25 Sep
Blog

Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 Review: 1440p Gaming Done Right

Lenovo Legion y27q 20 review y20q 10

"The Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 offers fluid, ultra-fast gaming in an elegant design."

  • Simple, lightweight design

  • 165Hz refresh rate

  • Excellent ergonomics

  • Decent value for 1440p

  • 1 ms response time

  • No speakers

  • Bad contrast

  • Frustrating controls

It's an ideal time to upgrade to higher resolution games, but you will likely need a new game monitor. That doubles when you've updated your PC's graphics card, whether it's a lower-priced RTX 20 series or one of the new 30 series cards.

The Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 offers a resolution of 1440p and a refresh rate of 165 Hz and is in every way an upgrade of your old 1080p monitor. It is quickly becoming a crowded space, however, and $ 430 isn't the cheapest price out there. Does the Legion Y27q-20 have the picture quality and gaming performance to secure it?

design

While nothing special, the Legion Y27q-20 is not devoid of embellishments, including Lenovo's signature circular cheese grater design on the back of the case. Oddly enough, it's not dissimilar to Apple's Mac Pro or Pro Display XDR. For a gaming peripheral, it's rather sleek and not as bulky as some Acer Predator or Asus ROG monitors.

But don't get too excited. Like most gaming monitors, the Legion Y27q is mostly made of plastic and has a large lower bezel. The HP Omen 27 gaming monitor has more class in my book, but the Legion undercuts the price of this monitor considerably. Fortunately, the stand is made of metal, which offers a lot of stability.

The Legion Y27q's screen, base, and stand are individually wrapped, but I got them assembled in seconds thanks to the monitor's simple VESA mount. The entire package weighs just 14.7 pounds, which makes it even easier to set up. The Acer Nitro XZ272U is lighter at just 11 pounds, but the Y27q isn't far away.

After setting it up, I was delighted to discover how adjustable the Legion Y27q is. With tilt, turn, height and swivel adjustment, you are sure to find something that meets your needs. Switching from landscape to portrait is a notable addition that gaming monitors like the Predator XB273U and Dell S-Series monitors lack.

Ports

The connections are on the back and face down. You won't find any surprises here – just a DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4. These are older port standards, but for a 1440p gaming monitor, they're all you need.

The Legion Y27q-20 even has additional USB connectivity to sweeten business. On the back, you'll find a USB-B 3.1 upstream port and a USB-A port, while two USB-A ports flank the side. You will also find a headphone / microphone jack here. These are nice additions to an otherwise fairly simple gaming monitor that turns into a USB hub.

The monitor is supplied with power via the rectangular “Trim Yellow” power connector from Lenovo next to a relatively small external power supply module.

Unfortunately, Lenovo didn't think the Legion Y27q-20 needed speakers. Lenovo sells a separate model with a cone-shaped speaker in the base, but it's missing here. That's a shame. I still think most monitors should include speakers, even if they're not the largest in the world. Yes, most people use headphones or external speakers, but for the rare occasional time you want them, they're missing.

Buttons and Menus

The on-screen menu is accessed using the six buttons just below the control panel. There are no fancy joysticks or buttons behind the screen.

Once you are in the menu, you can adjust settings like brightness and contrast as well as switch between different game settings and color profiles. Lenovo offers genre-specific profiles for first-person shooters, strategy games, and more. You can also switch to "Extreme" mode, which takes you from three milliseconds to one.

Navigating the menu with the buttons is a frustrating experience.

The problem? Navigating the menu with the buttons is a frustrating experience.

For starters, the button furthest to the right is the power button, but it feels identical to the other buttons. Accidentally turning off your monitor during a game is no fun. This can happen if you reach for brightness controls while gaming in a darker environment, especially because the monitor lacks adaptive brightness.

The symbiology used on the buttons and in the menu is also confusing. What looks like a back button is actually a select button that is disoriented while navigating the menu. It would have been a good idea to do some additional user testing on these.

Game performance

The Legion Y27q-20 uses a 27-inch panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution. Playing games at 1440p is great. It's not quite 4K, but it's also not nearly as demanding when you have more of a mid-range system. The RTX 2070 Super I tested it with push games like Battlefield V and Fortnite well over 100 frames per second, even at maximum settings.

Thanks to the refresh rate of 165 Hz, the gameplay feels incredibly smooth. Sure, there are 240Hz, 300Hz, or even 360Hz monitors out there – but unless you want to be a professional gamer (and maybe even then) 165Hz should work fine. This is especially true if you are playing in 1440p.

This is not true G-Sync.

Nvidia G-Sync stickers are placed all over the Legion Y27q-20, but it's not a real implementation. Instead of a physical G-Sync module, it is certified by a solution that Nvidia calls "G-Sync Compatible". Essentially, this means it's a Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) monitor that Nvidia checked for flickering, ghosting, and tearing. This is not true G-Sync.

And yet the gaming experience on the Legion Y27q-20 is super fluid. As soon as you jump into the Nvidia control panel and change the refresh rate to 165 Hz, you'll immediately notice the smooth animations, even of your cursor, as you move it across the screen. Next, you want to enable the Extreme setting to achieve the specified response time of one millisecond.

Response time is about how quickly the pixels on your monitor can change color. There is no agreed measure of response time, so the difference between 1 ms and 3 ms can be inconsistent depending on the monitor. However, with the Legion Y27q-20, you can tell the subtle difference in responsiveness when you switch between the two settings.

picture quality

Thanks to the IPS display (In-Plane Switching), the Legion Y27q-20 can also be used for activities outside of the game. It's pretty bright with a maximum of 415 nits, and the color saturation isn't bad either. With 99% of sRGB and 77% of AdobeRGB, the Legion Y27q is as colorful as you can expect from a gaming monitor.

Many inexpensive or medium-sized gaming monitors opt for VA panels (vertical orientation) or TN panels (twisted nematic). These screens tend to have worse viewing angles, so I am pleased that Lenovo has chosen IPS.

However, it wasn't perfect. The contrast was low at only 650: 1, which was affected by the flat black values. The images look a bit washed out next to other displays. For comparison: the Acer Nitro XZ27 has a size of 1,060: 1, which leads to much richer images and colors.

The Legion Y27q is a hit or miss in terms of image quality.

The second problem was color accuracy. With an average Delta-E of 3.07, the color accuracy is surprisingly poor for 202o. The Nitro XZ272U, for example, has an average of 1.23. Again, this isn't the biggest issue for gamers, but there's no reason a $ 430 monitor should be so poorly calibrated.

I tried calibrating the screen myself to see if I could improve some of these numbers with my Spyder5Elite. The gamma has been corrected from 2.1 to 2.2 and the color accuracy has been reduced to 1.85. Both are positive improvements in image quality, which shows that this panel could have used an additional factory calibration. However, contrast and black levels were not helped.

The Legion Y27q is a hit or miss in terms of image quality. It's not a screen that you want to perform precise color grading or watch movies all the time.

Our opinion

With RTX 30 series graphics just around the corner, gaming monitors like the Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 will soon become important. There are some cheaper options that result in higher resolutions and refresh rates, but the Legion Y27q-20's looks and responsiveness make it a solid option for a monitor upgrade.

Are there alternatives?

The Acer Nitro XZ272U is only $ 330, though it's also a 27-inch 165Hz gaming monitor. It uses a VA panel and has a response time of 4 ms instead of 1 ms. It even has a curved screen.

Another option is the Asus TUF VG27 gaming monitor, which is available for $ 479. Finally, the $ 400 Dell S2719DGF is another great option. It has a 1ms response time and 155Hz refresh rate, but uses a cheaper TP panel.

How long it will take?

The Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 should last around five years. The standard warranty is three years, but with the refresh rate of 165 Hz and the resolution of 1440p you are equipped for PC games longer.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Legion Y27q-20 combines features, design and performance in one affordable package.

Editor's recommendations




17 Sep
Blog

Nvidia RTX 3080 Review: A New Standard For PC Gaming

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 review: a bright future for PC games

"The Nvidia RTX 3080 sets a new standard for high-end PC games."

  • Fast and smooth 4K gaming

  • Attractive new design

  • HDMI 2.1 support

  • Improved ray tracing and DLSS performance

  • Requires cumbersome adapter

  • Needs more power

The gaming world's attention is focused entirely on the upcoming console launches. I get it. Players can finally get PC-level games in the living room. Between the price and the updated internals, these new consoles are a big deal.

Nvidia won't let the consoles powered by AMD hardware steal the limelight, however.

The Nvidia RTX 3080, available starting today with the rest of the RTX 3000 series, represents the future of PC gaming. With the most significant generation leap in the history of Nvidia, the RTX 3080 wants to prove that real high-end gaming always belongs on the PC. Is this the next leap forward in PC gaming? Or have consoles finally caught up?

design

The RTX 3080 is a classy looking graphics card.

The previous generation of Nvidia GPUs, from the RTX 2060 to the RTX 2080 Ti, wanted you to know how top notch your experience was. The case and back plate were made of aluminum, and the “Nvidia GeForce” logo glowed green when switched on. The super models even added a highly reflective glass-like texture to the surface.

The RTX 3080 takes a more subtle approach. A matte, dark gray material is used. It even has a white backlight instead of green. None of this is flashy, but it is in line with the simpler direction of modern gaming equipment. It won't be noticed when sitting next to a stark white NZXT H510i case or a Razer Blade 15. Straight lines and muted colors are all the rage, and the RTX 3080 reflects that.

For something with a bit more edge, third-party cards from Asus or MSI will likely work just fine. To me, Nvidia's reference model looks great.

In addition to its looks, the RTX 3080 also has a redesigned cooling system. A fan flanks each side of the cover using a unique "push-pull" system for thermal management. One side sucks in air and another sucks it out at the back. According to Nvidia, this results in better airflow, but the RTX 3080 runs a little hotter than the RTX 2080 Ti. In the same run of 3DMark Time Spy, the RTX 3080 hit a maximum of 76 degrees Celsius, four degrees hotter than the RTX 2080 Ti. Both Still stayed away from the 80-degree mark during all of my tests.

The RTX 3080 is almost identical to the RTX 2080 Ti and the 2080 Super. In contrast to the massive RTX 3090, the 3080 only has a standard design with two slots. It could be easily pushed into a 28-liter housing that previously housed an RTX 2070 Super. It's still a great graphics card, of course, but it will fit in your rig as well as the previous generation.

Power supply and connections

While it probably fits your case, the RTX 3080 is power hungry. It requires 320 watts of dedicated power. To keep this in mind, Nvidia recommends at least a 750 watt power supply to support your entire system. That alone can mean buying a new power supply for your system. So far, 650 watts have been the standard to support cards like the RTX 2080 Super or the 2080 Ti.

And yes, the rumors are true – the RTX 3080 has a new 12-pin power connector that requires an adapter to work with your old cables. Nvidia includes the adapter in the box, but in your case it still leaves an awkward dangling dongle.

For ports, the Nvidia RTX 3080 includes three DisplayPort 1.4a, which support up to 144 Hz at 4K, as well as an HDMI 2.1 port. These are the first graphics cards to support this new HDMI standard that can display 144 Hz at 4K resolution. It is noteworthy that the next generation of televisions also includes HDMI 2.1, which for the first time enables a high refresh rate in the living room.

The USB-C port is gone. This was a feature of the RTX 20 series to support NVLink, a way to run two GPUs over SLI. Connecting multiple cards to increase the frame rate is now an exclusive feature of the RTX 3090. Support for multiple GPUs is already dwindling, and removing NVLink on the RTX 3080 is the nail in the coffin.

Architecture

The Nvidia RTX 3080, along with the 3070 and 3090, uses Nvidia's new Ampere micro-architecture. It is based on Samsung's 8nm node and downsizes the chip compared to the 12nm node used in the Turing architecture. This means more transistors and theoretically higher efficiency.

Ampere offers a massive 50% jump in CUDA cores, now up to 8,704. Nvidia's GPUs are made up of streaming multiprocessors (SM), the individual units of processing power that make up the CUDA cores.

There is one important caveat here. The Ampere micro-architecture has changed the way every CUDA core works so that each one is a little less powerful. So a 50% increase in CUDA cores does not directly increase frame rates by 50%, even though you get the 29.7 teraflops of theoretical performance. However, this is a significant increase in core count and – spoiler alert – will have an impact when we get to our performance tests.

Cuda kernels memory Storage interface Boost clock Graphics card performance
RTX 3090 10,496 24 GB GDDR6X 384-bit 1.70 GHz 350w
RTX 3080 8.704 10 GB GDDR6X 320-bit 1.71 GHz 320w
RTX 3070 5,888 8 GB GDDR6 256-bit 1.73 GHz 220w
RTX 2080 Ti 4,352 11 GB GDDR6 352-bit 1.54 GHz 250w
RTX 2080 Super 3.072 8 GB GDDR6 256-bit 1.82 GHz 250w
RTX 2070 Super 2.560 8 GB DRR6 256-bit 1.77 GHz 215w

Ampere also brings more ray tracing and tensor cores to the table, expanding the forward tilt capabilities of the RTX 3080. Later more.

Finally, the RTX 3080 has 10GB of 320-bit GDDR6X memory. That's two more GB of faster video memory, almost up to 11 GB, which is offered in the RTX 2080 Ti. This is an important specification that is beneficial for games that use large textures and large amounts of screen data. It also shows how Nvidia has moved its entire GPU line up one notch.

performance

Let's get down to business, shall we?

The performance of the RTX 3080 is impressive in almost all cases. By the time the RTX 3090 launches in a few weeks, it is sure to be the most powerful graphics card you can buy. That's not too surprising, however, as there is no real competitor to AMD.

I assumed it would beat its predecessor, the RTX 2080 Super. But the real fun was discovering how much faster it really is. The comparison with the much more expensive RTX 2080 Ti was the icing on the cake.

My test system included a CML B460 MATX motherboard, 16 GB DDR4 2933 MHz RAM, and an Intel Core i7-10700 processor. These specs are not exhausted, but they are able to support the tests I ran and generally represent what we would recommend putting together a well-balanced gaming rig today.

Until the launch of the RTX 3090, the RTX 3080 is by far the most powerful graphics card you can buy.

I started with 3DMark Time Spy, the DirectX12 benchmark, which is a level playing field for testing graphics of all kinds. Here the RTX 3080 outperformed the RTX 2080 Ti by 15%. Not a huge head start, but let's not forget the $ 500 difference in price between these two cards. This is a bigger price gap than between other cards in the deck. The performance gap between the RTX 2080 Ti and the RTX 2080 Super is also larger.

In the meantime, the RTX 3080 beats the 2080 Super by 28% with no price hike.

That lead continued when I tried a number of games, both in 1440p and 4K. The RTX 3080 doesn't force gamers to choose between high resolution and high frame rate – it's a smooth gaming experience no matter which monitor you're using.

Let's start with the most challenging title first. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a game that no system I have tested can play with native 4K values ​​at 60 frames per second (fps) and extremely high settings. However, the RTX 3080 sets a new standard with an average of 61 fps (frames per second). The RTX 2080 Ti only reaches 47 fps, while the RTX 2080 Super reaches 43 fps. I can't exaggerate how impressed I was with the RTX 3080's 23% lead over the RTX 2080 Ti (and 30% over the RTX 2080 Super).

Next, I started Battlefield V. Historically, it's one of the few games where Nvidia GPUs lagged behind AMD. But not this time. The RTX 3080 has made its biggest leap in the games I tested and now averages up to 97 fps in 4K on Ultra. Entire 4K monitors with a refresh rate of 144 Hz are still uncommon. You need one to get the most out of the RTX 3080 in this game. Here the RTX 3080 is 22% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti (with 76 fps) and 33% ahead of the RTX 2080 Super (with 65 fps).

As expected, the RTX 3080 has the highest lead at 4K, where the GPU takes a higher load. It's still a great card for 1440p gaming, of course. Assassin's Creed Odyssey averaged 78 fps and Battlefield V 147 fps, both 17% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti.

At Fortnite, the winnings weren't quite as high, mostly because the RTX 2080 Ti was already playing well. It was the only game where the RTX 2080 Ti actually outperformed the RTX 3080 in lower resolutions (like 1080p). In 4K, the RTX 3080 averaged 78 fps at epic settings, 17% more than the RTX 2080 Ti, and 29% better than the RTX 2080 Super.

Finally, let's look at a lighter tariff. Civilization VI is a game ideally suited for 4K, offering a wider view of the map and more detail for your expanding empire. Civilization VI averaged 168 fps for Ultra, compared to 141 fps for the RTX 2080 Ti and 117 fps for the RTX 2080 Super.

With all of these games, you won't see that much gain at 1080p or lower settings. In Battlefield V with 1080p Ultra settings, for example, the RTX 3080 was only a few fps ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti. This also applies to Fortnite and Civilization VI, where you are gradually losing some of the RTX 3080's value. Unless you plan on upgrading your monitor for a higher resolution or refresh rate, the RTX 3080 is not worth your time. You'd better save some money and wait for the RTX 3070 or the inevitable RTX 3060.

Content creation

Outside of gaming, a powerful GPU like the RTX 3080 can greatly speed up content creation like video rendering or 3D modeling. Although much of the heavy lifting of these tasks is done by the CPU, a powerful GPU can improve render times.

I started with Adobe Premiere Pro where I loaded a project with a two minute 4K video clip. With the RTX 3080, exporting the clip to ProRes 422 took 2 minutes and 27 seconds. This is 11% faster than the RTX 2080 Super in the same video export and only 5% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti.

Ray tracing and DLSS

The RTX 2080 Ti, launched with almost zero titles, supports ray tracing or DLSS. That was extremely disappointing. However, developer support for real-time ray tracing has grown slowly but steadily, and two years later, many new AAA games are supporting Nvidia's RTX capabilities in one form or another. Implementing a la carte is still frustrating as many games opt for more limited (and less strenuous) RTX features.

Still, RTX is much stronger today than it used to be. It's a good time to launch some new high-performance GPUs that take both ray tracing and DLSS to the next level.

I tested one of the first games to incorporate RTX functionality: Battlefield V. Fortunately, I've found that the RTX 3080's ray tracing capabilities have improved over the RTX 2080 Ti.

In the Tirailleur mission, the RTX 2080 Ti allows for some brilliant reflections in the puddles of water near the start of the level, which can slow the frame rate down to an average of 33 fps. Once DLSS was turned on, this was increased to 45 fps. This was in 4K with settings on Ultra.

The real implementation of real-time ray tracing is still a challenge for even the most powerful graphics cards.

With the RTX 3080, those numbers look a little more promising. This new card processes the same scene with the same settings at 55 fps and jumps up to 69 fps with DLSS. There's room to grow, but at least in Battlefield V, ray tracing isn't entirely useless.

I also tested the new ray tracing features in Fortnite. The shadows, reflections, and global lighting are beautiful. Reflections on the water are flawless and even the shadows on the back of your character look incredibly realistic.

But even with the RTX 3080, these RTX functions are still a performance bottleneck. It averaged 53 fps in 1440p in Ultra, with all RTX functions maxed. But in 4K? The game was only played at 23 fps.

Of course, the game also offers a number of DLSS settings (quality, balance, or performance) that increase the frame rate through upsampling. The Performance setting adds noticeable blurring to distant textures, while the Quality setting only brings back up to 27 fps. In the end, the combination of DLSS and ray tracing is still enough for a performance hit that most people will prefer to leave out. That's a shame because the ray tracing is great.

Our opinion

The RTX 20 series has been criticized for being ray tracing and A.I. as raw achievement. The RTX 3080 shows how seriously Nvidia took this criticism. The performance levels open up new possibilities for gamers and no longer force them to choose between high resolutions and high frame rates. Nvidia achieved this raw performance boost without sacrificing its heavy investments in features like ray tracing and DLSS, as it was determined to keep the PC at the forefront of the conversation in next-gen games.

The RTX 3080 will never be Nvidia's most popular card at $ 699, but as an industry leader and flagship model, it's the best PC gaming can offer.

Are there alternatives?

The next alternatives are also offered by Nvidia: RTX 3090 and RTX 3070. The 3090 is the most expensive (and most powerful) graphics card Nvidia has ever made, and it probably doesn't fit into your average PC case. At $ 499, the RTX 3070 is cheaper and, according to Nvidia, also more powerful than the RTX 2080 Ti. The RTX 3090 will be available on September 24, while the RTX 3070 will be available in October.

Rumor has it that AMD's upcoming RX 6000 graphics will include a high-end GPU that could definitely challenge Nvidia's top-notch graphics cards. As of now, however, AMD's offerings are limited to the RX 5700XT.

How long it will take?

The Nvidia RTX 3080 should last at least five years. The graphics cards most used by Steam gamers are still cards from the Nvidia 10 series, which were first launched in 2016. Nvidia grants a generous three-year warranty on its Founders Edition GPUs that covers hardware defects and errors.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Nvidia RTX 3080 sets a new standard for first-class, incredibly fast PC games.

Editor's recommendations




16 Sep
Blog

Super Mario 3D All-Stars Review: A Tour of Gaming History

Super mario 3d all stars rating switch supermario3dallstars smg screen 10

"3D All-Stars preserves gaming classics like in a complete package."

  • Super Mario Galaxy is superb

  • Feels authentic to the original releases

  • A ton of Mario gameplay for $ 60

  • More accessible than original hardware

  • Super Mario 64 feels its age

  • Some cumbersome control changes

As someone who had never played Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy, I couldn't have been more excited when Nintendo announced Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection of the three titles for Nintendo Switch. When I finally played them, I understood how someone could revere a game like Super Mario 64 as something revolutionary in 1996.

Unfortunately, Nintendo decided to keep 64 and Sunshine as they were at the time, to the detriment of experiencing them today, where both titles would have been improved with better controls in more modern 3D Mario games. That being said, you could have told me that Super Mario Galaxy is a brand new game and I would have believed you what it is ultimately worth to acquire this collection.

A product of its time

One of the biggest questions after the Super Mario 3D All-Stars announcement was, "Where's Super Mario Galaxy 2?" For me, playing the collection answers that question; It's not so much about the games themselves, but how they are developed. The progress and differences between the three titles are dramatic. With the release of this game for the Italian plumber's 35th anniversary, 3D All-Stars feels like an intentional showcase of these improvements. Galaxy 2 would have watered down that intention as it is more of a fine-tuning of its direct predecessor's gameplay than a galactic leap forward for the series.

Super mario 64Provided by Nintendo

When I booted up to Super Mario 64, I was impressed by what the game did for a 24 year old title and how much DNA the latest 3D entry, Super Mario Odyssey, had kept. It's no wonder that Super Mario 64, with its hidden layers and non-linear structure, blew players away as I went back to childhood and thought of the content-based experiences that made up the bulk of gaming back then.

My amazement at the game was hampered by the outdated controls. His archaic camera, combined with the fact that Mario plays like a luscious slab of butter floating around the world, made for a sometimes insane experience. Lately the only games that made me want to slam my controller on the table in frustration have been the Dark Souls variety. I did not expect this impulse to be awakened in this game.

No wonder Super Mario 64 blew people away with its hidden layers and nonlinear structure.

Switching from 64 to Sunshine was like a shipwreck, but I found a buoyant and spacious piece of wood that carried me towards land on a distant horizon. What this game does with its mechanics over its predecessor is largely an improvement, in shocking places for a game that wasn't released until six years later. The camera is easier to maneuver and Mario feels like he is working on his shoes with more grip.

The focused tropical theme, which many gamers have mocked for repetitive level design over the years, has a mostly positive impact on the game, although there is occasional over-design that feels a bit aimless and is more of an example: " Look how complex we can level up now! “I found delight in the divisive FLUDD, which is at the center of gameplay, as it has enough of a unique hook and multitude of uses to warrant its implementation.

Super Mario sunshineProvided by Nintendo

Super Mario Galaxy is the land on the far horizon where I washed ashore, and to my amazement, it's a lush and lush island that makes me in vain. While this may not be news to some, it has exceeded my already high expectations to find Galaxy not just my favorite 3D Mario to date, but one of my favorite games of all time.

The flaws of 64 and Sunshine are simply absent here, with razor-sharp level design, pinpoint gameplay, and amazingly unique gravity mechanics that effectively evolve as the game progresses. Where I meandered through portions of the first two titles, I moved through Galaxy as if I were orbiting the sun, gracefully tossed over the game and unable to break free from gravity. To me the inclusion alone is worth the $ 60 price tag, with 64 and Sunshine as a bonus, and I would easily spend another $ 60 on a Galaxy 2 port, and it seems the exclusion is a calculated step from Nintendo was.

Some things change, most stay the same

My love for Galaxy is easily marred by my chaotic feelings towards Sunshine and 64. While I was playing the 64 and GameCube titles, my partner said something about the effect, "They were the only games I had, so I learned to love them." Speaking to other gamers who grew up with these games in their life, it seems that the feeling is for the most part a common one.

Fans who repeat these games and have seen them front to back over and over again will comfortably nestle into their nostalgia and make up for their shortcomings by knowing exactly how to effectively move through them. As mentioned above, the intent of the package is to keep the games unchanged. It doesn't remove the feeling that ruling out reworked mechanics was an incredibly missed opportunity to turn these games into something someone actually wants to play today.

I found Galaxy not only to be my favorite 3D Mario to date, but one of my all-time favorite games that exceeded my already high expectations.

64 is just the original game with a high definition gloss. The lack of widescreen that is offered to Port of Sunshine exacerbates the camera problems as what is not visible outside of the player's field of view is the cause of the most deaths. To make matters worse, textures sometimes appear right in front of the character, creating confusion about where to go or what to do until you're just inches away. Also, the game is missing some of the additions, including additional levels and collectibles that came with the Nintendo DS remake. It's as easy as remastering.

Super Mario 64 comparisonLeft 3D All-Stars, right original

The 16: 9 aspect ratio in Sunshine works wonders for the game, and its HD makeover brings it visually much closer to Galaxy than 64. Unfortunately, one of the things that gave the FLUDD mechanic a bit of charm on the GameCube was the analog triggers on this one Systems. So the player can determine the water pressure of the device. Such functionality is not available on either Joy-Cons or the Switch Pro controller, which means that the FLUDD is set to either zero or 100% functionality.

The game bypasses this missing feature, as certain levels relied on this mechanic in GameCube, in that the ZR trigger allowed Mario to move while splashing even though he couldn't aim. The R-bumper then forces Mario to stand in place, but allows him to aim the FLUDD. As someone who has never played the game before, I'm not sure how drastically this is changing, although given the online reading of fans' interest in how the port handles this mechanic, it could be a disappointment to them .

Galaxy is the title that has required the least refresher. Its visual bump made it almost identical in quality to the 2017 Super Mario Odyssey. As a Wii title, motion controls were an integral part of that experience, and nothing about that port has changed. The Switch Pro controller's accelerometer and gyroscope provide the functionality of the Wiimote's IR blaster. However, while I was playing it was obvious that it would have been optimal to actually have a device pointed at the screen. Tapping the R-bumper re-centers the star pointer, but it still feels less intuitive.

Super Mario GalaxyProvided by Nintendo

How is this motion functionality handled in handheld mode? Touch controls, which is by far the worst way to play the game. For those who don't know, the motion controls are designed to collect stars as you make your way through the level and shoot at enemies and interactive objects. Trying to do all of this with touch controls frequently while moving Mario with the thumb stick is not optimal and makes the TV experience of the game by far the preferred style of play.

The changes to 64 and Sunshine seem like the bare minimum of what could be done to bring them into the modern age. It is clear that these small changes were an attempt to petrify them in their original form, but that only makes their shortcomings more apparent. However, Galaxy is a near-perfect game, the age of which cannot be felt, as it was already ahead of its time and outperforms most new 3D platformer to this day.

Our opinion

For those whose favorite playlist includes the three titles in this collection, you will likely be over the moon to find you can play them all anytime on your TV or on the go. Those who missed these entries in game history will likely have a hard time adapting to their controls, but will find the wonder and joy of playing Super Mario Galaxy.

Is there a better alternative?

Super Mario Odyssey is another great 3D Mario with modern controls specially designed for the Switch. A port of Super Mario 3D World, originally released on Wii U to get rave reviews, will also hit the hybrid console in February 2021.

How long it will take?

A straightforward run of each game takes around a dozen hours of gameplay, but 100% completion, showing each secret level and collecting all of the hidden items, will likely double that, resulting in a package with easily over 60 hours of gameplay.

Should you buy it?

Yes. Super Mario 3D All-Stars are almost as must-have as Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8, if only for the strength of Super Mario Galaxy. On top of that, the game will only be available until March 31, 2021, and its value as a collector's item is quite high.

Editor's recommendations




12 Sep
Blog

Acer XZ272U Review: Perfect Mainstream Gaming Monitor

acer nitro xz272u review dsc01590

"Acer's XZ272U gaming monitor strikes a great balance between price and performance."

  • Excellent gaming performance

  • Good contrast

  • Surprisingly accurate in color

  • Curved, but not too much

  • competitive prices

  • Lack of processing quality

  • Easy lubrication with time lapse

  • Inconspicuous color scale

I'm someone who usually dives into the high-end segment, and Acer caught my attention when they announced a 27-inch curved gaming monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate. Not because of its spec sheet, but because of its price: could the Nitro XZ272U, with an MSRP of $ 330 but often selling around the $ 300 mark, be worthy of our list of the best gaming monitors?

That's not a lot of money in the world of gaming monitors, and while it's not exactly pocket money either, Acer's numbers promise a solid gaming experience. So we're going to find out how well it works.

There's always a catch with specs like this at this price point. But with this nitro gaming monitor, there's nothing like a deal breaker here – as long as you know what you're signing up for.

design

Starting with the design of the monitor, when you unpack the Acer XZ272U, you will be pleasantly surprised. The monitor isn't heavy and clearly built to a cheaper standard, but Acer scores a ton of brownie points with the display stand.

It has a simple round, swiveling base on which you attach a red, anodized aluminum neck that has height and tilt adjustments, giving you complete range of motion.

There are some red accents on the back of the monitor, but there are no sticky design elements on the front other than the subtle red accents on the stand. If you ask me, these are among the better looking gaming monitors you can buy for this budget, and it won't look out of place on the family computer either.

The curve is rated 1500R, and this is what it looks like: it's subtle, but it helps you get a little more immersed into the game without overdoing it so that it's just gaming-appropriate.

If you want to use it for both gaming and work, this is a great dual purpose monitor.

Connections and controls

If you need a display with tons of ports, the back of the Acer XZ272U isn't as covered as Dell's 27-inch USB-C monitor, although you've probably seen it already. You'll want to use the monitor's DisplayPort input, but it also has two HDMI inputs, a headphone output, and a power connector – and that's it. There is neither USB-C nor a USB hub or other fancy extras here, but at this price they are not to be expected anyway.

The OSD is also incredibly simple, but it has everything you need. Operation is via a direction node in the lower right corner of the display, which first calls up a quick menu with brightness, input and color modes. If you go to the full menu, you will find a section titled "Image" where you can adjust the settings for Brightness, Contrast, HDR and Sharpness. The Color submenu provides more precise adjustments to get the right colors, including gamma and temperature controls.

There is also a game submenu where you can enable FreeSync, set overdrive mode, access an update rate counter, and enable a virtual target point.

One thing to keep in mind with the OSD is that it can be very slow to respond to input and the Directional node is not particularly inviting to use. It's shaky, dirty, and provides buttery feedback at best as you go through the motions. However, it is unlikely that you will spend much time in the OSD. Hence, it's likely that this doesn't really matter anyway.

picture quality

Acer has equipped the XZ272U with a QHD VA panel, which means that it has a resolution of 2560 x 1440. Thanks to VA technology, the static contrast ratio is given as 3000: 1. Acer does not provide any numbers for color coverage. So let's see how the display fares in our tests.

Our sample achieved 95% coverage of standard sRGB storage space and 72% of AdobeRGB. These are not spectacular numbers, but if all you have chances is it doesn't matter to you anyway. Of course, if you're looking for a monitor that's good for gaming and color-critical work, you'll want to look elsewhere, but then you'll also need a bigger budget. In terms of color accuracy, however, Acer seems to be doing something right, with the XZ272U reporting a Delta-E of 1.23. It may not have a wide gamut of color, but it accurately reproduces what it can display.

The XZ272U also failed to meet the promised contrast values, although only a few VA monitors ever achieve the promised 3000: 1. In this regard, the XZ272U actually did quite well, achieving a contrast of 1870: 1 at 100% brightness and 2000: 1 at 75% brightness, which we don't have to write down often.

The XZ272U did quite well, achieving a contrast of 2000: 1 at 75% brightness

However, the display doesn't get very bright. Our highest brightness is 287.5 nits. The full brightness may be a bit disappointing in brightly lit rooms, but if you play in a dark room at night I found the 75% brightness display to be the most comfortable where it happens to have the best contrast ratio.

After calibrating, I managed to get 1 percent more AdobeRGB coverage out of the display, but the accuracy was actually a little worse with a Delta-E of 1.27 instead of 1.23. So it can be said with certainty that the calibration of the XZ272U brings at least little benefit in the case of our sample.

When it comes to HDR performance, the Acer XZ272U has a DisplayHDR 400 certificate, which doesn't really mean a lot. There is no form of local dimming, and since DisplayHDR 400 is the lowest level of certification I would see it this way: The Acer XZ272U can interpret HDR signals, but it doesn't give you a true HDR experience.

In summary, it can be said that the panel does not have the most sparkling colors, but is sharp, deep black, consistent and surprisingly accurate in the colors displayed.

Gaming performance

When it comes to gaming, Acer touts a refresh rate of 165 Hz and response times of 4 ms, which means a solid gaming experience, but nothing earth-shaking. The standard for gaming displays these days is 144 Hz, so Acer jumps over it by a hair. However, we are entering a time when 240 Hz displays are emerging, and a handful of manufacturers have just launched 360 Hz displays alongside the launch of the Nvidia RTX 3000, though the vast majority of gamers will benefit from nothing above 144 Hz will be anyway.

VA panels deliver vivid colors and deep blacks

My experience is reflected in it. The 165Hz refresh rate was a dream to play with, be it slow single player titles or nervous multiplayer games like Destiny 2. The QHD resolution isn't overly demanding for your system. So if you have an up-to-date graphics card and want to cut the settings down, it is very doable to get smooth frame rates without spending a lot of money. FreeSync works as it should without stuttering, tearing, or flickering. The latter can often occur on VA panel monitors.

The XZ272U does not have a real G-Sync module, but it does support G-Sync via the Adaptive-Sync standard. While it doesn't appear on Nvidia's list of supported G-Sync monitors (yet), the technology works all well.

As mentioned earlier, this monitor has a VA panel that we find a catch on: VA smear. As much as VA panels deliver vivid colors and deep blacks, smearing is a common phenomenon with VA monitors as the color is sometimes slow to change. Visible smearing occurs on fast-moving objects, especially when changing from light to dark colors.

For example, if you move your mouse across the screen on a dark background, it will leave a short trail – or in games, if you turn around quickly, it will present itself as a kind of slight motion blur. It's a very soft blur because the refresh rate is high, but still a blur.

However, it is not something that you should immediately take at face value and pass this monitor on. Smudging is minimal and unless you are very competitive in your games, it is unlikely to be bothered, if you even notice it. You can see the effect in the Blurbusters test above. The upper alien moved at 165 Hz, the middle one with half and the lower one with half. Of course, the top alien produced the smoothest image, but you can see the light is dying out and the image was certainly not as sharp as the Samsung G7's.

A monitor like the Samsung G7 (either its 27-inch or 32-inch variant) offers crisp moving images with less smudging, but you'll have to more than double your budget to get your hands on one of these, which is easy is not the case. For most people, it's not worth it.

After all, the strength of the VA panel lies in the color rendering and contrast ratio, and the deep black and the somewhat vivid colors make games very entertaining.

Our opinion

If you're looking for a gaming monitor that will likely meet most of your needs, the Acer XZ272U is worth considering. It may not be the absolute fastest on the market, but it's fast enough for the vast majority of gamers, and at $ 300 it's easy to forgive the monitor's shortcomings, largely due to cheaper build quality and a visible light due to smudging (if you can even see it), a nondescript suite of ports, and a slow user interface.

But you won't be spending a lot of time in the UI anyway. With its 1500R curve, the XZ272U is suitable for both games and office work. So, if you need a dual-purpose monitor for games and writing papers, this is the one for you.

Are there alternatives?

Absolutely, the $ 300 gaming monitor segment doesn't lack competition. The Gigabyte G27Q has an IPS panel with greater color coverage, but you'll sacrifice the curve and deep black. For little extra money, you can get the same Acer monitor, but in a 32-inch format for more immersion. If you want to spend a little less, you can consider Asus' TUF Gaming VG27VH1B as it has a lower resolution and will therefore also be less demanding on your graphics card. Similarly, Acer also sells the 27-inch Predator Z1, which is available at a similar price but drops the resolution to Full HD and has a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Currently it is also a 4 year old model.

If you double your budget, you can get the 1000R Curved G7 from Samsung. However, despite its unmatched performance in games, this monitor has shortcomings that can make you feel salty when you spend as much as it costs.

Overall, I feel that Acer's XZ272U strikes a balance between price and performance that is likely to please the largest audience.

How long it will take?

Unless you get a lemon, we expect the Acer XZ272U to last as long as any monitor today should: at least five years, and Acer protects your purchase for a three-year warranty.

Should I buy it?

Yes. If you need a monitor for gaming and general office work, the Acer XZ272U is likely to keep you happy for years.

Editor's recommendations




29 Aug
Blog

Razer BlackShark V2 Review: Quality Gaming Headset For Less

Player with Razer BlackShark headset

Razer BlackShark V2 review: premium headset, good price

"The sound profiles are definitely the best feature of this headset."

  • Sound profiles and easy customization

  • Solid audio

  • Superior microphone performance

Player with Razer BlackShark headsetPhoto courtesy of Razer

The Razer BlackShark V2 – and with it the cheaper V2 X – offers exceptional performance at an exceptional price. The BlackShark V2 combines audio quality with the much rarer solid microphone performance.

THX game profiles are for sure the best feature of this headset.

The base price of $ 100 also makes this headset a great value. There are plenty of cheaper models out there, including the $ 60 V2 X, but few offer as many features as the BlackShark. Lots of the digital trends Top gaming headset picks Go for more than double the price of the BlackShark.

Sound profiles

THX game profiles are easily the BlackShark V2's best feature, allowing you to customize the EQ settings for each game individually. It comes with by default Profiles for several popular games including Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Valorant. Not every game has a preset profile, but the Razer Synapse app makes it easy to change the settings regardless. You just have to do more of the work yourself.

The cheaper V2 X skips THX Spatial Audio right away, but you can add it through the app for $ 20. Given the total cost of $ 80 for the headset and app, this isn't a bad deal, and you get most of the best features of the flagship V2 at a slight discount. It also works a lot better than some of the spatial audio we've seen, and often tries not to mimic the feel of surround sound.

Many hardware and accessory manufacturers simulate how a product increases the “immersion” or the feeling of really being in the game. Most of the time this is just marketing, but that honestly feels amazing. For example, you can use the EQ settings to adjust the steps in first person shooters or the music and ambient sounds in a game like Death Stranding. This doesn't lead to consoles of course, but it's a fantastic experience on PC. But the right audio device can make a difference on consoles too, and the BlackShark V2 definitely did. I was thrilled to boot up Ghost of Tsushima and hear the rustle of the wind or Resident Evil 3 where I enjoyed using sound as a strategy.

The triple drivers are designed to isolate treble, bass, and midrange, the last of which is often ignored. It's a small difference, but I noticed the added detail.

Razer BlackShark headset on the deskPhoto courtesy of Razer

Microphone test

It's easy to ignore the importance of a headset's microphone quality. How often do you listen to yourself? But you've probably felt the frustration of a muddy-sounding teammate, or someone drowned out by background noise, especially when competing with game noise.

The microphone is very flexible and I found it easy to get it in an optimal position so that my AC power in the background was less of a problem. The foam microphone cover also smoothens the sound and avoids harsh consonant noises. This is especially important if you plan to use the BlackShark for streaming as well. Small details can mean getting a new follower or clicking a viewer off.

The microphone is also detachable, which is a nice bonus for Storage or travel, and it is more accessible for possible exchange. I also find that detachable microphones are usually longer and more flexible than built-in microphones that need to be folded up or rolled back into the headset.

When I work from home, my current favorite gaming headset often does double duty. I grab a headset for Zoom calls, Spotify sessions, and game breaks as soon as I'm practically signed out. Audio is less important for work meetings, but I got people to comment on how clear I sounded on a video call in addition to playing games.

Player with Razer BlackShark headsetPhoto courtesy of Razer

Mirror models

My biggest problem with both headsets is the look.

The BlackShark V2 and V2 X are very similar. They might be too similar. Both are very comfortable, have good microphone and audio quality, and are easy to use, but the more expensive V2 does everything a little better. The cheaper V2 X has slightly less advanced foam for its ear cushions, the cable is more rubber than threaded, it only plugs into a 3.5mm jack, and it doesn't have “advanced microphone control functions”.

What matters, however, is not the list of details. This is how they feel. And frankly, the differences feel relatively small in practice. This is less of a blow to the V2 than more proof of the V2 X. For anyone looking for a well-rounded entry-level headset, it's worth a look.

Nevertheless, I found myself in the direction of the full V2. As small as these differences are, they are still there. So if you are ready to drop that $ 100 then don't settle for not having to.

My biggest problem with both headsets is the look.

I feel like a helicopter pilot carrying them. And it's not just the microphone, the pillow, that surely amplifies this effect, a fact that I'd be happy to endure to improve fidelity. The headsets can only be described as bulbous. And I'm sure some of it is hard to avoid. Razer emphasized the BlackShark's triple drivers that are designed to deliver this fantastic sound. But I still didn't like wearing them for that reason. The headsets aren't heavy, but they look clunky and clumsy. And while I might care less if my gaming mouse isn't the most aesthetic, others can see my headphones.

Our opinion

The Razer BlackShark V2 and V2 X are solid headsets with a good price. The V2 is certainly better, but those looking to spend a little less will not be disappointed with the V2 X either.

Is there a better alternative?

There are so many headsets out there that it is easy to paralyze yourself with choice. Yes, there are other good headsets out there at this price point, but the BlackShark V2 is better than average. And it works fine on all devices.

How long it will take?

Despite the design differences between the two models, both are robust. They are well built and should last a while. The BlackShark V2's THX Spatial audio and game profiles are a nice touch too. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more iterations of this function in the future.

Should you buy it?

If you are looking for a good entry-level to mid-range headset with quality audio and microphone in the market, definitely it. It works very well when you want to work on shape. If aesthetics are a must, they might not be for you.

Editor's recommendations




03 Aug
Blog

Asus ROG Strix G15 Review: A Gaming Laptop That Glows

Asus Rog Strix G15 review 01

Asus ROG Strix G15 review: the gaming laptop that lights up

"The Asus ROG Strix G15 offers just enough power to justify its 144 Hz refresh rate."

  • Solid gaming performance

  • RGB lighting is unmistakable

  • High refresh rate

  • Good thermals

  • Thick and chunky

  • No webcam or secure registration

Higher refresh rates have become the main theme for gaming laptops in recent years. Thanks to the performance increase, even gaming laptops at the budget level receive refresh rates of more than 60 Hz.

Asus' eye-catching new gaming laptop, the ROG Strix G15 for $ 1,000, is one of the cheapest laptops you can get with a 144 Hz screen. My test device was only equipped with an Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti, the entry-level option for serious mobile games.

Is that enough to properly power a 144 Hz display? Let's find out.

design

Asus designed the ROG Strix G15 in collaboration with BMW, which at first sounds interesting. Unfortunately, the car-inspired aesthetic is nothing new – it has been in the DNA of gaming equipment for many years.

The design collaboration leads to a plastic gaming laptop with many ribs, lines and structured materials. This is fake brushed metal that you can feel at your fingertips. Nevertheless, I prefer the look over something gaudier like the Acer Predator Helios 300.

The ROG Strix G15 is made entirely of plastic, although the structural integrity of the ROG Strix G15 is rather tank-like. The lid is the only weak point. It is easy to bend or bend and the hinge slams the lid unless it is at least 50% open.

The all-round light bar brightens your desk with a dash of RGB color.

My device came completely in black and Asus says it is a "professional person". Frankly, nobody will confuse it with anything other than a gaming laptop. Laptops like the Razer Blade or MSI GS66 Stealth are better suited for a meeting (if you still have them).

What the ROG Strix G15 has are lights. A lot of lights. The keyboard has a backlight for each key. This is just the beginning. The ROG Strix G15 has an “all-round light bar” that brightens your desk with a dash of RGB color. The LEDs themselves are not directly visible and leave a diffuse glow underneath. It's a nice effect that sets the Strix G15 apart from the sea of ​​other black gaming laptops.

The ROG Strix G15 is not thin or light. It weighs 5.7 pounds and is just under an inch thick. Even the Dell G3 gaming laptop, which is chunky in itself, outperforms the Strix G15 in portability. The Strix G15 also has a large footprint thanks to the placement of the connections on the back. To compensate, the laptop has a solid chin bezel. There is a significant gap between the display and the rest of the case. This means that the screen sits higher than some 17-inch laptops when open.

The ROG Strix G15 has a typical keyboard layout, although there are some eccentricities. I like the colorful WASD buttons and the additional function buttons on the side. Asus has also pulled some important keys from the function bar, e.g. B. the volume control. Unfortunately, the buttons used are mushy and feel imprecise.

The touchpad works well for a gaming laptop in this price range. It has a smooth surface and traces well enough, although Asus has opted for old-school, left and right physical buttons that feel dated and cut into the usable touchpad area. As with many Asus laptops, you can turn on a digital number pad on the touchpad because the keyboard lacks one. It works pretty well, but the accountants won't be happy.

Ports

The ROG Strix G15 follows the trend to move many less used ports into the background. Here are your video output options, whether via HDMI 2.0 or USB-C. The USB-C connector is not a Thunderbolt 3 and does not support a power supply. To charge, you have to stick to the proprietary barrel connector, which is also on the back next to an RJ45 Ethernet socket.

The only ports on the sides of the device are three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a headphone jack. The right side is completely port free.

The Strix G15 does not include a webcam like most Asus gaming laptops sold today. This decision makes sense in a vacuum, as Asus knows that gamers who stream need a better external webcam. However, this decision is timed poorly due to the sudden popularity of work from home.

Finally, the Strix G15 does not include an IR camera or fingerprint reader for secure Windows Hello logins. It includes the latest Wi-Fi 6 for connectivity and Bluetooth 5.0.

display

The display makes the ROG Strix G15 an interesting gaming laptop. But not because the picture quality of the panel is so impressive. It's sub-par in almost every way, and the colors are the biggest downside.

It only affects 65% of the sRGB color space, which is poor compared to 98% of a laptop like the Razer Blade or MSI GS66 Stealth. Even the affordable Dell G5 SE reaches 98%, as do midrange laptops like the Lenovo Yoga C640. It has a light green hue, which makes my skin look almost sick in a YouTube video we recorded. However, this is less noticeable in games.

It's not a bright panel with a maximum of 278 nits, but the matte finish helps avoid sharp reflections. Let's face it, you'll likely be playing games in dimly lit rooms anyway.

The refresh rate is the outstanding feature of the display. A year or two ago, 144 Hz was the standard for high-end gaming laptops like the Razer Blade. Nowadays 300 Hz screens have raised the standard, while the ROG Strix G15 can be configured up to 240 Hz. At this price, it is still rare on gaming laptops, which makes the screen of the ROG Strix G15 a highlight of its gaming experience.

Game performance

The ROG Strix G15 may only have a poor Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti for graphics on board, but don't underestimate it. Modern 3D titles can be played back without any problems even at maximum settings. It can reach 64 fps (frames per second) in Fortnite, 56 in Battlefield V and 63 in Civilization VI. These are high enough, although they don't use the 144 Hz refresh rate much. If you only play with maximum settings, you won't notice the difference between this and a standard 60 Hz screen.

But it really seems if you reduce the graphics settings a bit. Frame rates increase significantly, and you feel the true power of a higher refresh rate. At medium settings, Civilization VI plays at 108 fps, while Fortnite reaches 86 fps at high settings (less than Epic). Interestingly, it matches the performance of the equally equipped Dell XPS 15 in almost every game for $ 600 less.

The problem? Not all games are as good as these easier titles. Battlefield V is a good example that still only achieves an average of 60 fps at medium settings. Of course you can set it to low if you really want to break 60 fps, but it's not fun. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is an even better example. In the middle setting "high", the game on the ROG Strix G15 only achieves an average of 42 fps. With Ultra High it is only 23 fps.

The system keeps the surface temperatures surprisingly cool even while gaming.

That is why Asus classifies this laptop as "E-Sport". If you're trying to play something more sophisticated – or just want to see more graphic details in your games – the ROG Strix G15 isn't for you.

Here the AMD-based Dell G5 SE is a convincing argument in itself. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M of the Dell G5 SE far outperforms the Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti – in some cases even 48%. On the other hand, Dell sells the G5 SE without 144 Hz in lower configurations. The high refresh rate of the ROG Strix G15 is more suitable for a certain type of player.

Of course, Asus also offers more powerful configurations of this laptop. For example, an attractive option might be the $ 1,500 model, which is equipped with an RTX 2070, a refresh rate of 240 Hz, 16 GB RAM and 1 TB solid-state memory. Razer offers a very similar blade configuration for a whopping $ 500 more.

In addition, the ROG Strix G15 has a cooling advantage over smaller gaming laptops. The system keeps the surface temperatures surprisingly cool even while gaming. This comes at the expense of fan noise (and case thickness), but you'll appreciate the cooling temperatures on the palm rests after long gaming sessions.

Performance in content creation

When it comes to non-gaming performance, the Dell G5 SE is again a problem in comparison. It has an eight-core processor compared to the six-core option in the ROG Strix G15. This means significantly better performance in high threading applications. With a focus on gaming, this may not be a deal breaker for the ROG Strix G15.

My test device came with the Intel Core i7-10750H, 8 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. The performance in Cinebench R20 worried me a little. The single-core value even lagged behind measly 15-watt laptops like the Microsoft Surface Book 3. Thanks to the two additional cores, the Dell G5 SE was 26% faster in the multi-core test from Cinebench.

This directly led to how quickly the ROG Strix G15 also ran when encoding video. The Dell G5 SE was 27% faster encoding a 4K film trailer to H.265 in Handbrake. Of course, the ROG Strix G15 was not designed for this type of workload, but if you want to create content on the side (which doesn't depend on the quality of the screen), the ROG Strix G15 can do the job.

The ROG Strix G15 also has an empty M.2 slot for future expansion. You can also upgrade the RAM up to 32 GB.

Battery life

The ROG Strix G15 is not suitable for long sessions outside the wall.

Three hours and 50 minutes in our light web browser test are not good even for a gaming laptop. The Dell G5 SE lasted more than six hours in the same test.

The Strix G15 has proven itself in the video playback test, in which a local 1080p video clip is repeated until the battery is empty. The Strix G15 lasted eight hours and even beat the Dell G5 SE by an hour and a half. Unfortunately, this doesn't match the battery life of a typical workload.

In my daily workload, which consisted of a dozen browser tabs and some applications, it took about four hours on a single charge. There are far better gaming laptops for battery life.

Our opinion

The Asus ROG Strix G15 is a good choice for a certain type of player. It is the cheapest 144 Hz gaming notebook you can buy and offers just enough power to use it in some games. The image quality of the display is disappointing and there are a lot of frills missing from more expensive gaming laptops. Most gamers will be happier upgrading to a laptop with at least one Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti, but the ROG Strix G15 is a good place to start if you need cash.

Are there alternatives?

The Dell G5 SE is a problem for the ROG Strix G15. It is more powerful in almost every way. If you can raise the price to $ 1,050, it even comes with a 144 Hz screen. However, the ROG Strix G15 offers a higher refresh rate with cheaper configurations and has a more polished housing.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i for $ 920 is one of the few cheap gaming laptops with a high refresh rate. It's 120 Hz instead of 144 Hz, but you probably won't notice the difference. It comes with a slower Core i5 processor, but it's also a little cheaper than the ROG Strix G15.

How long it will take?

The ROG Strix G15 is a well-built laptop, but its graphics card isn't the fastest. In a few years, you may find that newer games find it difficult to play smoothly. However, the ability to update RAM and memory is a plus for the durability of the ROG Strix G15.

Asus offers a standard one-year warranty on its laptops. After that you are alone.

Should you buy it

Yes. If you're an e-sports player who cares more about frame rates than graphic details, the ROG Strix G15 gives you just enough power.

Editor's recommendations




26 Jul
Blog

MSI GS66 Stealth Review: Thin and Light Gaming Laptop

msi gs66 stealth review 05

"The MSI GS66 Stealth offers excellent gaming performance and a slim profile at an affordable price."

  • Great gaming performance

  • Ultra-fast refresh rate of 300 Hz

  • Good keyboard and touchpad

  • Pleasant surface temperatures

  • The screen is a little dark

  • Questionable build quality

The Razer Blade has always had a serious competitor. It's not Alienware, Predator, or ROG. These brands all make great gaming laptops themselves, but none that want to do exactly what the Blade does.

Razer's most direct rival comes from a smaller company (at least here in the United States). I'm talking about the MSI GS66 Stealth. It has a similar size, almost identical specifications, and most importantly, the same minimalist design principles. There are no protruding angles or stereotypical clichés here.

MSI has further developed its approach to overcoming the Razer Blade, and its latest model, the GS66 Stealth, appears to meet all the criteria. Did it hit the Razer Blade in its own game?

design

MSI GS66 stealth review

There is a fine line between simple and boring. Brands like Razer or Apple can spice up their look with a little elegance. The MSI GS66 Stealth tries to do the same subtle trick. It avoids the bombastic style of other gaming laptops, but isn't quite as sophisticated as laptops like the Razer Blade. Even some ROG Zephyrus laptops look more uniform.

It is not a bad looking laptop. It's just a little bit boring.

MSI even took the design back from last year's GS65 Stealth and removed the golden highlights that played the racing stripe theme. Outside the RGB keyboard, it is now colorless and corresponds to the black aluminum standard housing. Unfortunately, there are still vents on the sides and top of the keyboard deck, stickers on the palm rests, and large hinges. It is not a bad looking laptop. It's just a little bit boring.

Fortunately, MSI has fixed some build quality issues. Earlier models were equally thin and light, but felt flexible and cheap. It's no longer a flexible piece of plastic, although the lid still feels a bit shaky. Even when closed, the lid of my device can close flat due to its curvature.

For a laptop that's only 4.6 pounds and 0.71 inches thick, that's important. It's still not as well built as the similarly sized Razer Blade that remains the king in this department.

Keyboard and touchpad

MSI GS66 stealth review

The keyboard and touchpad fit this topic. It is a large, comfortable keyboard with a set of springy keys that are suitable for both typing and playing.

However, there are quirks in the keyboard layout. The function key is only on the right side, probably in close proximity to the full-size arrow keys, which also serve as controls for volume and screen brightness. Oddly enough, however, it's only half the size of a normal key. This is a bad decision for a commonly used key.

I was really surprised by the quality of the touchpad.

The keyboard has RGB backlighting, which is required for gaming laptops these days. You can customize the keys, resulting in fun designs that are all provided by Steelseries. However, the backlight is not as bright and even as with the Razer Blade.

The touchpad is wider than in previous models. In contrast to the larger MSI GS75 Stealth, this does not disturb your palms when typing. However, due to the large vents above the keyboard, it is shorter than I know it. The good news is that the touchpad is well tracked and the click mechanism is quiet and precise. The quality surprised me.

The MSI GS66 Stealth contains a 720p webcam above the display and an IR camera for Windows Hello face recognition.

Ports

MSI GS66 stealth review

The MSI GS66 Stealth offers numerous options for port connections. On the left side you get USB-A, HDMI, Thunderbolt 3 and a power connector.

On the right side, the GS66 Stealth offers two additional USB-A ports, an additional USB-C port, an Ethernet socket and a headphone socket. That's all you need to connect multiple accessories, output to an external monitor, and even hard-wire your internet connection.

The lack of a full-size SD card slot is a failure for creatives who may want to use this laptop as a photo or video editing device. The slot has made a comeback on the new Razer Blade and Dell XPS 15. With the MSI GS66 Stealth you have to use a dongle.

The positioning of these ports is a bit annoying. Due to the side ventilation slots, the openings were pressed down towards the palm rests. As it turns out, your mouse is usually right there.

The MSI GS66 Stealth supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 connectivity via Intel and Bluetooth 5.1

Gaming performance

MSI GS66 stealth review

Like the Predator Triton 500 or the Razer Blade, the MSI GS66 Stealth not only has an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card, but also a screen with a refresh rate of 300 Hz. The combination of the two means a strong GPU Performance and a screen that never limits the number of visible frames per second. The MSI model also offers screens with refresh rates of 240 Hz or 144 Hz when combined with slower GPUs like the RTX 2070 Super or the RTX 2060.

However, my decorated test device was a top performer. Take Battlefield V for example. The MSI GS66 Stealth processes the game at 97 frames per second (FPS) with settings at Ultra and 133 frames per second at medium. It's neck and neck with the Razer Blade here, surpassing it by 11 fps even in the medium settings.

The GS66 Stealth plays Fortnite wonderfully smoothly and makes optimal use of its 300 Hz screen.

The Razer Blade, Predator Triton 500 and MSI GS66 Stealth were also in a dead heat in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The MSI GS66 Stealth played at 56 fps, just a few frames behind its two competitors.

The GS66 Stealth plays blows again and plays Fortnite wonderfully smoothly, making better use of its 300 Hz screen. It reached a whopping 121 fps with Epic settings, again 11 fps ahead of the Razer Blade.

And in case you are wondering, there are some titles that can actually take advantage of the extra headroom for the frame rate that the 300 Hz screen offers. The Rocket League, for example, can easily play up to 250 fps.

All of these games were played with the system's native 1080p resolution, although you will likely get adequate frame rates even when connected to an external 1440p gaming monitor.

Performance in content creation

As with the Razer Blade, many people will be tempted to use the MSI GS66 Stealth not just for gaming – thanks to its portability and its nondescript design.

MSI offers processor options up to the Intel Core i9-10980HK, but my device came with the Core i7-10875H. This is the first choice for high-end gaming laptops with eight cores and 16 threads. This also makes it a strong laptop for content creation, especially in applications that can use the powerful discrete GPU.

MSI GS66 stealth review

The GS66 Stealth scores better than the Razer Blade in Geekbench 5, but they're equally good at real-life professors. For CPU-bound applications like Handbrake it binds the Razer Blade and loses to the Dell XPS 15. Of course laptops like the Dell G5 SE with AMD Ryzen 4000 or Dell XPS 17 blow it out of the water.

A better example is the popular video editing application Adobe Premiere Pro. The MSI GS66 Stealth rendered a 4K two-minute clip for ProRes 422 in just seven minutes and 20 seconds. This is almost the same performance as the Razer Blade. Thanks to their more powerful GPUs, both laptops beat the Dell XPS 15 by around 16%. However, none of them is comparable to the powerful Dell XPS 17.

MSI pumps up all RTX Super models with 32 GB RAM and at least 512 GB SSD. You can also choose a downgraded 16 GB RAM, RTX 2060 and a 6-core Core i7-10750H.

The system does a solid job and keeps the surface temperatures cool even when playing. That's a problem I had with the Razer Blade, which stays warm even when surfing the web lightly. The cooling is better regulated here, which leads to more pleasant surface temperatures. The disadvantages are of course the additional ventilation slots and the fan noise. The fans always turn even when idle.

display

MSI GS66 stealth review

The matte 1080p screen is great for gaming thanks to its response time of 3 milliseconds and refresh rate of 300 Hz. Playing is fast and smooth.

It can only be serviced for other activities. The screen is initially a maximum of 262 nits. That's 15% less than the Razer Blade and below the 300-nit level that I expect from premium laptops. The matte finish helps mitigate reflections, but I would have preferred a brighter screen here.

Fortunately, it's a well-calibrated screen with accurate colors. The color gamut is not as large as many creatives would like it to be, but it corresponds to the 1080p Razer Blade in this regard. MSI offers a 4K panel, which can be more attractive for non-gaming tasks.

The speakers are disappointing. They are pointing up, although MSI has decided to put them on the palm rest again, which remains a strange choice. In any case, they are confused and have no bass.

Battery life

MSI GS66 stealth review

The MSI GS66 Stealth is step by step in several areas, but not ahead of many of its competitors. An exception to this rule is the battery life, where it is preferred. However, I don't think it can compete with non-gaming laptops.

It still only manages about five and 40 minutes on a single charge – and with little stress when surfing the Internet. You can't work away from the wall for too long without worrying about battery life. The Dell XPS 15 lasts a few hours longer in the same test despite its 4K display on a single charge.

Nevertheless, the MSI GS66 Stealth lasts 40 minutes longer than the Razer Blade and hours longer than G-Sync laptops like the Predator Triton 500th hour size.

The Razer Blade beat the MSI in our lightest battery test, in which a local video clip is repeated until the laptop dies. The blade lasted seven hours and 22 minutes, an hour longer than the MSI GS66 Stealth.

However, the battery life of gaming laptops is increasing, and this is the new crop of AMD Ryzen 4000 gaming laptops. The GPU is not as powerful, but the ROG Zephyrus G14 is only a few centimeters behind the MSI GS66 Stealth when surfing the Internet and has taken a whopping 10 hours in video looping.

Our opinion

The MSI GS66 Stealth faces a tough battle. The sophistication of the Razer Blade is lacking, and it's not as affordable as the Acer Predator Triton 500. However, its benefits don't go unnoticed. The cooling is impressive and the gaming performance is fantastic.

It's not twice as good as the Razer Blade for work, but as an ultra-portable gaming laptop, the MSI GS66 Stealth is an argument in itself.

Are there alternatives?

The Razer Blade offers excellent build quality, a better display and a classier look. However, it is a few hundred dollars more expensive.

The Predator Triton 500 isn't as elegant as the MSI GS66 Stealth, but it's a little cheaper and even has a G-Sync screen.

If you're considering the cheaper Nvidia RTX 2060 version of the MSI GS66 Stealth, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is a great alternative.

How long it will take?

The MSI GS66 Stealth should last four to five years as long as you take care of it. The build quality can be somewhat sensitive in places. So be careful with the lid.

MSI provides a standard one-year warranty on all laptops.

Should you buy it

Yes. If the Razer Blade is a bit too expensive and you still want an elegant gaming laptop, the MSI GS66 Stealth is a good option.

Editor's recommendations




23 Jul
Blog

Asus ROG Phone 3 Review: An Incredible Feat Of Mobile Gaming

Asus Rog Phone 3 review

"The Asus ROG Phone 3 is a powerful, focused gaming smartphone that makes you feel like a champion."

  • Incredibly powerful

  • Breathtaking sound

  • Focused, useful game features

  • Large, smooth screen

  • Great software

  • Camera could be better

  • Heavy

Asus has shown how serious mobile gaming is with the launch of Republic of Gamers' ROG Phone 2 last year, which is equipped with technologies and features specifically designed to improve gameplay. Now it's back with the ROG Phone 3. Not much has changed externally, and if anything, the design of the space age has become less noticeable – but the story is different inside.

The difference that the internals make is remarkable. It's so powerful that when he plays PUBG Mobile, Thanos would do it on a ROG Phone 3.

design

The ROG Phone 3 has a similar look and almost the same size as the ROG Phone 2, but the sci-fi madness is somewhat weakened. The glass back is glossy rather than matte, and the exposed vents on the back of the ROG Phone 2 have disappeared and have been replaced by a cool, transparent area that shows the new cooling system inside. I have never seen a glass transition between transparent and dark, and it looks great.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Despite its exterior, the ROG Phone 3 has not collected any fingerprints, and the ROG logo with RGB looks even brighter and more colorful than the matt glass of the ROG Phone 2. The camera module has been given another lens for a total of three. and it runs horizontally across the device. Asus has reduced the silver angled lines on the body, making the design more mature.

Nevertheless, the gaming focus remains. The USB Type-C connector on the bottom is arranged on the side so that the phone can be held more comfortably in landscape format when plugged in. There is another USB Type-C charging port behind a rubber plug on the opposite side. The phone also has shoulder-mounted "AirTrigger" on the side of the phone (we'll talk more about that later).

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Although it's comfortable to hold, this is a great smartphone. It is 9.8 mm thick, 171 mm long and 78 mm wide. For comparison: The OnePlus 8 Pro is 8.5 mm thick, 165 mm long and 74.5 mm wide.

At 240 grams, the ROG Phone 3 is also one of the heaviest phones ever. The orientation in landscape is well balanced, but in portrait I noticed that the weight was tilted towards the front of the phone. In combination with the slippery body, it often threatened to fall in the face when I lay it down.

One thing that ROG Phone 2 users may notice is the disappearance of the 3.5mm headphone jack. The integration of 5G antennas in the ROG Phone 3 is one of the reasons why the connection no longer fits into the phone. However, if you really want it, there is a dongle in the box. There is also an additional AeroActive Cooler 3 accessory that attaches to the case to assist cooling. You will also receive these accessories in the packaging.

It is a great accessory. Asus has added two very helpful features: a space to store the rubber connector cover that you remove from the phone to attach the AeroActive Cooler 3, and a stand.

The stand is great and puts the phone in the perfect angle for watching movies or playing with a controller. The AeroActive Cooler 2 developed for the ROG Phone 2 is not compatible with the new phone. However, if you bought other accessories, including the Twin View Dock or the Kunai controller, these will work because the two phones are almost identical in size.

I appreciate the new, more sophisticated design of the ROG Phone 3, but I miss the madness of the ROG Phone and ROG Phone 2. I think gaming phones need craziness. Nothing in their existence makes sense. So why not celebrate a little more?

Play

The ROG Phone 3 is the king of gaming smartphones.

I'm a casual gamer, which means I don't spend hours playing online every day, but the ROG Phone 3 still manages to make the games I play look better and smoother while providing useful tools, that improve the experience. When I feel that way, I have no doubt that people who are more interested in mobile games will see even greater benefits.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The shoulder-mounted AirTrigger are a good example of where the ROG Phone 3 is successful. You can easily map, tap, press, swipe, or even split controls on the screen to effectively create four buttons. They made the simple controls of Asphalt 9 Legends faster to use and prevented my fingers from covering the screen.

The function is activated in the game via the Game Genie menu on the slide-in screen. When you position the AirTrigger activation points on the screen, they vibrate when you get the correct placement. In Transformers: Forged to Fight, I used both the tap and swipe functions, and while typing worked well, it can be difficult to activate the swipe function at the right time.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Pressing the sides of the phone activates X mode, which increases phone performance and minimizes distractions while gaming. Use the "Advanced X mode" setting, where everything is set to maximum and the processor is not throttled at all. I haven't noticed any slowdown, dropouts, or other performance issues while playing on the ROG Phone 3.

The 6.59-inch AMOLED screen has a refresh rate of 144 Hz, 270 Hz touch sampling, 10-bit HDR, HDR 10 Plus support and a touch latency of 25 ms. It reacts incredibly quickly. Dariusburst is played in a small window in the center of the screen and requires skillful, careful controls to switch between the landscape and the onslaught of bullets. The ROG Phone 3 made this much easier thanks to its large, very responsive touchscreen.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Then there is the sound. Asus worked with an audio company called Dirac and skipped major brands like Dolby. The result is often exceptional. There is a level of detail, clarity and definition that you won't always find on phones, as well as a wide sound stage and really full sound through the two stereo speakers. The ROG Phone 3 sounds like no other smartphone.

Within a few hours I played Asphalt 9 Legends, 1945, Real Racing 3 and Dariusburst as well as a few other casual titles and it went perfectly. You can feel some heat coming from the phone, but it's in the landscape format at the middle bottom of the device, so you'll have to look around for it. My hands didn't get sweaty and I never felt the need to move my grip because the body of the phone was warm.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The ROG Phone 3 is also compatible with Google Stadia and offers three months of free Stadia Pro access, so it's not just about Google Play games. It is easy to pretend gaming phones as meaningless, but if done properly and thoughtfully, the benefits are obvious. The Asus ROG Phone 3 demonstrates this perfectly.

camera

Asus has worked hard to make the ROG Phone 3 a usable smartphone for everyday use whether you are dedicated to gaming or not. The camera is an integral part of it.

The rear-view camera with three lenses has a 64-megapixel IMX686 main sensor with an aperture of 1: 1.8, together with a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. There is a 24 megapixel selfie camera in the bezel above the screen. The rear view camera has several modes, including a night mode, a portrait mode, a motion tracking video mode and a pro video mode. It records videos in 4K and in HDR with electronic stabilization.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It's decent and more than powerful enough, provided it's your second priority on a smartphone. There is no zoom mode, but both wide-angle and macro modes offer creative fun, so it is not necessarily overlooked. It can be inconsistent, especially under cloudy conditions where it is quite underexposed, which leads to loss of detail. HDR shots on sunny days can look great, and the macro camera definitely surprises with its ability.

The selfie camera has a cumbersome beauty mode as standard, a portrait mode with only average edge detection, which can also wash out skin tones.

I found the ROG Phone 3's camera to be okay for general use. While there are more versatile camera phones, it's solid. For a gaming phone where the camera is always a secondary concern, it's much better than many expect.

Power and battery

Asus wants to "take the industry to the next level" with the ROG Phone 3. It has pioneered 120 Hz screens and high touch sampling rates and explains how best to use a high-end processor ROG Phone 2. For the ROG Phone 3, the 144 Hz screen wins 270 Hz touch sampling rate and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor with up to 16 GB RAM easily handle the current wars of smartphone data sheets.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Snapdragon 865 Plus is a monster and the first mobile processor to exceed 3 GHz clock speed. In combination with 16 GB LPDDR5-RAM and 512 GB UFS 3.1 memory in my test phone, it is hard to imagine ever needing more power or capacity.

This is how it went in some benchmark tests:

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 6,601 volcano (Without X mode. App crashes with active X mode)

Geekbench 5: 970 single core / 3340 multi core

These values ​​exceed the ROG Phone 2, but are only slightly higher than the OnePlus 8 Pro. They are very similar to the Red Magic 5G, where the 3DMark test on the ROG Phone 3 was actually lower. However, this can be related to app problems as X mode is not active on the Asus phone.

The 6,000 mAh battery lasts two days, which seems somewhat disappointing given the total capacity. However, don't forget that it powers a lot of high-end hardware. According to Asus' own tests, 9.6 hours of Asphalt 9 Legends are played with a full charge compared to 5.7 hours with a OnePlus 8 Pro.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Asus has added a new PowerMaster app to extend the battery life. Interestingly, it has a slow charge mode, definable limits to make sure the battery doesn't stay 100% fit all night (not good for a long life, Asus says), and a choice of battery modes. Wired charging delivers 30 W of power, but there is no wireless charging.

If you take the phone apart, you'll find carefully placed WiFi antennas elsewhere to ensure the best possible portrait or landscape signal, four microphones positioned so that they won't be covered while playing in landscape mode, and 5G support. The cellular and WiFi reception was consistently excellent, and the call quality is also excellent. I don't have 5G reception in my region, so I couldn't test this aspect.

software

There are two main theme options on the ROG Phone 3: eye-catching, stylized themes and a classic theme so that the phone looks more like Android on a pixel. This is the same approach the company followed with the ROG Phone 2 and Asus Zenfone 6, and a very sensible decision. Both work identically, but the Classic theme undoubtedly makes the phone look more mature and may be a little faster for everyday use.

Apps are hidden in a drawer in both subject areas, while the notification shadow provides interactive notifications and there is a standard dark mode. Asus installs its own game app called Armory Crate, which stores all of your games together. You can define for each individual parameter, e.g. These include automatic activation of X mode, increasing the screen refresh rate and assigning macros. You can also change the system lighting here.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

I used swipe gesture controls that worked fine. Although there is an option that always appears on the screen, the notification options are limited, which reduces its usefulness.

Asus' software on the ROG Phone 3 was reliable and fast, and it's great to see the company continue the good work it started on the Zenfone 6. The built-in fingerprint sensor is fast and reliable and has a face unlock to secure it. I also had no problems with it.

Price, guarantee and availability

Asus did not announce the final price in US dollars for the ROG Phone 3 at the time of writing, but only the price in euros. The 16 GB / 512 GB version tested here costs 1,099 euros and a 12 GB / 512 GB version costs 999 euros. The phone will be available in Europe from the end of July, but will start with the basic version "Strix", which offers a Snapdragon 865, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage for 799 euros.

The ROG Phone 3 will be available in North America before September. We expect the euro prices to be converted directly to US dollars, which means that the 16 GB / 512 GB model should cost around $ 1,099. Asus will officially confirm prices when the U.S. launch date is announced. The cheapest Strix model is not sold in the United States.

Our opinion

The ROG Phone 3 is unrivaled among gaming phones. This should tell you everything you need to know if it's for you. It's a special monster that offers all the power everyone needs for just about any task they want to do on a phone. If a game doesn't run well on the ROG Phone 3, it won't run well on a phone.

What if you are not a big mobile player? The ROG Phone 3 is one of the best multimedia phones available. The video is outstanding due to the excellent screen and speakers of the phone. However, you won't be able to take advantage of the many game-centered features and may miss a better camera.

Is there a better alternative?

If you want a direct gaming smartphone, no. If you're looking for an all-round phone, the OnePlus 8 Pro for $ 900 offers good credentials and a lot of performance, while the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus for $ 1,100 and the Oppo Find X2 Pro for $ 1,300 are flagship products that focus on the camera. Perhaps the best alternative to the ROG Phone 3 is the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, not only because of the performance of the phone, but also because of the games available on the App Store.

How long it will take?

Asus promises that Android 11 will be available for the ROG Phone 3 and will receive security updates for at least two years. However, no timeframe for the arrival of Android 11 has been set. The ROG Phone 3 is not waterproof. It is made of glass and is quite heavy, so it is advisable to buy one of the cool cases from Asus.

Aside from that, the massive specs keep the phone fresh to the touch in a few years, and Asus' efforts to help the battery perform better for longer should help add to the usefulness of the phone in recent years increase two years. If you want to hold onto your new phone, the ROG Phone 3 is a very safe purchase.

Should you buy one?

Yes. It is the mobile game champion who has the courage and the ability to make you a mobile game champion too.

Editor's recommendations




13 Jul
Blog

Razer Blade 15 (2020) Review: A Trailblazing Gaming Laptop

"Razer's Blade 15 is the most attractive gaming laptop you can buy for money."

  • Sleek design

  • Comfortable keyboard and touchpad

  • Exceptional gaming experience

  • 300Hz refresh rate

  • Ideal port selection

All other gaming laptops swim in the course of the Razer Blade. It is a design that others want to emulate in both aesthetic and portable terms.

But with two years on the same chassis, the Razer Blade may not be as impressive as it used to be. The latest version is a refinement of the formula that offers more power and a faster 300 Hz screen with just a few minor adjustments to the formula.

Razer offers models for up to $ 1,600, but my test device costs $ 3,000. Does the Razer Blade still stand out to justify its premium, or has the competition caught up?

Design and keyboard

The Razer Blade's greatest achievement is not what it accomplishes, but what it completely avoids. It is a gaming laptop that defeats any design cliché that is normally associated with its competitors. It resists decorations and facades and instead focuses on straight lines and minimal chrome. Put it next to the Acer Predator Triton 500 or the Alienware m15 and you will see what I mean. The Razer Blade looks like a normal laptop.

This makes it a good option for someone who wants to use the device not only for games but also for other tasks, especially since it only weighs 4.6 pounds. It fits in your backpack as well as a MacBook Pro 16-inch or Dell XPS 15. The quality of machined aluminum is also exceptional as long as you can forgive how quickly fingerprints are captured.

There have always been exceptions to the blade's ethos and they include glowing lights. Razer's iconic green snakes still shine on the lid. It's dimmed on the silver version of this laptop, but it still glows outrageously here. The same applies to the RGB-loaded keyboard, which is backlit per key in a spectacular way and has become synonymous with the Razer brand.

Speaking of the keyboard: Razer has slightly adjusted the layout. The keyboard was previously equipped with full-size arrow keys, which forced a separation between question mark and shift key. Players may have appreciated the roomy arrow keys, but it was frustrating to type.

The layout is now more conventional, which I consider an upgrade. However, the keycaps on the Dell XPS 15 feel a bit small. It's a minor issue, but I would like to see less space between the buttons in a future design.

If you press a key, you will be rewarded with a fantastic key loss. There is a lot to travel with a satisfactorily springy mechanism that made me feel comfortable straight away. The glass touchpad is also a winner. It's big, responsive, and quiet. You won't find a better keyboard or touchpad on a gaming laptop.

Ports and security

All the bells and whistles are here, far beyond what your standard gaming laptop offers. Razer even throws an IR camera over the top bezel for Windows Hello face authentication. It is typical for gaming laptops to include HDMI and lots of USB 3.2 Gen 2. The blade contains both with a total of three USB-A and a single USB-C connector.

However, Razer goes one step further by including both Thunderbolt 3 and a full-size SD card slot. Creative professionals and content creators will appreciate it, which can support high-speed storage and quick access to camera files. Your photo shows how Razer wants to position the blade.

Although you can power the laptop through the Thunderbolt 3 port, Razer has a proprietary charging port on the left for full performance.

The Razer Blade even supports the latest connectivity standards like Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

performance

Owners like to use the Razer Blade for everything from video editing to gaming, but the balance of its performance tends towards the latter. This has ramifications for performance in productivity applications, which are not bad, but lag behind laptops that tend to work rather than play.

This year's model features the latest 10th generation Intel Core i7-10875H. The eight cores and 16 threads are a major advance over the six-core processors of previous generations. This is promising if you don't want to use the Razer Blade just for gaming.

In the Cinebench R20 multi-core benchmark, the latest Razer Blade 15 is a significant leap over the previous year. Again, it can thank these additional cores and threads for the bump. However, the Razer Blade lags behind some other non-gaming laptops that use the same processor. For example, it is 29% behind the Dell XPS 15.

Interestingly, the blade is a whopping 36% behind the Dell G5 SE. The G5 SE is a gaming laptop, but uses an AMD GPU and CPU, as well as SmartShift technology to share the performance between the components.

Handbrake video encoding tells a similar story. The Razer was 9% slower than the Dell XPS 15 and 19% behind the XPS 17.

That doesn't mean the Razer Blade 15 is a bad choice as a content creation laptop. If the GPU can be used, it is quite powerful. For example, it is a powerful video rendering rig in an application like Adobe Premiere Pro. It exported a 2 minute 4K video clip to ProRes 422 in 7 minutes and 42 seconds. This is much faster than the configuration I checked last year, which had an Intel processor with six cores and an RTX 2070 Max-Q .

Options like the Dell XPS 17 or the Microsoft Surface Book 3 are still unsurpassed in these tests. Although the Razer has a charged RTX 2080 Super, the XPS 17's RTX 2060 finished the same rendering in Premiere 46% faster. That's what a bigger chassis and improved thermal system mean to you.

All versions of the Razer Blade are equipped with 16 GB of dual-channel RAM as standard and no longer allow anything. Most other performance-oriented laptops offer up to 32 GB, including the Acer Predator Triton 500 and the Dell XPS 15.

Gaming performance

The greatest power of the Razer Blade is gaming. It comes with either the Nvidia RTX 2070 Super Max-Q or the 2080 Super Max-Q. These new Nvidia GPUs add just a few frames per second (fps) than the previous non-super versions. Fortunately, the Razer Blade was already an extremely powerful gaming laptop.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the most challenging test game, and the Razer Blade still reached an average of 60 fps with graphics details at Ultra High. This and Civilization VI were the only two games in which the Acer Predator Triton 500 came up a bit and offered up to 8% faster frame rates at the highest settings in both games. Still, you probably won't complain about the Razer Blade, which averages 134 fps.

Returning to a 60 Hz screen feels chunky by comparison.

Elsewhere, the Razer Blade dominates. Fortnite and Battlefield V performed spectacularly and exceeded the Triton 500 in both cases. In Battlefield V at Ultra, the blade achieved an average of 98 fps. When I pulled the settings back to medium, the system released 122 fps, which is a new record for 15-inch laptops. This is really impressive for such a small laptop.

Fortnite was similarly fast, and the Razer was again one of the fastest 15-inch laptops I've tested. With epic settings, it easily reaches 110 fps. But responsiveness really came alive with lower settings. For example, 161 fps with settings at high felt incredibly smooth. The return to a 60 Hz screen on my XPS 15 felt chunky by comparison.

I even tried the Rocket League, which had no problem reaching its maximum speed of 250 fps with the highest graphics quality. That's not quite 300, but the animations are still incredibly smooth.

These games were all played with the native screen resolution of 1080p. You could connect to a higher resolution external monitor and I suspect it would handle 1440p quite well. While 4K would be a stretch in some games, turn-based strategy games like Civilization VI shouldn't be a problem.

The Razer Blade is of course quite expensive. Though it's equivalent to the $ 3,000 Asus ROG Zephyrus S15, it's $ 400 more than the Triton 500, though the performance is very similar. With the Alienware m15, you get a similar package for almost $ 800 cheaper. Some of these options, such as B. the Triton 500, also offer G-Sync support. The Razer Blade lacks this feature, but the high refresh rate is surprisingly good to avoid tearing the screen.

In general, the Razer Blade is still running hot. Surface temperatures can be roasted during the game, but that's not too surprising. The frustrating part is idling temperatures. Since nothing is running, the palm rests and keyboard are still a bit warm, and this can be uncomfortable.

Display and speakers

Razer offers two 15.6-inch viewing options, one for content creation and one for gamers. The game-oriented screen I tested is a 1080p display with the above-mentioned refresh rate of 300 Hz. The option focused by the creator is a 4K display, which is intended for photographers and video editors who need this high number of pixels. The 4K screen also has a glossy surface, a touchscreen and a refresh rate of 60 Hz.

While the 4K screen undoubtedly offers a sharper picture, the 1080p screen looks great. The contrast is high at 1,010: 1, and although it is maximum at only 310 nits, the matte screen excellently blocks glare. The screen is also fairly color accurate, though if you need a wide range of colors you'll need to go with the 4K OLED panel.

The Razer Blade offers a decent set of speakers shooting up. They are on par with the Dell XPS 15, although they lag behind the MacBook Pro 16-inch. They still lack the bass and there is certainly room for improvement.

Battery life

Because the Razer Blade doesn't have G-Sync, its battery life doesn't suffer the same fate as other gaming laptops. These models, like the Predator Triton 500, only last a few hours in normal use.

The five hours of the Razer Blade are, of course, nothing to write home about. Despite the 97-watt-hour battery, you still can't get through a full working day without needing a charge. Less powerful laptops like the ROG Zephyrus G14 or the Dell G5 SE can last an extra hour. Even the 4K Dell XPS 15 lasts up to 7 hours.

Of course, it all depends on how you use it. In our lightest test, where a local 1080p video is repeated, the Razer Blade lasted almost 7.5 hours. If you run heavy applications or games, you can expect no more than 3 hours on a single charge.

That may not sound that impressive, but you won't find a laptop with an RTX 2080 Super that lasts that long.

The basic edition

The Razer Blade Base Edition

When you buy a Razer Blade, you will come across an "Advanced Edition" and a "Base Edition". I have reviewed the Advanced Edition and it is the version that gives you the latest parts.

However, the Base Edition has its advantages. It offers the same processor and memory options. You can even opt for the same 4K OLED screen if you want.

The differences depend on the housing and the refresh rate. The Base Edition reaches a maximum speed of 144 Hz for the 1080p model, and the case is slightly thicker and heavier. The Base Edition also offers a different selection of graphics cards, from the Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti to the RTX 2080 Max-Q.

Razer also offers a “Studio Edition” that supports Nvidia's RTX Quadro 5000 graphics and comes with Windows 10 Pro.

Our opinion

The Razer Blade does not require you to use it in any particular way. It tries to satisfy the modern player – the one who could also use his laptop for work or as a content creator. The design of the Razer Blade is no longer as revolutionary as it used to be, but there is no question that it is still the best.

Are there any better alternatives?

The Acer Predator Triton 500 offers similar performance at reduced costs to the Alienware m15. However, these laptops look brighter and do not work as well as everyday laptops.

If you're looking for a subdued design that matches the Razer Blade, the MSI GS66 Stealth is a close rival. The build quality is not that good and previous versions didn't work as well.

How long it will take?

Like most premium laptops, the Razer Blade should last at least four or five years. The build quality is second to none and the components are all up to date. It comes with a standard one-year warranty, but Razer offers three years of protection with its two different warranty plans, starting at $ 250.

Should you buy it

Yes. This is the best gaming laptop you can buy, and it works great in just about any other environment.

Editor's recommendations




22 Jun
Blog

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 Review: Dual-Screen Gaming

Asus Rog Zephyrus Duo 15 Rating 05

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 review: dual-screen gaming in your lap

"The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo Pro 15 offers PC games with two screens like no other laptop."

  • Good performance

  • Intuitive secondary screen

  • Beautiful 4K screen

  • Relatively thin and light

  • Insanely expensive

  • Bad battery life

You have never seen a gaming laptop like the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15.

Of course there are other dual screen laptops like the HP Omen X 2S or the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo. The Zephyrus Duo 15 surpasses them all with its flip-up secondary screen, which is integrated directly into the housing.

The starting price of $ 3,700 will put off anyone who is not committed to the idea of ​​having a built-in second screen on their gaming laptop. But for those who are ready to do the dive, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 may be the most interesting gaming laptop ever made.

ScreenPad Plus

The secondary screen of this laptop, which Asus calls the ScreenPad Plus, is located under the primary screen and is automatically flipped up when the lid is opened. The frame of the screen looks a bit thin, but I was impressed with how stiff it was. Behind it is a back plate made of magnesium alloy for support. Everything is built into a hinge that enables seamless and stable opening.

The idea of ​​a tiltable secondary screen seems exaggerated – and maybe also. However, the inclination of the ScreenPad Plus has one purpose. The secondary screens of other laptops are all flat on the keyboard deck, which is not a good viewing angle. This is particularly noticeable when you have lights over you.

The Zephyrus Duo 15 solves the problem by supporting the screen in a more natural viewing angle. No more bending or angling. The angle that Asus has reached is not perfect, but far better on a flat surface. However, this angle cannot be adjusted, which is a shame.

While playing, you can easily slide a guide down or create an order, reducing the need to remove the Alt Tab key from a game.

This increased usability may sound easy, but it has inspired me to want to use the second screen more and more. Asus offers a number of proprietary applications and functions for the ScreenPad Plus. There is a handwriting app, a calculator and of course the Armory Crate settings app. Armory Crate is useful for monitoring your system, changing performance modes, and changing lighting settings.

However, the most useful feature of the ScreenPad Plus is a second screen. If you are working from home and do not have access to an external monitor, the ScreenPad Plus ingeniously replaces this. It is great to shutdown Spotify or YouTube while using the primary screen to write or edit photos. While playing, you can easily slide down a guide or build order, reducing the need to remove the Alt Tab key from a game.

Windows 10 already has excellent snap-in functions and lights up on the ScreenPad Plus. With a 20 cm diagonal, the ScreenPad Plus feels big enough to do these types of tasks with ease. The touchscreen function helps and only requires a short swipe to where your hands rest on the keyboard. The possibilities feel endless.

This does not mean that the ScreenPad Plus is a perfect implementation. It's still a little strange to see your cursor shrink down, and there's a slight shade of green on the second screen. I also wish that the distance between the screens was slightly smaller to create a more uniform field of view.

From a software perspective, there are still a few missed options. Windows is simply not well set up to support a second touchscreen. When you play a game, touching the ScreenPad Plus freezes your controls or pauses the game. This is a limitation of Windows, but it stands in the way of the full potential of this design.

performance

The angle of the ScreenPad Plus has a second advantage. According to Asus, there is also a performance gain. Other Zephyrus laptops have a ventilation opening that rises from below and supports the laptop at an angle. The angle of the ScreenPad Plus offers the same advantages for cooling. The fans are located under the gap in the screen and promote airflow and thermal throughout the system, while the bottom of the laptop stays flat.

This is important because some very hot components need to stay cool. The Zephyrus Duo 15 is available in two configurations – and both are extremely high quality. The model I checked is the 4K configuration that was created for content creation. The other is a game-oriented device with a 1080p 300Hz screen. Both cost $ 3,700 and only offer premium specs. You get an Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q, 32 GB RAM and 2 TB solid-state storage.

The processor gives you 8 cores and 16 threads to work with, resulting in powerful processor performance. This is also from the latest 10th generation Intel product line, which contains slightly faster boost clock speeds than the previous generation. The Zephyrus Duo 15 impresses in Cinebench R20 and Geekbench 5 with record values ​​for a laptop. The Asus ZenBook Duo Pro was another powerful Core i9 laptop with a second screen last year. The Zephyrus Duo 15 outperforms it in both single-core and multi-core performance. It also gains single-core performance against the Zephyrus G14, an AMD Ryzen 4000 laptop with the same number of cores and threads.

It has a trusted screen where professional color corrections and edits can be done.

I encoded a 4K handbrake video clip in H.265 to test the processor. It wasn't as consistent as I hoped. The first runs were incredibly fast and only lasted one minute and 38 seconds. From there, the runs slowed down 33% and stayed there for the next few tries. That's a solid speed for this processor, although some less expensive laptops like the Dell G5 SE can keep up.

However, the Zephyrus Duo 15 has a powerful CPU and GPU. To see how the system balances a heavy workload, I rendered a two-minute 4K clip in Premiere in ProRes 422. I was particularly interested in these results because Nvidia Dynamic Boost, a new function supported by the Zephyrus Duo 15, is managed by a unique thermal system. The power supply can be shared between the GPU and the CPU. In other words, if an application or game can use more of the GPU, it can run over 100 watts.

The Zephyrus Duo 15 completed the task in 7 minutes and 44 seconds. This is slightly faster than the Dell G5 SE and offers a big head start on the 9th generation Razer Blade that I tested in 2019. However, there are no other Core i9 options like the Dell XPS 15 or the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo. The ZenBook Pro Duo’s thicker casing seems to do more for its video rendering capabilities than Nvidia's Dynamic Boost for the Zephyrus Duo, which is disappointing.

Since my computer was the model for creating 4K content, these tests are critical. The 4K screen is beautiful in itself – a color-calibrated panel with precise colors, 96% AdobeRGB and a contrast ratio of 1,040: 1. The maximum brightness is 381 nits, although the matte surface of the display reduces reflections to a minimum. All of this ensures a trustworthy screen on which professional color corrections and edits can be performed.

Gaming performance

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 offers fantastic gaming performance. If smooth frame rates are your top priority, the 1080p 300Hz model is clearly the model you want. Thanks to the Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q and G-Sync panel, even the 4K option I tested is a functional gaming laptop.

Because the 4K panel is locked at a refresh rate of 60 Hz, much of the 1080p is wasted, so 4K resolution is a solid option in some games. Civilization VI is a good example. The Zephyrus Duo 15 averaged 70 FPS (frames per second) at 4K with settings at Ultra. The same was true for Battlefield V, where it achieved an average of 56 FPS for Medium in 4K. Sure, the over 90 FPS at 1080p are better, but if you're not connected to an external gaming monitor, those extra 40 FPS won't help.

G-Sync was a big help with gaming and made up for the lower refresh rate of the 4K display.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey was the exception. The Zephyrus Duo 15 mastered this difficult game with 1080p Ultra High with an average of 59 FPS quite well. At 4K, however, it was choppy.

Other gaming laptops that use the RTX 2080 Super Max-Q are slightly faster than the Acer Predator Triton 500. While the Zephyrus Duo 15 isn't the fastest gaming notebook I've tested, I was happy with how It balances warmth, size and performance.

G-Sync has been a great help throughout to compensate for the display's lower refresh rate. Remember that G-Sync is not enabled on the laptop by default. You need to go into the armory and restart the system to turn it on.

design

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a large laptop. Although Asus only had a 15-inch screen, it took up a lot of space to push in the ScreenPad Plus without crushing the keyboard. The result is a massive bottom bezel under the primary screen. It is absolutely huge and supports the screen higher than a normal 15-inch laptop.

Elsewhere, the Zephyrus Duo 15 does its best to stay in shape. It's only 0.78 inches thick and weighs only 5.3 pounds. The whole system uses a magnesium alloy to keep things light. Asus is right that the use of aluminum would have resulted in a heavy laptop, although the magnesium alloy leaves the slightest bend in the lid.

This is not the right laptop to take to a coffee shop.

This is not my favorite keyboard in the world. Because of this second screen, the keyboard and touchpad are pressed to the bottom of the keyboard deck. This is not the first time Asus has tried this design. Even the Zephyrus S used this design. There are disadvantages, such as the lack of wrist-rest. This makes using the Zephyrus Duo 15 on your lap pretty uncomfortable. On a flat surface, it can even be exhausting and requires a lot of additional space on a table. This isn't the right laptop to take to a coffee shop, but few gaming laptops fit that bill. However, Asus has a palm rest in the box, which is a nice addition.

The key drop feels a bit flat at 1.4 mm, although this is comparable to laptops like the Dell XPS 15 or the Razer Blade. The fast typing takes getting used to when I come from the Dell XPS 15, although I typed quickly after a few hours. The keyboard is equipped with RGB lighting per key, which can be fully adjusted in the settings of the armory.

The Zephyrus Duo 15 uses the same key layout as other Asus gaming laptops like the Zephyrus S. There are some special features, e.g. B. the print screen key between the Alt and Ctrl keys. The function bar (and above the touchpad) gives you quick access to helpful shortcuts such as deactivating the ScreenPad Plus or switching it off completely.

The thin touchpad is to the right of the keyboard, which will always be an afterthought in these designs. The tracking feels responsive, although the size isn't ideal, especially if you're left-handed.

Asus still does not have a built-in webcam for its gaming laptops. This makes the Zephyrus Duo 15 unsuitable for the home life that many of us are currently living. That's a shame for a laptop that can act as both a work machine and a gaming laptop. The laptop also lacks Windows Hello login support, either in the form of a fingerprint reader or an IR camera. Other high-end gaming laptops like the Razer Blade have taken this up in recent years.

The port selection is fantastic and offers a solid mix of gaming must-haves and future security. On the sides of the case there are two USB-A ports, a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, a headphone jack, a microphone input and your barrel-shaped power plug. Thanks to the Thunderbolt 3 connector, you don't have to constantly lug around the power adapter to keep the laptop charged during occasional use. For full performance, you should of course use the cylinder plug.

On the back, Asus adds HDMI 2.0, an Ethernet socket and an additional USB-A port. The location of these rear ports is convenient and ensures a cleaner desk configuration when fully docked.

Battery life

The battery life of the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is not a highlight. I assumed that this was based on the 4K screen alone. Throw in a second screen and a powerful GPU – and you can't expect much.

The Zephyrus Duo 15 is a G-Sync laptop that blocks GPU usage on the Nvidia card and usually results in terrible battery life. Asus offers the option to switch to Nvidia Optimus mode, which allows the system to automatically switch between graphics. That didn't seem to help – at least not enough.

Without the secondary screen on, the laptop only lasted about two hours. With the screen on, this was reduced to just one hour. Yikes. According to Asus, there were some issues with turning on the Nvidia GPU when it wasn't. During local video playback or surfing in Google Chrome, the system occasionally taxed the graphics card.

That would explain the bad battery life, but it's not a good excuse. Regardless of whether Dynamic Boost or Optimus is the culprit, I expected at least a few more hours from the Zephyrus Duo 15. Despite a large 90 watt hour battery, you should leave this battery connected most of the time.

Our opinion

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is based on a great idea. I like it when experimental designs like this leave the prototyping stage. The second screen is great, but the Zephyrus Duo 15 is more than just a one-trick pony – it offers both the performance and usability of its second screen. However, $ 3,700 is a high price. That's $ 400 more than a comparable Razer Blade, which was already one of the most expensive gaming laptops you could buy.

This is not the final form of Asus' vision for second-screen computing, but it is the best there has been.

Are there alternatives?

If you are only interested in the second screen, Asus offers the ZenBook Duo. It's not a gaming laptop, but it does offer a similar second screen – except without the raised angle.

Apart from that, no other laptop can reproduce the functions of the Zephyrus Duo 15 on the second screen. There are many gaming laptops that offer excellent performance at a much cheaper price.

How long it will take?

The Zephyrus Duo 15 is robust and well built. The gap under the ScreenPad Plus is worrying. It is not difficult to imagine that things get stuck inside, whether they are small objects or just dust.

Should you buy it

Yes. Not everyone is willing to pay the bill for a second screen bonus, but it's undoubtedly one of the most interesting gaming laptops ever made.

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