Test Methodology
Comparison Laptops - Part One | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | ||||
| Form Factor |
15.6in
|
15.6in
|
15.6in
|
14.0in
|
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
|
Intel Core i7-6820HK
|
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
|
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
|
| CPU Base Frequency |
2.6GHz
|
2.7GHz
|
2.6GHz
|
2.8GHz
|
| CPU Turbo Frequency |
3.5GHz
|
4.0GHz
|
3.5GHz
|
3.8GHz
|
| CPU Cores / Threads |
4 / 8
|
4 / 8
|
4 / 8
|
4 / 8
|
| CPU TDP |
45W
|
45W
|
45W
|
45W
|
| Memory |
32GB DDR4 (4x8GB)
|
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
|
8GB DDR4 (1x8GB)
|
16GB DDR4 (1x16GB)
|
| Memory Speed |
2,133MHz at 15-15-15-36-2T
|
2,400MHz at 16-16-16-39-2T
|
2,133MHz at 15-15-15-36-2T
|
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
|
| Integrated GPU |
Intel HD 530
|
-
|
Intel HD 530
|
Intel HD 630
|
| Dedicated GPU(s) |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M 2GB
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
|
| Display |
15.6in SHP1436 4K UHD IPS (3,840x2,160)
|
15.6in MEI96A2 WQHD+ IPS (2,880x1,620)
|
15.6in CMN15C4 Full-HD TN (1,920x1,080)
|
14.0in LGD049A QHD IPS (2,560x1,440)
|
| Battery Capacity |
73Wh
|
94Wh
|
48Wh
|
94Wh
|
| Wireless |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
|
Killer Wireless-AC 1535
|
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
|
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
|
| Network |
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet
|
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet
|
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
|
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
|
| Primary Storage |
256GB Samsung SM951 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
256GB Samsung SM951 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
256GB SK hynix M.2 SSD
|
512GB Samsung SM951 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
| Secondary Storage |
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
|
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
|
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
|
-
|
| Optical Drive |
-
|
-
|
DVD writer
|
-
|
| Power Supply |
200W External
|
200W External
|
120W External
|
150W External
|
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
| Dimensions (W x D x H) |
390mm x 272mm x 22.9mm
|
390mm x 272mm x 22.9mm
|
384mm x 256mm x 35.1mm
|
335mm x 250mm x 19.9mm
|
| Weight |
2.5kg
|
2.5kg
|
2.6kg
|
1.9kg
|
| Standard Warranty |
Two years
|
Two years
|
One year
|
Two years
|
| Date Reviewed |
April 2016
|
September 2016
|
February 2016
|
February 2017
|
| Price When Reviewed |
£2,200
|
£2,100
|
£875
|
£1,800
|
Comparison Laptops - Part Two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | ||||
| Form Factor |
15.6in
|
15.6in
|
15.6in
|
14.0in
|
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
|
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
|
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
|
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
|
| CPU Base Frequency |
2.8GHz
|
2.6GHz
|
2.6GHz
|
2.8GHz
|
| CPU Turbo Frequency |
3.8GHz
|
3.5GHz
|
3.5GHz
|
3.8GHz
|
| CPU Cores / Threads |
4 / 8
|
4 / 8
|
4 / 8
|
4 / 8
|
| CPU TDP |
45W
|
45W
|
45W
|
45W
|
| Memory |
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
|
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
|
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
|
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
|
| Memory Speed |
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
|
2,133MHz at 15-15-15-36-2T
|
2,400MHz at 16-16-16-39-2T
|
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
|
| Integrated GPU |
Intel HD 630
|
Intel HD 530
|
Intel HD 530
|
Intel HD 630
|
| Dedicated GPU(s) |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB
|
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
|
| Display |
15.6in CMN15D7 HD WVA (1,920x1,080)
|
15.6in LGD040E Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
|
15.6in SHP1436 4K UHD IPS (3,840x2,160)
|
14.0in LGD046D Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
|
| Battery Capacity |
94Wh
|
76Wh
|
76Wh
|
70Wh
|
| Wireless |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
|
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
|
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
|
Killer Wireless-AC 1535
|
| Network |
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
|
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
|
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
|
-
|
| Primary Storage |
512GB Lite-On CX2 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
256GB Samsung SM951 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
256GB Samsung SM951 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
256GB Samsung PM951 NVMe M.2 SSD
|
| Secondary Storage |
-
|
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
|
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD
|
-
|
| Optical Drive |
-
|
DVD writer
|
Blu-ray writer
|
-
|
| Power Supply |
150W
|
200W External
|
230W External
|
165W
|
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit
|
| Dimensions (W x D x H) |
356mm x 250mm x 19.9mm
|
385mm x 270mm x 20.9mm
|
385mm x 270mm x 20.9mm
|
345mm x 235mm x 17.9mm
|
| Weight |
2.1kg
|
2.4kg
|
2.4kg
|
1.9kg
|
| Standard Warranty |
Two years
|
Two years
|
Two years
|
One year
|
| Date Reviewed |
May 2017
|
December 2015
|
December 2016
|
March 2017
|
| Price When Reviewed |
£1,900
|
£1,700
|
£1,999
|
£1,800
|
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 | ||||||||||||
| 3DMark | DX11, default Fire Strike test. | |||||||||||
| Gaming | A selection of modern titles are tested at various resolutions. | |||||||||||
Miscellaneous Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| Display | Datacolor's Spyder 4 Elite professional monitor analyser is used to return a quantitative assessment of display quality. | |||||||||||
| Power Consumption | Noted for system idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Dirt Rally. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Dirt Rally. | |||||||||||
| Battery Life | Measured while looping a high-definition movie clip with 50 per cent screen brightness and flight mode enabled. | |||||||||||