PC Specialist Recoil II (i7-8750H & GTX 1060) Laptop Review

1. Introduction2. Testing and Performance3. Cooling, Noise and Battery4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

The PC Specialist Recoil II is a fantastic laptop at an excellent price – no doubt about it.

It is one of many gaming laptops to come through KitGuru labs with the latest i7-8750H processor, and it backs that up with a GTX 1060 6GB graphics chip and 16GB of DDR4 memory. That puts it head to head with the Cyberpower Tracer III laptop we reviewed in June.

The first interesting point to note is that the Recoil II – as with the Tracer III – has not gone down the high refresh-rate display route. Instead, it uses a humble 1080p/60Hz panel. While this may not provide as smooth a gaming experience, it does allow the cost to be significantly lower – the MSI GS65 also shares the same core specification, but with a 144Hz display, and that costs £750 more.

With that out of the way, it is clear the Recoil II offers a heck of a lot of laptop for the money. Performance is pretty much where we would expect it to be given the internal hardware, and the proficient cooling setup actually allows this machine to run ever so slightly faster than the Tracer III as the GPU can hold its frequency at a higher clock speed.

The build of the laptop is also hugely impressive for the price – brushed aluminium is used on the lid and on the inside of the laptop's body, and that makes it look and feel premium. Weighing just 2.1KG, and measuring 19.9mm thick, the Recoil II is also very portable. Other impressive features include the satisfyingly clicky mechanical keyboard, as well as the smooth trackpad.

The one area where it could be better is fan noise – the Tracer III, for instance, is noticeably quieter when operating under full load. Battery life isn't great either, but that is nothing too surprising from a gaming laptop of this calibre.

Still, the PC Specialist Recoil II is a terrific laptop. As mentioned, the main compromise is the lack of high refresh-rate display, but for £1149 this machine blows its pricier rivals out of the water.

You can buy one directly from PC Specialist for £1149 HERE.

Edit 19th July: PCSpecialist got in touch with us to let us know that they are now offering a 144hz version as well. Great news for the hardcore gamers out there.

Pros

• Slim and portable.
• Metal construction.
• 144hz version now offered as well!
• Mechanical keyboard.
• Performance is as expected from i7-8750H and GTX 1060.
• Smooth and responsive trackpad.
• Impressive cooling capabilities.
• Very competitive pricing.

Cons

• Noisier than other laptops we have seen.

KitGuru says: If you are looking for a 1080p/60Hz gaming laptop, the Recoil II is the best we have seen to-date.

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