Tag Archives: gaming laptops
ASUS’ Strix III gaming laptops take cues from BMW’s design gurus
Hands-on with the Acer Helios 700’s sliding keyboard
Acer’s Helios 700 gaming notebook sports a keyboard that slides out
Alienware Area 51m review: A gaming desktop stuffed inside a laptop
3 Top Rated Gaming Monitors
While gaming processors and GPUs get a lot of attention, your gaming monitor is still very important when it comes to your experience: If you haven’t upgraded to 4K yet – or have been wishing for a larger screen or better customization options – then allow us to introduce the best gaming monitors of 2016.
Acer Predator X34 – $1,223
If you want the best gaming experience and have enough room, this is probably the monitor for you: It clocks in at a gigantic 34 inches, with a large metal tripod stand and a curved display with a 21:9 aspect ratio supporting 3440 x 1440 resolution. That’s a whole lot of screen, so much that you probably won’t mind the lack of other features – who needs them? There’s a Display Port and an HDMI 1.4 port for your high rez experiences, the screen is rated at 60Hz with some overclocking options, and that’s about it. For those who like to pay close attention to their graphics requirements, this model does feature Nvidia G-Sync tech, which is still relatively rare on big gaming monitors and another big plus here.
Curved screens tend to be a gimmick in the living room, but this is one case where we are for it: Not only does the screen save a little bit of room, but gaming monitors aren’t exactly designed for more than one person anyway, so viewing angles aren’t an issue. On the downside that big curved screen isn’t exactly mobile – you can’t swivel or tilt it, and you absolutely can’t mount it to the wall…so break out the measuring tape before you buy.
Asus MG279Q – $600
This Asus model has a smaller 27-inch screen, but since monitors tend to be closer to your face than TVs, this is plenty of room for 4K to work its magic (or whatever ultra HD resolution gaming monitors have – it varies based on the shape of the screen). Not only is this model much more affordable than our top pick, but it has a 144Hz refresh rate, and some algorithms to help manage flickering and other issues.
You’ll also have no problem with positioning this monitor, since it can be tilted, swiveled, pivoted, lowered, or mounted to fit whatever arrangement you need. If you have an average-sized space to game in, this monitor is probably your best bet.
BenQ XL2730Z – $510
At first glance, this 27-inch BenQ seems very similar to our Asus pick, but there are a couple things that set it apart. In addition to the 144Hz refresh rate, it also has an especially low 1-millisecond response time, so if you find that response time is important you may prefer this model (mileage varies when it comes to response time effects). There’s also extra customization options for adjusting the color, which is nice for micro-managing.
However, like many other gaming monitors, there’s no support for G-Sync on this model. This is changing, of course, but for now it’s something to be aware of if you prefer the very latest graphics technology.
ASUS ROG GX700 Gaming Laptop Has Water-Cooling Dock: Bubble Butt
It used to be that when you said “laptop dock,” all it meant was additional ports and connectivity options. Then came PCI-E adapters that let you use desktop graphics cards with laptops, one of the latest examples being Alienware’s Graphics Amplifier. Now we have ASUS’ GX700, a gaming laptop with a huge water-cooling dock.
The dock will let you overclock the GX700’s currently unspecified Intel Skylake CPU for better performance. The laptop also has the world’s first NVIDIA G-Sync compatible 17″ 4K display, but that’s just a footnote to its bombastic attachment.
Here’s The Verge’s brief eyes-on of the GX700 at the 2015 IFA:
Here’s another one from NewGadgets in case you wanted to see the 4K screen powered up.
You can see more shots of the GX700 on The Verge. Aside from its specs, ASUS is also keeping its lips sealed about the GX700’s price and release date. It most likely won’t be cheap, which kinda makes you wonder why someone who could afford this shouldn’t just get separate laptop and desktop PCs to get the best of both worlds.
[via ASUS via The Verge & Mikeshouts]
Gaming Laptops: The Best & The Rest
Razer Blade review (late 2012)
Razer has made a habit of catching us off guard -- breaking the mold as an accessory manufacturer by building laptops, prototype game handhelds and controller-toting tablets. Their Blade laptop cut through our expectations as well, featuring a beautiful aluminum shell and one of the thinnest profiles of any gaming rig on the market. It had some serious flaws, though: it was underpowered, had minor build issues and simply fell short in the audio department. Its maker, apparently, wasn't deterred: mere months after the original Blade's own debut, Razer is now introducing a successor.
Most of the changes are internal: this model swaps out the original's Sandy Bridge CPU and last-generation NVIDIA graphics for a newly announced 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-3632QM processor and a Kepler-based GeForce GTX 660M GPU. It caught our interest -- Razer had previously insisted its first laptop wasn't built just for power, but for a premium experience. Now, the firm seems to be focusing on both (now that's a premium experience we can get behind). So, is this upgrade enough to make up for the OG version's shortcomings? Read on to find out.
Continue reading Razer Blade review (late 2012)
Razer Blade review (late 2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSamsung refreshing Series 7 Gamer with 3D display, AMD Radeon HD 7870M
If Samsung's first dedicated gaming laptop wasn't built to your liking, you're about to get another option -- the Series 7 Gamer is due for a refresh. The company's Samsung Tomorrow blog pegs the new build as the Series 7 Gamer Yellow 3D, which outshines the subtle design we praised in our review of the last model with -- you guessed it -- a bright yellow finish. Style aside, the new oversized notebook will swap out its current GPU for an AMD Radeon HD 7870M and, as the name implies, a 14.3-inch SuperBright (400 nit) 3D LED display. The new configuration will also split its twin drive bays between a 1TB HDD and a fast-booting 128GB SSD. There's no word yet on international availability, but folks in Sammy's homeland can pick up the rig on August 14th for 2.99 million Won, which rings up to about $2,643 here in the states. Check out the official announcement at the (translated) source link below.
Samsung refreshing Series 7 Gamer with 3D display, AMD Radeon HD 7870M originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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