Gaming laptops – More Power, More Value!
Gaming on the move is not a new concept. Personally I have been using laptop for a while now for all my gaming. The problem is that it has always been a poor substitution for desktop gaming. Graphics chips and processors for laptops have always been underpowered for even the most simple of games, unless you had several thousand pounds to throw at it.
But no more. With the release of the GeForce 8800MGTX graphics card and the Intel Penryn processors gaming laptops are becoming a serious alternative to desktops.
For work, rest or play I recommend the Rizeon M571
Several well known companies offer machines with these kinds of specs, Rock Direct and Evesham being two of the most obvious. Having spent some time researching into a particular spec, it became obvious that all the vendors offering them seemed to be using the same chassis. After more digging I discovered a term I had never heard, ODM or Original Design Manufacture. This opened up a whole world of options as many smaller unknown laptop sites sell machines based on these chassis. Rizeon quickly became the favourite in my searches and so it came to be that I purchased a Rizeon M571.
The laptop itself is a good specification for the price (£1549 at time of writing). For your money you get:
- An Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T9300 running at 2.5gh
- A very generous 4GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM
- A 17-inch Widescreen WUXGA+ screen with an eye busting 1920 x 1200 resolution
- 160GB hard drive (At time of review this has been increased to 250GB)
- Windows VISTA home premium 64bit (so you can use all of that lovely RAM!!)
- And finally the NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8800M GTX with 512MB dedicated graphics memory
It’s also worth mentioning that you get a 1 Year Insurance Backed Collect & Return Service. This means that even if Rizeon was to suddenly vanish, you could still have your warranty honored!!
By anyone’s standards this is a good set up for the money!
Connectivity and extras are well catered for. There are 3 USB ports as well as a Firewire port. You get Bluetooth, A/G/N wireless connectivity and a built in 2MP web camera.
The laptop itself is not the prettiest thing in the world. The lid sports a brushed metal covering, I assume for protection as much as looks. The rest is a vision in black plastic. It is big and clunky and heavy. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to enter it into any fashion shows, I want a power house and that is what I got!
My only complaint revolves around the keyboard. I found it very unresponsive and at times it missed large numbers of key strokes. Over time you get used to this and just type a bit harder, it is a shame though!
A quick 3DMark06 test showed scores between 8800 and around 9000, which for a laptop is pretty good. More importantly it was able to handle any game I tried with decent resolutions and details. Call of Duty 4, Hell Gate London (in DX10 Mode), Crysis and more all played well. The GeForce 8800M GTX never disappointed or fell below my expectations!
For work, rest or play I recommend the Rizeon M571 to anyone who wants that little bit more for their money!
Value for Money 9/10
Customer Support 9/10
Build Quality 7/10 (based on the Clevo Chasis not Rizeon)
Performance 8/10
