I had been planning to buy a laptop for a while now, and the AMD 16z-n000 was what I picked out earlier this year after way too much time researching. It went on sale a couple weeks ago so I finally pulled the trigger, and now I am writing this the day that it arrived. Obviously I haven't used it much, which is why this is an 'initial impressions' and not a review.
specs as configured
- ryzen 7 6800h
- radeon rx 6650m (8GB)
- 16GB DDR5-4800
- 512GB SSD
- 1440p 165hz display
the good
In no particular order:
- The keyboard feels pretty good for a laptop. It's not quite as good as my 2009 HP laptop, but it's not bad either. The legends look nice and the backlight isn't too bright or too dim.
- It also has real arrow keys, something that the aforementioned 2009 machine exchanges for cursed ones
- The trackpad is massive, and feels nice to click. It's a tiny bit squishy but you can't have everything.
- The whole machine just looks really nice. It's not gaudy and annoying like many other gaming laptops, but it still looks like a beast.
- Has a lot of connectivity available, including an ethernet port which is really nice to have.
- The charging port is on the back of the laptop, which I feel will make it more convenient. I can't say for sure, as I've only used it on my desk at home, though.
- It's pretty thin
- There's a huge vent on the bottom through which you can see the CPU heatpipes and both fans. I definitely trust the cooling system just based on visuals alone.
- I also tested in the omen software cranking up the fans to full blast, and while they produce a lot of "air whooshing" noise, there's no fan noise at all.
less good
I don't have anything "bad" to say yet just some small less-goods.
- The omen logo quadrangle on the back of the thing is extremely susceptible to smudging
- When closed, the whole thing feels somewhat bendy/squishy.
- I haven't accidentally hit it yet, but the power button as a key on the keyboard just irks me
- I was going to take it apart just for a quick look, but not only are there 8 tiny phillips screws on the bottom, you also apparently need a spudger to coax the bottom plate off. I didn't want to do that.
I will probably have more things to add to both of these lists, but they will wait for a more fleshed-out review.