Review: Digital Storm Triton

Introduction

Thin gaming laptops are in. We've already seen a few spectacularly slim and powerful mobile rigs including the Origin EVO15-S and MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K. Not to mention the Gigabyte P35W v2 from yesteryear, which managed to stuff an optical drive into a laptop chassis measuring a mere 0.83 inches thick. At CES 2015 we only saw the thin laptop revolution continue with the Alienware 15 and 17, both of which now feature a 1.4 inch thick frame.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, Digital Storm has produced an interesting new number called the Triton. Straight out of the box this 15.6-inch laptop is a doozy with a body less than an inch thick and outfitted with Haswell Core i7 processor and Nvidia's new Maxwell GPU, the GTX 970M. The best part? All these components come standard with a 1080p screen for just $1,512 (about £996, AU$1,835).

It's quite the bargain on paper. Now the question is whether this affordable, powerful and thin laptop can fit the bill.

Design

The Triton has a sleek, futuristic look to it. Bucking the tradition of making every laptop a plain rectangular slate, Digital Storm has trimmed all the corners of this slim gaming rig at an angle to look like something out of Battlestar Galactica. In fact, the machine features sharp angles almost everywhere; the front lip bevels backwards slightly, and the keyboard deck dips below the palm rest following an angled edge before rising again to the slanted Onkyo speaker bar.

It's a sharp design and the angular aesthetic matches well with laptop's thin shape. Still, the laptop is by no means small. Digital Storm has outfitted it with a large trackpad and keyboard complete with a number pad, though at the expense of a shorter right shift and tilde key.

Digital Storm Triton is also comprised of a mostly metal body, making it feel a bit more premium while adding to the laptop's overall rigidity. Both the screen lid and Triton's underside are made of metal, the latter of which helps to passively cool the laptop to a degree.

Heat pipe

One major design misstep is the laptop comes with only one exhaust port on its left side. Although the laptop is running a very efficient chipset, it still produces an incredible amount of heat that all has to be forced through a tiny slot.

It's a problem that makes the Triton uncomfortable to use whether it's resting on your lap or even a desk, unless you're using it to keep a hot beverage warm. During heavy gaming sessions, the Triton can practically double as a space heater.

Specifications and performance

Digital Storm's Triton is a slim little package measuring 0.98-inches thin. That said, the laptop weighs in at a substantial 5.5 pounds while its other dimensions are 15.16 inches wide and 10.67 inches deep.

The Origin EVO15-S and MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K are virtual twins sporting nearly the same body. MSI's just barely edges out as the slightly larger gaming laptop measuring in at 16.5 x 11.3 x 0.85 inches and 4.36 pounds. Meanwhile, the Origin EVO 15-S has dimensions of 15.35 x 10.47 x 0.78 inches and weighs 4.3 pounds.

Here is the Digital Storm Triton configuration given to TechRadar:

Spec Sheet

• CPU: 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-4710HQ (quad-core, 6MB cache, up to 3.5GHz with Turbo Boost)


• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M (3GB GDDR5 RAM), Intel HD Graphics 4600


• RAM: 8GB DDR3L (1600MHz)


• Screen: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 (Anti-Glare) LED-backlit Matte Display


• Storage: 120GB SSD; 750GB HDD (7,200rpm)


• Ports: 3 x USB 3.0, 2.0 x mini Display Port, HDMI, Headphone jack, Microphone jack, Optical audio out, Ethernet, SD Card Reader, USIM card reader


• Connectivity: Intel Wireless-AC 7265 + Bluetooth 4.0


• Camera: 2MP 720p webcam


• Weight: 5.5 pounds


• Size: 15.16 x 10.67 x 0.98 inches (W x D x H)

The Triton is a pretty sweet deal for $1,620 (about £1,063, AU$1,974) considering it comes standard with a high-end Intel Core i7 4710HQ and Nvidia's proven GeForce GTX 970M mobile GPU. The only upgrade this particular unit has over the stock Triton, which retails for $1,512 (about £996, AU$1,835) is a 120GB SSD.

If you have a little more money in the bank, the next model up on the Triton tree includes a Nvidia GTX 980M graphics upgrade at a none-too-steep $1,889 (about £1,246, AU$2,309). What's more, Digital Storm machines at every tier include a three-year warranty with one-year part replacement and life-time technical support.

The stock EVO15-S runs with a very comparable chipset sharing the same processor and GPU - albeit with double the video RAM - for a much heftier $2,299 (about £1,516, AU$2,810). Origin's machine might seem absurdly more expensive, but keep in mind the price also includes 256GB of SSD storage, 250GB more in hard drive space, as well as double the amount of RAM.

On the other hand, the MSI GS60 is a somewhat affordable way of getting into 3K gaming for $1,899 (about £1,252, AU$2,321) on Amazon. The highest end Ghost Pro 3K variant offers up the same processor with last generation - but still very capable - Nvidia GTX 870M GPU with 16GB of RAM and, of course, the 2,880 x 1,620 IPS screen.

Performance

The Triton is a juggernaut when it comes to regular everyday computing task. It hardly broke a sweat swapping though a dozen tabs in Firefox, while simultaneously streaming Google Music and a Netflix movie as I typed up this review in Microsoft Word.

Although the laptop is rocking a Nvidia 970M with only 3GB of video RAM, it performed admirably at playing games. I was able to run both Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Dragon Age Inquisition at a fairly consistent 45 frames per second (fps) and 30 fps, respectively

Sure it's not the silky smooth 60 fps that gamers crave, but these are playable frame rates and it was surprising to see the Triton keep up with the Origin EVO15-S, which came running with a beefier version of Nvidia's 970M packing 6GB of video RAM.

Benchmarks

• 3DMark: Ice Storm: 59682; Cloud Gate: 18,787; Fire Strike: 5,649


• Cinebench CPU: 657 points; Graphics: 100.93 fps,


• PCMark 8 (Home Test): 3012 points


• PCMark 8 Battery Life: 3 hours and 38 minutes


• Bioshock Infinite (1080p, Ultra): 103.04 fps; (1080p, Low): 148.71 fps


• Metro: Last Light (1080p, Ultra): 27.33 fps; (1080p, Low): 80.33 fps

In our benchmark tests the Digital Storm Triton put up quite a performance, once again staying on pace with the EVO15-S. The 3DMark graphics benchmarks test show the two laptops are posting nearly identical scores. This is especially apparent with Cloud Gate test, in which the Digital Storm laptop scored 18,787 points over the EVO15-S's 18,777 points. The Triton even topped the Origin machine's 5,559 point Fire Strike score by racking up 5,649 points.

By comparison the MSI GS60's Nvidia GeForce GTX 870M GPU is starting to slip by current standards. In the same tests the 3K gaming laptop put up some comparatively lower marks with 16,865 points in Cloud Gate and a Fire Strike score of 4,334 points.

Whip out your spare monitor and speaker

After being thoroughly impressed with the Triton's slim, metal build and stellar computing performance, it's sad to say that both the laptop's screen and speakers are disappointing.

The display is a low contrast TN panel that makes it hard to distinguish details in shadow. It also has extremely poor viewing angles. Even looking at the display by just a few degrees off center can wash out most of the on-screen detail.

Similarly, the speaker bar is surprisingly tinny despite the sizable drivers behind it. Considering this is also a branded speaker from Okyno, a Japanese electronics company specializing in home cinema and audio equipment, I was also expecting a more full-bodied sound from the laptop's tweeters.

Unfortunately subpar media experience is a sour note that essentially sullies everything great about the Triton. Sure it can play games well, but it won't look or sound great unless you invest in a decent monitor and pair of headphones to get a truly enjoyable multimedia experience.

Power sipping components

The Triton dodges the gaming laptop trope of poor battery life. Surprisingly, it lasted for three hours and 38 minutes on our PCMark 8 battery test. By comparison, the Origin EVO15-S quickly ran out of charge after a short 2 hours and two minutes while the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K languished soon after 2 hours and 58 minutes.

With regular use the Triton saw me through a slightly shorter three hours and 10 minutes while browsing the web with a half dozen Firefox tabs open, streaming Google Play music and watching a short snippet of Jack Reacher on Netflix. All-in-all that's not too shabby for a high-powered and efficient gaming laptop.

Verdict

Gaming laptops are rarely affordable but the Digital Storm Triton is one of the very few machines that seems to be worth its weight in components. You get a lot of bang for your buck between the Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor and Nvidia GTX 970M graphics card. All that said, the Triton isn't without missteps, including the low-contrast screen and tinny speakers.

We liked

The Digital Storm Triton is an attractive, powerful and, most importantly, affordable gaming laptop. These are three qualities you don't often hear in the same sentence, making this machine special for pulling together such a rare combination.

The graphics card might only have 3GB of video RAM on board but it's no slouch. I can easily run games with a playable frame rate at 1080p and Ultra setting. 60 fps gameplay, meanwhile, is just a few clicks away, typically only requiring me to turn off the ambient occlusion. It's not quite on the same level as a decked-out gaming desktop you can get for the same money, but the Digital Storm Triton is a great option for PC gaming newcomers looking for a machine.

We disliked

Unfortunately for all the good things I have to say about this laptop, I have just as many knocks against it. The screen is an essential part to any machine but the Triton's display is simply terrible. In my time using it, I often had to adjust the screen as I tilted my head because of its extremely narrow viewing angles.

Even if you look at the display dead on, you'll have to increase its brightness as the monitor isn't very bright, which then leads to other problems like washing out blacks. Likewise the speakers leave a lot to be desired from a decently sized speaker bar engineered by Okyno.

Users will also want to keep this machine off their laps as it gets rather hot. Aside from the metal underside potentially searing your lap, you'll also want to keep your hand clear of the blast of heat constantly pouring out the left side of the machine.

Final verdict

Taking the good with the bad, the Digital Storm is still an incredible deal. It has enough computing power to play most modern games at 60 fps with just a few tweak in your graphics settings. What's more, the Triton has enough power to rival some of the biggest and baddest gaming machines I've reviewed, including Origin EVO15-S, which previously showed up the $4,166 (about £2,434, AU$4,443) Alienware 18 equipped with two Nvidia GTX 880M GPUs running in SLI.

For $1,620 (about £1,063, AU$1,974), the Digital Storm Triton is a powerful little machine that's definitely worth a look despite all its flaws.

from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1E80sis