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Entering the laptop sector is a tough step for any system builder, this market is dominated by companies such as Dell and Acer who offer competitively priced systems with good internal components.
Cryo however have the finger on the enthusiast pulse because you can immediately see the differences in the building ethic. For one, the Windows installation is kept totally clean without any crapware, bloatware and trialware preconfigured.
The first steps for myself are generally to spend an hour deinstalling garbage I don't want, or to work out an reinstall method after locating all the relevant drivers on the companies website. This initial phase for me is extremely frustrating and I would assume many enthusiasts feel the same. Cryo leave the system with only the barebones drivers installed and put faith into their customer base to have the intelligence to install their own security software and applications. We also liked the feel and size of the keyboard as it will suit people with big hands (like me).
In regards to productivity, the Core i5 540 processor is capable of handling the majority of tasks without issue, however I would not class this as a rendering powerhouse capable of replacing a high performance desktop system. Media encoding and general duties are easily accommodated, but multicore 3D duties prove to be a little too much for the relatively modest processor.
The Cryo Mercia is a gaming powerhouse and every engine we threw at it ran at the native resolution of the screen (1080p) without a problem. Thanks to the mobile HD5870 graphics all the settings can be pushed as high as they go and frame rates remain smooth as silk. With such a high quality screen, the gaming experience is really the best I have experienced on a mobile platform. I wasted a few hours this week just playing Mafia 2 on the Mercia, and this is a good sign.
We have mentioned to Cryo about the graphics card temperatures under load and they have told us they are going to try making a few tweaks to the system before release to try and improve the situation. No instability or artifacting occured during our testing, but we would prefer to see the graphics solution running at under 90c when fully loaded.
The Mercia ships with a 3,800 mAh battery which we feel is slightly underpowered, because on the move it is hard to get more than 70 minutes under tasking conditions. While the system is quiet even when under load, the air flow is massive as it sucks in cold air from two vents under the chassis while forcing it out the back. This can make gaming on the move rather uncomfortable and the two vents need plenty of space to cool the internal components properly. If you accidentally block them with your clothing then the system could very well become unstable.
Cryo have marketed the Mercia perfectly, it is a very competitively priced gaming system with one of the highest quality 1080p screens we have seen. There is very little backlighting bleed and the black depth for high definition movie material and gaming is first class. We rate this screen as one of the finest we have seen.
KitGuru says: Overall this machine comes highly recommended, Cryo have made a very bold first step into the market and this machine should sell like hot cakes, it deserves to do so.
awesome I have been waiting on a review of these for a while after seeing the press release last week. off to read now !
That mobile graphics solution is amazing. the price of the system is really very good considering the screen resolution quality and components inside. my friend might like one of these, shall send him an email. good review.
How much would an SSD cost in this, do they offer upgrades?
Cryo offer a complete custom range of upgrades, so an SSD is an option yes. there should be a pricing list on their site for SSD upgrades when the products go mass market.
good review Zardon, very detailed. I also like the information on the cooling and temperatures, I find higher power laptops always get hot. I think the below to back facing airflow is a good idea and it seems to work well with the CPU. the GFX is a bit hot though. Think they can get that under 90c ?
Very impressive gaming performance ! the price is great. I know my friend will be interested in this, he was alerady talking about getting a HD5870 mobility powered system
That is such a sexy looking machine, very corporate yet stylish. Love it. I have a Cryo desktop system which I bought after reading your review Zardon last year. I rate them as one of the finest UK system builders, bar none.
I was expecting this to cost more actually considering the internal components. the dual core i5 cpus are very good, but I agree they can run out of horsepower for rendering. That said, I dont think people would buy this machine for that, but its good you cover an overall system view. I like this machine. 1920×1080 is an ideal res too.
Damn I spent more than this months ago on an alienware and the specs arent as good 🙁 not buying another however.
This reminds me that I need a new laptop myself, and have been putting it off for months now. I like the appearance of this clevo chassis. I dont think I would need the HD5870 however, I bet battery life would be massively improved with this removed and a lower end model inside it. Might speak to Cryo in a few weeks about specing this with a lower end GFX.
I think this system has a bit of an issue cooling the components. CPU temps are fine but GFX looks to be borderline. wouldnt fancy this long term at 95c when gaming.
Great job for Cryo, I was over looking at their website, wicked wicked systems. they need a website update though, its pretty ugly!
This system is exactly what I need, but the temperatures concern me. Can you update us Zardon if they fix the load temperatures?
Zardon, you really do rock man. This layout is so detailed and I love the fact you covered the temperatures, the system install and any crapware installed. well DONE CRYO for keeping it crap free by the way.
Very indepth and I only had a chance to skim some pages in work, but ive it bookmarked for a read later.
As long as we have companies like Cryo who dont install a lot of shite we will be well served. It is the single most annoying bloody thing when getting a new system from a company and I am glad such a focus was placed on it. Dell should be embarassed for the 40 GB of garbage they install out of the factory. Its all very well servicing partners, but hey how about serving the people who actually buy it. If they cut out most of the crapware and actually gave away someting useful like AVAST (full) I would be much happier. The last Dell system I tried to fix for a friend required me to reinstall everything from fresh and I couldnt find the LAN drive for ages, eventually getting it on another system build.
The bigger a company gets the more automation they have to put into the imaging, but man it sucks.
I dont think Dell are alone with this to be perfectly honest Dell Hater. my friends toshiba system was rather bloated when I looked at it.
Cryo serve a different audience, people who really know more about a system and read sites like Kitguru, rather than mainstream publications. Dell are fine for people like my mother, but I agree them (as well as many others) need to start streamlining their OS installs and removing a lot of the trial ware while offering useful free alternatives, or even a commercial package included.
Great review, but I want to see the highest end Cryo model being reviewed here as I have 3 grand to spend later this year. I want a much beefier processor. Is this planned Zardon?
I would like a review of the 940 based systems, is that forthcoming soon or later in the year?
Nothing else is planned as yet, but I am sure we can get others if the demand is there.
excellent review, such a level of detail buddy, must be massively time consuming
Can I put in a request to see a review of the Carvetii which costs just under 2 grand? the specs appeal to me more. I also find smaller screens a little hard to read. old age 🙁
Gaming obviously amazing. I was just wondering about general windows use. The text must be pretty tiny with full HD on a screen this small or is it quite comfortable to read?
It normally would be Don, but the quality of this particular panel is exceptionally good so I can honestly say, reading text gave me no problems at all.