It's arriving soon

[Tobermory]

Hey guys
My new laptop is in pre-production and I can't wait; it's an Optimus with a Ryzen7 4800H

After reading a few posts on here about running windows update a couple times and then installing drivers etc.......could someone please give me a full breakdown of what to expect and what is required for when the box arrives (not ordered from PCS before).
I've included win10pro in the order.

My questions;
is it a straight switch on and connect to my wifi and run windows updates.......but what next and where do the drivers come from?
It's a work laptop so will I need 'control centre' and be able to mess around with fan speeds etc?.....where do these come from?



Thanks in advance

 

[steaky360]

@SimonClapham781 short answer is, essentially yes, basically plug it in and connect to your wifi/internet.

Check your login on PCSpecialist website - it will have a list of downloadable drivers for your laptop (its also where the control center type software will come from), I'd download these in advance and put on a memory stick or similar if you can.

When you get your laptop
Run through windows setup (windows will take you through it)
Run windows update until there's no more updates to install, this will cover the majority of the necessary drivers.
If needed, install drivers from the ones you've downloaded (potentially control center type software for RGB keyboards etc.)
If necessary install nvidia/amd drivers (either nvidia or amd website) specific to your GPU

That should be about it. Obviously if you have any issues you can post back here and we can help

 

[ubuysa]

where do the drivers come from?

Windows Update will (should) find all your drivers. Only use those in your PCS website account if Windows Update doesn't find a suitable driver.

 

[Tobermory]

@steaky360 @ubuysa
Cheers for that guys
I've looked in the 'tech support' tab and under 'downloads' there are a heap of files; guessing these are what I'll download to the USB stick? There are also 2no win10 files......one is a zip; with 'numlock' in the file name........what is this? The other is a win10 recovery .iso file.......what is this?
I've asked for the recovery media to be on a usb stick in my order.

 

[Tobermory]

Hi guys
I'm having trouble downloading two of the driver .zip files from PCS:
W10_recovery_os_multi_language.iso
06_NVVGA_W10.zip

Both the downloads are failing after about 1GB download. There is no download cap on my line. All the other files downloaded without any bother.

Do I need these files?

 

[steaky360]

You don't need the W10 recovery, you can download a windows installer from windows at any time - I'm not sure what the other driver is to be honest..

 

[SpyderTracks]

06_NVVGA_W10.zip is the nvidia display driver, but you wouldn't install that from PCS, you'd download it direct from nvidia.

You don't need the W10 file, you'd download that direct from microsoft.

The numlock one is a driver, but windows update should find that.

Even if you get windows 10 on usb stick you wouldn't use it because it will be out of date, you just create a USB from the microsoft website with the latest image.

 

[Tobermory]

Nice quick one there guys
My laptop will be coming with win10 installed so hopefully running the windows update a couple times should sort everything out??

@SpyderTracks you mention getting the nvidia driver direct from nvidia.........will I need to do this still?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Nice quick one there guys
My laptop will be coming with win10 installed so hopefully running the windows update a couple times should sort everything out??

@SpyderTracks you mention getting the nvidia driver direct from nvidia.........will I need to do this still?

No, it will come fully configured. You’d just need to run windows updates and make sure the gpu driver is updated.

 

[Tobermory]

Just a quickie guys; my new laptop has been through testing, on the 24th Dec; should I be expecting it this week you think??

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just a quickie guys; my new laptop has been through testing, on the 24th Dec; should I be expecting it this week you think??

Yes, with any luck it will be despatched tomorrow and arrive wednesday if you're mainland UK.

That's assuming no issues were found in testing, but you should have had an update by now if any were found.

 

[Tobermory]

🤞

 

[Tobermory]

It arrived yesterday............and wow; well packaged and spot-on delivery, so kudos to PCS and DPD.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 Eight Core Processor 4800H (2.9GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Optimus Series Integrated 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
OPTIMUS SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Laptop Cooling Stands
CoolerMaster NotePal L2 Laptop Cooler, up to 17.3 inch
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/optimusXI-pro-17/c0eY4vAE2n/

Unpacked and gave it some time to get to room temperature and then a couple of hours charging before the switching-on debut.
This is my works pc - Acad/spreadsheets/ground modelling/data transfer to machine controller etc. First impressions were good of the Optimus chassis and so much better than my outdated Dell Inspiron 7548(although I do like the aluminium casing!)

It came with win10pro installed so the start-up and settings were a breeze. Straight into windows update and let it do it's thing; there were a couple of restarts and rescans but no bother and ready to go fairly quickly. The Dell is still on win8.1 so there is a heap of learning now required it seems!!

I choose 2 of the m2 drives; the 250gb will hold the software for work - Progecad/LSS/LibreOffice/Navisworks and the like, whereas the 500gb will hold all the data and photos etc.

Battery life is not a great concern as the laptop will mainly be plugged in and only rely on battery occasionally.


I was a little apprehensive to begin with; this is the first PCS dealing I've had plus I've always had 'branded' laptops in the past, but it has quickly faded away - much helped by the knowledgeable guys on here and the great support they offer to everyone. The order process was a breeze yet a little mind boggling due to the many options available on the configurator! My order was placed on the 6th Dec and delivered on the 30th Dec.......not bad considering Christmas and covid were both inbetween.

Once I've got all my software installed and given it a couple weeks, I'll do another review.


Thanks and Happy New Year to you all