While Xiaomi is best known for its Android phones
and home appliances, the Chinese brand is now branching out into gaming
gear, with a new laptop that promises high-end graphics capabilities –
and it costs only half as much in China as an Alienware with similar
specs there.
The 15.6-inch Mi Gaming Laptop comes with formidable but not
ultra-powerful hardware: you’ll get a Full HD display, a 7th-gen Intel
Core i7 chip, an Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, 16GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD along
with a 1TB HDD for oodles of storage.
What’s more remarkable though, is that these components are housed in what Xiaomi
says is a slightly larger body that allows for better cooling, as it
has room for two fans, four air vents, and a 3+2 design for the
heatpipe.
There’s even a ‘Tornado’ button that engages rapid cooling by pushing
the fans to 11, so as to bring the internal temperature down by about
3-5 degrees Celsius in 10 minutes. Hopefully, that’ll keep your laptop
humming along smoothly even when it’s taxed with graphics-intensive
games.
There are a bunch of other neat features that will appeal to gamers:
an RGB backlit keyboard with additional programmable keys, Dolby
Atmos-tuned audio and a built-in headphone amp to help you pinpoint
where in-game sounds are coming from, four USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB-C ports
and a 20.9mm profile.
Xiaomi made plenty of noise about its pricing too: in China, an Alienware laptop with comparable specs costs 17,699 RMB ($2,830), while the Mi Laptop’s top-of-the-line configuration described above can be had for just 8,999 RMB ($1,440).
It’s likely that Alienware commands a premium for its brand in China, as a similar device from the company’s US site
retails at roughly 10,000 RMB ($1,600). Still, Xiaomi’s offering does
undercut the competition by a bit, while bringing along some neat new
features. There are three cheaper variants with lower-end specs too,
going down as low as 5,999 RMB ($959). They’ll go on sale on April 13 in
China; if you’re not in the country, you might want to keep an eye on
some online stores like GearBest to get your hands on one when it’s
available.
While Xiaomi is best known for its Android phones
and home appliances, the Chinese brand is now branching out into gaming
gear, with a new laptop that promises high-end graphics capabilities –
and it costs only half as much in China as an Alienware with similar
specs there.
The 15.6-inch Mi Gaming Laptop comes with formidable but not
ultra-powerful hardware: you’ll get a Full HD display, a 7th-gen Intel
Core i7 chip, an Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, 16GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD along
with a 1TB HDD for oodles of storage.
What’s more remarkable though, is that these components are housed in what Xiaomi
says is a slightly larger body that allows for better cooling, as it
has room for two fans, four air vents, and a 3+2 design for the
heatpipe.
There’s even a ‘Tornado’ button that engages rapid cooling by pushing
the fans to 11, so as to bring the internal temperature down by about
3-5 degrees Celsius in 10 minutes. Hopefully, that’ll keep your laptop
humming along smoothly even when it’s taxed with graphics-intensive
games.
There are a bunch of other neat features that will appeal to gamers:
an RGB backlit keyboard with additional programmable keys, Dolby
Atmos-tuned audio and a built-in headphone amp to help you pinpoint
where in-game sounds are coming from, four USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB-C ports
and a 20.9mm profile.
Xiaomi made plenty of noise about its pricing too: in China, an Alienware laptop with comparable specs costs 17,699 RMB ($2,830), while the Mi Laptop’s top-of-the-line configuration described above can be had for just 8,999 RMB ($1,440).
It’s likely that Alienware commands a premium for its brand in China, as a similar device from the company’s US site
retails at roughly 10,000 RMB ($1,600). Still, Xiaomi’s offering does
undercut the competition by a bit, while bringing along some neat new
features. There are three cheaper variants with lower-end specs too,
going down as low as 5,999 RMB ($959). They’ll go on sale on April 13 in
China; if you’re not in the country, you might want to keep an eye on
some online stores like GearBest to get your hands on one when it’s
available.
