The Eurocom X3 ($2,715) is a 15-inch midrange gaming laptop and one of the first available with Nvidia’s new GeForce GTX 880M graphics card. The new hardware offers some potent gaming performance, a decent (if somewhat plain-looking) design, and a solid collection of features. Unfortunately, it’s marred by a glaringly bright display, and lacks gesture support, a key feature for navigating Windows 8. That said, it’s still a well-made gaming rig with the performance you expect.

Design
Like most gaming laptops, the Eurocom X3 is clearly not made for portability. Measuring 1.8 by 15 by 10.72 inches (HWD), it weighs a hefty 7.26 pounds. While that’s not unusually heavy, it’s nothing you’ll want to lug around on a regular basis. If it’s portability you’re after, consider something slimmer, like the 14-inch MSI GE40 2OC-009US( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window).

The X3 features a bright, full HD (1,920-by-1,080 resolution) display, with a matte finish to minimize reflectivity. The display is bright, but the colors aren’t true, looking a little oversaturated and abnormally vivid. The sound on the X3 is excellent, thanks to a pair of built-in Onkyo stereo speakers and an integrated subwoofer. The audio is further boosted with Soundblaster X-Fi 3 software.

The keyboard is comfortable to type on, with adjacent keys, illuminated with an adjustable seven-color backlight. The touchpad is large and responsive, but the recessed touchpad surface doesn’t offer support for edge-swiping gestures, which are essential for navigating Windows 8 with any sort of ease. The right and left mouse buttons are separate from the touchpad, and from each other, with a fingerprint reader situated between the two buttons.

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Features
The X3 has ports and connections all around its outer edge, including the back side of the laptop. On the right, you’ll find a USB 2.0 port, outputs for audio and S/PDIF for digital surround sound, Mic input, and a tray-loading optical drive (dual-layer DVD+/-RW). On the left are two USB 3.0 ports, a combined USB/eSATA port for connecting older external hard drives, Gigabit Ethernet for LAN connectivity, a memory card slot, and a FireWire 400 port. On the back of the system is a full-size DisplayPort, a mini DisplayPort, and an HDMI-out port, along with a power connector. Inside, the X3 boasts dual-band 802.11AC Wi-Fi, along with Bluetooth 4.0 + HS.

For storage, the X3 is outfitted with a 120GB solid-state drive (SSD) for quick bootup, with a 1TB, 7,200rpm hard drive for storage. There’s not a lot preinstalled on the drive, aside from Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit), Soundblaster X-Fi MB3 audio software, and Nvidia’s GeForce Experience. The latest version of GeForce Experience isn’t just for managing settings and drivers, however. The new GeForce Experience also includes features like ShadowPlay, which lets you record gameplay DVR-style for streaming on Twitch.TV or sharing on YouTube, GameStream, which lets you enjoy the games installed on your laptop wirelessly through the Nvidia Shield gaming handheld. Nvidia also offers Battery Boost, which automatically tweaks both the gameplay settings and hardware settings of the laptop to offer excellent gaming capability on battery power without chewing through the battery as fast as playing without such adjustments. Eurocom covers the X3 with a standard one-year warranty, covering parts and labor.

Performance

The Eurocom X3 is outfitted with an Intel Core i7-4930MX quad-core processor, the same CPU used in the Origin EON17-SLX (2014)(2,177.00 Base Configuration at ORIGIN PC)(Opens in a new window), paired with 16GB of RAM for quicker performance and minimal lag. In PCMark 7, the X3 scored 6,281 points, putting it ahead of both the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) and the MSI GT70 2PC Dominator, but slightly behind the Origin EON17-SLX (2014), which uses the same model CPU, but overclocked for faster performance. Even with the Origin system’s overclocking, the performance between the two was extremely similar in both Cinebench and Photoshop, and identical in Handbrake.

The X3 is also equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M graphics card, providing superb graphics support. In 3DMark 11, the X3 scored 11,623 points under Entry settings and 2,791 points when bumped up to Extreme settings. In Heaven the X3 cranked out 122 frames per second (fps) at baseline settings (1,366-by-768 resolution and medium detail settings) and a better-than-playable 47fps at higher resolution (1,920-by-1080) and detail settings. These results put the graphics performance well ahead of both the Lenovo Y510p and the previous midrange Editors’ Choice Asus G75VW-DH72( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), falling only slightly behind the Origin EON17-SLX (2014), which boasts two Nvidia GPUs and commands a premium price.

Though the X3 isn’t made for portability, it does offer decent battery life, lasting 3 hours 42 minutes on our battery rundown test. By comparison, the Lenovo Y510 lasted only 2:21 and the Origin EON17-SLX (2014) only 1:13. Plus, with the new Battery Boost technology in Nvidia’s GeForce Experience, you will be able to get some real gaming performance out of that time, instead of switching to battery-sipping, low-powered uses.

Conclusion
With a potent Intel quad-core processor and Nvidia’s new GeForce GTX 880M graphics card, the Eurocom X3 has the gaming chops to satisfy even competitive gamers. The blend of features and performance is pretty good, though many gaming laptops are still missing key features for a truly intuitive Windows 8 experience, despite shipping with Windows 8.1 Pro. The glaringly bright display skews colors, but it can be toned down in the display settings. The lack of a touch screen is also acceptable, but the lack of proper gesture support can be problematic. All in all, the Eurocom X3 is a very good gaming laptop, but it’s missing a few refinements that could make it great, and the Editors’ Choice goes to the similarly equipped, but more affordable, MSI GT70 2PC Dominator.