Medion Erazer X6811 laptop! Most gaming laptops are powerful, brash and run scorching hot, while costing a pretty penny to boot. Medion’s Erazer X6811 breaks with tradition – not by lowering the specification, but by slashing the price to well below a grand. The bulky chassis leaves little doubt as to how Medion has managed such a feat. It has acres of plastic, a pair of lackluster blue LED strips on the front edge (which, thankfully, can be turned off) and, once you get up close, a somewhat plastic, built-to-a-budget feel. There’s been a concerted effort to mimic the aluminum chassis of pricier rivals with a faux brushed-metal finish, not to mention the fact that the X6811′s rugged, chamfered contours actually feel pretty solid, but it’s clear where the budget has been spent: all on the inside.
And that’s no bad thing. Medion has managed to cram in a 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-460M processor, a high-end NVidia GeForce GTX 460M graphics chip, 4GB of DDR3 and a huge 640GB hard disk. It’s a specification worthy of the gaming laptop tag, regardless of the price.
We were expecting the high-powered components to leave battery life languishing, but we were wrong. The 7,800mAh battery can only do so much, but 4hrs 23mins in our light-use test is good for such a powerful laptop. This is enough to keep you going on the move for most of the day. It’s the 15.6in display that delivers the first disappointment. The matte finish keeps reflections to a minimum, but there’s a price: colors are dull and lifeless. It was only once we cranked up NVidia’s Digital vibrancy Control that our test photographs looked more like their usual selves. When it comes to desktop space and everyday applications, the 1,366 x 768 native resolution is somewhat limiting too. Elsewhere, though, there’s little to complain about. The keyboard isn’t fantastic, but despite a bit of flex in the base its Scrabble-tile keys have a crisp, pleasant action. The WASD keys are highlighted in a first-person shooter-friendly red, and we appreciate the button above the keyboard that disables the Windows key, so you won’t accidentally leap back to the desktop mid-game.
Networking, meanwhile, stretches to Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth and single-band 802.11 n wireless. There’s even a reasonable set of speakers, which marry acceptable quality with plenty of volume, and four 3.5mm audio jacks for connecting a set of surround-sound speakers. It might not have the brutish appeal of Alienware’s superb M15x, but Medion should be congratulated for producing a powerful laptop for sensible money. If you’re after serious gaming power in a package you can stow away in a cupboard after use, look no further.
