Medion Erazer X6813 review

Full HD video looks great on the 15.6in 1,920×1,080 display. The glossy screen finish picked up fewer light reflections than some we’ve seen, but viewing angles were only average. A reasonable amount of screen tilt helps with this, but overall image quality wasn’t hugely impressive. Colours were slightly too vibrant and contrast was poor. It was a similar story with sound quality; despite carrying a Dolby Home Theatre logo, the two stereo speakers produced thin-sounding, albeit loud, audio. Even with a small subwoofer underneath, bass was barely noticeable and the mid-range was slightly muddy, distorting slightly at full volume.

It was only when we started using the Erazer for day-to-day tasks that some build quality issues appeared. Both the keyboard and touchpad have been made from cheap plastics, which is difficult to forgive considering the price. The QWERTY keyboard has full-size keys and even a number pad, but the lack of spring in each key made it difficult to tell if our presses had been registered or not. Typing was also incredibly loud, which became irritating after only a short while. Both the touchpad and its buttons suffer from similar problems; the plastic construction feels cheap and the weak button actions aren’t very satisfying. Cursor movement was responsive, but it’s a small consolation.

In spite of the high performance hardware, we wouldn’t recommend the Eraser. For a laptop that costs north of £1,000, it doesn’t feel especially well made, and the screen – despite its high resolution – can’t match the quality of other laptops at a similar price. The warranty, too, is the bare minimum of 12 months and requires you to return the laptop yourself. It might be difficult to find anything with quite such a powerful graphics card for less, but if gaming isn’t your highest priority, the superb Dell XPS 15z has almost every other feature in a high-quality chassis.