Review: PC Specialist Defiance XS

by Parm Mann on 11 January 2018, 14:30

Tags: PC Specialist, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadppf

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Test Methodology

Comparison Laptops - Part One

System Name
Form Factor
15.6in
15.6in
14.0in
15.6in
CPU
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
CPU Base Frequency
2.5GHz
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
CPU Turbo Frequency
3.5GHz
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 4
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
CPU TDP
45W
45W
45W
45W
Memory
8GB DDR4 (1x8GB)
8GB DDR4 (2x4GB)
16GB DDR4 (1x16GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
Memory Speed
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
Integrated GPU
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Dedicated GPU(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Display
15.6in BOE06BA Full-HD TN (1,920x1,080)
15.6in CMN15E8 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
14.0in LGD049A QHD IPS (2,560x1,440)
15.6in CMN15D7 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
Battery Capacity
53Wh
73Wh
94Wh
94Wh
Wireless
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
Network
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
-
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Primary Storage
128GB SK Hynix SC308 M.2 SSD
512GB Micron 1100 M.2 SSD
512GB Samsung SM951 M.2 SSD
512GB Lite-On CX2 M.2 SSD
Secondary Storage
1TB Toshiba MQ01ABD100 2.5in HDD
-
-
-
Optical Drive
-
-
-
-
Power Supply
135W External
120W External
150W External
150W External
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Dimensions (W x D x H)
389mm x 266mm x 28.9mm
365mm x 251mm x 18.9mm
335mm x 250mm x 19.9mm
356mm x 250mm x 19.9mm
Weight
2.5kg
1.8kg
1.9kg
2.1kg
Standard Warranty
One year
One year
Two years
Two years
Date Reviewed
June 2017
August 2017
February 2017
May 2017
Price When Reviewed
£800
£1,600
£1,800
£1,900

Comparison Laptops - Part Two

System Name
Form Factor
15.6in
15.6in
15.6in
14.0in
CPU
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
CPU Base Frequency
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
CPU Turbo Frequency
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
CPU TDP
45W
45W
45W
45W
Memory
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
8GB DDR4 (1x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
Memory Speed
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,400MHz at 16-16-16-39-2T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
Integrated GPU
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Dedicated GPU(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Display
15.6in CMN15D7 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in AUO61ED Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in AUO52ED Full-HD TN (1,920x1,080)
14.0in LGD046D Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
Battery Capacity
94Wh
45Wh
55Wh
70Wh
Wireless
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4A
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
Killer Wireless-AC 1535
Network
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
-
Primary Storage
512GB Samsung SM951 M.2 SSD
128GB Samsung PM951 M.2 SSD
256GB Samsung PM961 M.2 SSD
256GB Samsung PM951 M.2 SSD
Secondary Storage
-
1TB Seagate Mobile 2.5in HDD
1TB Seagate FireCuda 2.5in HDD
-
Optical Drive
-
-
-
-
Power Supply
200W External
135W External
180W External
165W External
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Dimensions (W x D x H)
356mm x 250mm x 19.9mm
380mm x 265mm x 25.8mm
380mm x 249mm x 18.6mm
345mm x 235mm x 17.9mm
Weight
2.1kg
2.5kg
1.9kg
1.9kg
Standard Warranty
Two years
One year
Three years
One year
Date Reviewed
May 2017
July 2017
January 2018
March 2017
Price When Reviewed
£2,000
£1,000
£1,500
£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 DX12, Time Spy 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 F1 2017.
Temperature Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing F1 2017.
Battery Life Measured while looping a high-definition movie clip with 50 per cent screen brightness and flight mode enabled.