Aftershock XG13 notebook plain, but powerful

SINGAPORE — The Aftershock XG13 notebook, the latest offering from the Singapore-based brand, may not look great, but its graphics and all-round performance more than make up for its appearance and justify its price.

In contrast to the sleek and slim Razer Blade, the ultra-portable XG13 can hardly be considered a beauty with its bulky dimensions. But it strikes a nice balance between power and mobility. The 13-inch version is compact at 32mm, but its weight of 2kg puts it behind in the portability race.

However, the XG13 boasts a slightly more powerful Core i7-4700MQ processor and is equipped with a full High-Definition (1080p) matte screen, which displays crisp and robust graphics.

It also sports an island-style keyboard that facilitates smooth typing. The default white backlights can be customised at a small price (with options like red, blue, pink or a combination), perfect for those who want their laptops to stand out.

The device’s trackpad size is compromised by the introduction of separate buttons for clicking, but this is compensated with ease of usage, smoothness and accuracy.

Despite boasting speakers from Japanese cinema and audio specialists Onkyo, the XG13 gives off flat sounds that are harsh when loud.

Finally, how does the XG13 system fare against a run of pantheon games like Battlefield 4?

Battlefield 4 runs smoothly without any issues at default settings, although the fan gets noticeably loud. After a few hours of play, the XG13 feels slightly warm and, on maximum settings, it struggles to keep up, with FPS spikes every few minutes and the fan whirling incessantly.

You’ll want to run it plugged in: The battery life depletes rather quickly, with or without running games. But this is not surprising, with other notebooks having similar results.

The XG13’s powerful components enable it to run media content and applications like Photoshop and InDesign effortlessly; in fact, you may want to watch your favourite shows and touch up on your designs with it.

While the XG13 is not as attractive as the Razer Blade, it costs a fraction of the latter’s price, and is stable, compact and easy to carry around.

Users can clad the device with carbon-fibre wraps, but this cannot hide its drab looks.

Most importantly, the XG13 is fully customisable and delivers in terms of gaming performance and portability.

Its price starts at S$1,679, and varies with the components you choose to upgrade. Tiffany Yap