Brand name HONOR is actively developing in different directions. Phones, headphones and laptops have been released under this brand for several years. And if in the segment of smartphones the Chinese giant covered several parts of the market at once – from budget devices to high-tech flagships – then in the field of laptops it lacked a full-fledged powerful device for gamers to fully cover it. However, the company recently released HONOR Hunter V700 – 16 ” gaming laptop based Intel Core i7 with fast matrix (144Hz) and graphics solution NVIDIA RTX 2060… They sent it to us for review, we conducted tests and now we will share our impressions.
PACKAGING AND COMPLETE SET
This device came to the editorial office in a bulky beige cardboard box, on which there were no images, except for one single HONOR Hunter emblem. Inside, on protective polyethylene inserts, there was another black box made of soft touch plastic, which is more suitable for such a premium device and gives it a status look. There are also no inscriptions and pictures on it, except for the glossy logo. All this looks more like a kind of jewelry box than a typical packaging for a gaming laptop. Opening it, inside you can find the device itself and two small boxes recessed into special sections. They contain documentation and a power supply. Such minimalism and neat approach to design will delight those who are tired of colorful and aggressive packaging solutions.
APPEARANCE AND DESIGN
The laptop itself pleases with a calm and elegant appearance, while it is not devoid of original and unusual design solutions. When you open the lid, a special window opens from the bottom of the screen, which increases the ventilation area and slightly lifts the part of the case. This is done to better evacuate hot air during operation. There is also a backlight that can be adjusted along with the LEDs on the keyboard and the logo on the back of the screen. Because of this footrest, the device does not pass the so-called “macbook test”, when you need to open the lid with one hand without holding the other part of the case. The black aluminum frame is very pleasant to the touch, but at the same time easily soiled. After a few hours of testing, my prints were visible around the entire perimeter. At the same time, erasing these stains is not such an easy task, so you will have to keep a special cloth at hand at all times or use the HONOR Hunter V700 in this form. Personally, such moments do not bother me, but take note if this is really important to you.
Traditionally, there are various connectors on the sides of the laptop. Right side: HDMI and three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two large Type-A and one Type-C. On the left side there is a connector for connecting a power supply, an RJ45 port (for connecting a twisted pair), USB Type-A standard 2.0, and a 3.5 jack for headphones. There are also two speakers on the sides on beveled edges.
The laptop weighs 2207 grams, and the power supply unit with cable is 686 grams. Because of the beveled edges, it is difficult to measure the thickness, but the manufacturer’s website states that it is 19.9 mm, and this generally reflects the reality.
When you open the laptop for the first time, it immediately starts up and begins preparing the operating system for use, and also prompts you to configure user settings and more. However, we will consider the nuances of the system a little later, but for now we will continue to study the appearance of the device. The 16-inch screen is framed by thin bezels. At the top the indent is 9 mm, on the sides – 6 mm, and at the bottom, if you do not take into account the connecting thickening, the distance from the edge to the matrix is fixed at 29 mm. The ultra-fast sensor supports 144Hz refresh rates and works in 1080p resolution. This screen performance allows for smoother viewing in games and during system operation.
On the top of the laptop is a miniature camera peephole for video communication via Zoom or Skype. During use, a nearby LED lights up. It should be noted that the image quality of this camera is poor. Even in a well-lit room, you will notice coarse grain and poor picture detail. The maximum resolution is 720p at 30 frames per second.
Now let’s move on to another part of the laptop. Most of the case is occupied by a full-size keyboard along with a number pad. Each key is backlit, which can be configured in a dedicated application. It is very pleasant to type on. Subjectively, it resembles the same “scissors” on Apple devices. Typing is convenient, especially if you get used to the slightly peculiar keyboard layout. Due to the numeric block, all the letters are slightly shifted to the left, and since I’m used to compact keyboards, it was very unusual at first. In addition, there are other nuances. For example, the right “Shift” is shortened due to the “arrows” block, and the “PrtSc” button is in the bottom row between the right “Alt” and “Ctrl”. It is also worth noting that in the upper right corner there is a button with the HONOR Hunter logo, which switches between “quiet” and “balanced” modes, as well as “gaming”, which unleashes the full power of the device, but is available only when operating on mains. In the center and a little further from the keyboard section is the power button, which has a built-in fingerprint scanner.
A touch panel with a diagonal of 140 mm is located in front of the keyboard. It has a fast response and allows you to comfortably interact with the operating system or web browser. Games aside, the device can be easily used without connecting a mouse.
In general, the design of the laptop is quite practical, but at the same time very elegant. The engineers tried to avoid sharp corners and give the silhouette some smoothness in the lines. A small protrusion connecting the two parts of the device (screen and keyboard unit), as well as beveled edges and stylized ventilation grilles along the edges give the device a light futuristic look. In my opinion, this is one of the neat yet beautiful gaming laptops I’ve seen.
SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE
The HONOR Hunter V700 is a gaming laptop, so Windows 10 (Home 64-bit) is pre-installed. However, in addition to it, the developers have installed several additional programs. The PC Manager app allows you to check for new drivers and connect your HUAWEI smartphone to control it from your laptop. In addition, the program installs a special icon in the notification area, where in the pop-up window there are special buttons for taking screenshots, screen recording, demonstrating the load on the system and other useful data. In addition to her, the developers also installed the HONOR Hunter Gaming Center. Here you can select the operating mode by analogy with a special button with the logo, as well as find out the temperature inside the device and some other indicators.
The Nahimic program is worth a separate mention. This is a dedicated audio software where you can adjust various parameters such as surround sound, compression control, and mid, low and high frequencies. However, the main feature of this program is different. It can visually show the directions of sound in games on a special indicator that is displayed over the running window. The list of compatible projects can be viewed at a special link in the same program. The titles include many hits like GTA V, DOTA 2, Overwatch, as well as various parts of Call of Duty and Counter-Strike.
Speaking of sound, it is worth noting that the audio stream coming from the laptop is quite loud, clear and seems to come from the entire body of the device. In the volume mode, this effect is felt especially well. But this volume, however, is not comparable to headphones that support 7.1 virtualization, but it just distributes the positioning of sounds in a stereo panorama well.
The only but significant drawback of the built-in audio system is the almost complete lack of bass. This is especially noticeable when listening to Combichrist’s “Never Surrender” and similar pieces.
CHARACTERISTICS
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
- Body Material: Aluminum
- Weight: About 2.45kg
- Size: 19.9mm × 369.7mm × 253mm
- Screen: 16.1 inches, IPS,
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels, 137 ppi
- Processor: 10th Gen Intel® Core ™ i7-10750H
- Video card: NVIDIA RTX2060 Graphics
- Built-in memory: 512 GB
- RAM: 16 GB
- Camera: 720p HD camera
- Battery capacity (ma * h): 56 W * h (7330 mA * h, 7.64 V)
- Wireless networks: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.1
WORK AND TESTS
Now let’s move on to the most important thing – the performance test. To get started, I ran a few benchmarks. In Superposition Benchmark in “1080p Extreme” mode, the HONOR Hunter V700 scores 3680 points. The minimum frame rate is 22.06; maximum – 34.08; and the average is 27.52. The minimum temperature inside the device according to the test results was 45 degrees, and the maximum temperature was 69.
In FINAL FANTASY XV BENCHMARK, the device scored 6551 points with “High Quality 1920×1080” settings, which is considered a high indicator by the standards of the program.
Then I decided to test HONOR Hunter V700 directly in games. Quake II RTX turned out to be surprisingly the most voracious. Despite its age, the updated version of the second “Kwaki” by the “miracle rays” loads the graphics system to the maximum. The number of frames per second here stably keeps from 28 to 35 frames.
But Control in DirectX 12 mode and with maximum graphics settings, including RTX, pleased me. During the passage of the first missions, the game produced 35-38 frames per second, but I did not immediately notice that I forgot to enable NVIDIA DLSS. With this option, performance increases noticeably, and the average FPS value increases to 60 and fluctuates depending on the scene at the level of 55-71. In DX11 mode (without RTX and DLSS) and with the maximum available graphics settings, this game performs worse and produces a stable 48 frames. Although in some scenes this value can rise to 72, and in the screensavers it even flies up to 144.
Some games have their own performance tests, where on the example of complex gaming situations you can see the real performance and compare it with the final figures. In For Honor, if you set the settings to “very high”, then the game will always hit over 66 FPS. In different scenes, the average varies from 79.01 to 103.72, and the maximum number of frames per second is 131.26. More detailed statistics can be seen in one of the screenshots below.
Next, I ran GTA V, where the laptop gives out a stable 75 frames in open spaces, and in rooms this value increases to 115-125.
“The Witcher 3” keeps the FPS in the range from 42 to 60 at “outrageous” settings, and at the same time often keeps values close to 60.
After testing the above games, one could notice that not only graphics systems, but also fans are working at maximum. Already while playing Control, I drew attention to the fact that the right hand with the mouse should be kept a little closer to you, because the hot stream of air blown out from the side slots starts heating up my brush quite quickly. Of course, it’s far from real burns, but this scorching heat can cause discomfort. It is also worth noting that despite the very loud roar of coolers, the sound from games is heard well, thanks to the rather powerful speakers.
In addition, I tested the SSD with CrystalDiskMark. It produces the following results:
- Seq Q32T1 Read 3256 MB / s, Write 1859.4 MB / s
- 4KiB Q8T8 1444.5 MB / s read, 1087.9 MB / s write
- 4KiB Q32T1 read 534.5 mb / s, write 441.4 mb / s
- 4KiB Q1T1 read 45.31 mb / s, write 131 mb / s
As for the battery life, the laptop is equipped with a 56 Wh battery (7330 mAh, 7.64 V). Like many other gaming machines in the category, the HONOR Hunter V700 doesn’t do well in this area. Despite the fact that the battery life on the manufacturer’s website is about 4.8 hours, according to my subjective impressions it is much less. Even if you use the laptop as a typewriter in quiet mode, it will last only a few hours.
In fact, HONOR Hunter, like many other similar devices, can be described not as a portable solution, but as a portable one. The essence of such computers is that most of the time they have to work from an outlet in order to swing all the potential inherent in powerful hardware. After all, the maximum performance is turned on only if it is powered by the mains.
During testing in normal mode, when I browsed sites and wrote some texts, occasionally glancing at short videos on YouTube, a full battery charge was enough for two to three hours. It is important to note that even in the “quiet” mode, the system works smoothly and without any brakes, which is undoubtedly pleasing.
After spending several weeks with the HONOR Hunter V700, we can say that the brand’s first gaming laptop turned out to be successful. The sleek design on the outside and the true gaming power on the inside allow this device to be truly versatile. With such a computer, you can not only play modern games at high settings, but also go to a business meeting. If you are looking for a high-performance laptop, we recommend checking out the HONOR Hunter V700.
Author: Azamat Tegaev (Azzy)
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