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EVGA SC17 GTX 1070 Notebook Review

More power, same features. The impressive overclock-ready SC17 is now officially on the Pascal train, but its continuing lack of features puts the notebook at a disadvantage in the 17-inch gaming category.

In an effort to prove that the SC17 isn't just a one-off, popular hardware company EVGA has updated its only current notebook model with Pascal graphics. The original GTX 980M version was marketed and praised for its overclocking abilities and the newer GTX 1070 update is expected to bring the same benefits at about the same TDP envelope.

No other major changes have been made outside of the GPU, so this latest Pascal SC17 is still subjected to the same pros and cons as the outgoing Maxwell version for better or worse. We recommend checking out our existing review on the Maxwell SC17 for more information and details on its chassis and features.

EVGA SC17 GTX 1070 (SC Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-6820HK 4 x 2.7 - 3.6 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile - 8 GB VRAM, Core: 1442 MHz, Memory: 8008 MHz, GDDR5, 369.37
Memory
32 GB 
, 1300 MHz, 18-18-18-43, Dual-Channel
Display
17.30 inch 16:9, 3840 x 2160 pixel 255 PPI, Sharp LQ173D1JW31, IPS, Name: LQ173D1JW31, ID: SHP145E, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel HM170 (Skylake PCH-H)
Storage
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2, 256 GB 
, Secondary: HGST HTS721010A9E630
Soundcard
Intel Skylake PCH-H High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 HDMI, 2 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo, Brightness Sensor
Networking
Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 26.6 x 408 x 295.5 ( = 1.05 x 16.06 x 11.63 in)
Battery
74.48 Wh, 4900 mAh
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: FHD
Additional features
Speakers: Realtek ALC 255, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, PrecisionX Mobile, 24 Months Warranty
Weight
4.131 kg ( = 145.72 oz / 9.11 pounds), Power Supply: 775 g ( = 27.34 oz / 1.71 pounds)
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

EVGA has created a very dense system considering that the SC17 weighs nearly as much as the MSI GT73VR when the latter is almost twice as thick. The Aorus X7 is perhaps the closest to the SC17 in physical dimensions, yet it is almost a full kilogram lighter. There's no denying that the SC17 leaves excellent first impressions with one of the most rigid and solid designs we've come to expect from a gaming notebook. The base is nigh invulnerable to twisting and the lid is much more resistant to bending and depressions than on thicker 17-inch alternatives.

The upcoming Razer Blade Pro will likely be a hot contender to rivaling the design and quality of the SC17 at this size and price range. If we are to nitpick, the grilles on the underside of the notebook can bend with some applied pressure while the smooth matte black aluminum surfaces will accumulate fingerprints and grease quite quickly.

428 mm / 16.9 inch 287 mm / 11.3 inch 49 mm / 1.929 inch 4.1 kg9.13 lbs423 mm / 16.7 inch 322 mm / 12.7 inch 40 mm / 1.575 inch 4.2 kg9.33 lbs418 mm / 16.5 inch 295 mm / 11.6 inch 39.9 mm / 1.571 inch 4.2 kg9.19 lbs428 mm / 16.9 inch 305 mm / 12 inch 25 mm / 0.984 inch 3.2 kg7.12 lbs416 mm / 16.4 inch 279 mm / 11 inch 33 mm / 1.299 inch 3.3 kg7.17 lbs408 mm / 16.1 inch 295.5 mm / 11.6 inch 26.6 mm / 1.047 inch 4.1 kg9.11 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

Very few connectivity options are available including just two USB 3.0 ports on the right-hand edge. The USB Type-C port is limited to 10 Gbps (no Thunderbolt 3 support) while the HDMI 1.4 port is limited to 4K UHD at up to 30 FPS. As a result, gaming on an external monitor at 4K60 with G-Sync requires utilizing one of the two mDP ports on the left-hand edge.

Front: No connectivity
Front: No connectivity
Right: USB 3.1 Type-C Gen. 2, 2x USB 3.0, 3.5 mm combo audio, Kensington Lock
Right: USB 3.1 Type-C Gen. 2, 2x USB 3.0, 3.5 mm combo audio, Kensington Lock
Rear: No connectivity
Rear: No connectivity
Left: Kensington Lock, AC adapter, Gigabit Ethernet, 1x HDMI 1.4, 2x mDP
Left: Kensington Lock, AC adapter, Gigabit Ethernet, 1x HDMI 1.4, 2x mDP

Communication

The same Intel Wireless-ac 8260 M.2 module from the outgoing SC17 makes its return here on the Pascal refresh. We would have liked a Killer 1535 option for additional features including DoubleShot Pro and MU-MIMO as found on Aorus systems and even the XPS 13 9360. Nonetheless, we experienced no connectivity issues during our time with the test unit and an iPerf3 test (-i 1 -t 30 -w 4M -P 10 -O 3) standing one meter away from our Linksys EA8500 test router returned consistent transfer rates.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
506 MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
647 MBit/s

Accessories

EVGA TORQ X10 gaming mouse
EVGA TORQ X10 gaming mouse

Included extras are a user's guide, USB Type-C to USB 3.0 adapter, 3.5 mm audio splitter, and an anbidextrous TORQ X10 laser gaming mouse. The mouse retails for about $60 USD and is not your typical cheap accessory with its respectable 8200 DPI, 1000 Hz polling rate, nine customizable buttons, and multi-colored LEDs. Six weights of approximately 2 g each can be placed on the slide-out tray on the bottom of the mouse to increase weight if desired. It's a decent full-size mouse, but the auxiliary side buttons and DPI adjustment toggle could have benefited from firmer feedback when pressed.

Maintenance

The bottom panel is held down by ten T6 hex screws not unlike on Aorus or Razer notebooks. Serviceability is easy as users have direct access to both storage bays, both SODIMM slots, the internal battery and the WLAN module. The GPU is soldered and does not utilize an upgradeable MXM 3.0b slot as found on thicker MSI and Clevo systems. No major internal changes can be observed from the outgoing SC17 Maxwell model.

Warranty

The standard 24-month limited warranty applies to new purchases while the battery is covered for only the first year. Unlike most other notebook manufacturers, EVGA enforces a zero dead pixel guarantee. Warranty terms may differ between regions.

Input Devices

Keyboard and Touchpad

Our take on the basic keyboard (~35.7 x 11 cm) and touchpad (~10.8 x 7 cm) remains identical. The chiclet keys have firmer feedback than on the Aorus X7, but they tend to clatter more loudly than on the keys of the GT72 or GT73VR. The white backlight is adjustable through the Precision Mobile overclocking utility with no RGB options or dedicated auxiliary or Macro keys.

The touchpad is unfortunately very poor in regards to its integrated mouse keys. Pushing down to input a click results in almost no auditory feedback and feels both soft and squishy. Otherwise, the smooth plastic surface and Synaptics software respond reliably to simple cursor controls and multi-touch commands.

Chiclet keyboard with no dedicated aux keys
Chiclet keyboard with no dedicated aux keys
Satisfactory travel and feedback
Satisfactory travel and feedback

Display

The new SC17 uses the same 4K UHD LQ173D1JW31 panel as on the original SC17 Maxwell model. As a result, backlight brightness, contrast, and gamut measurements are nearly identical to our previous SC17 test unit and they all still hold up very well against the displays on other 17-inch gaming notebooks. There are disappointingly no other resolution or G-Sync options available unlike on most newer MSI or Aorus notebooks with FHD or 5 ms/120 Hz panels.

The overlying edge-to-edge matte panel is rather thick, so images and texts do not "pop" and there is a slight graininess to the display overall. This can be seen below in our microscope shot where we had trouble focusing on the individual RGB pixels due to the protective matte screen.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this particular 4K UHD panel from a gamer perspective is the slow response times. Similar to the displays of older Aorus systems, the SC17 suffers from moderate ghosting that becomes especially apparent when playing fast paced games like Overwatch or even Fallout 4.

Minimal backlight bleeding on top and bottom edges
Minimal backlight bleeding on top and bottom edges
Subpixel array w/ focus on the overlying matte panel
Subpixel array w/ focus on the overlying matte panel
346.5
cd/m²
387.2
cd/m²
354.2
cd/m²
366.2
cd/m²
399.1
cd/m²
342.9
cd/m²
353.8
cd/m²
363.3
cd/m²
324.1
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Sharp LQ173D1JW31 tested with X-Rite i1Pro Basic 2
Maximum: 399.1 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 359.7 cd/m² Minimum: 4.07 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 399.1 cd/m²
Contrast: 998:1 (Black: 0.4 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.78 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
100% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
86.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
98.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
87.3% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.03
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Sharp LQ173D1JW31, IPS, 17.30, 3840x2160
Aorus X7 v6
B173QTN01.0 (AUO1096), TN LED, 17.30, 2560x1440
MSI GT73VR 6RF
IPS, 17.30, 3840x2160
Eurocom Sky X7E2
IPS, 17.30, 3840x2160
HP Omen 17-w110ng
LG Philips LGD046E, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080
Display
-28%
-22%
-0%
-26%
Display P3 Coverage
87.3
60.9
-30%
63.6
-27%
86.6
-1%
66.6
-24%
sRGB Coverage
100
84.2
-16%
95.8
-4%
100
0%
84.1
-16%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
98.8
61.2
-38%
65.7
-34%
99.2
0%
61.5
-38%
Response Times
52%
21%
40%
26%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
45.6 ?(22.8, 22.8)
31 ?(11, 20)
32%
33.6 ?(13.2, 20.4)
26%
28 ?(10, 18)
39%
37 ?(13, 24)
19%
Response Time Black / White *
35.2 ?(9.2, 26)
10 ?(3, 7)
72%
30 ?(5.2, 24.8)
15%
21.2 ?(5.2, 16)
40%
24 ?(4, 20)
32%
PWM Frequency
1042 ?(29)
Screen
-33%
-12%
-9%
-3%
Brightness middle
399.1
343
-14%
334.8
-16%
332.6
-17%
362
-9%
Brightness
360
312
-13%
316
-12%
329
-9%
342
-5%
Brightness Distribution
81
80
-1%
87
7%
87
7%
87
7%
Black Level *
0.4
0.5
-25%
0.422
-6%
0.314
21%
0.31
22%
Contrast
998
686
-31%
793
-21%
1059
6%
1168
17%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
4.78
7.33
-53%
4.11
14%
5.94
-24%
4.5
6%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7.65
10.79
-41%
7.8
-2%
8.6
-12%
9.31
-22%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3.8
7.6
-100%
5.74
-51%
6.27
-65%
3.48
8%
Gamma
2.03 108%
2.19 100%
2.3 96%
2.2 100%
2.23 99%
CCT
7288 89%
9024 72%
5987 109%
6704 97%
6144 106%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
86.9
55
-37%
60.5
-30%
91
5%
55
-37%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
100
84
-16%
96
-4%
100
0%
84
-16%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-3% / -21%
-4% / -10%
10% / -1%
-1% / -4%

* ... smaller is better

The EVGA makes up for its slow response times with high color coverage of the full sRGB standard and approximately 87 percent of AdobeRGB. This means little to most gamers, but professional digital artists will appreciate the deeper and more accurate colors available.

vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. MSI GT73VR
vs. MSI GT73VR
vs. Aorus X7 v6
vs. Aorus X7 v6

Colors and grayscale out of the box are more accurate than on our previous SC17 Maxwell test unit, so the manufacturer likely pre-calibrated this screen before shipment. Additional calibration with our X-Rite spectrophotometer improves grayscale even further, though it appears that more manual refinement is required to more accurately represent colors at higher saturation levels.

Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
35.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 9.2 ms rise
↘ 26 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 92 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
45.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 22.8 ms rise
↘ 22.8 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 75 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 1042 Hz ≤ 29 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 1042 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 29 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 1042 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The backlight is slightly brighter on the EVGA than on most other 17-inch gaming notebooks while the matte panel and wide IPS viewing angles help in minimizing glare and reflections. Grays will become slightly hazy if viewing from extreme angles.

Outdoor visibility is still average when under shade and very poor when under sunlight as the bright ambient lighting will wash out colors and texts.

Performance

EVGA does not offer a wide selection of SKUs for its SC17, so users are locked to high specifications including the i7-6820HK CPU, 32 GB DDR4 RAM, GTX 1070, SSD + HDD combo, and 4K UHD screen. This particular CPU is relatively uncommon on gaming notebooks and is mostly available on systems much thicker than the SC17 due to its focus on overclocking.

Whereas the Maxwell SC17 includes Optimus, the Pascal SC17 has removed the feature altogether.

Processor

The Core i7-6820HK at stock speeds offers very little over cheaper i7-5700HQ or i7-6700HQ options according to CineBench results. Thus, unless if you have intentions to overclock the i7-6820HK, it's hard to justify it over other 45 W quad-core Skylake CPUs with locked multipliers. The potential performance overhead of the SC17 can be observed on our overclocked GT73VR with the same i7-6820HK CPU as the MSI outperforms the stock EVGA by almost 20 percent in multi-threaded workloads. If overclocked, this particular CPU can come very close to the desktop Core i7-6700K.

The built-in Superclock mode will automatically overclock the CPU to 3.8 GHz compared to its maximum standard Turbo Boost of 3.2 GHz for all four cores. This bumps the multi-core CineBench R15 score from 706 points to an impressive 833 points for an increase of 18 percent. As shown in our Stress Test section below, however, this comes at the cost of very high core temperatures and core clock rates may eventually settle at a lower 3.5 GHz over extended periods of extreme stress.

See our dedicated CPU page on the Core i7-6820HK for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.

CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R15
CineBench R15
CineBench R15 (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
CineBench R15 (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
MSI GT73VR 6RF
Intel Core i7-6820HK
164 Points +8%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
160 Points +5%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
152 Points
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
144 Points -5%
Asus R510JX-DM149H
Intel Core i7-4720HQ
138 Points -9%
Toshiba Satellite S70-B-106
Intel Core i7-4700HQ
131 Points -14%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
874 Points +24%
MSI GT73VR 6RF
Intel Core i7-6820HK
836 Points +18%
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
719 Points +2%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
706 Points
Asus R510JX-DM149H
Intel Core i7-4720HQ
675 Points -4%
Toshiba Satellite S70-B-106
Intel Core i7-4700HQ
566 Points -20%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
MSI GT73VR 6RF
Intel Core i7-6820HK
1.88 Points +12%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
1.72 Points +2%
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
1.68 Points 0%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
1.68 Points
Toshiba Satellite S70-B-106
Intel Core i7-4700HQ
1.49 Points -11%
CPU Multi 64Bit
MSI GT73VR 6RF
Intel Core i7-6820HK
9.24 Points +19%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
8.55 Points +10%
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
7.96 Points +3%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
7.75 Points
Toshiba Satellite S70-B-106
Intel Core i7-4700HQ
6.02 Points -22%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
MSI GT73VR 6RF
Intel Core i7-6820HK
24966 Points +17%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
23815 Points +12%
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
21681 Points +2%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
21313 Points
Rendering Single 32Bit
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
6434 Points +14%
MSI GT73VR 6RF
Intel Core i7-6820HK
6405 Points +14%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
5632 Points
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
5567 Points -1%
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
Asus R510JX-DM149H
Intel Core i7-4720HQ
241.8 s * -8%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
224.7 s *
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
206.3 s * +8%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
205.9 s * +8%
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - 32M
MSI GE62 2QC-468XPL
Intel Core i7-5700HQ
574 s * -0%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Intel Core i7-6820HK
572 s *
Asus R510JX-DM149H
Intel Core i7-4720HQ
552 s * +3%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Intel Core i7-6700K
484.6 s * +15%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
11567
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
21313
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5632
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
73.5 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
7.75 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.68 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
124 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
706 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
152 Points
Help

System Performance

PCMark 8 ranks the new SC17 in the same ballpark as other Pascal gaming notebooks including the Omen 17 and MSI GT73VR. Scores are consistently higher than our older SC17 configuration. We experienced no notable hardware or software issues during our time with the test unit.

PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
HP Omen 17-w110ng
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256
4833 Points +9%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6700K, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
4579 Points +3%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
4437 Points
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
4252 Points -4%
EVGA SC17
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe
3441 Points -22%
Work Score Accelerated v2
HP Omen 17-w110ng
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256
5394 Points +17%
Eurocom Sky X7E2
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6700K, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
4816 Points +4%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
4623 Points
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
4378 Points -5%
EVGA SC17
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe
4129 Points -11%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Eurocom Sky X7E2
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6700K, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
8576 Points +10%
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
8227 Points +6%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
7780 Points
HP Omen 17-w110ng
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256
7128 Points -8%
EVGA SC17
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe
4740 Points -39%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
4437 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
7780 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4623 points
Help

Storage Devices

M.2 2280 slot adjacent to SODIMM slots
M.2 2280 slot adjacent to SODIMM slots

Internal storage solutions include just one M.2 slot and a 2.5-inch SATA III bay whereas most other 17-inch gaming notebooks have three or more such as on the MSI GT72 or Alienware 17. Furthermore, RAID is not officially supported, though even gaming enthusiasts should be more than satisfied with NVMe speeds from a single M.2 SSD. Our test unit is equipped with a primary 256 GB Samsung SM951 SSD and a secondary 1 TB Hitachi HGST HDD. This is an upgrade from our original SC17 which carried a primary Samsung Pro 950 and a secondary Seagate HDD.

Transfer rates from the primary SSD are extremely fast with sequential read and write rates of over 1600 MB/s and 1200 MB/s, respectively. This is significantly faster than the Samsung PM951 SSD in the Omen 17 while being roughly on par with the Samsung SM951 SSD in the Eurocom Sky X7E2. Systems limited by the SATA III interface are significantly slower even when in RAID 0 configuration. Meanwhile, the secondary Hitachi mechanical drive returns an average transfer rate of over 110 MB/s according to HD Tune to be one of the faster 7200 RPM HDDs available.

See our table of SSDs and HDDs for more performance comparisons.

AS SSD (Primary SSD)
AS SSD (Primary SSD)
CDM (Primary SSD)
CDM (Primary SSD)
CDM (Secondary HDD)
CDM (Secondary HDD)
HD Tune (Secondary HDD)
HD Tune (Secondary HDD)
PCMark 8 Storage
PCMark 8 Storage
 
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
Aorus X7 v6
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5512GPU7
MSI GT73VR 6RF
2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
Eurocom Sky X7E2
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
HP Omen 17-w110ng
Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
4%
-30%
11%
-32%
Read Seq
1658
1499
-10%
914
-45%
1673
1%
1156
-30%
Write Seq
1249
1411
13%
916
-27%
1576
26%
294.9
-76%
Read 512
1044
966
-7%
698
-33%
1180
13%
616
-41%
Write 512
1254
1103
-12%
916
-27%
1561
24%
294.7
-76%
Read 4k
51.6
44.33
-14%
31.37
-39%
51.5
0%
42.7
-17%
Write 4k
145.2
155.5
7%
65.7
-55%
144
-1%
153.3
6%
Read 4k QD32
601
696
16%
425
-29%
694
15%
600
0%
Write 4k QD32
386.8
531
37%
441.8
14%
422.1
9%
295.3
-24%
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
Sequential Read: 1658 MB/s
Sequential Write: 1249 MB/s
512K Read: 1044 MB/s
512K Write: 1254 MB/s
4K Read: 51.6 MB/s
4K Write: 145.2 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 601 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 386.8 MB/s

GPU Performance

3DMark scores for the SC17 are consistently just a few percentage points below our reference GTX 1070 desktop card. Fire Strike scores are roughly 30 percent and 50 to 60 percent higher than the GTX 980 for notebooks and the GTX 1060, respectively. Jumping to the GTX 1080 will bring about a 20 to 25 percent increase in raw graphics power.

Will running in Superclock and Fan Boost mode increase performance? While our Fire Strike Ultra Physics score sees a slight increase from 10244 points to 12148 points, our Graphics score is nearly the same at 4028 points compared to 3957 points in normal mode. Thus, users will want to manually overclock the GPU if they wish for more graphics performance as the pre-installed Superclock mode only affects the CPU.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Fire Strike
Fire Strike
Fire Strike Extreme
Fire Strike Extreme
Fire Strike Extreme Ultra
Fire Strike Extreme Ultra
Fire Strike Extreme Ultra (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
Fire Strike Extreme Ultra (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
3DMark
3840x2160 Fire Strike Ultra Graphics
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 4790K
4841 Points +22%
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K
4126 Points +4%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK
3957 Points
Asus G701VO-CS74K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK
3009 Points -24%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
2592 Points -34%
EVGA SC17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
2326 Points -41%
Fire Strike Extreme Graphics
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 4790K
9994 Points +24%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK
8057 Points
Asus G701VO-CS74K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK
6123 Points -24%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
5541 Points -31%
EVGA SC17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
4663 Points -42%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 4790K
20268 Points +18%
MSI GT80-2QES32SR311BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M SLI, 4980HQ
19121 Points +12%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK
17106 Points
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K
16685 Points -2%
Asus G701VO-CS74K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK
13018 Points -24%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
11957 Points -30%
EVGA SC17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
9820 Points -43%
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 4790K
29443 Points +31%
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K
23990 Points +7%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK
22427 Points
MSI GT80-2QES32SR311BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M SLI, 4980HQ
21901 Points -2%
Asus G701VO-CS74K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK
16946 Points -24%
EVGA SC17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
12890 Points -43%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
12731 Points -43%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 4790K
11623 Points +22%
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K
11482 Points +20%
MSI GT80-2QES32SR311BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M SLI, 4980HQ
10313 Points +8%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK
9550 Points
EVGA SC17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
9256 Points -3%
Asus G701VO-CS74K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK
9017 Points -6%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
8338 Points -13%
3DMark 11 Performance
16824 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
136715 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
26217 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
13287 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
7357 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Real-world performance in games shows similar leads over the GTX 1060 and previous generation Maxwell GPUs. Still, average frame rates are consistently a hair below the Aorus X5 v6 in all tested games. It's likely that any manual overclocking of the SC17 will be enough to bump the system to be on equal or better footing than the Aorus X5 v6 or a stock desktop GTX 1070. In general, users will be able to play most demanding titles at native 4K UHD on Medium to High settings with average frame rates in the 30s to 50s.

See our dedicated page on the GTX 1070 GPU for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.

Rise of the Tomb Raider
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
97.4 fps +1%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
96.4 fps
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
63.5 fps -34%
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
60.4 fps -37%
Asus Strix GL502VY-DS71
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
55 fps -43%
Asus Strix GL502VT-DS74
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Lite-On CV1-8B128
42.8 fps -56%
3840x2160 High Preset AA:FX AF:4x
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
49.8 fps +23%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
40.6 fps
Guild Wars 2 - 1920x1080 All Maximum / On AA:FX
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
78.8 fps +23%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
63.9 fps
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
52.9 fps -17%
BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
136.8 fps +4%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
131.8 fps
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
106.2 fps -19%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
105.5 fps -20%
Asus Strix GL502VY-DS71
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
86.4 fps -34%
Asus Strix GL502VT-DS74
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Lite-On CV1-8B128
69.5 fps -47%
Metro: Last Light - 1920x1080 Very High (DX11) AF:16x
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
117.9 fps +3%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
114 fps
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
88.3 fps -23%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
82.1 fps -28%
Asus Strix GL502VT-DS74
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Lite-On CV1-8B128
50.5 fps -56%
Thief - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FXAA & High SS AF:8x
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
106.6 fps +3%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
103.2 fps
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
72.4 fps -30%
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
67.9 fps -34%
Asus Strix GL502VY-DS71
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
58.6 fps -43%
Asus Strix GL502VT-DS74
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Lite-On CV1-8B128
47.5 fps -54%
Batman: Arkham Knight
1920x1080 High / On AA:SM AF:16x
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
89 fps +2%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
87 fps
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
63 fps -28%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
62 fps -29%
Asus Strix GL502VT-DS74
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Lite-On CV1-8B128
36 fps -59%
3840x2160 High / On (Interactive Smoke & Paper Debris Off) AA:SM AF:8x
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
52 fps +16%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
45 fps
Fallout 4
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T AF:16x
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
111.3 fps +8%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
102.9 fps
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
79.3 fps -23%
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
71.6 fps -30%
Asus Strix GL502VY-DS71
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
57.9 fps -44%
Asus Strix GL502VT-DS74
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Lite-On CV1-8B128
43.5 fps -58%
3840x2160 High Preset AA:T AF:16x
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
51.7 fps +17%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
44.3 fps
Doom
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:SM
Aorus X5 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
128.9 fps +9%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
118.8 fps
MSI GT72VR 6RD-063US
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
96.5 fps -19%
Asus G701VO-CS74K
GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop), 6820HK, 2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
84.3 fps -29%
Asus Strix GL502VY-DS71
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, SanDisk SD8SN8U1T001122
56 fps -53%
3840x2160 High Preset AA:FX
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
64.1 fps +27%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
50.6 fps
Overwatch - 3840x2160 High (Render Scale 100 %) AA:SM AF:4x
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
103.1 fps +23%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
83.5 fps
Mafia 3
1920x1080 High Preset
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
73.6 fps +19%
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
62 fps
3840x2160 High Preset
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
22.1 fps
low med. high ultra4K
Guild Wars 2 (2012) 63.9
BioShock Infinite (2013) 131.8
Metro: Last Light (2013) 114
Thief (2014) 103.2
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) 87 45
Metal Gear Solid V (2015) 60 60
Fallout 4 (2015) 102.9 44.3
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 96.4 40.6
Doom (2016) 118.8 50.6
Overwatch (2016) 83.5
Mafia 3 (2016) 62 22.1

4K UHD on Ultra Settings

Title Average FPS
Guild Wars 2 62.0
Metro: Last Light 42.2
Thief 39.9

Stress Test

We stress the notebook to test for any potential throttling or stability issues. The CPU is able to maintain its maximum base Turbo Boost clock rate of 3.2 GHz for all four cores even when subjected to both Prime95 and FurMark stress, which is excellent for a gaming notebook and is expected since it should be able to overclock even further. Both the CPU and GPU plateau at around 84 C and 73 C, respectively, when under extreme stress. This is relatively low for the GTX 1070 when compared to the Gigabyte P57X where the same GPU plateaus at about 79 C under similar loads. In other words, there is GPU overclocking potential on the SC17 as advertised by the manufacturer.

Running Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously with both Superclock and Fan Boost active will have the CPU stabilize at 3.5 GHz (down from 3.8 GHz) and at an alarming core temperature of 100 C. This adversely increases the temperature of the GPU since the two processors share a heat pipe between them.

Running Unigine Valley to better represent gaming loads will have the CPU and GPU stabilize at the 65 C to 70 C range each. If users wish to overclock the SC17 for better gaming performance, then we recommend manually overclocking the GPU with the Precision Mobile software while leaving the CPU at stock speeds to avoid triple-digit core temperatures.

Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
FurMark stress
FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Unigine Valley stress
Unigine Valley stress
Prime95+FurMark stress (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
Prime95+FurMark stress (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
Unigine Valley stress (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
Unigine Valley stress (Superclock and Fan Boost active)
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
Prime95 Stress 3.2 -- 60 43
FurMark Stress -- 1316 71 66
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 3.2 1291 84 73
Unigine Valley Stress 3.2+ 1658 64 70
Prime95 + FurMark Stress (Superclock and Fan Boost) 3.5 1253 100 77
Unigine Valley Stress (Superclock and Fan Boost) 3.8 1658 68 67

Emissions

System Noise

Fan characteristics are unsurprisingly similar to the Maxwell SC17. The dual system fans never idle and will be audible in a quiet room no matter the system load. Higher loads like heavy browsing and multi-tasking will occasionally bump fan noise to just over 36 dB(A) for short periods before falling back to its 33.9 dB(A) minimum. Thus, we recommend staying in Power Saver mode when running undemanding loads to prevent the fans from pulsing.

Gaming loads will cause the fans to pulse between 43 dB(A) up to 48 dB(A). We would have preferred more consistent fan behavior instead and, at its worse, the SC17 is almost as loud as some thicker notebooks with GTX 1080 GPUs. Maximum load with Prime95 and FurMark will induce a fan noise of about 50 dB(A) or even 53 dB(A) when Fan Boost mode is active. The fan noise curves of the EVGA are broader than on the GS73VR for a lower-pitched and more tolerable whir when gaming.

The Precision Mobile overclocking utility as shown in our Stress Test section provides no manual fan speed settings.

2.5-inch SATA bay under right palm rest
2.5-inch SATA bay under right palm rest
Twin ~60 mm fans
Twin ~60 mm fans
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070 (Gray: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Valley, Green: Prime95+FurMark, Yellow: Fan Boost mode)
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070 (Gray: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Valley, Green: Prime95+FurMark, Yellow: Fan Boost mode)
MSI GS73VR (Gray: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Valley, Green: Prime95+FurMark)
MSI GS73VR (Gray: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Valley, Green: Prime95+FurMark)
MSI GT73VR (Gray: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Valley, Green: Prime95+FurMark Turbo Fan Mode)
MSI GT73VR (Gray: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Valley, Green: Prime95+FurMark Turbo Fan Mode)

Noise Level

Idle
33.9 / 33.9 / 33.9 dB(A)
Load
43.8 / 53.4 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   BK Precision 732A (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 29.2 dB(A)
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
Aorus X7 v6
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK, Toshiba NVMe THNSN5512GPU7
MSI GT73VR 6RF
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6820HK, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
Eurocom Sky X7E2
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 6700K, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
HP Omen 17-w110ng
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256
EVGA SC17
GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK, Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe
Noise
-3%
-4%
1%
-1%
4%
off / environment *
29.2
30
-3%
29.2
-0%
28.9
1%
30
-3%
29.1
-0%
Idle Minimum *
33.9
33
3%
32
6%
28.9
15%
33
3%
33
3%
Idle Average *
33.9
35
-3%
32
6%
30.6
10%
34
-0%
33.2
2%
Idle Maximum *
33.9
40
-18%
35
-3%
35.7
-5%
35
-3%
33.7
1%
Load Average *
43.8
43
2%
50
-14%
49
-12%
45
-3%
41.7
5%
Load Maximum *
53.4
54
-1%
64
-20%
55
-3%
52
3%
48.2
10%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Surface temperature development is directly tied to the placement of the processors and the arrangement of the heat pipes. In this case, the hot spot is right above the first row of keyboard keys where users are unlikely to touch when typing or gaming. When compared to most thicker gaming notebooks like the GT73 or Acer Predator 17, however, the palm rests of the SC17 will be warmer under load. This is a common drawback on thinner gaming notebooks especially if the chassis is metal with no rubberized surfaces. Otherwise, idling temperatures are flat and generally cool on both sides of the unit.

The temperature maps below were taken with both Superclock and Fan Boost disabled.

Prime95+FurMark load (top)
Prime95+FurMark load (top)
Prime95+FurMark load (bottom)
Prime95+FurMark load (bottom)
Max. Load
 44.2 °C
112 F
47.6 °C
118 F
44 °C
111 F
 
 38.6 °C
101 F
40.2 °C
104 F
39.2 °C
103 F
 
 35.8 °C
96 F
35.8 °C
96 F
36.6 °C
98 F
 
Maximum: 47.6 °C = 118 F
Average: 40.2 °C = 104 F
49.8 °C
122 F
53.2 °C
128 F
47 °C
117 F
44.4 °C
112 F
44.8 °C
113 F
40.2 °C
104 F
38 °C
100 F
37 °C
99 F
37 °C
99 F
Maximum: 53.2 °C = 128 F
Average: 43.5 °C = 110 F
Power Supply (max.)  51.2 °C = 124 F | Room Temperature 20.5 °C = 69 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 40.2 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F for the devices in the class Gaming.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 47.6 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 40.4 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 53.2 °C / 128 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.3 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 36.6 °C / 97.9 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-7.7 °C / -13.9 F).

Speakers

Our microphone measurements are very close to that of our first test unit since the stereo speakers and subwoofer remain the same. Sounds are relatively balanced, but maximum volume is on the low side when compared to the latest 17-inch notebooks from MSI. Note that it is easy to accidentally cover up the speaker grilles with your palms when typing or gaming due to their positioning on the corners of the plam rests. High-end MSI and Clevo barebones will sometimes integrate ESS Sabre Audio DACs to properly support studio-grade headphones and higher sampling rates than the EVGA.

EVGA SC17 (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
EVGA SC17 (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
MSI GS73VR (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
MSI GS73VR (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
MSI GT73VR (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
MSI GT73VR (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise)
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2033.835.22529.733.93130.133.24030.432.15029.830.36332.132.78030.331.810028.133.112526.83416026.840.720025.846.425024.849.131524.553.340025.258.550025.857.363024.857.580025.555.6100024.952.9125025.251.4160023.950.4200022.450.3250021.945.5315021.747400021.652.8500021.354.4630021.251.7800021.148.31000021.151.4125002147160002139.6SPL35.364.6N2.420.1median 24.5median 50.4Delta23.935.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseEVGA SC17 GTX 1070Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070 audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (64.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 8.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (6.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (12.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (24.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 87% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 9% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 72% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 23% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency Comparison (Checkbox selectable!)
Graph 1: Pink Noise 100% Vol.; Graph 2: Audio off

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The SC17 is about as demanding as other 17-inch Pascal gaming notebooks when idling or during very low loads at about the mid 30 W range. Expect power consumption to jump to about 165 W when gaming, which is higher than the similarly equipped Aorus X7 v6 and HP Omen 17, but still far below systems with the GTX 1080. Note that when compared to the older Maxwell SC17, the Pascal SC17 draws about the same amount of power under load while providing significantly faster graphics performance.

Maximum load with both Prime95 and FurMark active will draw just over 200 W against a power adapter rated for up to 240 W. Thus, there is some headroom available for running on Superclock mode or for manual overclocking. The slim AC adapter is very small at roughly 14 x 14 x 2 cm.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.53 / 6.1 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 27.3 / 34.9 / 37.6 Watt
Load midlight 164.4 / 202.5 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
6820HK, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2, IPS, 3840x2160, 17.30
Aorus X7 v6
6820HK, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, Toshiba NVMe THNSN5512GPU7, TN LED, 2560x1440, 17.30
MSI GT73VR 6RF
6820HK, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0), IPS, 3840x2160, 17.30
HP Omen 17-w110ng
6700HQ, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30
EVGA SC17
6820HK, GeForce GTX 980M, Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe, IPS, 3840x2160, 17.30
Power Consumption
2%
-13%
25%
11%
Idle Minimum *
27.3
29
-6%
28.9
-6%
19
30%
20.9
23%
Idle Average *
34.9
31
11%
30.6
12%
25
28%
31.7
9%
Idle Maximum *
37.6
38
-1%
33.1
12%
31
18%
32.6
13%
Load Average *
164.4
111
32%
224.4
-36%
90
45%
142.8
13%
Load Maximum *
202.5
253
-25%
302.6
-49%
193
5%
210.5
-4%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Internal battery capacity remains at 74 Wh to be lower than most 17-inch gaming notebooks where 80+ Wh battery are common. Runtimes are not impressive at under three hours of real-world WLAN use as is expected from a high performance 4K UHD gaming notebook with no Optimus. This factor in particular could be responsible for our lower runtimes when compared to the outgoing Maxwell SC17.

Charging from empty to full capacity will take about 2.5 hours.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
4h 02min
WiFi Websurfing
2h 40min
Load (maximum brightness)
0h 55min
EVGA SC17 GTX 1070
6820HK, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 74.48 Wh
Aorus X7 v6
6820HK, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 94 Wh
MSI GT73VR 6RF
6820HK, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 75.2 Wh
Eurocom Sky X7E2
6700K, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 89 Wh
HP Omen 17-w110ng
6700HQ, GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 95 Wh
EVGA SC17
6820HK, GeForce GTX 980M, 74.48 Wh
Battery Runtime
14%
23%
-9%
81%
32%
Reader / Idle
242
306
26%
137
-43%
432
79%
310
28%
WiFi v1.3
160
182
14%
198
24%
104
-35%
247
54%
206
29%
Load
55
65
18%
83
51%
115
109%
76
38%

Pros

+ relatively thin for a notebook with GTX 1070 graphics
+ sleek and very strong chassis design
+ 4K UHD matte w/ full sRGB coverage
+ overclockable CPU and GPU

Cons

- barebones; few hardware options and connectivity features
- moderate ghosting when gaming; slow response times
- only 2x internal storage bays; no RAID
- system fans are always active
- touchpad with poor feedback
- no dedicated auxiliary keys
- short battery life

Verdict

In review: EVGA SC17 GTX 1070. Test model provided by EVGA.
In review: EVGA SC17 GTX 1070. Test model provided by EVGA.

The original SC17 with GTX 980M stood out for its focus on overclocking while providing a very solid platform that's much more portable than an equivalent GT72, G752, or Clevo barebone. Now that most major gaming manufacturers have updated their respective notebooks to Pascal, the latest SC17 refresh doesn't offer enough to make it a must buy. Manufacturers like MSI and Aorus have taken the opportunity to add even more features beyond a simple GPU upgrade like 5 ms/120 Hz screens, G-Sync, RAID, individually-lit RGB keys, Macro and auxiliary keys, Thunderbolt 3, and others that the SC17 is lacking. The EVGA doesn't even have a simple card reader much like the outgoing Razer Blade 14 or Blade Pro 17.

Performance and especially build quality are both reflective of the premium price point, but it's becoming more difficult to shrug off the barebone feel of the SC17.

EVGA SC17 GTX 1070 - 11/20/2016 v5.1(old)
Allen Ngo

Chassis
94 / 98 → 96%
Keyboard
85%
Pointing Device
67%
Connectivity
56 / 81 → 70%
Weight
48 / 10-66 → 68%
Battery
67%
Display
90%
Games Performance
97%
Application Performance
93%
Temperature
85 / 95 → 89%
Noise
68 / 90 → 76%
Audio
55%
Camera
45 / 85 → 53%
Average
73%
83%
Gaming - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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Allen Ngo, 2016-11-21 (Update: 2020-06- 8)