Krypton L4Post Date: 2014-07-28 |
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KME 
Newbie 
Joined: 28 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
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 Topic: Krypton L4Posted: 28 Jul 2014 at 11:03am |
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Hello, I'm looking for a new gaming laptop and after doing some research I settled on DS. My budget is around 3000$. I work on a ship so there are some issues with vibration and dust so I value reliability quite a lot. Some background: I don't live in the US, but in Europe, so I plan to have a friend order the laptop and bring it home with her when she comes visit her parents this fall. I understand there could be some issues with customer support and I'd apreciate any guidance. There is nothing available in my country even close to DS (or even alienware and even ASUS ROG laptops are soled gimped compared to US) so I don't really have any other choice, since i wouldn't like to have a 3000$ laptop shipped overseas. Regarding the configuration I pasted it below and I have a few questions: - Is it worth spending about 300$ more to upgrade the CPU to a 4940mx and downgrading the RAM to 16gb? are there noticeable performace gains (1080p gaming), heat issues (I think the 4940mx generates more),etc? - What kind of Audio hardware does it come with? - WIFI: I went with the Intel option cause I have never used the other one. which is better? (using an ASUS ac-rt68u at home, upgrading to an 87 when they become available) Regarding shipping: how much time should I take into account from the moment she places the order to when the laptop is delivered (she lives in Portland, Oregon at the moment) Any advice is welcome :) Thank you! Configuration Code: 1005231Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,972.00 Specifications: Chassis Model: Digital Storm Krypton 17.3 Inch Laptop (Model: S:8298) Display: 17.3 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Anti-glare) LED-Backlit Display Processor: Intel Core i7 4910MQ (Up to 3.90Ghz) (Quad Core) (8MB Cache) Thermal Compound: Premium CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise) <br><strong></strong> Memory: 32GB DDR3 1600MHz (Requires Windows Pro or Higher) <br><strong></strong> mSATA SSD: - No Thanks Storage Drive 1: 250GB Solid State - Samsung 840 EVO Storage Drive 2: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s) Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player (Blu-Ray 6x) & DVD/CD Writer Wireless Card: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0 Graphics Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M 8GB with NVIDIA Battery Boost + NVIDIA Optimus Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition) <br><strong></strong> Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD) Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value) Office Suite: - No Thanks Cooling Pad: - No Thanks Extra Charger: - No Thanks Extra Battery: - No Thanks Carry Bag: Targus CityGear Messenger (Supports Up to 17 Inch Models) <br><strong></strong> Audio: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement) |
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Roykirk
Senior Member 
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 951 |
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Posted: 28 Jul 2014 at 2:52pm |
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Unfortunately, I can't assist you with your concerns about receiving support in Europe. That's probably best answered by talking to Digital Storm directly for the best answers. Same with your shipping questions.
As for the processor question, don't have the processor you're talking about (running a 4810MQ), but in general, I'd be more concerned about the video card than the CPU these days. There are some games that might benefit from the beefier processor, so maybe it would be good if you tell us what games you expect to play on it. I would definitely be concerned if the 4940 runs hotter as heat is always a concern with laptops. I had originally considered getting 32GB or RAM on my Level 3+ Krypton, but went for the 16GB for now as RAM is pretty easy to upgrade later. I've not needed the extra 16GB at all so far, and that's with a game and even a Blu-ray playing at the same time, along with RAM-hogging browsers and other software all vying for system memory. What sort of things are you planning to do that might require RAM? Lots of photo or video work? Other tasks? Nice looking configuration, and I hope DS is able to give you the answers you need. |
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KME
Newbie
Joined: 28 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
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Posted: 28 Jul 2014 at 8:01pm |
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Hey, thanks for the reply.
I'll see about talking to DS but that might not work since i'm on board a ship and will be for the next month, month and a half :) Games i expect to play? Pretty much anything coming in the next 2 years (i'm limited to single player games while on board ships, so I play most of what gets released). Looking forward to Witcher 3, The Division, Elite: Dangerous, Dragon Age Inquisition... I'd like to future proof it as much as i can. At home I play EvE Online a lot, running between 3 and 5 clients at a time. Edit: Forgot to mention I still play Skyrim modded quite heavily, looking forward to increasing texture size and ENB settings :) I only rarely ever do Video/Photo processing. RAM is easy to upgrade later, true. I assumed the 16gb = 2x 8gb with 2 slots to spare, am I wrong? I've been looking at benchmarks and comparisons for the two processors and they show about a 5% gain of performance with a 4940mx CPU... but that's only theory. At the moment I'm leaning towards the 4910mq. GPU: Upgrading the 880M would mean going SLI with a Behemoth. Don't know how much difference that would make while gaming on a single screen, and it would cost quite a bit more. Edited by KME - 28 Jul 2014 at 8:05pm |
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Roykirk
Senior Member
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 951 |
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Posted: 28 Jul 2014 at 10:45pm |
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Sounds like you'll be fine with the 4910QM on the L4.
There are indeed 4 slots for RAM and each can take an 8GB stick. If you get the 16GB only for now, only two slots will be filled, so easy upgrade though to access the two empty slots it will require getting under the keyboard. Only two of the slots are accessible with the other components on the underside of the chassis. I too was looking to future proof and I'm feeling pretty good about my Krypton, though I'm not one to play the bleeding edge games as those tend to be FPSes and I can't play those at all. Skyrim is looking absolutely gorgeous on mine and you should be very pleased with it on your proposed configuration. Go for the 4940 if you want as you won't be starving for RAM even at 16GB, but I don't know that it's worth that big leap in price. I don't know about SLI 880Ms and how they compare with a single card. Probably going to be some games that won't support it anyhow. Behemoth might be overkill, but if you can swing it, get the most monstrous rig you can. Can you at least correspond with DS via email or not even that when you're on board? |
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KME
Newbie
Joined: 28 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 12:58am |
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Yeah I'll probably stick with the 4910mq.
Thanks for the info on the RAM slots, since I have to go under the keyboard to upgrade I'll let the DS guys do that and order it from the start with 32gb just in case. Can't hurt and it's only 200$, even though it might be overkill. Regarding SLI, I have my reservations... I'd consider that in a desktop with plenty of room for cooling and such. And you are right that some games don't support it fully. How's the onboard audio sound? I'll try e-mailing DS and ask about customer support in my case and about shipping. We have almost full, albeit slow, internet access on board but the sat phone quality isn't so good so i prefer to avoid it altogether. |
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Roykirk
Senior Member
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 951 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 6:06am |
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Onboard audio is OK, but it's a laptop, so not great. When I'm at home with it, I use my Klipsch 2.1 setup with it like I did my last one.One thing I noticed is that no matter what speakers I'm using, the channel balance isn't good, and I have to use the SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3 software to get the right balance so I can hear dialog in movies and television. It won't come pre-installed, so watch for that.
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