it seems), was wondering if you folks at PCSpecialist do something similar on your custom units as I didn't see a mention of it.
Anyway, I better post this before I ramble on any more, again sorry to be a pain in the backside.
****************************************************************************
UPDATE
Doing some more twiddling found the 18.4" Viper II to be very interesting.
Only concerns here are max memory of 4 GB 1066 (2x2GB) and instead of the 5650 its a 5156, knowing how model range numbers tend to work I would usually dismiss it out of hand but noticed on a few sites and benches people noting the difference between the 5156 and 5650 is almost nothing more than DirectX11.
A good example of where I'm seeing this information is the benchmarks listed here once you expand them:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5165.24579.0.html
Seeing as I won't be playing games on higher settings with a laptop anyway I wouldn't be using DirectX 11 so...
Back to the RAM though, that does concern me a bit, I've been using 8 GB of 1333 on my desktops for a while now since I went 64 bit, I know many think its unnecessary but it really seems to help with "chugginess" when using apps like Photoshop or in general with games.
It's also 1066 rather than 1333.
Am I overreacting, will it make much of a "real world" difference? I couldn't care less if one of them gets a 0.00000216% performance increase over the other in an artificial benchmarking tool, its day to day use that concerns me and the "go and stick the kettle on" while waiting for something to happen reality.
PS, I know I'm being shallow but the Viper II from my personal aesthetic standpoint looks lovely, wish they had a 15-16" model.
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