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Weighing in at 8.2 pounds (or 11-pounds plus the power brick), the EON17-S is more an all-in-one gaming PC that you can fold in half. Thanks to its massive 16.2 x 10.9 x 1.8-inch size, you'll likely need a new bag for this beast. You may even need to clear your desk before setting this gaming platform down.
Unsurprisingly, the Alienware 17 measures in as the biggest machine – even if just by a tad – due to its unnecessarily bulky design. Overall, the Alienware measures 16.3 x 11.8 x 1.8 1.9 inches (W x D x H) and weighs in at a heavy-set 9.15 pounds.
On the other hands, users looking to pick up the lightest 17.3-inch gaming laptop they can stuff into a bag should nab the MSI GS70 Stealth. It weighs a spritely 5.7 pounds, and it's also the slimmest in the pack, measuring 0.85 inches thin. The EON17-S still somehow manages to be a tiny percent smaller in other respects, compared to the GS70's 16.5-inch wide and 11.3-inch deep frame.
Here is the EON17-S configuration given to TechRadar:
Spec sheet
- CPU: 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-4810MQ (quad-core, 6MB cache, up to 3.80GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M (8GB GDDR5 RAM); Intel HD Graphics 4600
- RAM: 8GB DDR3L (2 x 4GB at 1600MHz)
- Screen: 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, LED backlit matte display
- Storage: 2x 120GB mSATA SSD; 750GB HDD (7,200 rpm)
- Optical drive: 8X Slim CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW)
- Ports: 3 x USB 3.0 ports (1 powered USB port, AC/DC), USB 2.0 port, eSATA (USB 3.0 combo), HDMI (with HDCP), headphone jack, microphone jack, S/PDIF output jack, line-in jack, RJ-45 LAN, mini IEEE 1394b port, mini DisplayPort
- Connectivity: Intel PRO Wireless AC 7260; Bluetooth
- Camera: 2 MP webcam
- Weight: 8.5 pounds
- Size: 16.2 x 10.9 x 1.8 inches (W x D x H)
The above is a tuned-up version of the base EON17-S configuration, with the best (most expensive) GPU you could stuff into a laptop. Origin also included a number of accessories – like a Razer gaming mouse and mousepad, t-shirt and poster – inside its trademark lumber shipping crate for a baffling total of $2,601 (about £1,531, AU$2,764). (If you were to buy one online, you could choose between a free Razer keyboard, Razer mouse and mousepad, or a Razer headset.)
Origin also includes a free one year warranty with lifetime labor. If a worst-case scenario, like a total crash (or a single dead pixel crops up), occurs within the first 45 days, you can ship back the unit for repair or replacement at no cost.
The Alienware 17 comes with similar repair assurances, and can sport the same high-end video card, but would come with an even stiffer $2,899 (around £1,703, AU$3,081) price tag. However, for the extra cheddar, you also get a 2.9GHz Intel Core i7-4910MQ processor (a bump up over the EON17-S's best chip), double the memory, and a Blu-Ray drive.
The MSI GS70 comes at a much friendlier $1,599 (about £939, AU$1,699) on Amazon, but really because the machine support the same insane specification. For this price, the MSI comes with a far less substantial Nvidia GeForce GTX860M and a tiny 128GB solid-state drive. However, the MSI tout the 7,200 rpm, 750GB mechanical drive to match the EON17-S's data storage option and 12GB of RAM clipped into its motherboard.
