KriSta
Silver Level Poster
Pre-purchase:
So my previous laptop that I used was an Asus Republic of Gamers G752VSK with the Kaby Lake CPU Intel i7 7820HK , it also had 48 GB DDR4 2133 Mhz DIMM along with the venrable nVidia GTX 1070 8 GB GDDR5 GPU connected to the 17"3 IPS 120 Mhz screen.
As this laptop was getting a bit tired I decided to retire it , however before I could do it it died on me , perhaps because I`ve been using it overclocked for the past 3 years
. But it`s death certainly forced the issue . So I was then on the immidiate hunt for a replacement ASAP.
I had initially my eyes on the Dell Alienware Area 51m-R2 and had actually ordered it , but due to lengthy delivery I cancelled it.
Then I found PCS and I realized that I had two options , either the brand new Valeon or the Recoil 17"3 . As the Recoil lacked the i9 10900 10-core CPU and the 11th gen is well ... kind of a let down , I opted for the Valeon . I knew that the AMD Zen 3 and Ryzen 9 is a beast , so it was a safe bet performance wise .
Ordering:
So ordering went very smooth indeed . I picked and chose my spec for the Valeon which is seen below .
I intentionally picked the slower RAM as the 2933 Mhz DIMM was out of stock and I anyway have the intention to use 3200 Mhz DIMMs later on ( 2x 32 GB ) . So I selected the fastest build time and PCS kept the promise and built it on time . Then came shipping and logistics I had the same experience as many others that ordered for Ireland that the package took a detour via France before getting to Ireland . Not a fault of PCS certainly , but interesting nonetheless
Chassis & Display
Valeon Series: 17.3" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 9 Eight Core Processor 5900HX (3.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 3000 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Valeon Series Integrated 62WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
VALEON 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT SWEDISH / FINNISH KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]
Operating System Language
Sweden/Sverige - Swedish Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Promotional Item
Get 6 Months Founders Membership to GeForce Now w/ select RTX 30 Series Laptops
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Usage :
So I have been using the Valeon now for a short while and I`ve been accustomed now to the laptop and I will list the Pro`s and Con`s below . But suffice to say is that it is a insanely quick laptop .
Pro`s :
- Performance : It is extremely quick in any situation . Nothing lags , no hestiation , no sluggishness nor delays . I currently only lag behind a few RTX 3080`s in Firestrike here at PCS , this is expected and natural , but the RTX 3070 combined with the Ryzen 9 is lethal
It performs like nothing else and I`m quite impressed
- Noise : The Valeon runs for the most parts very , very quiet while using regular desktop apps and watching films and listen to music .
It actually turns off the GPU fan alltogether , so a huge plus for that . While gaming the story is changed and fans runs at 70-80 % . They are not noisy , but audible .
-Keyboard : I like the keyboard , good layout and nice feel to it . Backlight colors can be changed in the Control Center .
-Screen : Very decent screen , sharp and quick and lag-free .
-Size/Weight: Compared to my old Asus it is a miracle Lightweight and slim , easy to transport and pack . Huge plus
-Control Center: The ability to switch between iGP and dGPU is awesome , same goes for the TGP and overclocking features for it , I really appreciate the ability to adjust fan curves and performance on the laptop .
Con`s
- Temperature : The CPU can run a bit hot while heavily used , in Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon I can see temps hitting 84-87 degrees C , at times peaking at 91 . This is a bit much and I will see if a repaste might improve things , although I had hopes opting for better paste at purchase would have given lower temps . But it is not throttling ... so atleast something .
- Screen: While sharp and quick my panel have some serious IPS Glow at higher brightness . Disapointing as my Asus did not have that issue with it`s panel . It is also easily twisted if opened at the wrong angle , due to the hinge is in the middle and the frame is not strong enough to support the panel . Again my old Asus which had a thicker ( and stronger ) frame did not have that issue , despite being manhandled at times .
It lacks internal Gsync , but supports it externally via USB-C to DisplayPort.
-Sound: The onboard speakers are nothing to write home about , lacks depth and clarity . My advice is not to use them , use external speakers or headphones .
-Ports : I knew going in with Valeon that it only have 3x USB-A ports , but now after using it for a while I realize that 1-2 more would suit me better .
Verdict
For what it is I`m satisfied with it . I`m not sure if PCS would accept an RMA for bad IPS Glow , and for now it is not important as I`m using an external screen with it ( Acer Predator Z35p ) .
It is quick , can run all latest games at max or near max graphics at 3440x1440 without any issues . It does so fairly silently so with that I`m quite happy . Battery runtime is about 4 hours mark on battery saver , so okay also .
I give it 8 out of 10 due to the panel defect and high temps on CPU .
So my previous laptop that I used was an Asus Republic of Gamers G752VSK with the Kaby Lake CPU Intel i7 7820HK , it also had 48 GB DDR4 2133 Mhz DIMM along with the venrable nVidia GTX 1070 8 GB GDDR5 GPU connected to the 17"3 IPS 120 Mhz screen.
As this laptop was getting a bit tired I decided to retire it , however before I could do it it died on me , perhaps because I`ve been using it overclocked for the past 3 years
. But it`s death certainly forced the issue . So I was then on the immidiate hunt for a replacement ASAP.I had initially my eyes on the Dell Alienware Area 51m-R2 and had actually ordered it , but due to lengthy delivery I cancelled it.
Then I found PCS and I realized that I had two options , either the brand new Valeon or the Recoil 17"3 . As the Recoil lacked the i9 10900 10-core CPU and the 11th gen is well ... kind of a let down , I opted for the Valeon . I knew that the AMD Zen 3 and Ryzen 9 is a beast , so it was a safe bet performance wise .
Ordering:
So ordering went very smooth indeed . I picked and chose my spec for the Valeon which is seen below .
I intentionally picked the slower RAM as the 2933 Mhz DIMM was out of stock and I anyway have the intention to use 3200 Mhz DIMMs later on ( 2x 32 GB ) . So I selected the fastest build time and PCS kept the promise and built it on time . Then came shipping and logistics
I had the same experience as many others that ordered for Ireland that the package took a detour via France before getting to Ireland . Not a fault of PCS certainly , but interesting nonetheless Chassis & Display
Valeon Series: 17.3" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 9 Eight Core Processor 5900HX (3.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 3000 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Valeon Series Integrated 62WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
VALEON 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT SWEDISH / FINNISH KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]
Operating System Language
Sweden/Sverige - Swedish Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Promotional Item
Get 6 Months Founders Membership to GeForce Now w/ select RTX 30 Series Laptops
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Usage :
So I have been using the Valeon now for a short while and I`ve been accustomed now to the laptop and I will list the Pro`s and Con`s below . But suffice to say is that it is a insanely quick laptop .
Pro`s :
- Performance : It is extremely quick in any situation . Nothing lags , no hestiation , no sluggishness nor delays . I currently only lag behind a few RTX 3080`s in Firestrike here at PCS , this is expected and natural , but the RTX 3070 combined with the Ryzen 9 is lethal
It performs like nothing else and I`m quite impressed
- Noise : The Valeon runs for the most parts very , very quiet while using regular desktop apps and watching films and listen to music .
It actually turns off the GPU fan alltogether , so a huge plus for that . While gaming the story is changed and fans runs at 70-80 % . They are not noisy , but audible .
-Keyboard : I like the keyboard , good layout and nice feel to it . Backlight colors can be changed in the Control Center .
-Screen : Very decent screen , sharp and quick and lag-free .
-Size/Weight: Compared to my old Asus it is a miracle
Lightweight and slim , easy to transport and pack . Huge plus -Control Center: The ability to switch between iGP and dGPU is awesome , same goes for the TGP and overclocking features for it , I really appreciate the ability to adjust fan curves and performance on the laptop .
Con`s
- Temperature : The CPU can run a bit hot while heavily used , in Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon I can see temps hitting 84-87 degrees C , at times peaking at 91 . This is a bit much and I will see if a repaste might improve things , although I had hopes opting for better paste at purchase would have given lower temps . But it is not throttling ... so atleast something .
- Screen: While sharp and quick my panel have some serious IPS Glow at higher brightness . Disapointing as my Asus did not have that issue with it`s panel . It is also easily twisted if opened at the wrong angle , due to the hinge is in the middle and the frame is not strong enough to support the panel . Again my old Asus which had a thicker ( and stronger ) frame did not have that issue , despite being manhandled at times .
It lacks internal Gsync , but supports it externally via USB-C to DisplayPort.
-Sound: The onboard speakers are nothing to write home about , lacks depth and clarity . My advice is not to use them , use external speakers or headphones .
-Ports : I knew going in with Valeon that it only have 3x USB-A ports , but now after using it for a while I realize that 1-2 more would suit me better .
Verdict
For what it is I`m satisfied with it . I`m not sure if PCS would accept an RMA for bad IPS Glow , and for now it is not important as I`m using an external screen with it ( Acer Predator Z35p ) .
It is quick , can run all latest games at max or near max graphics at 3440x1440 without any issues . It does so fairly silently so with that I`m quite happy . Battery runtime is about 4 hours mark on battery saver , so okay also .
I give it 8 out of 10 due to the panel defect and high temps on CPU .