I initially purchased this laptop February 5th, and received it a few days later via UPS. Out of the box I noticed the D key on the keyboard wasn’t flush with the rest of the keys and it had a hairline crack down the middle. I loaded a few games and played them anyways just to get an idea of how this laptop would perform. Coming from an older Toshiba Satellite I noticed a HUGE difference, this thing is a beast! The fan is a little loud as others have commented, but as long as it keeps the components cool who cares? I ended up returning the laptop to Best Buy due to the defective D key on a $2200 new laptop the next morning. I did an exchange and waited a few more days to receive the 2nd laptop. Upon unboxing the 2nd laptop right out the box I noticed 7 dead pixels dead center on the screen. Not only the pixels, but this time the Armoury software and keyboard lighting was glitchy as all heck. Changing the color scheme on the rgb wouldn’t register until 5 minutes later and when it did change it wasn’t even the color I selected. I am now waiting for the third exhange to be delivered, I really hope this one doesn’t have any issues, I had high hopes for this laptop, but if for some reason they can’t get it right I’ll have no choice but to try my luck with MSI or another brand.

Laptop is excellent product. Hard drive capacity and speed is sufficient for smooth operations of home recording studio set-up.

Love this laptop! It has helped me stay awake during my overnight shifts. It is very powerful for a gaming laptop and I have been using it for over a year with no issue.

I got this machine as soon as it was available and although there are some things that keep it from getting five stars, it hardly deserves only one. To that point, the firecuda drive it comes with is a hybrid solid state and mechanical hard drive. Those drives require a “learning period” to understand user habits and speed up quite a bit over time. It’s the first thing I got rid of, replacing it with a Samsung 860 evo, which at this price point a customer REALLY shouldn’t have to do. This thing screams now, every interaction is rediculously fast, from installs to large file dumps (i.e., games). Speaking of games, this laptop will play the best of them at max settings with little to no issue. When doing that though the fans are...(what’s the best word?)...OBNOXIOUS. I understand that is the drawback with all of that hardware in a tight space and suggest using headphones during heavy gaming sessions. The trackpad, in my experience, is less than perfect but works. It does what it should 95% of the time, but that 5% can be frustrating. It hesitates or stops working randomly when using, but feels like it could be fixed with software. The buttons are hinges at the top, so using the lower portion gives sort of a “squishy” feel. That said, my plan from the start was to use a mouse most of the time anyway. Another issue I have run into is the HDMI port using an oculus rifts standard connections presents a black screen. Getting support online suggests that the HDMI port runs off of the integrated intel graphics (which can’t drive VR) instead of the dedicated RTX, which I have yet to prove. The same suggestion says a mini display port adapter is required to get it working properly. I haven’t picked one up yet but will do so soon and update here. If requiring an additional adapter is the case it’s rather disappointing. Some other minor complaints. Has USB-C but no thunderbolt 3. Really, in this era? Not a deal breaker for me, though. Also, the webcam and it’s placement is...um...uh...i’m at a loss for words though i’ve heard potato as a descriptor. Let’s just agree that webcams should be an optional attachment on laptops these days. Most people opt for their phones or better video quality off the shelf, anyway. Overall, I love, love, love this laptop and the issues I have with it can be fixed or bypassed with alternatives, as most of those issues are almost universal to laptops. It is most certainly a viable desktop replacement after tossing the firecuda in the trash and getting a proper SSD in its place. I do feel that at this price and this point in time though there were a couple things that should not have been left out (except the webcam). I would highly recommend this laptop if your looking for next gen graphics in a small portable frame.

the difference between this laptop and my last gaming latop is tremdous! this laptop starts up super fast and game play on it is flawless not to mention the beautifully backlit keyboard!!! I would recommend this laptop to anyone!