Review: Origin EON15-X

Introduction

Desktop performance in a gaming laptop is something we've chased forever. The latest and greatest components including Nvidia's Maxwell GPU series have taken mobile computing closer than it's ever been to a solid 60 frames per second.

This year, the line that separates gaming desktops and laptops is getting even blurrier. Both MSI and Alienware have developed external GPU boxes to give notebooks an extra kick of performance from a desktop graphics card. Now, Origin has thrown a desktop processor inside its latest EON15-X.

I'm not joking around. The 15.6-inch Origin EON15-X has a full-size desktop processor tucked inside with the CPU bracket and all. What's more, this machine also comes equipped with the best GPU currently available, the Nvidia GTX 980M. These top-tier parts work together to make the EON15-X one of the best performing machines I've ever tested.

Design

Last year the Origin EON17-S wowed us with its subtle design. The EON15-X takes the company's reserved styling one step farther. Gone are the flared dimples on the back of the screen lid, leaving a flat and simple rubberized top with a few angular lines and a silver Origin logo printed in the center.

Likewise, the light up equalizer has been replaced with a much more functional set of indicator lights for hard drive activity, the number lock, airplane mode and other settings. Even the rear vents on this laptop are a bit more mature thanks to solid metal fins adding extra protection to the exposed heatsinks.

While the trackpad doesn't light up as it does on Origin's EON-S gaming laptops, the front edge of the machine features a small light strip that can be customized to any color. Fully customizable backlighting also makes its return with the keyboard, allowing users to turn it into a dance floor for their fingers as they game.

The entire interior of the notebook is covered with a rubber finish that feels soft against my palms during long hours of use, however it stains like the dickens from even just a bit of sweat.

The EON15-X is also made with an entirely plastic chassis, which is nice and solid without feeling chintzy at all. Overall, it's not a bad looking machine and with a black lid, this laptop won't stick out too much until someone notices the aggressive rear vents and multi-colored keyboard.

Working off the pounds

Although the Origin EON15-X comes packing a desktop processor under the hood, amazingly it only measures 1.4 inches thick. Again, that's with the full-size processor and CPU bracket along with heatsink to keep it cool, plus the the laptop chassis holding everything together.

To make it all possible, Origin worked closely with Clevo, the original design manufacturer of many of Origin's gaming notebooks, to gut the EON15-X of any unnecessary weight. This included removing the optical drive and developing a cooling system for both the GPU and CPU with only one heatsink, which also helps make this machine run much cooler than most other gaming laptops.

Overall, these weight savings have added up to a much slimmer but still heavy machine that measures in at 1.4 inches (35 mm) and tips the scales at 7.5 pounds (3,401 grams). This makes it only slightly heavier and thicker than the mobile processor-equipped Alienware 15, which is 1.33 inches (34mm) thick and weighs 7.07 pounds (3,207 grams). It's an amazing feat that Origin and Clevo have managed to fit a desktop processor into a laptop that's not much bigger than its primary competitor.

Specifications

The 7.5 pound Origin EON15-X isn't exactly something we would call a light gaming laptop. The Digital Storm Triton fits that bill much better with its 5.5 pound (2,494 g) frame, and even the 5.95 pounds (2,700 g) 17.3-inch Gigabyte P37X is lighter.

Of course, unlike Origin's machine, these two laptops were designed to be thin with the Triton measuring in at 15.16 x 10.67 x 0.98 inches or 358 x 271 x 24mm (W x D x H) and the P37X at 16.41 x 11.29 x 0.88 inches (417 x 287 x 22.5mm). Still, the 15.2 x 10.31 x 1.40 inch (386 x 261 x 35mm) EON15-X isn't far behind these svelte machines in terms of size with the exception of being thicker.

While the Origin EON15-X won't be winning any "The Biggest Loser" competitions against Digital Storm and Gigabyte's offerings, you get a lot more packed inside.

Here is the Origin EON15-X configuration given to TechRadar:

Spec Sheet

• CPU: 4GHz Intel Core i7-4790K (quad-core, 8MB cache, up to 4.4GHz with Turbo Boost)


• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M (8GB GDDR5 RAM), Intel HD Graphics 4600


• RAM: 8GB DDR3L (1600MHz)


• Screen: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 LED Backlit Matte Display


• Storage: 240GB SSD; 1TB HDD (5,400 rpm)


• Ports: 4 x USB 3.0, Ethernet, 2 x DisplayPort, HDMI, eSATA SD card reader, headphone jack, microphone jack, S/PDIF output jack, line-in jack


• Connectivity: Intel PRO Wireless AC 7265 + Bluetooth Wireless LAN Combo


• Camera: Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera


• Weight: 7.5 pounds


• Size: 15.2 x 10.31 x 1.40 inches (W x D x H)

As specced above this configuration rings up for $2,559 (about £1,698, AU$3,367). That's not too shabby considering it includes the best processor and graphics card combo you can customize this laptop with, though adding extra storage space - which you'll want - will cost an extra arm.

This price tag also includes a few extras including screen calibration and the wooden shipping crate it came in, however I suggest skipping out on the latter optional extra. No matter what your configuration is, Origin will also overclock your desktop processor free of charge.

The Digital Storm Triton is a more affordable option even with the highest spec model priced at $2,078 (about £1,659, AU$3,288). Still, the most decked out Triton is slightly behind the EON15-X with a slower 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 4720HQ CPU and a Nivida GTX 980M sporting half the video memory.

Gigabyte's P37X manages to close the gap much better with a Nvidia GTX 980M sporting a full 8GB of video RAM. Priced at $2,499 (£1,999, AU$3,099) this machine also comes packing the same processor as the Digital Storm laptop, along with 16GB of memory and a 256GB SSD.

Performance

With a desktop processor humming inside, the EON15-X had no problem tackling any application, and it multitasked better than any machine I've ever tested. Leaving a dozen applications open on the taskbar never introduced a single tick of slowdown.

As processor development is slower, just about any desktop processor you decide to go with on Origin's machine should be able to churn through games easily for years. When it is time to upgrade components, users have the option of sending their laptop back to Origin for a full parts swap since the CPU rests on a removable socket and the GPU is attached to a modular MXM architecture. After all, this is the age of upgradable notebooks.

Benchmarks

Here's how the Origin EON15-X performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 27,405; Sky Diver: 24,414; Fire Strike: 8,788


• Cinebench CPU: 874 points; Graphics: 158.01 fps,


• PCMark 8 (Home Test): 4,697 points


• PCMark 8 Battery Life: 2 hours and 4 minutes


• Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (1080p, Ultra): 68.52 fps; (1080p, Low): 160.59 fps


• Metro: Last Light (1080p, Ultra): 36 fps; (1080p, Low): 138 fps

It's not an overstatement to say the EON15-X is on a whole other level of performance compared to most of its competitors. The laptop made quick work of my PCMark8 benchmark, absolutely destroying it with 4,697 points. The Intel Core i7-4710HQ-powered Digital Storm Triton put up a much lower 3,012 score. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte P37X didn't fare much better with 3,163 points despite running a slightly faster processor.

Beyond numbers, this better performing processor will allow gamers to play and stream at the same time without issue. This also makes the EON15-X an ideal machine for any users who need to encode video, which for some in this YouTube-and-Twitch generation is becoming a necessity.

The full-size CPU helps give this laptop a slight edge in more GPU intensive benchmarks. The 15.6-inch rig completed my 3DMark Fire Strike test with 8,788 points while the Triton lagged behind with 5,649 points.The Gigabyte also posted a slightly lower score of 8,207.

Running Metro: Last Light tells a similar story with the Origin laptop hitting an average 36 fps, nearly 10 more frames than the Triton while barely edging out the P37X. Games in general will often be more GPU intensive. As such rigs running two graphics cards in SLI such as the Aorus X7 Pro trounced the EON15-X by playing Metro: Last Light at 43.67 fps.

Still, Origin has packed an amazing amount of performance equal to the massive MSI GT72 Dominator Pro into a fairly compact 15.6-inch machine.

Processor muscle

While playing actual games, I was able to run around the virtual open worlds of Far Cry 4 and Borderlands: The Pre-sequel at a locked in 60 fps even with the graphical settings pushed all the way to the highest level.

The desktop processor also easily lends itself to more AI driven games such as Elder Scrolls Skyrim and Civilization Beyond Earth, the latter of which also ran at a steady 60 fps while firing an orbital laser into a heavily populated city.

No need to worry about insta-battery drain

Surprisingly, the EON15-X won't die on you mere minutes after you unplug it. Benchmarking the battery life with PCMark8 yielded a decent 2 hours and 4 minutes of battery life. Meanwhile, in my own anecdotal test running the laptop on balanced power mode, three quarters screen brightness, 15 open Firefox tabs, streaming Netflix and Google music, the EON15-X lasted for just 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Considering the extra power requirements of a desktop processor and one of Intel's faster Core i7 models, this isn't too shabby. It goes to show just how energy efficient Intel's 4th generation Haswell chips are.

However, the EON15-X can't compete with the energy efficiency of power sipping mobile CPUs. Comparatively, the Digital Storm Triton lasted for 3 hours and 38 minutes while the Gigabyte P37X ran for 3 hours and 17 minutes.

Razor-thin viewing angles

There isn't much not to like about the Origin EON15-X. It has a large and serviceable trackpad and an excellent keyboard with good travel on the keys. Once again Origin has teamed up with Onkyo, an audio hardware maker reknown for its home theater receivers and sound systems, for a full-bodied audio setup.

Despite all the things I like about the laptop, I have one niggling issue with the screen and it's extremely narrow viewing angles. Despite being nice and sharp, the underlying panel in the screen is a TN panel and it has razor-thin viewing angles. They're so narrow that tilting the screen back even just slightly washes out all colors and detail on the monitor.

For this review Origin sent me a unit with a calibrated display, however even with perfectly tuned colors and decent contrast, the EON15-X's display is just too much of a hassle and requires users to reorient themselves to stare directly at it dead on.

Bundled software

Origin knows how to build a laptop right and it knows the golden rule not to load Windows 8.1 full of bloatware. When you first start the EON15-X you'll only find a few preloaded applications, all of which serve a purpose as listed below.

• Creative Alchemy - Hardware accelerated audio software that enables EAX effects and 3D audio when playing games with DirectSound3D technology


• Creative Software AutoUpdate - Keep your audio drivers up to date


• Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 - A panel for accessing sound settings and profiles


• Spyder4Elite - If you've chosen to get your screen calibrated, this is the application that loads your color profile upon start up, so don't close the program or uninstall it

Verdict

Origin EON15-X is a real head turner. It packs a desktop processor into a fairly compact 15.6-inch laptop that, while smaller, offers even more performance compared to other, biggerhardcore gaming rigs. What's more, this extra CPU power is clutch for users who need to edit video and other processor intensive tasks that a regular mobile chip can't handle.

We liked

This isn't the first time Origin has put a desktop processor into a laptop, but this new rendition refines the model. It's a much more energy efficient unit that doesn't need two power bricks as with the older EON15-X. It's considerably smaller and lighter to boot. Origin and Clevo have pulled off an impressive engineering feat because the underlying heatsink and internal structure of this machine were redesigned to make this notebook more compact.

The larger CPU might lend itself to more processor-intense applications rather than games. However, the extra kick of performance will come in handy no matter what game you're running.

Down the road, the desktop processor also makes this machine more flexible than other gaming laptops in that you can send your machine back to Origin for an upgrade. Other machines rocking mobile desktop processors, on the other hand, are stuck with the same CPU until they ultimately change laptops as their CPUs are permanently soldered to the motherboard.

We disliked

The lackluster display is really the only sour note of this 15.6-inch gaming laptop. The screen's dreadfully narrow viewing angles makes plugging in an external screen an absolutely necessity for long gaming sessions. That said, the screen doesn't completely ruin everything for this machine as it has excellent contrast and color rendition, so it'll be bearable for users taking this machine on the go.

The Origin EON15-X also comes with a surprisingly light amount of flash storage by default. Adding a bigger SSD on Origin's site can get expensive, so we would suggest looking into beefing up these two specs of the laptop yourself.

Final verdict

With a desktop processor onboard you might think the Origin EON15-X was only meant for users who need an extra processor kick for creating media, but it's simply a great value proposition.

For $2,559 (about £1,698, AU$3,367) you can't get a better best processor and GPU combo inside of a gaming laptop without choosing a model that does SLI. Both the Gigabyte P37X and Digital Storm Triton are more affordable and smaller options. However, there's a noticeable performance jump thanks to the EON15-X's desktop processor, especially in games with AI-controlled characters.

The MSI GT72 Dominator Pro is the only machine to closely match the EON15-X's benchmark scores and in-game performance, but this is a more expensive and far heavier option. Origin, on the other hand, has packed a ton of power into a much smaller 15.6-inch package that's great in almost every way. This machine is definitely worth consideration over all others.

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