TechRadar Verdict
A gaming notebook that beats close rivals, but lacks punchy visuals
Pros
- +
Great performance from the GPU
- +
Very reasonably priced
- +
USB 3.0 and HDMI out
- +
Clear, loud speakers
- +
Sandy Bridge CPU
Cons
- -
Washed-out screen displays faded blacks
- -
GPU drains battery life
- -
Noisy and hot when the discrete GPU's in use
- -
Unresponsive trackpad
- -
Downmarket visuals
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Medion's Erazer X6813 – branded as a "gaming notebook" – might seem like an oxymoron to some.
Gaming is a traditionally immersive endeavour, and while casual gaming marches forward with the momentum of a sinister (but casual) army of men in silly hats, there are still serious games with serious budgets that offer serious escapism, if you've got the gear to render such visual finery.
Here's where the 15.6-inch Medion Erazer X6813 comes in. Like the MSI GT680 and the diminutive 11.6-inch Alienware M11x, it's designed to offer gamers the kind of frame rates they're used to on desktop machines, but on the go – at the expense of £1,000 or more.
Here's where the incongruity kicks in – how and why would you want to play such visually impressive, immersive titles in public places? Isn't that the point of notebooks, after all?
Well, maybe you're taken with the idea of using the Medion Erazer X6813 like a traditional notebook while you're on the move, working with office apps and browsing the web, then plugging its charger in when you get home and unleashing that powerful GPU on the latest DirectX 11 games. Some 'notebooks' such as Alienware's M18X throw that notion out of the window entirely, and compromise practicality for sheer performance.
Like MSI's GT680, the GPU that Medion has opted for with the Erazer X6813 is Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460M.
The GPU is an absolutely pivotal component for a gaming notebook, and while the GTX 460M's impressive architecture and performance are undeniable, Nvidia's release of the GTX 570M and GTX 580M Optimus mobile discrete GPUs shoves it down the pecking order somewhat.
Not only are the GTX 570M and GTX 580M the fastest notebook GPUs ever, but they at least promise to improve battery life, the mortal enemy of gaming laptops and notebooks.
With AMD's excellent Llano APUs already hitting shelves and offering comparative performances to notebook GPUs from an integrated graphics solution with much better battery life, Medion's Erazer X6813 comes at an interesting time in mobile gaming.
