Origin PC Eon11-S: Great Gaming Performance From A Tiny Notebook?

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Is the tug-of-war between gaming performance and portability finally over? Origin PC believes that Lucidlogix's software can help bring these two ideas together, combining Nvidia's GeForce GT 650M and Intel's Core i7-3720QM in an 11.6” chassis.

Inside Origin PC's Eon11-S

Shown opened up and from the bottom, Origin PC's diminutive Eon11-S has just enough room inside for a single 2.5” drive, a CPU, a discrete GPU, a mini-PCIe card, and two DDR3 SO-DIMMs. By virtue of its dimensions and creative copper piping, the CPU and graphics processor share the same heat sink and fan.

Realtek’s RTL723AS 802.11n/Bluetooth combo is the default PCIe card, and available upgrades from Intel and Qualcomm also include Bluetooth connectivity. The only upgrade Origin armed our test bed with, however, was a Samsung 830 256 GB SSD.

Replaceable graphics modules are impractical in notebooks this small, so Nvidia’s GeForce GT 650M is soldered directly to the motherboard (on the right side of the picture above). CPU options range from the lowly dual-core Pentium B960 to the mighty Core i7-3840QM.

Origin PC’s build sheet said that we should have had 8 GB of DDR3-1600, but we actually found 8 GB of Kingston DDR3-1333 inside our Eon11-S. Admittedly, the performance benefit of 1600 MT/s memory would have been minimal. But we're pretty sure a customer who paid for DDR3-1600 wouldn't be overly enthused about receiving a lesser component.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
77 Comments Comment from the forums
  • joytech22
    It's quite the potent little power house isn't it.
    I can bet you one thing though the pricing won't be as potent lol.
    Reply
  • UltimateDeep
    This is based on the Clevo W110ER. What other Barebones can go as powerful as such in a small package.
    Reply
  • Estix
    joytech22It's quite the potent little power house isn't it.I can bet you one thing though the pricing won't be as potent lol.It's based off a Clevo barebones, so it's the same as the Sager NP6110 which starts at $899

    http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP6110

    I just wish they'd offer a screen better than 1366x768 (at least 1440x900 or such)
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    I have a first gen corei3 notebook. It runs fine, but battery isnt too great.
    But i wont be upgrading to anything till haswell is released.
    Reply
  • amuffin
    Too bad they don't offer the GT650M 1GB GDDR5 which faster than the DDR3 version.....
    Reply
  • Pyree
    EstixIt's based off a Clevo barebones, so it's the same as the Sager NP6110 which starts at $899http://www.sagernotebook.com/index ame=NP6110I just wish they'd offer a screen better than 1366x768 (at least 1440x900 or such)
    9538812 said:
    Too bad they don't offer the GT650M 1GB GDDR5 which faster than the DDR3 version.....
    There is a bios mod for some crazy OC on the GPU. Although you are right amuffin, the GDDR3 on the GT 650m is a let down. You can get the W150ER at similar price (also has a bios mod for OC) with GT 650m GDDR5 although it is a 15 inch (but 1080p screen).
    Reply
  • captainblacko
    shame about the resolution but a 11 inch mobile gaming machine is pretty appealing to me. i could get a few sneaky rounds on BF3 whilst on the toilet at work....
    Reply
  • whyso
    The thing Im the most pumped about is the windows 7 physical media.
    Reply
  • captainblacko
    scan have a version in the UK.

    http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ShowSystem.asp?SystemID=1459
    Reply
  • captainblacko
    the scan version comes with the 2gb 650M
    Reply