Test Methodology
Comparison Laptops |
| System Name |
Aorus X7 v2 |
MSI GS60 2PC-005UK |
PC Specialist Vortex GT |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz* |
Intel Core i7-4700HQ @ up to 3.4GHz |
Intel Core i7-4710MQ @ up to 3.5GHz |
| CPU Cores / Threads |
4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
| CPU TDP |
47W |
47W |
47W |
| Memory |
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) |
8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) |
8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) |
| Memory Speed |
1,866MHz at 10-10-10-32-1T |
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T |
1,600MHz at 9-9-9-27-1T |
| Integrated GPU |
- |
Intel HD 4600 |
Intel HD 4600 |
| Dedicated GPU |
2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 4GB |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2GB |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 870M 6GB |
| Display |
17.3in AUO219D Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
15.6in SDC324C Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
15.6in CMN15B1 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
| Battery |
73.26Wh Lithium Polymer |
52.89Wh Lithium Polymer |
76.96Wh Lithium Ion |
| Wireless |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 |
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 135 |
| Network |
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet |
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet |
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet |
| Primary Storage |
3 x 128GB LiteOn M6M SSDs in RAID 0 |
128GB Toshiba THNSNH128G8NT M.2 SSD |
120GB Kingston HyperX 3K 2.5in SSD |
| Secondary Storage |
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD |
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD |
1TB Seagate Laptop 2.5in SSHD |
| Optical Drive |
- |
- |
- |
| Power Supply |
200W External |
150W External |
180W External |
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
| Dimensions |
428mm x 305mm x 22.9mm |
390mm x 266mm x 19.95mm |
376mm x 256mm x 35-43mm |
| Weight |
3.20kg |
1.96kg |
3.20kg |
| Standard Warranty |
Two years |
Two years |
Three years |
| Approx. System Cost |
£1,750 |
£1,150 |
£999 |
CPU Benchmarks |
| HEXUS PiFast |
Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU. |
| Cinebench |
Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. |
| HandBrake |
Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores. |
Memory and Storage Benchmarks |
| AIDA64 |
Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency. |
| CrystalDiskMark |
Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds. |
System and Gaming Benchmarks |
| PCMark 8 |
System-wide examination that uses the Home preset, run with OpenCL acceleration. |
| 3DMark |
DX11, run at the Firestrike default test. |
| Aliens vs. Predator |
1,920x1,080 resolution, 2xAA, 4xAF, medium quality. |
Miscellaneous Benchmarks |
| Power Consumption |
Noted for system idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. |
| Temperature |
Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. |
Notes
*We're informed that retail shipments of the Aorus X7 v2 will include an Intel Core i7-4860HQ processor capable of speeds of up to 3.6GHz. Our early review sample sadly didn't feature said chip and is instead stocked with a 3.5GHz Intel Core i7-4710HQ. The performance gap between the two parts is negligible, though do be aware that retail X7 v2 shipments will be a touch faster than our review model.
