Origin PC EON15-S Review: A Svelte, Sensibly-Priced Gaming Laptop
Origin PC EON15-S: Design And Build Quality
Remember when gaming laptops were roughly the size and weight of a Panzer battle tank? Some of them still are, though not the EON15-S. This laptop has a 1-inch waistline and checks in at 5 pounds. That is bigger and heavier than a typical ultrabook, though not too shabby for a gaming machine.
Notebooks that are purpose built for playing games typically look more aggressive than standard laptops, and that is the case with the EON15-S, albeit it is a bit more subtle than some we have seen. There are a few angled lines that run along the back and both sides of the laptop, along with a grooved lip that comes to a point in the front. Origin PC's logo adds another tasteful piece of flair.
For gamers who want something a bit more showy, Origin PC offers a few different customized options. For $175, the boutique builder will give the EON15-S a metallic paint job in one of several different color choices including: Origin PC Red, Origin PC White, Eternal Pink, Sabot Green, Evolve Green, Sabot Gray, Atmos Blue, Horizon Yellow, and Epic Purple. You can also have the EON15-S hydro dipped or apply a themed paint job, both of which run $249. And if you have a custom design or color in mind, Origin PC will give you a custom quote, depending on what it is.
Given the comparatively low starting price, this is one of the scenarios where you can shell out for a custom finish and still not spend a fortune. We mentioned the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti being part of the reason why the price starts at a grand. Another reason is the construction. The EON15-S' out shell is made of plastic and has the feel of a cheaper laptop. It still manages to feel sturdy with 5 pounds of heft and little flex, but there is a noticeable difference between these types of laptops and ones that sport metal or carbon fiber finishes.
All EON15-S laptops come with the same non-touch 15.6-inch display. It is an in-plane switching (IPS) panel with decent viewing angles and an appropriate (to the GPU) 1920x1080 display resolution. We measured the peak brightness level at an above average 300 nits—to put that into perspective, we had to dim the display to 38 percent brightness to reach the 115 nits we use for testing battery life.
We are only slightly bummed that Origin PC does not offer any panel upgrades. Considering the sole GPU option, it would not make much sense to go with a higher resolution display, though it would be nice to have a touchscreen option now that we've been programmed by smartphones and tablets to expect touch functionality. The other side of the argument is that this is not a 2-in-1 device, but even still, there are situations where tapping the panel can be more convenient than navigating with the touchpad. NVIDIA's G-Sync technology is also absent here, another casualty of keeping the price affordable.
There is a bit of flex in the panel, though the hinges are real sturdy and will hold the display open up to around 135 degrees. In our experience, that is enough of an angle to support most cooling stands, some of which prop up laptops and require bending the display back past 90 degrees.
Hooray for backlit keyboards, and a fist bump to Origin PC for going with RGB so that we are not limited to a single color choice. You can toggle between three brightness levels, or turn the backlight completely off to maximize battery life. Shortcuts for doing so are integrated as secondary functions in the number pad:
Being a gaming laptop, Origin PC calls attention to the all important WASD keys by outlining them, for whatever that is worth. More useful are the media controls and shortcuts built into the Function keys. You won't find any dedicated macro keys on this keyboard, though the FlexiKey software does support the creation of macros.
Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is indeed a fingerprint sensor wedged between the touchpad's left and right buttons. While not exactly a unicorn, it is not very often that gaming laptops in this price range bother with biometric security.
The touchpad itself is positioned slightly left of center. It is response to movements and gestures, though we would prefer it to be slightly wider. And if we are creating a wish list of improvements, a little more click action from the buttons would be groovy.
Origin PC EON15-S Ports - Left Side
Origin PC EON15-S Ports - Right Side
Most of the connectivity options are found on the left side of the laptop, which is also where the power adapter plugs into. To the right of that is a Gigabit Ethernet port for wired connections, two mini DisplayPort 1.2 ports, HDMI output (with HDCP), USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C and Type-A ports (one each), and a 6-in-1 memory card reader.
Over on the other side is another USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a USB 2.0 port, and separate 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. As a reminder, USB 3.1 Gen 1 is an updated name for USB 3.0, both of which operate at up to 5Gbps. It is the USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports that double the available bandwidth up to 10Gbps.
Notebooks that are purpose built for playing games typically look more aggressive than standard laptops, and that is the case with the EON15-S, albeit it is a bit more subtle than some we have seen. There are a few angled lines that run along the back and both sides of the laptop, along with a grooved lip that comes to a point in the front. Origin PC's logo adds another tasteful piece of flair.
For gamers who want something a bit more showy, Origin PC offers a few different customized options. For $175, the boutique builder will give the EON15-S a metallic paint job in one of several different color choices including: Origin PC Red, Origin PC White, Eternal Pink, Sabot Green, Evolve Green, Sabot Gray, Atmos Blue, Horizon Yellow, and Epic Purple. You can also have the EON15-S hydro dipped or apply a themed paint job, both of which run $249. And if you have a custom design or color in mind, Origin PC will give you a custom quote, depending on what it is.
Given the comparatively low starting price, this is one of the scenarios where you can shell out for a custom finish and still not spend a fortune. We mentioned the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti being part of the reason why the price starts at a grand. Another reason is the construction. The EON15-S' out shell is made of plastic and has the feel of a cheaper laptop. It still manages to feel sturdy with 5 pounds of heft and little flex, but there is a noticeable difference between these types of laptops and ones that sport metal or carbon fiber finishes.
All EON15-S laptops come with the same non-touch 15.6-inch display. It is an in-plane switching (IPS) panel with decent viewing angles and an appropriate (to the GPU) 1920x1080 display resolution. We measured the peak brightness level at an above average 300 nits—to put that into perspective, we had to dim the display to 38 percent brightness to reach the 115 nits we use for testing battery life.
We are only slightly bummed that Origin PC does not offer any panel upgrades. Considering the sole GPU option, it would not make much sense to go with a higher resolution display, though it would be nice to have a touchscreen option now that we've been programmed by smartphones and tablets to expect touch functionality. The other side of the argument is that this is not a 2-in-1 device, but even still, there are situations where tapping the panel can be more convenient than navigating with the touchpad. NVIDIA's G-Sync technology is also absent here, another casualty of keeping the price affordable.
There is a bit of flex in the panel, though the hinges are real sturdy and will hold the display open up to around 135 degrees. In our experience, that is enough of an angle to support most cooling stands, some of which prop up laptops and require bending the display back past 90 degrees.
Hooray for backlit keyboards, and a fist bump to Origin PC for going with RGB so that we are not limited to a single color choice. You can toggle between three brightness levels, or turn the backlight completely off to maximize battery life. Shortcuts for doing so are integrated as secondary functions in the number pad:
- Pressing Fn and the * key toggles the backlight on and off
- Pressing Fn and the + key turns the brightness up
- Pressing Fn and the - key turns the brightness down
- Pressing Fn and the / key loads the FlexiKey backlight and macro utility
Being a gaming laptop, Origin PC calls attention to the all important WASD keys by outlining them, for whatever that is worth. More useful are the media controls and shortcuts built into the Function keys. You won't find any dedicated macro keys on this keyboard, though the FlexiKey software does support the creation of macros.
Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is indeed a fingerprint sensor wedged between the touchpad's left and right buttons. While not exactly a unicorn, it is not very often that gaming laptops in this price range bother with biometric security.
The touchpad itself is positioned slightly left of center. It is response to movements and gestures, though we would prefer it to be slightly wider. And if we are creating a wish list of improvements, a little more click action from the buttons would be groovy.
Origin PC EON15-S Ports - Left Side
Origin PC EON15-S Ports - Right Side
Most of the connectivity options are found on the left side of the laptop, which is also where the power adapter plugs into. To the right of that is a Gigabit Ethernet port for wired connections, two mini DisplayPort 1.2 ports, HDMI output (with HDCP), USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C and Type-A ports (one each), and a 6-in-1 memory card reader.
Over on the other side is another USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a USB 2.0 port, and separate 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. As a reminder, USB 3.1 Gen 1 is an updated name for USB 3.0, both of which operate at up to 5Gbps. It is the USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports that double the available bandwidth up to 10Gbps.
