Maingear Pulse 15

Although once a very small niche of enthusiasts, ultraportable laptop gaming has grown to be a large subset of the notebook gaming in general, and ultraportable design has crossed over to the other categories, too. Take for example the Maingear Pulse 15 ($ 2325 as tested), which is ultrathin and light, but the 15-inch size is a bit large for a true ultraportable, making it a midrange gaming laptop. The Pulse 15 is the bigger brother of the Maingear Pulse 14, with larger higher resolution display and a slimmer chassis. It squares off against the other, like the Editors' Choice Asus GS60 Ghost Pro 3k, and while it does not replace the head, it proves itself in a worthy peer.

design
The chassis sports an all-metal construction, making for a slim, yet durable design. Measuring just 0.8 by 15.4 by 10.5 inches (HWD) and weighing 3.9 pounds, the 15-inch system is large enough to enjoy the latest games, but thin enough to carry in a laptop bag, something that you can not claim about any gaming laptop just a few years ago. It does get hot when you really let it go to town with a demanding game, but no more so than other slim-bodied system, topping out at 100 degrees (as measured by a Fluke IR thermometer ). That is colder than the same Razer Blade (2014) (126 degrees) and the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3k (108 degrees).

It looks very similar to the MSI Ghost Pro, with the same system that offers comparable part of what is essentially the same chassis. To help you differentiate between the two, Maingear offers some fancy Glasurit paint job, with a rainbow of colors available, in either glossy or matte finishes. Our review unit came with a noticeably orange, but you can get any color you choose, or you can skip it for a black, brushed-aluminum finish. Makes the matte paint job for a delicious soft-touch feel.

The real treat of this system is the 15.6-inch display 3k, which boasts 2,880-by-1620 resolution and an impressive In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel. The quality of the color is a nice, and it has a nice wide viewing angle, too, but there are some reflectivity of the glass display. It's not too as beautiful as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) display 3200 according to 1800 saw the Razer Blade, but it's still a giant step up from full HD. There are four built-in speakers SoundBlaster as the integrated subwoofer for clear and deep sound.

The chiclet-style keyboard is
multizone, color backlighting, with each zone color customized. While the keyboard looks just see the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3k right down to the font key-model Maingear is not getting SteelSeries branding. Does, however, offer it still completely anti-ghosting, which lets you press a few keys at once without the keyboard to lock up or slowing down your control of the game. The wide clickpad is too loose, but no separate right and left buttons, even players who want play with a trackpad and they are few and far between, are likely to want a dedicated gaming mouse.