Origin PC EON15-S Review: A Svelte, Sensibly-Priced Gaming Laptop

Performance Summary: The EON15-S proves that a boutique builder can offer a decent gaming laptop at a reasonable price. Granted, the EON15-S did not blow up our benchmark charts, but it did deliver smooth framerates at its native 1920x1080 resolution. For example, it averaged more than 73 frames per second in both Bioshock Infinite and Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, and hovered around 55 FPS in Rise of the Tomb Raider. It also delivered great productivity performance in PCMark 8, just in case you need to get some work done in between all that gaming.

This a case where the benchmarks alone do not tell the whole story. A quick glance at our gaming tests show the EON15-S delivering middle-of-the-road performance. With a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti as the only GPU option on this laptop, we were not expecting the EON15-S to lead the pack. Instead, we were looking at whether current-gen games would be playable on this machine when cranking up the visual quality settings at its native resolution, and they were. That was the case across the board right on up through DX12-enabled titles.

While the Geforce GTX 1050 Ti isn't all that glamorous, it packs enough punch to pound through games at 1080p. And with a Kaby Lake processor and a fast NVMe SSD on board, the EON15-S showed it can handle a variety of chores, both work and play.

With its component load-out, the EON15-S is also a solid value. Starting at $999, Origin PC opens up the boutique experience to gamers on a tighter budget, though you can find even cheaper options in machines like the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming. Just don't expect it to have the same level of component config (much slower SATA SSD) that you'll get here with the EON15.

Also, the upgrades that Origin PC applied to our test system bumped the price to a bit over $1,300, which is still respectable, especially for a laptop from a semi-custom builder. Savvy users will note that Origin PC is selling what looks like a redressed Sager NP6852 (Clevo N850HK1), which can be found elsewhere for a tad less. What Origin PC's small premium gets you, however, is a 45-day guarantee against dead pixels and both lifetime tech support and labor from a knowledgeable vendor. There is value in these service features for sure but again, it also buys you potentially better Origin component selection and configuration. 

Whether you should consider an EON15-S depends on what you're in the market for, and how long you need this system to remain relevant. Going with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti allowed Origin PC to keep the price relatively low, but it also means this laptop will feel long in the tooth a little before the same feeling sinks in with a laptop wielding a GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070. We don't want to over-emphasize this, since the EON15-S posted fast framerates in several games and benchmarks, but it is something to think about. If you end up deciding you do want something faster, the Origin EON15-X is also one to consider.

On its own, the EON15-S is ultimately a compelling value and one of the more affordable paths into gaming laptop territory.