Overall, I'm really glad I made this purchase; I spent about two weeks pouring over possible replacement computers and comparing stats after my previous laptop reached its end-of-life. I wanted something that could run my games on the highest settings but also something that would be flexible enough to use for graduate school and professional work. I also knew I wanted something durable, as I use my laptop daily and plan to have it for many years.
It's been a couple weeks since my purchase and here are my thoughts:
Pros:
- Fast. Even when the GPU isn't in use, this computer has no problem handling multiple programs, Chrome tabs, and documents open at the same time and running everything flawlessly. I don't play MMOGs but I do like simulation and strategy games and this computer can run them all on the highest settings without any issue.
- Quieter than expected. The fans kick on periodically when I'm playing games, but even then it's much quieter than I expected from a gaming laptop. I can hear the whirring a tad if my volume is next to zero, but otherwise the normal volume of whatever I'm doing or having earphones in makes the fans unnoticeable.
- Runs cooler than expected. Related to the fan note above, this computer stays cool. I will play with it on my lap in the evenings from the couch, and it's never yet been uncomfortable to do so.
- Price. I didn't expect to find a laptop like this for under $900. (Taxes bumped it up slightly over $900, but still worth it.)
- Keyboard - there were more backlit options than I expected. You can set the backlights to off, static (solid red), strobe (quick pulses in red), breathe (slower pulses in red), or color cycle (slow fade through the rainbow.) The brightness also has multiple options. The keys themselves have a comfortable, springy feel to them and it's comfortable to type on at length.
- Screen/display. I haven't noticed any discoloration and the 15.5" display is a nice size for working on two documents side by side or having a video open while working on something else. And yest still small enough to slip it into most backpacks, if needed.
- Design. I like the logo on the top of the case (instead of a company name) and there's a subtle ridged texture design around the keys/mousepad that has a nice feel and look to it.
- Trackpad. I like that it has two buttons for right and left mouse clicks. Some users may not, but I prefer it.
- Quick and easy set up. I was up and running quickly with no issues; set up was a breeze and there isn't too much junk software to sort through/uninstall. (It didn't come with Microsoft Office, which was fine with me since I can get it free through my school as a student... but if that's important to you, be aware that it'll be an additional cost for you.)
Cons:
- Battery life is good when not gaming (~8 hours) but lackluster when playing games (~1-2 hours). Still, any laptop with a GPU is going to lack battery power when running its graphics card so I expected this.
- A bit heavy at 5 lbs. (Again though - weight is expected in a gaming laptop and it's actually not that bad at all compared to many other models out there.)
- I've noticed the mousepad sometimes loses track of my touch. This has happens maybe once a week for a couple seconds? I plan to buy a mouse anyway, but the issue with the tracking is minor and infrequent enough to barely count as a "con".
Overall, it's got a nice look and feel, it's got plenty of processing power to run everything quickly and smoothly, and the price is great.
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 4 GHz ryzen_5_4600h |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 3200 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 4 GB |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth, 802.11ac |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
