Mobile Gaming Powerhouse
What do you get when you combine a quad-core Haswell processor with a pair of GTX 780M GPUs in SLI in a 17-in laptop? A whole lot of gaming power!
Every once in a while, a vendor sends us a preconfigured gaming PC or notebook. We don't usually focus too much on these systems because so many of readers are quite clearly DIY builders. Gaming notebooks are another beast, though. Without going through a horrible amount of headaches, building a custom gaming notebook is a pretty tough task. So, for users who are looking for a ton of gaming performance in a package that is mobile, going with a machine like the ORIGIN PC EON17-SLX is the best option.
As the name implies, the EON17-SLX is a 17-in notebook that includes some really impressive specifications including a Haswell processor and SLI GeForce GTX 780M GPUs.
| ORIGIN PC EON17-SLX | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Core i7-4930MX (Haswell) |
| Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 |
| Graphics | 2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB |
| System Memory | 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 |
| Storage | 2 x 120GB mSATA SSD (RAID-0) 1 x Western Digital Black 750GB HDD |
| Wireless | Intel 7260 802.11ac |
| Screen | 17-in 1920x1080 LED Matte |
| Optical | 6x Blu-ray reader / DVD writer |
| Extras | Thunderbolt |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 |
| Price | ~$4500 |
Intel's Core i7-4930MX processor is actually a quad-core Haswell based CPU, not an Ivy Bridge-E part like you might guess based on the part number. The GeForce GTX 780M GPUs each include 4GB of frame buffer (!!) and have very similar specifications to the desktop GTX 770 parts. Even though they run at lower clock speeds, a pair of these GPUs will provide a ludicrous amount of gaming performance.
As you would expect for a notebook with this much compute performance, it isn't a thin and light. My scale tips at 9.5 pounds with the laptop alone and over 12 pounds with the power adapter included. Images of the profile below will indicate not only many of the features included but also the size and form factor.
On the left we find four audio connections (headphones, mic, line in, and digital), a card reader, and the Gigabit Ethernet port.
On the far right is the optical drive, eSATA port, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, and a Thunderbolt / mini-DisplayPort connection. The inclusion of Thunderbolt is a nice addition and overlaps the EON17-SLX with many workstation notebooks.
On the back, you'll find an HDMI output, USB 3.0 port, power connection, and one final USB 3.0 connection (for a total of four).
The keyboard on the ORIGIN EON17-SLX is pretty good but doesn't rival devices like the Lenovo ThinkPad or even the MSI Steelseries-based designs.
The touchpad is fairly large but I find its associated buttons are a bit too far from it. The illuminated ORIGIN PC logo in the middle is pretty slick, though.
The screen itself is 1920x1080 LED backlit and has a fantastic matte finish - which is nice for a gaming machine, at least in my opinion. At 17 inches, it can provide enough real estate for a decent gaming experience as well. Though, I would imagine, many users would pair this with an external display when at home in their typical gaming location.
For those curious about the inside of such a powerful machine, the above photo should give you an idea of how many components are crammed into this space. The left and right hand coolers are covering up the pair of GeForce GTX 780M GPUs running in SLI while the center heatsink keeps the Intel Core i7-4930MX processor running. In front of the Corsair memory is the 89 WHr battery - big enough to keep the machine doing productivity tasks for a while but it obviously won't win any gaming time awards with all that silicon to power.
As you would expect, the gaming performance of the ORIGIN PC EON17-SLX just blows anything else I have tested in the mobile market out of the water. At 1080p, the native screen resolution, we were able to run at over 55 FPS on Battlefield 4 at the Ultra preset, over 158 FPS on Bioshock Infinite at the Ultra preset and more than 67 FPS in Metro: Last Light at the top settings.
Not satisfied with that though, we connected an external 2560x1440 monitor to run some more gaming tests and found that the pair of GTX 780M GPUs were more than up to the task. We stayed well above the 30 FPS mark in BF4 and over 100 FPS for Bioshock Infinite. Clearly, if you are looking for a gaming machine that can work with your home monitor + keyboard setup but also treat you well on the road at LAN parties, the EON17-SLX fits the bill!
Now, the bad part of all of this is that you are still going to have to pay for it. This notebook starts at $2000 and goes up quite a bit to meet the specifications of our review unit:
Ouch! The total price for our unit was just over $4500, thanks mainly to the dual GTX 780M graphics cards and the Intel Extreme Edition processor. If you were to move to the lowest priced quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and a single GeForce GTX 780M, it brings the price to a much more reasonable $3000...
As I tend to say during these types of extremely high cost system reviews, this setup isn't for everyone (and, in fact, it isn't for most). A $4,500 gaming notebook like this will surely last you for YEARS of PC gaming while still allowing you to be mobile enough to take your EON17-SLX on the road or to LAN parties with ease. Performance was impressive, not just in gaming but in all CPU-based tasks as well - thanks to the Intel Core i7 Haswell processor and the RAID-0 array of SSDs keeping storage snappy. If you can afford it, the ORIGIN PC EON17-SLX gaming notebook will, without a doubt, leave a positive impression on you in nearly every category.
I am interested to know
I am interested to know whether GPU’s in the model you tested we overclocked or run at their stock settings.
Hmm, I still have the unit
Hmm, I still have the unit and can check. Have you heard of other instances of this?
Looks like these are running
Looks like these are running at a base clock of 851 MHz. That is just a bit faster than the 823 MHz listed on this page: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook-gpus/geforce-gtx-780m/specifications
But, GPU-Z does report that the default clock should be 771 MHz.
Odd, but as long as it runs and is stable, is there a concern?
Hey Ryan:
Did Origin
Hey Ryan:
Did Origin overclock the 780M’s in the 17-SLX you tested?
Id Like to see an comparison
Id Like to see an comparison against an SLI Lenovo at 1/2 the cost.
780m is already a pretty
780m is already a pretty killer chip, but I can’t wait for the Maxwell iteration of mobile chips especially if you can expect perf/watt to roughly double.
$4500.00 can get a damn good
$4500.00 can get a damn good mobile workstation and pro graphics cards, hell even the Apple trash receptacle can be had with a 6 core Xeon, and D700 cards around that price! Are the GPUs upgradable! Gaming cost more than pro graphics, since when! Oh it must be those damn miners, got Nvidia and OEMs seeing $ signs, poor AMD with its MSRP is just trying to make gaming affordable, and now the miners and those greedy retailers.
Origin PC + NVidia fanboys
Origin PC + NVidia fanboys are a great tag team. These fanboys love to give their money to NVidia and at the same time bash AMD.
I have already given up on anandtech.com and techreport.com where these fanboys post their non-stop BS.
I’m hoping that they will not ruin this (pcper.com) great website.
Only an AMD or Nvidia fanboy
Only an AMD or Nvidia fanboy would be hurt enough to stop reading any tech website, beacuse of other fanboys, and no one is really hurting for money if they can afford to pay to play. The secret to saving money is to buy last years technology and game with that, as bleeding edge always bleeds the wallet, and those *coin miners are not helping things out. The bigger threat is all those consumption only OSs that are leading to a devices market devoid of any products that come with a full function OSs and application ecosystems not tied to an APP store. The GPU may be the best in its class, but if the system that hosts the GPU is tied to a consumption OS, and APP store chains, then there is something to be angry about. Both AMD and Nvidia will be/have already had new products for the desktop and mobile markets, and the desktop market has its full function OSs, but the tablet market is under the control of the consumption OSs, and needs AMD’s and Nvidia’s feet held to the hot coals, to make sure that they supply refrence designs built around fully functioning OSs, for their new and more powerfull tablet APU/SOCs, beacuse what good is it have a tablet APU/SOC on a device touted as having the full desktop versions of graphics drivers (open and proprietary), if the device is going to be relegated to running only a consumption OS that is chained to an APP store by design. Nvidia and AMD will be both bringing ARM ISA based SOC designs to the tablet market over the next few years, and these new products with AMD and Nvidia graphics will be able to run a full OSs/OS distros, as well as any consumption OS. Hopefully there will be a steam OS based tablet on the market, as well as other tablets that can run full function desktop OSs along side the consumption OSs, beacuse tablets have the potential to be more than just toys, now that the newer SOCs are becoming available.
Was looking to laugh at some
Was looking to laugh at some battery test graphs while gaming. Such disappoint Ryan.
Here is my two cents on this
Here is my two cents on this type of laptop.
I went ahead and got a Sager for around $3000, opt for the SLI 770m vs 780m. Other than playing SALKER, WoW, The Witcher, and a few other games, I use it mainly for art work in photoshop.
My job requires me to jump all around the world so having a “desktop replacement” is great and my only gripe is the battery life which is about an hour. Upgraded from 8GB to 24GB Ram and RAID-0 after purchase which probably doesn’t help. Very sturdy and awesome build quality when I was rooting around in it, room for three HDDs, even has a double stack cage in it.
Highly recommend this type of laptop for the mobile gamer since the screen is up to 17″, and built in. Its got two uses, on the go power and bragging rights, that is it.
Doesn’t matter if you get an Xotic PC, Saver, Origin, MSI, Clevo, etc, they all do the same thing.
$3k for the Sager is a tad
$3k for the Sager is a tad much, you can go with an Alienware SLI 770M for $900 cheaper on amazon($2100 ish), and the 18″ screen on that is killer!
I legit almost spit out my
I legit almost spit out my coffee when i seen the price.
You would have to be out of your mind to spend almost 5k and even 3k is stupid.
Can build nice 780 sli desktop for less than 1500
are you retarded? a 780 is
are you retarded? a 780 is 500 dollars on newegg.. 2×500=1000
so you are going to spend 500 dollars on the cpu, cooling, case, psu, ram, storage and motherboard??
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2ZB
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2ZBOJ
Your move
That Was Awesome! That shut
That Was Awesome! That shut the peanut gallery up real quick!
My MSI GT660 DC port burnt
My MSI GT660 DC port burnt out twice MuffinPot, and uncle sam won’t let me have a desktop as carry on. Where am I going to put the display, keyboard, cords, etc, for transport? We are already OVER CROWDED three to a room with inadequate locks and security. Yeah, I can build a nice desktop for half the money but that isn’t an option for me while I’m taking the green weenie from behind.
Yes, its expensive, but its the only sensible option for some of us and that is why the market exists. Btw, killer network card isn’t worth the money, it BSoDs until you update the driver.
Looks like a rebranded Asus
Looks like a rebranded Asus ROG laptop… or Sager/Clevo rebrand. I don’t know these days lol.
This read more like a product brochure rehash than a proper review. There are no comparison tests, no battery tests, no temperature tests, etc. Still, without a doubt this laptop is a beast and if you are looking for one, then price is not an issue.
Does anyone know what laptop
Does anyone know what laptop motherboards come in these?