But Is The Erazer X700 A Gamer?
The overall value rating on the previous page is really only important if you're looking for a multifunction performance-oriented PC. Lenovo is marketing its Erazer X700 as a more gamer-oriented box, though. When we get that specific, its high-end six-core CPU is an extravagance. But is that value-oriented, still-fairly-high-end graphics card a limitation?
Though AMD’s Radeon HD 8950 is a good card for most single-screen resolutions, it’s not exactly a powerhouse in Eyefinity. And though a few failed runs might not impact the majority of gamers, a $2300 system isn’t designed for the majority of gamers; it's intended for the top tier of folks who know what balance means, and that when you pair an almost $600 CPU with a $250 graphics card, frame rates are going to suffer. That this system fell behind our $1300 System Builder Marathon PC at the same quality settings means that gaming isn't really what the Erazer is best at.
The truth about Lenovo’s Erazer X700 is that it’s a home workstation that games well, rather than a purpose-built gaming powerhouse able to handle professional tasks during the workday. Huge storage capacity, Blu-ray burning flexibility, and a workstation-class CPU would have made this the perfect excuse for me not to visit the computer lab back in my university days, and I believe that a large number of today’s power users will find the Erazer X700 similarly suits their needs.
If we were to give Lenovo one piece of advice to wrap things up, it'd be to put a bigger emphasis on graphics performance, and perhaps dial back the CPU to save some money. Those six x86 cores, overclocked, don't further the X700's gaming mission, while a second Radeon HD 8950 in CrossFire would have really bolstered our gaming benchmarks.
