Xotic laptop

[monkey44]

Has anyone heard good or bad things about XOTIC PC in Nebraska?

I've been looking to upgrade my laptop - and keep seeing HD as storage and I'd prefer SSD as storage. This is an American company that speaks English, which I understand pretty well. We talk to the same guy every time, and he always answers the phone. I like the idea of USA company that we can reach. It offers lifetime tech support on any computer it builds.

They offer a ASUS laptop with Samsung SSD for OS and general processing, and will substitute a Samsung SSD for the storage HD. It holds two drives, one is a "C" drive and other a "D" drive. THE "D" drive only stores data, like an external storage drive, except it sits inside.

They build primarily gaming laptops, and although we don't 'game' much, we process a lot of high-end RAW images, so we believe that set up will work very well because of the high-end graphics card. We don't want a desktop because we RV travel a lot for extended periods in a truck camper.

One of the primary issues we have now is sitting and watching the hourglass work on images ... would like to speed that up a bit.

We're looking at this one ASUS GL752VW-DH74 w/two SSD and no HDD

whttp://www.xoticpc.com/ Thanks BD

[monkey44]

fj12ryder wrote:
Don't forget that a "Lifetime Warranty" is only as good as the lifetime of the company offering the warranty. The company looks to have been around for a few years, but the laptop/PC market is shrinking due to the popularity of tablets, so as the market shrinks so will the vendors.

Personally I'd stay away from anything offered by HSN or QVC, that stuff always looks to be second tier quality.

You can save a bit by using an HD for storage, an SSD for storage is still pretty expensive when you're talking a terabyte or so. And if you're working with RAW photos you're going to eat up a lot of space. I'd look at a 256 gig SSD for the OS, 16 gig of memory, and at least a 500 gig HD. And the speed of access for storage isn't as much of a bottleneck as the OS drive.

yeah, no discount sales vendors - they're OK for some items, but not a PC ... never happen.

Agreed - in fact, I'm bumping up the SSD to 256GB and the storage drive to an 256GB SSD. I have dual 256 SSD set up for external storage as well, and can simply buy another external SSD if needed.

It's nice to have that 512GB SSD total in the laptop, especially as large as OS is getting, and the programs and file sizes - but adding external storage is pretty easy with USB. And I like to keep the storage out of the 'C' drive anyway, and keep it safe as possible. I double backup every RAW file and then pull it in, copy it, and process the copy each time I need an image.

This set up on the ASUS will have 256GB SSD on the OS "C" drive, then the second 256GB SSD becomes a "D" drive ... probably a little safer than a 512GB SSD all in the OS "C" drive. At least there's a wall between them which I have to open to access it.

I've lost data on the HD mechanical drives in the past - they just quit rotating, and when that happens, we can't even extract the data externally. I cringe when I see an HD in my PC.

This company - xotic - is fifteen years in business, and very mature phone techs. Lots of 5 star reviews, and gamers can be very tough on the review boards. The few low reviews are mostly 'late delivery issues' not technology related.

And, right -- LIFETIME OF THE COMPANY WARRANTY - but when I talk to software techs or Dell / HP or others, the language barrier and the response is like having NO warranty at all -- which gets very tiring ... At least this one is right here, and has been for awhile - the owners are young techs, and look like 'under 40's' crowd.

[fj12ryder]

Don't forget that a "Lifetime Warranty" is only as good as the lifetime of the company offering the warranty. The company looks to have been around for a few years, but the laptop/PC market is shrinking due to the popularity of tablets, so as the market shrinks so will the vendors.

Personally I'd stay away from anything offered by HSN or QVC, that stuff always looks to be second tier quality.

You can save a bit by using an HD for storage, an SSD for storage is still pretty expensive when you're talking a terabyte or so. And if you're working with RAW photos you're going to eat up a lot of space. I'd look at a 256 gig SSD for the OS, 16 gig of memory, and at least a 500 gig HD. And the speed of access for storage isn't as much of a bottleneck as the OS drive.

[monkey44]

joebedford wrote:
Asus is a Taiwanese company. Just sayin'

Yes, I am aware of it, but the call I make to get tech service is right here in USA ... that's more important. I've been talking to these guys for over a week, and every time, I get a USA speaking person I can talk with.

In fact, in a world economy today, we often get parts for everything we buy made in "somewhere" ...

The "box" is made in Taiwan, but the guts are Samsung = Korea, and so most PC/Laptop have drives and cards made elsewhere. Samsung is not a baby, but a well-established brand world-wide.

I'll look at those two other companies mentioned above today as well. The trouble I'm seeing with HP and Dell, the technology is yesterday and the PC's are what both have "on the self" until it's gone. That's my 'not tech smart" self making a judgment call with small tech knowledge - so I really have to do some homework ... mistakes are very expensive.

[GordonThree]

If you want American made laptops, not just customized imports, check out Northrup Grumman or General Dynamics. Expect to pay a little premium.

[joebedford]

The previous generation (lower performance) of Dell laptop I'm looking at is $100 MORE EXPENSIVE at HSN than the new one from Dell.

[joebedford]

Asus is a Taiwanese company. Just sayin'

[lj2654]

I just bought my son an Exotic laptop for Christmas. He is into gaming and wanted one for that purpose. Prices are very competitive and quality seems good so far.

[RoyB]

Be sure to check out the great deals HSN and QVC has for their top-end DELLS and HP LAPTOP sales.. Great price - lots of added things - the fastest systems etc...

ALso an easy five or six monthly payment plan with no interest...

I finally got all four of my OLD and SLOW computers replaced with LAPTOPs over the past couple of years.

Roy Ken