After Microsoft, ASUS, Acer, Dell and HP, to name but a few, Medion is also embarking on the adventure of portable PCs with ARM processors. The brand, a subsidiary of the Chinese Lenovo, has just announced a 14-inch model powered by the Snapdragon X Elite.
For once, Medion is investing more in the high end with this new product. It will arrive in France this summer (without further details at this stage) starting at 1,199 euros.
A premium price for the brand, which has mainly accustomed us to entry-level devices, or offering an advantageous equipment-price ratio. A priori, this should still be the case with this new model… which however bears a very unsightly name: “SPRCHRGD 14 S1 Elite”. We warned you.
A well-balanced machine under the Copilot+ umbrella
The main interest of this PC will therefore be to embed a Snapdragon X Elite SoC. This ARM chip has 12 CPU cores clocked at a maximum of 3.4 GHz, an Adreno graphics part, and above all a Hexagon NPU dedicated to AI (which develops up to 45 TOPS, according to Qualcomm, to process calculations locally) . With it, Medion promises a silent machine that is not prone to heating. We will surely have the opportunity to test this in a few weeks.
This processor will in any case be coupled here with 16 or 32 GB of RAM (LPDDR5x), and 512 GB or 1 TB of SSD depending on the configuration chosen. Note that the best equipped model will sell for 1,299 euros in our latitudes.
2.8K screen, ARM processor and aluminum chassis
The whole thing will also be powered by a battery whose capacity is rather generous for an ultraportable: 65 Wh on the clock and an autonomy that Medion announces at 18 hours.
On the display side, the device relies on a 14-inch 100% sRGB IPS panel in 16:10 format, offering a 2.8K definition (2,880 by 1,800 pixels) and a 120 Hz refresh rate. This LCD panel should allow good image quality overall, without approaching the OLED and/or DCI-P3 experience offered by certain competing models.
Finally, we find a compact aluminum chassis, measuring 313 x 225 x 16.8 millimeters and weighing 1.4 kilos, and latest generation connectivity with a Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 combo.
€873.64
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- Allows you to play in Full HD at a very low price
- Honest screen
- Keyboard better than expected
Is launching a gaming laptop for 500 euros a good idea? If there are many compromises to achieve such a low price (no pre-installed OS, limited technical sheet, very reduced autonomy, etc.) we can say that Erazer has at least kept its bet, by succeeding in making us play, on its Crawler E30e, in 1080p, in decent if not optimal conditions.
If you are an occasional gamer on a limited budget, more interested in one-off games of Overwatch or Fortnite, than in long sessions on Cyberpunk 2077… or if you are more prosaically looking for a (very) affordable gaming laptop for a teenager who will know how to settle for little, the device may be the product you need.
Is launching a gaming laptop for 500 euros a good idea? If there are many compromises to achieve such a low price (no pre-installed OS, limited technical sheet, very reduced autonomy, etc.) we can say that Erazer has at least kept its bet, by succeeding in making us play, on its Crawler E30e, in 1080p, in decent if not optimal conditions.
If you are an occasional gamer on a limited budget, more interested in one-off games of Overwatch or Fortnite, than in long sessions on Cyberpunk 2077… or if you are more prosaically looking for a (very) affordable gaming laptop for a teenager who will know how to settle for little, the device may be the product you need.
Source: Medion press release
Passionate about new technologies, History and old Rock since I was very young, I am a PCist who has sunk body and soul into the delights of macOS. I like talking about Tech and IT on the web, here and elsewhere. Don’t hesitate to find me on Twitter!
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