A GPU that doesn’t come from AMD or Nvidia is still an oddity. With the Erazer Major X10 we checked how such an Intel laptop performs.
When it comes to GPUs, Nvidia and AMD are the undisputed market leaders. When Intel entered the market with the Arc GPUs, its reign did not end immediately. A lot of software and firmware updates now make Intel’s graphics processors more than usable. We started working with the Erazer Major X10which was equipped with an Intel Arc 730M.
A gaming laptop is of course more than just its performance. Like most brands, Erazer also tries to create a device that shows what it can do on the outside. The Major The top of the closed device does show some lines. They mainly remind us of a cheap suit with pinstripes. Compared to other devices in the segment, the Major The appearance mainly gives the feeling that it is an average gaming laptop.
Display
The screen that Erazer connected to the laptop is much less average: it is a screen with a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels. This means the laptop goes a step further on the QHD resolution that you see on many other laptops. This is due to the aspect ratio of this device, which is 16:10. This translates into extra vertical space, which is particularly pleasant to work on. The screen diagonal here is 16 inches, so you get a nice large screen for gaming. The fact that the screen also supports refresh rates up to 165 Hz only makes things even better. The screen is aimed at gamers: the colors are not accurate enough to do graphic work. 98% of the sRGB color gamut is simply not enough for this, but that certainly won’t stop you from enjoying a game. The brightness of the screen is more than sufficient to work with it, even if you are sitting next to the window. That is different with other gaming laptops.
Hardware
In addition to the screen, this laptop also makes itself interesting because of the hardware on the inside. There are not yet many gaming laptops equipped exclusively with Intel material on the market. That alone is why this laptop, with an Intel Core i7-12700H and Intel Arc 730M, is interesting. The Intel CPU has a maximum clock speed of 4.7 GHz and is generally very smooth. 16 GB of fast DDR5 memory and a full terabyte of storage memory complete the picture, as it should be for a gaming laptop in our opinion.
What is also part of a gaming laptop, but in our opinion not necessary: sufficient RGB lighting. You will find this on the Erazer Major X10 both on the chassis and on the back of the screen and keyboard. The keyboard lighting offers four customizable zones, so you cannot really create softened effects. The keyboard provides noticeable feedback while typing, so you can always be sure whether a keystroke was registered correctly. That came in handy: our test model was equipped with a German QWERTZ keyboard in ISO layout, while we are used to QWERTY and the ANSI layout. That turned out not to be insurmountable with this laptop. The Major X10’s trackpad is nothing to write home about, and that’s actually only good news.
All Intel
As we said earlier, Intel Arc GPUs were initially notable because they didn’t come from Nvidia or AMD, the usual GPU vendors. Intel is now a positive presence in the GPU market. While their graphics processors initially performed rather poorly, it now appears that all kinds of software and firmware updates solved those problems. Intel still cannot compete with the powerhouses of Nvidia and AMD in terms of performance, but that is not necessarily the intention. The processor has a TDP of 80 to 120 watts and also offers 12 GB of DDR6 VRAM. This should allow the laptop to play quite a few modern games in the QHD resolution that this laptop (more or less) offers.
That also seems to be the case. The question is whether the laptop can benefit from the 165 Hz refresh rate. We couldn’t get the GPU to generate that many frames, at least not if we played in the standard resolution. In a game like Cyberpunk 2077, the laptop achieves acceptable results in the ‘Low’ preset: it is still pleasant to play. That can also be said for ‘Medium’, but towards ‘High’ the game still shows a lot of fits and starts. Borderlands also runs smoothly at 60 FPS in standard resolution. However, you should not set the level of fidelity too high here either. Ultra presets always turn out to be a bit too far-reaching.
Gaming in QHD resolution and at the same time using the full refresh rate of 165 Hz is not really an option with this device. Nevertheless, the Major X10 still manages to achieve decent results. This is a gaming laptop from the lower middle class, which, with its 165Hz screen and 16:10 aspect ratio, can compete with the big boys at the same time.
Battery and charging
A classic with laptops like this: the battery is not great. However, the oversized 300W charger that you get with the device suggests the opposite. This gives you the idea that the laptop can hold a lot of energy. Judging from the specifications, that is true: the battery is said to have 800 watt hours. We mainly wonder where all that energy goes: even with the brightness turned all the way down and almost all battery-saving functions enabled, the laptop only lasts about four to five hours. The situation becomes more dire when you try to play a simple game such as Sea of Stars: the Major X10 stops working after just over an hour.
You can charge from the back. This is very practical if the laptop always remains in the same place, but less so if you occasionally move the device. The laptop also offers only USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, with a maximum throughput speed of 5Gb/s. On the right side of the device you get two USB-C ports and one USB-A port. On the left you will find a USB-A port and an audio jack. At the back: again a USB-A port, an HDMI 2.0 connection and a 1 Gbps Ethernet port. The only miss for the connections of this laptop, however all Intel is due to the lack of a Thunderbolt port.
Conclusion
Is the Erazer Major X10 a good laptop? That depends a bit on the usage scenario. Diehard gamers may pass up this laptop with Intel Arc GPU for a more recent model with a brand new Nvidia card. As an entry-level gaming laptop or even for slightly heavier (programming and calculating) work, this device seems to be the most suitable. The excellent screen, the large amount of storage and Intel Core i7 processor mean that the Major In short: fun is certainly possible with this laptop, although you should perhaps not look for it in high FPS results.
2023-12-14 15:35:00
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