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Review: PC Specialist Defiance 17

by Parm Mann on 27 February 2015, 14:00

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacph4

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Test Methodology

Comparison Laptops

System Name
PC Specialist Defiance 17
Form Factor
13.9in
17.3in
13.3in
15.6in
17.3in
17.3in
CPU
Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz
Intel Core i7-4870HQ @ up to 3.7GHz
Intel Core i7-4870HQ @ up to 3.7GHz
Intel Core i7-4700HQ @ up to 3.4GHz
Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz
Intel Core i7-4720HQ @ up to 3.6GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
CPU TDP
47W
47W
47W
47W
47W
47W
Memory
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)
8GB DDR3 (1x8GB)
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)
Memory Speed
1,866MHz at 10-10-10-32-1T
1,866MHz at 10-10-10-32-1T
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T
1,600MHz at 9-9-9-27-1T
Integrated GPU
Intel HD 4600
-
Intel Iris Pro 5200
Intel HD 4600
Intel HD 4600
Intel HD 4600
Dedicated GPU(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 6GB
2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 3GB
-
Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 4GB
Display
13.9in QHD+ LCD (3,200x1,800)
17.3in AUO159D Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)
13.3in BOE05E3 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)
15.6in SDC324C Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)
17.3in CMN1735 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)
17.3in CMO1720 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)
Battery Capacity
73.26Wh
73.26Wh
47.36Wh
52.89Wh
83Wh
60Wh
Wireless
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
Killer Wireless-AC 1525
Killer Wireless-AC 1525
Network
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet
Qualcomm Atheros AR8161 Gigabit Ethernet
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Primary Storage
2 x 256GB LiteOn LMT-256L9M mSATA SSDs in RAID 0
2 x 256GB LiteOn LMT-256L9M mSATA SSDs in RAID 0
2 x 256GB Kingston SN8100S3 M.2 SSDs in RAID 0
128GB Toshiba THNSNH128G8NT M.2 SSD
2 x Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU M.2 SSDs in RAID 0
240GB Kingston SM2280S3240G SSDNow M.2 SSD
Secondary Storage
-
-
-
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
1TB WD Blue 2.5in HDD
Optical Drive
-
-
-
-
LG Blu-ray writer
-
Power Supply
150W External
200W External
65W External
150W External
230W External
180W External
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Dimensions (W x D x H)
330mm x 264mm x 22.9mm
428mm x 305mm x 22.9mm
320mm x 227mm x 19.8mm
390mm x 266mm x 19.95mm
428mm x 305mm x 48mm
417mm x 287mm x 29.98mm
Weight
1.9kg
3.1kg
1.3kg
2.0kg
3.8kg
3.3kg
Standard Warranty
Two years
Two years
Two years
Two years
Two years
Three years
Approx. System Cost
£1,799
£1,999
£2,199
£1,120
£1,999
£1,349

CPU Benchmarks

HEXUS PiFast Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU.
Cinebench Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible.
HandBrake Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores.

Memory and Storage Benchmarks

AIDA64 Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency.
CrystalDiskMark Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds.

System and Gaming Benchmarks

PCMark 8 System-wide examination that uses the Home preset, run with OpenCL acceleration.
3DMark DX11, run at the Firestrike default test.
Aliens vs. Predator 1,920x1,080 resolution, 2xAA, 4xAF, medium quality.
BioShock Infinite 1,920x1,080 resolution, various quality settings.
Total War: Rome II 1,920x1,080 resolution, various quality settings.

Miscellaneous Benchmarks

Power Consumption Noted for system idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator.
Temperature Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator.