Hi all,
I purchased the above recently - and one thing I found was a lack of any real reviews (bar a few). So I decided to put one together myself, with as much detail as I can.
Spec
I decided on upgrading to the I7 10750H, 16GB Corsair 2666mhz (2 x 8GB) memory, 1650ti & 1TB PCS M.2 SSD. This came in at £973. I also ordered without an OS to save money.
For me the reason for upgrading from the base spec was future proofing.
Time frame/packaging
The laptop was ordered on 06/07/2020 & was delivered on 17/07/2020, within the quoted time frames. It arrived well packed, in 2 boxes with lots of padding to protect in shipment, and DPD delivered in their hour time slot no issues. The laptop was clean and free of any finger prints from build, and has a sleeve over the screen to protect from any scratches. Weirdly it comes with a driver CD - which doesn't really make sense considering the laptop doesn't have a CD drive.
Setup
As mentioned above the laptop came without any OS ordered, however there was a basic setup on the laptop which I assume was used for testing. It did have all the drivers pre installed, and it mentions in the instruction manual you can just enter your own serial key and use, however I opted for a full re install of Windows via USB. All drivers can be downloaded from "my account", and all these bar the sound drivers installed without a hitch. There appears to be an issue with the sound blaster app, it doesn't install. Upon speaking to PCS support this is a known issue and you can only get the correct app off the driver disc - handy.. Advised to e-mail them so they could send me the correct drivers, however a week has past to no reply so I have chased today.
Build quality/Performance
The build of the laptop is great. One thing that was important to me was lightness and size. I didn't want something bulky as I would primarily be using the laptop on my lap, and without a desk. It's built really well, with the laptop feeling sturdy and not heavy, I can sit for hours without it feeling uncomfortable. It comes pre installed with the usual stickers on the front and also a PCS logo on the back. The keyboard is very nice and has a nice feel to it, and is great for typing and gaming. The changing back light colours is a nice addition. The touch pad is responsive and very nice to use.
I'm overall very happy with the performance. It comes with a Clevo control centre to adjust things like power modes/fan speed & keyboard colours. The fans do get quite loud in "entertainment/performance". Also the laptop does get very warm when gaming, so a cushion is recommended to save it scolding your legs! Depending on game, I tend to run in "quiet" mode, while it does limit performance a tad, it means the fans stay not too loud, without affecting FPS too much in games.
I play a mixture of games, League of Legends, Valorant, Counter strike & F1 2020 to name a few, and I am happy with the performance. It averages between 150-250FPS in LoL, on high 1080p, Valorant anywhere from 100-250 on med/high. The 120hz screen is a nice addition and gets bright enough. and the colours seem accurate enough for my use. It's fast and responsive in windows, I think the addition of the M2 SSD has helped.
The speakers are awful - this is either because I can't get the sound blaster app to install - or just how they are. Very tinny, not very loud and overall just not a nice experience. A pair of bluetooth headphones/wired headphones is a must.
Conclusion
I'm really happy with the laptop. I think for the price it's a steal. All the mainstream manufacturers were either too expensive and/or too bulky. The Cosmos IX fits the bill for me perfectly, I would recommend stumping for the I7 if you're planning on keeping a while - as I can see more games utilising the extra cores in the future. I think the standard 1650 would perhaps be fine for most, as doing research the FPS difference between the 1650 & 1650ti isn't massive.
I purchased the above recently - and one thing I found was a lack of any real reviews (bar a few). So I decided to put one together myself, with as much detail as I can.
Spec
I decided on upgrading to the I7 10750H, 16GB Corsair 2666mhz (2 x 8GB) memory, 1650ti & 1TB PCS M.2 SSD. This came in at £973. I also ordered without an OS to save money.
For me the reason for upgrading from the base spec was future proofing.
Time frame/packaging
The laptop was ordered on 06/07/2020 & was delivered on 17/07/2020, within the quoted time frames. It arrived well packed, in 2 boxes with lots of padding to protect in shipment, and DPD delivered in their hour time slot no issues. The laptop was clean and free of any finger prints from build, and has a sleeve over the screen to protect from any scratches. Weirdly it comes with a driver CD - which doesn't really make sense considering the laptop doesn't have a CD drive.
Setup
As mentioned above the laptop came without any OS ordered, however there was a basic setup on the laptop which I assume was used for testing. It did have all the drivers pre installed, and it mentions in the instruction manual you can just enter your own serial key and use, however I opted for a full re install of Windows via USB. All drivers can be downloaded from "my account", and all these bar the sound drivers installed without a hitch. There appears to be an issue with the sound blaster app, it doesn't install. Upon speaking to PCS support this is a known issue and you can only get the correct app off the driver disc - handy.. Advised to e-mail them so they could send me the correct drivers, however a week has past to no reply so I have chased today.
Build quality/Performance
The build of the laptop is great. One thing that was important to me was lightness and size. I didn't want something bulky as I would primarily be using the laptop on my lap, and without a desk. It's built really well, with the laptop feeling sturdy and not heavy, I can sit for hours without it feeling uncomfortable. It comes pre installed with the usual stickers on the front and also a PCS logo on the back. The keyboard is very nice and has a nice feel to it, and is great for typing and gaming. The changing back light colours is a nice addition. The touch pad is responsive and very nice to use.
I'm overall very happy with the performance. It comes with a Clevo control centre to adjust things like power modes/fan speed & keyboard colours. The fans do get quite loud in "entertainment/performance". Also the laptop does get very warm when gaming, so a cushion is recommended to save it scolding your legs! Depending on game, I tend to run in "quiet" mode, while it does limit performance a tad, it means the fans stay not too loud, without affecting FPS too much in games.
I play a mixture of games, League of Legends, Valorant, Counter strike & F1 2020 to name a few, and I am happy with the performance. It averages between 150-250FPS in LoL, on high 1080p, Valorant anywhere from 100-250 on med/high. The 120hz screen is a nice addition and gets bright enough. and the colours seem accurate enough for my use. It's fast and responsive in windows, I think the addition of the M2 SSD has helped.
The speakers are awful - this is either because I can't get the sound blaster app to install - or just how they are. Very tinny, not very loud and overall just not a nice experience. A pair of bluetooth headphones/wired headphones is a must.
Conclusion
I'm really happy with the laptop. I think for the price it's a steal. All the mainstream manufacturers were either too expensive and/or too bulky. The Cosmos IX fits the bill for me perfectly, I would recommend stumping for the I7 if you're planning on keeping a while - as I can see more games utilising the extra cores in the future. I think the standard 1650 would perhaps be fine for most, as doing research the FPS difference between the 1650 & 1650ti isn't massive.
