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Killer Notebooks Executioner-SR
Build Quality:
We took a hard look at the build quality of the Executioner-SR as nothing annoys us more than a poor build quality on a notebook for which we paid a high price. The Executioner-SR passed inspection of all the areas we were most interested in which included:
- External inspection of plastic chassis assembly.
- Internal structure, wiring, screws, and heatsink installation.
- Hinges, joints, and all moving parts.
- Lighting, speakers, screen, ports and jacks.
We were well pleased with our inspection of the Executioner-SR concerning the external assembly. On most notebooks there is a bit of flexing and creaking of the plastic covers. This is especially apparant near the edges, keyboard, and often the screen framing. With the Executioner-SR we saw absolutly none, this notebook is as solid as a rock.
Internally we were happy to see that Mark has implemented several of his trademark modifications to the structure of the heatsink, its installation and the wiring. We have seen poor layouts of the internal components in past notebooks where items such as the hard drive and video card were placed close together or in a less than optimal positioning so as to hinder heat transfer and possibly cause problems. What we see in the Executioner-SR is machine that obviously involved some engineering forethought. The hard drive is at the front of the machine away from the heat producing CPU. The heatsinks for the 7950 GTX and CPU have been modified to include additional fins and coated with copper. Combining our external and internal inspection comes strategically positioned holed bored into the bottom of the chassis over the CPU to allow for greater airflow over this typically hot component. After thorough testing and observation we can say with confidence that these mods make all the difference in heat output as the laptop runs comparatively cool, often cooler than 15inch notebooks with lesser specifications.
Regarding the hinges, joints, and moving parts the Executioner-SR proves itself again to be of high quality. We noticed no issues with any of the movable areas, specifically the screen hinges and the DVD-RW drive. Movement was smooth with no sticking spots and the DVD-RW drive operation was clean and easy to eject and slide back in with no top to bottom slop or movement.
The lighting on the Executioner-SR works quite well and its nice to see the indicator lights placed up front rather than on the panel beneath the screen where they are often a distractor. The power button is a cool blue which we find preferable to most users. Each of the indicator lights is clearly defined with very little bleed between lights so that you do not confuse the HD light with the battery, wireless, or other lights which often occurs on other notebooks. The screen quality is excellent with no bleen of light on the edges and a superb definition at all resolutions. A high quality display is an absolute must if you are a gamer or investing into a notebook of this price as you will likely spend more time looking at the LCD than the keyboard. All of the included ports and jacks on the Executioner-SR are very solid with little movement. We have noticed that on some notebooks these jacks are less than secure and are prone to breaking. Many users experience problems with USB, Audio, and especially the power port breaking. The fit and stability on the Executioner-SR was excellent, not requiring too much force on any port for the adapter and yet holding all plugs firmly. The power port consists of a solid metal jack with no plastic insert surrounding it thus reducing any future problems with this port breaking due to force or use over time.
Finally the touch pad is easy to use as are the buttons with the right amount of tactile feedback although we personally still prefer a mouse to a touchpad any day. The included biometric reader is located in between the right and left click buttons which may not be the easiest place for repetitive use ,however, it does look better in this position.
Click on the Thumbnails for a Larger Image
Testing Issues:
We had no issues with any software during any of our tests and the system was 100% stable never crashing nor erroring during our stress test. We were not able to get the included bluetooth functioning during our test of the system and were informed that the module included may have been an old incompatible chip which would be rectified. We did not receive the replacement during our allotted test time and as such have no way to confirm that the replacment solves this single issue we had. Other than bluetooth the included webcam and biometrics worked flawlessly.
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