Origin EON15-S review

The EON15-S isn't a gaming powerhouse, but it's no slack, either. The Apache Pro benchmark results are nearly identical to the EON15-S – not surprising since both have nearly identical configurations.

It beats the Inspiron, thanks to an i7-7700HQ, as opposed to the Dell’s i5-7300HQ. All three have the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti powering graphics, and that's where they all run into a wall.

The 4GB configuration is less than the required video RAM needed to run Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Grand Theft Auto 5 in their Ultra settings.

As such, dire performance warnings appear after changing the settings, begging us to turn things down a tick or two. 

The EON15-S absolutely hates Ultra settings on both GTA 5 and Deus Ex.

It's a bummer that the EON15-S is only available with the 1050 Ti, because a stronger card would definitely help push it to levels of greatness.

That's not to say the EON15-S stumbles as a gaming laptop. Far from it. It's perfectly capable of running most modern games at medium settings, and older games will absolutely benefit from the power of Nvidia's 10-series.

Battery life

The EON15-S handles its power well, with minimal fan noise and heat. It also does OK with battery life.

While it fails to come close to reaching the Inspiron's 5 hours 51 minutes of battery life in the PCMark battery test, it handily defeats the Apache Pro's 1 hour, 47 minutes. It's nice to not have to suffer from outlet anxiety, but you still can't go long without needing to charge up.

Sounds clouded

The speakers in the EON15-S are, frankly, terrible. They're hollow and tinny, and the worst we've tested in a while.

After a few seconds listening to one of our favorite albums, we shut it down and reached for the headphones. There's no configuration option for better speakers, either – only ways to improve headphone performance. It's rare to find a set of laptop speakers that sound full and crisp, but it's almost as rare to find a set that sound this poorly.

We liked

For midrange laptop gaming with decent battery life at an approachable price point for what’s inside, the EON15-S is a sound choice. The available customization options are welcome, so tweaking it to your liking is as easy as clicking a few radio buttons before checkout.

We disliked

The speakers are a nightmare and the trackpad is incredibly frustrating. At its most basic configuration, the design of the EON15-S fails to make any statement.

Final verdict

On paper, there's no question the EON15-S is a bargain. You get an i7-7700HQ processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti for just a bit less than a similarly-equipped MSI GE62 Apache Pro, with comparable performance and a much better battery. The design customizations are mostly cool, helping you stand out from the crowd for additional cash.

As nice as it is to be able to infinitely customize the design, the lack of graphics options holds the EON15-S back. For everything it does right, like the screen, RGB keyboard, and long battery life, it steps back close to where it started with atrocious speakers and a frustrating trackpad.

Taking two steps forward only to take one step back leaves the EON15-S little better than the rest of the crowd, making it a completely competent, completely ordinary gaming laptop.