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This keyboard is backlit, which earns the Vortex III HD7S a bonus point. I do feel a backlit keyboard is a huge plus point, especially if you frequently work in poorly lit environments (like me). I wouldn't buy a laptop now without one.
Above the keyboard are a series of lights which indicate wireless, bluetooth and drive activity. There are also status indicators for caps lock and num lock. The power button is positioned far right.
The trackpad is smooth and tracks very well. There is a fingerprint reader between the two textured buttons, which work great. I would always tend to use a bluetooth mouse on the move when possible, but in a pinch this is perfectly useable.
A side view of the machine highlights the businessman appearance. Very functional and well built.
The battery is removed with two clip mechanisms. It is a chunky 76.96Mh, 5200 mAh model. We will analyse battery life later in the review.
There are three separate panels underneath the chassis which are easily removed. In the middle is a 90GB Kingston Solid State Drive utilised for the Windows 7 operating system. A larger 750GB mechanical drive is positioned to the side for storage duties. There are two cooling fans in this machine, one dedicated to the processor, and the other to the HD7970m discrete graphics card. The design utilises substantial copper heatpipes to enhance cooling.
We were also pleased to see PC Specialist didn't skimp on the memory configuration, using high grade Kingston 1,600 mhz DDR3 SO-DIMMS (2x4GB) complete with quality heatspreaders.
