Conclusion
...15.6in laptops offering this blend of in-game performance for £1,500 are few and far between.UK system integrator PC Specialist is hoping to tempt PC gamers on a budget with the Defiance XS laptop.
Priced aggressively at £1,500, the 15.6in machine offers a Core i7-7700HQ processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory, GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics and a full-HD 120Hz display in a slim 18.6mm package.
The specification is almost identical to rivals such as the Gigabyte Aero 15X, but Defiance XS costs £500 less. The saving is significant yet there are concessions to overall refinement. Battery life is poor, the speakers mediocre, fan noise is bothersome and the display is a mixed bag. A 1080p resolution is well suited to the GPU and you may appreciate the fast refresh rate when gaming, but during everyday use the weak colour accuracy and contrast ratio leave room for improvement.
Is there one caveat too many? Perhaps, yet for gamers willing to overlook the identified niggles, 15.6in laptops offering this blend of in-game performance for £1,500 are few and far between.
High-quality HD gaming potential
Good selection of I/O ports
Decent keyboard and trackpad
Mediocre speakers
Weak colour and contrast
Gets loud under load
HEXUS.where2buy
The reviewed Defiance XS laptop is available to purchase from PC Specialist.
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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
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