General Testing
The first time you power on the system you will notice some lights turn on. There are accent lights on the two speakers, lights on the trackpad, two lights on the bottom front of the laptop, two accent strips on the lid and the iBUYPOWER logo lights up on the lid as well. I was unsure if this laptop had backlit keys as they did not turn on at first but there is a simple button that turns them off and on. Not the best backlighting I’ve seen on a keyboard, but it gets the job done. And remember if you want to turn them off you can.
I have been using the Valkyrie CZ-17 as my main laptop for about 2 weeks now. What better way to get a real feel for it. This way I can not only see how it does with gaming, but general daily usage as well. Let’s first talk about the keyboard and trackpad. We are never going to see mechanical keys on a laptop, but during gaming and general use the keyboard of the CZ-17 was very comfortable and since the keys were spaced out well I did not accidentally hit buttons I did not want to press. The keyboard has good flex in it and provides good feedback. Also the fact that you have a full number pad is a plus. I was less than impressed with the trackpad. It just did not feel right at all and was not that responsive. I know many people will be using a dedicated mouse with this laptop so they can look over this.
The large screen is nice and bright and I did not have to adjust it that much at all when I first received the CZ-17. While glossy screens do have many benefits I like that fact that the screen on the CZ-17 is a matte screen. Being that this is a laptop and your location is going to be different from time to time having a glossy screen could cause some glare and that could affect you during gaming. Since this is a 17.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 you are going to be able to enjoy HD movies and play games at that resolution.
iBUYPOWER does not install any bloatware on this system, which is a plus. So many times when I get a new laptop I spend about an hour or so taking off all of the unnecessary software that has been preinstalled. There is a little icon positioned at the top center of the screen that opens up a shortcut menu where you can turn off and on many of the functions of the device, much like the touch sensitive buttons above the keyboard.
Heat is a big factor not only in performance, but how comfortable you are too. No one wants a laptop sitting on their laptop that has the potential of burning them! We did a simple idle and load test to see how hot the CZ-17 could get. You can see the results below.
One thing we always talk about when it comes to laptops is battery life. This is a gaming laptop so do not expect to get something like 6 plus hours out of the battery. During our testing we found during normal usage we would get around 3 hours of battery life and if we were gaming that would be cut in half. Luckily the battery is removable, so if need be you could have a few on hand when you don’t have access to a power outlet.
There is no such thing as A gaming Laptop when will people learn
LOL the video linked is the wrong video
It’s not like a laptop is a gamers first choice, but when you want to game on the go, a laptop is the only logical choice. True gamers want to game ALL the time, so a gaming laptop is a must. When will you learn 😉
thekarate-kid: how about you shut your mouth and actually buy one and learn this for yourself and yes there is such a thing as a gaming laptop meaning they are specifically built to handle process and play games you fucking dumbass
What are you talking about ? IBUYPOWER is a gaming computer company, meaning their computers are intended for gaming, so when looking at the laptop, and what the company focus’s on primarily, it is definitely a gaming laptop, so you are wrong sir, IBUYPOWER made this system specifically for gaming, so yeah there is such a thing as a gaming laptop
I bought one of these. The keyboard failed after 2 weeks. The keyboard is NOT a steelseries keyboard like they want you to think it is.. It’s a cheap hong kong knock-off. They refused to send out another keyboard. They also refused to sell me another keyboard for it. So I paid $1400 for a pc I cant even use.
orrr…. buy a usb keyboard xD
orrr…. buy a usb keyboard xD
Ignoring that the karatekid, I purchased my Valkerie after X-mas, upgrading to the gtx680 4gb and a 2.4ghz i7. I bought it as a rig I could take to someone’s house and game with them, and as insurance for if/when components in my PC quit on me. My Valkerie will run Skyrim at full-tilt graphics on my 24″ 1080p monitor, so it is indeed a desktop replacement. For less than $1600 ( 5% off for those not needing rush order, though they still got it to me in less than two weeks!).including a GTX 680 4gb GPU, that is a killer deal!
That sounds not likely. I have purchased both a Valkerie and my present PC from IBuyPower, and their service is exceptional. I know that all this guy needed to do was send it in, and I suspect he just wanted a keyboard sent to him.
Also, the keyboard can be upgraded, by the user, with a Steel Series board, though it’s a little more complex than the other upgradeable components. You’ll have to buy the keyboard from a seller rather than Steel Series themselves, because they won’t sell one piece meal like that for some, I assume warrantee, reason.
The fact that the bottom is removable and the HDD/1 RAM slot/optical drive are all within easy reach is yet another reason why I love my Valkerie! I upgraded to the GTX 680 4gb, and left the 750gb HDD in place, since I can easily install my own SSD to accompany the HDD. It’s a beauty of a monster laptop, that’s for sure!
nicccee! i’m getting one today:) i might end up upgrading to the 680 in the future as well 😀 i have my fingers crossed that the 780 fits too