Origin EVO15-S (2015) review

Dolling out over two grand for a mobile gaming machine is a lot of money to spend on a laptop, but the EVO15-S is one of those unique packages that manages to deliver on all fronts.

This mobile PC gaming machine comes with enough power to rival a desktop. Meanwhile, Origin got all the other key components right, from the screen to the speakers and keyboard and even an excellent trackpad.

We liked

The Origin EVO15-S hews closely to the design of MSI's GS60 Ghost Pro, but Origin offers a few upgraded components and services, including an optional screen calibration. More importantly you'll also get an included year of repair service and part replacement.

Intel's latest Skylake chipset combined with Nvidia's Maxwell GPUs launch the performance of this laptop into the stratosphere. It closes the performance gap between gaming laptops and desktops just a little bit more with a stylish and thin frame, proving once again size isn't everything.

We disliked

Short battery life is almost part and parcel to the gaming laptop experience, but the EVO15-S ran dry surprisingly sooner than its competitors. At most, you could look at three hours of battery life with ECO mode turned on this Origin machine.

Another thing that turned me off from the Origin laptop is the incredibly noisy fans. Luckily, there's an easy fix for the problem by downloading the SpeedFan application to manually control fan rpms while monitoring temperatures throughout the laptop.

Final verdict

There's plenty to like about the EVO15-S, and while it comes at an expensive premium, it's one of the few laptops that are well worth the expense. This Origin machine is one of the thinnest and lightest gaming laptops you can possibly buy.

Of course this machine is easily comparable to the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro – from which it's derived directly. So, picking between the two comes down to saving a few bucks or getting extra services and improved components.

If you do pick the Origin option, you can be confident in this system as it doesn't skimp on cutting edge parts, an excellent 1080p panel for all types of media, plus the option of throwing on a 4K screen for a marginally-priced upgrade.