PCSpecialist Recoil 17 R LC Laptop Review

PCSpecialist's Recoil 17 R LC delivered some surprising results when using the external liquid cooler. While traditionally we would expect to see reduced temperatures and noise levels when cooling components in this way, things work slightly differently here.

The extra thermal headroom provided by the liquid cooling saw the CPU increase its power usage and this in turn actually increased temperatures slightly. The benefit comes from the extra performance, then, with the gains from the liquid cooler being clear to see in CPU bound workloads, though they are less noticeable when gaming.

However, with or without that additional cooler, the laptop proved highly impressive when gaming. The combination of the Intel Core-i9 13900HX and Nvidia RTX 4080 really shone in many of the titles we tested and this was only further enhanced when using DLSS 3 and frame generation (in supported titles) – a feature which is unique to the 40-series Nvidia GPUs

Build quality on offer from the Recoil 17 LC is also excellent, with the hinges and trackpad impressing during our review. This is a solid, sturdy yet chunky laptop which will definitely be more suited to desk use than using it as a ‘lap' top.

The liquid cooling unit is an optional extra purchase and is not a necessity, but it is a ‘nice to have' if you spend time gaming at a desk with the Recoil 17 R LC. Setup was a little involved as the unit does require filling and calibrating before first use, but once that initial configuration is dealt with, using the liquid cooler is relatively straight forward. It is recommended by PCSpecialist that the unit will need to be drained if you plan on taking either the cooler away from home.

You can purchase the Recoil 17 R LC directly from PCSpecialist for £2399 HERE.

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Pros:

• Strong performance.
• Great build quality.
• Generously sized trackpad.
• Decent speakers.
• Supports liquid cooling for increased performance.
• Smooth hinges.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Initial setup of liquid cooler is quite involved.
• Only 4800 MT/s memory included as standard.
• Isn't especially portable.

KitGuru says: The Recoil 17 R LC is undoubtedly a beast of a laptop, but it comes with a beastly price. It is packing some seriously high end hardware and a cooling system that we almost never see in gaming laptops.

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