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Buying a high performance gaming laptop is still a relatively expensive undertaking, especially when we analyse specific capabilities against an identically priced desktop build.
The DinoPC Slayer 15.6″ GTX 870M system delivers great frame rate performance in many of the latest Direct X 11 games at the native 1080p resolution of the panel. The Nvidia GTX870M is a powerhouse mobile solution able to hold 30+ steady frame rates when maxing out the image quality. It is only when we compare directly against the Magma Wrath GTX770 desktop system that we see just how far behind it actually is in a variety of tasks, including gaming.
While this may seem obvious it is worth pointing out that the newly released Direct X 11 Grid Autosport from CodeMasters was averaging 80 percent higher frame rates on the desktop Magma Wrath.
People buying a laptop demand the luxury of portability, a reduced physical footprint and the option to game and work on the move when needed. In this regard the DinoPC Slayer 15.6″ can be considered a success. Battery life is very good, the keyboard is intuitive to use, and there is plenty of horsepower under the hood – thanks to the powerful Nvidia GTX870M, fast Solid State Drive and Intel Core i7 4710MQ quad core processor.
The DinoPC Slayer incorporates a powerful dual fan cooling system to ensure that heat is removed quickly from the chassis. The rear of the underside gets warm under extended load and it is important to ensure that the vents are not blocked, otherwise overheating and thermal throttling could occur.
While we have shown today that this system is very capable when dealing with not only the latest Direct X 11 games, but with 3D rendering and high definition movie encoding it does have a couple of weaknesses. Onboard sound is quite poor, a problem inherent with many 15.6 inch machines. The single height return key causes a problem for me, however our American readers are less likely to consider this an issue.
My biggest issue however is related to the screen. It ships with a bog standard 1080p high definition display – not one of the wide gamut or IPS panels you will sometimes see integrated into similarly priced systems. As such, viewing angles can be considered average, and colour saturation is less than stellar. We also noticed that the lid could ‘wobble' a little on specific surfaces if you are a heavy handed typist, like myself.
This is the primary reason we are giving this laptop a WORTH BUYING award, rather than a MUST HAVE award.
You can buy from DINOPC from this link.
Pros:
- powerful gaming laptop.
- great airflow system.
- well built.
- good keyboard and trackpad.
- battery life.
- SSD.
Cons:
- single height return key.
- screen is average.
- panel ‘wobble' can be noticeable.
Kitguru says: A very powerful gaming laptop featuring a quad core i7 processor and Nvidia GTX870M graphics.
The Dino Magma Wrath GTX 770 is a well balanced, high performance desktop system that ships with a 23 inch Iiyama XU2390HS 23″ Slim Bezel LED, Gigabyte Force K3 Keyboard and Gigabyte Force M7 Mouse. It is worth pointing out that many of the gaming desktop systems KitGuru review don't ship with a monitor, mouse or keyboard, so this goes some way in factoring the £1,099 inc vat asking price.
On a performance level we can find little to complain about. The Core i5 4690K may be a straight Quad core processor without hyperthreading but it is a fast and effective processor for a variety of tasks, and can keep up under most circumstances with the Core i7 4710MQ fitted in the Slayer laptop system.
The Gigabyte Windforce GTX770 is an immense graphics card extremely able to power through the latest games at 1080p with the eye candy cranked to the limit. It is much more powerful than the GTX870M mobile solution, as we would expect considering the platform power differences.
The DinoPC Magma Wrath GTX770 is a quiet running system and the Corsair Carbide Spec-01 chassis has several positions still unpopulated if you wanted to enhance the air flow further by adding additional fans. We actually don't think there is any need, as neither 4690K or GTX770 are particularly hot running.
I was a little disappointed with the write performance of the Crucial M.2 128GB Solid State drive fitted in the Magma Wrath system – it lagged way behind the Crucial 256GB MX100 fitted into the Slayer laptop.
For the price and considering the mouse, keyboard and 23 inch slim Bezel LED screen which are all bundled, we think the Magma Wrath GTX770 delivers good value. If you don't need the portability of a laptop then there is no doubt it is a much faster all round machine.
You can buy from DINOPC from this link.
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Pros:
- excellent all round gaming performance.
- quiet under load.
- good selection of components.
Cons:
- Crucial M.2 SSD has poor write performance.
Kitguru says: A well balanced system ideal for a gamer who needs a screen, mouse and keyboard as well to get up and running.
