iBuyPower Valkyrie CZ-17 Gaming Notebook Review
Battery Life & Temperatures
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The Valkyrie's battery life won't break any ultrabook records, but for a system of its type, it's solid enough. Web browsing life was a bit better than the overall Battery Eater Pro test, but the 17" 1920x1080 screen draws a significant amount of power, no matter what you're doing with it.
Thermals are worth a mention in and of themselves. One of my particular pet peeves with high-end laptop designs is that all too often, manufacturers build super-powered laptops crammed into chassis that can't dissipate their own heat. A system that can't run full-bore when hooked to AC power due to internal temperatures is a badly designed system, no matter how high (or low) the price tag.
I'm therefore pleased to say that the Valkyrie's temperatures under load are downright excellent. We tested the laptop in real-world extended play sessions on an actual lap, looped a few games, and hit the CPU with Prime95 as a worst-case scenario.
80'C might not seem like a great temperature, but for a full-load instance of Prime 95 on a mobile CPU, it's actually wonderful. GPU temps were similarly good; 74'C isn't particularly warm by modern standards. Best of all, the Valkyrie doesn't sound like a wind turbine under load. iBuyPower has put the large chassis to good use; there's no need to wear headphones under intense gaming conditions and your roommate won't need earplugs either.
