Ibuypower Battalion 101 W230SS

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Reviews for the Ibuypower Battalion 101 W230SS

70% 13-inch Gaming Laptop For Just Over $1000
Source: Comp Reviews Archive.org version
If you want a compact laptop to be used for gaming and don't want to spend a huge amount of money, then the iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 W230SS is an option to consider thanks to its fast processor and solid graphics. The limitations of the engineering and cost though mean that you will have to make compromises and this results in a system that produces a fair amount of noise and equal amount of heat.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 08/01/2014
Rating: Total score: 70%

Comment

Model:

The Ibuypower Battalion 101 W230SS is a base model that can be vastly customised to suit a variety of gamers. Emphasis is on the word ‘vastly’. The silver interior and black case keeps ‘power’ looking classy, and the keyboard backlight glows ghostly blue. There is a 13.3 inch Full HD display (1920X1080) and 13 inch models are definitely a growing trend because of their portability.

Users can select up to the Intel Core i7-4910MQ quad-core processor clocked at 2.9 GHz with 8 MB L3 cache, and 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 G.SKILL RAM. A combination of 256 GB SSD as a primary drive and 1 TB SSD content drive can also be selected ensuring plenty of space while keeping speed. Powering the graphics is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2 GB GDDR5 with Nvidia Optimus.

On board is a 3D premium surround sound technology, which delivers superb audio quality. Other features on the Ibuypower Battalion 101 W230SS are Intel AC 7260 802.11 ac dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 3.0/eSata combination port, 2 USB 2.0 ports and a 2.0 megapixel digital web video camera. Powering the beast is a 6-cell Lithium-Ion battery.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M: Upper mid-range graphics card from the GeForce GTX 800M series.

Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.  

4700MQ: Haswell-based quad-core processor clocked at 2.4 GHz with Turbo Boost support up to 3.4 GHz. Offers an integrated HD Graphics 4600 GPU and a dual channel DDR3 memory controller.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

13.30":

There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format.

The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.

Ibuypower: iBUYPOWER Computer is a enterprise located in Southern California. The product lines include gaming desktops, gaming notebooks, workstations, media center PCs, peripherals, and multimedia products. The global market share according laptops is low.

70%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

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