[REVIEW] Illegear Raven Laptop (i7-8750H, 1050TI)

[genexis_x]

[Scroll to bottom for i5-9300H+1650 update]

[To solve power limit issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhXIiBPJseI]

 

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. Thank you Illegear for loaning the review unit.

 

Hi everyone. This is my third review in LTT forum. I will be reviewing the Illegear Raven laptop. The review unit costs MYR 4912 (around USD 1208), specs of this review unit are as below:

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i7-8750H

GTX 1050TI 4GB

16GB 2400MHz RAM (single channel)

256GB Samsung PM961 SSD

Windows 10

A few notes before reading:

1. This is a straight forward review.
2. I only cover a few pictures here. Other pictures can be found from Illegear website.

3. My English Language is not that great since it's not my native language. I apologize if you find the review too simple and boring.

4. This review will be edited from time to time.

 

Part 1: Build quality, ports

The build quality is solid overall. It has aluminum brush body and lid which feels premium and most importantly, it’s not a fingerprint magnet. There’s little to no flex at the keyboard deck. Side and top of keyboard deck have slightly more flex but still good. The lid has some flex when some force is applied but nothing worrying. However, the lid can be twisted with some force and it has a bit of wobbling, which is normal for a single hinge laptop. The maximum angle when the lid is opened completely is about 150 degrees. You can open the lid with one finger. The laptop is advertised with 2.2kg weight and I can feel that it’s slightly lighter than my Legion Y520 (2.4kg as advertised). Quite portable.

 

Ports selection is excellent. However, you may have some inconvenience if you wish to use the ports at the back when the charging cable is coming from the left (plugged in). Also, if you utilize the ports at the right, you might have some trouble with external mouse movements (assuming that you use your mouse with right hand).

Spoiler

Right: SD card slot, 2 USB A 2.0, headphone jack, microphone jack

Left: 2 USB A 2.0

Rear: DC jack, HDMI, RJ45, 2 USB A 3.0/3.1, USB C, Kensington lock

You need to press about 3 seconds to power on the laptop. I would like to see power and charging indication lights on the outside of the laptop (in other words, lights can be seen when the lid is closed)

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(Power on light, the light beside it is charging indicator light)

 

Part 2: Input devices (featuring GENESWITCH mechanical keyboard v2)

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The mechanical keyboard is probably one of the most important features about this laptop. I really liked the innovation of bringing mechanical keyboard into laptops. Furthermore, mechanical switches usually have better reliability. Take note that everyone has their own preference on keyboards. I will evaluate the keyboard according to my own preference.

 

The switches are similar to blue switches. Actuation force is quite low and key travel is deep (3mm). The actuation point is around the middle of the key travel. Sometimes you can register a key without having the ‘click’ noise (or in other words, doesn’t need to exceed the actuation point). However, the key feel is too soft for me. The click sound (actuation point) is loud which isn’t ideal in quiet environments. For gaming, the keyboard is fine, however I prefer linear keys like red switches more. The layout is a bit special (especially right CTRL and SHIFT keys) and I always mistype the up key when trying to press right shift. It takes time to get used to the keyboard.

 

You can set the effect, brightness and speed of the keyboard lighting via the included software – Raven Command Center, see below. The keys are a bit difficult to be seen when the backlight is off.

 

The touchpad (clickpad) uses Windows Precision drivers. It’s slightly elevated to the back. Gliding, gestures and tapping are smooth and accurate. The left and right clicks feel good quality. Surprisingly good for a gaming laptop.

 

Part 3: Display, audio, connectivity, battery life

The display is a FHD IPS/AHVA 60Hz, 45% NTSC panel, panel model is PANDA LM156LF1L02 (keep in mind that Illegear is constantly changing the display panel from time to time). There is an optional high refresh rate panel to choose from as well. This panel here is professional calibrated out of the box (+RM49). Viewing angles are good, colours are fine despite its low sRGB coverage. Brightness is normal for an IPS display. Despite a 60Hz IPS panel, it has no severe ghosting in games.

 

The audio is TBH, a bit poor. Bass is lacking (it has subwoofer as advertised), sound is dull. However, you can tweak for a better audio via the Sound Blaster software (I tested the audio with the preset out of the box)

 

Wi-Fi adapter is Intel 9560 which is an excellent wireless adapter.

 

This model has a 46Wh battery. After 2 hours and 15 minutes of typing document (40% brightness, no tweaking), battery life has dropped from 100% to 60%.

 

Part 4: Cooling performance

The cooling design consists of 2+2 seperate medium sized heatpipes with 2 seperate fans. Stock thermal paste is used.

 

All tests are tested at ambient temp of around 30C, gaming profile applied and in equilibrium performance mode (see below for more info). Laptop is plugged in. Under load, temperature will rise slowly as the fan noise will increase gradually until stabilized. Blue highlighted part is CPU+GPU undervolted result (-0.1V for both CPU and GPU).

 

CPU temp - Aida64 FPU stress

Around 2750MHz@45W, 85-88C, near max fan speed

Around 3000MHz@45W, 85-88C, same fan speed

 

GPU temp - Unigine Heaven – high quality, normal tesselation, AA x8

80C 1721MHz

71C 1759MHz, slightly lower fan noise

 

CSGO - 1024x768, low settings, FXAA VSync Motion blur disabled

CPU: 73-77C, 3.5-3.9GHz, 29-32W

GPU: 62-63C, 1759MHz

Fan noise audible but at acceptable level

 

CPU: 69-72C, 3.5-3.9GHz, 28-31W

GPU: 58-60C, 1772MHz

Slightly reduced fan noise

 

CSGO - 1920x1080, high settings, FXAA VSync Motion blur disabled

CPU: 70-74C, >3GHz with some occasional 3.9GHz, 25-31W (more on that later)

GPU: 81-82C, 1721MHz

Fan noise increased but still below deafening level

 

CPU: 65-71C, >3GHz with some occasional 3.9GHz 20-25W

GPU: 72-73C, 1747MHz

Slightly reduced fan noise

 

Cinebench R15 multi core

~1020cb@~3.3GHz, 50W, 88C

~1120cb@3.5-3.6GHz, 50W, 88C

 

So why is the CPU performance during gaming so strange? The BIOS is set to limit the CPU performance when performing high load so that the total power draw doesn’t exceed the max wattage supplied by the charger (120W). The charger also runs a bit hot while gaming.

 

Also, CB15 multi core score cannot exceed 1200cb because it has a relatively low power limit 2 as shown below, thus the performance is limited. You cannot change the power limits via Intel XTU.

- PL1 45W, PL2 50W, 35W in games (very common for 8750H)

 

Under load, keyboard area (especially middle part) is warm but nothing alarming. The overall fan noise is a bit high but the noise has low-medium frequency/pitch, therefore not that distracting. The fans are very sensitive to temps as they can adjust the fan speed quickly according to the temps. Max core difference is 5C under load.

 

Note: i7-8750H CPU is a hot chip, not many laptop can handle this CPU well. 80-90C isn’t considered hot in stress tests assuming that there's no major throttling (eg Aida64 FPU)

 

One useful feature: You can set the fan speed manually in Office mode>Advanced setting. Anything from 45-65C and off/30-70% speed. With this feature you can avoid sudden ramping up of fans in light loads. PL1 will drop to 35W though.

 

One thing I need to mention is, M.2 SSD cooling isn’t bad. Idle temp is below 40C. <70C after 9 Crystaldiskmark sequential tests.

 

Part 5: Miscellaneous

Illegear Command Center (note that it doesn't have turbo mode)

Spoiler

 

Bonus Section: i5-9300H with GTX 1650 update

Main specs:

Spoiler

i5-9300H

GTX 1650 4GB

16GB 2666MHz RAM (dual channel)

Samsung 512GB PM981 M.2 SSD

60Hz 45% NTSC IPS

Intel 9462

W10 Trial

Display colour calibration included

Notes on thermal testing:

1. PL1 - 45W, PL2 - 50W

2. GPU driver tested is 430.64

3. Test is conducted in a A/C room (ambient 20-22C)

4. Game mode and equilibrium mode are used

5. Laptop is plugged in. The fans take a while to speed up when load is applied

6. Max fan noise is ~52dBA

7. This model doesn’t have GPU turbo feature

 

Undervolt profile: CPU core+cache -100mv. You can undervolt GPU if you want (highly recommended for Raven), but it takes time. Blue highlighted part is the undervolted result.

 

CPU temp - Cinebench R15 multi core (1 run)

Max 74C, 50W, ~3.7GHz

Max 74C, 50W, 3.85-3.9GHz

~38dBA

 

CPU temp - Aida64 FPU 45W

Max 74C, ~3.1GHz

Max 74C, 3.2-3.3GHz

~38dBA

 

GPU temp - Unigine Valley (extreme HD profile)

Clock speed fluctuates: 1800+MHz

Max 72C, 39dBA, ~50W

 

FPU+Valley (extreme HD) with max fans

CPU (UV): Max 62C, ~2.8GHz, ~30W

GPU: Max 69C, 1770+MHz, ~50W

 

Apex Legends - 1080p all max, 4GB VRAM, 90 FOV

CPU (UV): 54-61C, mostly 4GHz, 15-21W

GPU: Max 75C, 1700+MHz, ~50W

~40dBA

 

Time Spy (1 run):

Score: 3726, Graphics: 3587

 

Fire Strike (1 run):

Score: 8223, Graphics: 9468

 

Gallery (credits to @D13H4RD)

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Conclusion: Good budget gaming laptop with some extras

 

Pros: Good build quality, good cooling, tons of ports, not that flashy, useful software

 

Cons: Not everyone likes the mechanical keyboard (normal keyboard option coming soon), audio needs tuning, CPU performance issue caused by firmware

 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave your comment if you have any questions/inquiries/thoughts.

Edited July 26, 2019 by GeneXiS_X
9th gen update

[FIXXX]

Only me read that as Illegal rather than Illegear? Had to actually open it to stop my confusion. Darn brain.

[genexis_x]

illegear

[FIXXX]

6 hours ago, ZM Fong said:

illegear

Obviously  Lack of sleep can make you see lots of things.

[IPieLover]

How upgradeable the laptop is? How many M.2 slot and SATA port does the laptop have?

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, IPieLover said:

How upgradeable the laptop is? How many M.2 slot and SATA port does the laptop have?

I'm not allowed to open the laptop since it's a review unit. However from what I know the process isn't that difficult.

 

x1 2.5 inch bay, x2 M.2 PCIe slot

[ahuckphin]

Do you think the i5-8300h model with GTX 1050 4GB would also experience the same power limiting behaviour? 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, bindydad123 said:

Do you think the i5-8300h model with GTX 1050 4GB would also experience the same power limiting behaviour? 

You mean CPU power limit?

[ahuckphin]

4 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

You mean CPU power limit?

Yes

[genexis_x]

8 minutes ago, bindydad123 said:

Yes

With some undervolting, i5-8300H will not have power throttling unless you run some crazy stress test like Prime95

[HL Goh]

I'm thinking of buying the Raven unit to use for photo / video editing, daily task as well as a bit of gaming. Should I get the screen with 144Hz? Does it have any impact on video editing? Based on this purpose, should I upgrade to GTX 1050ti? 

[genexis_x]

42 minutes ago, HL Goh said:

Should I get the screen with 144Hz?

Yes since you do photo / video editing. Higher sRGB

42 minutes ago, HL Goh said:

should I upgrade to GTX 1050ti? 

depends on the programs you use

[topkid911]

the website now have Elite version which comes with 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor (Coffeelake) and GTX1060 8GB, do you recommend it or stick with Raven (Standard) as above?

 

price different are RM1700.

[genexis_x]

8 hours ago, topkid911 said:

the website now have Elite version which comes with 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor (Coffeelake) and GTX1060 8GB, do you recommend it or stick with Raven (Standard) as above?

 

price different are RM1700.

Raven Elite is TongFang GK5CN67. Different chassis with better cooling and slightly better build quality. Raven also OK but I think the 1060 model has sold out

 

PM me for further discussion on other options

[ahuckphin]

so even with the i5, power limiting issues still persists? 

[genexis_x]

4 hours ago, bindydad123 said:

so even with the i5, power limiting issues still persists? 

Yes, unfortunately. The temperature is low, therefore full turbo clock is easy to be achieved

 

Note that unstable clock speed in games doesn't affect FPS. Tongfang laptops have this behaviour due to its own SPC technology (Smart Power Control - integrated inside firmware/BIOS) - it's normal