1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:07,680 Venom is back. Last time around with the BlackBook 15, I told them I loved the 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:14,639 performance and loved the aluminum chassis, but I felt like the price was 3 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:19,439 pretty expensive. I also confessed that 4 00:00:14,639 --> 00:00:22,640 13 to 14 in is my ideal size and that no 5 00:00:19,439 --> 00:00:25,119 15-in really had a fair shot at stealing 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:30,320 my heart. So, now they've come back swinging with the BlackBook 13, which 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:35,840 targets a more aggressive price point and looks, at least on the surface, like 8 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:45,360 an absolute stunner. Let's see how it fares. 9 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:52,559 Cooler Master's new Master Keys ProL and Pro S keyboards provide 16.7 million 10 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:56,559 color RGB backlighting, genuine Cherry MX switches, and an industryleading ARM 11 00:00:54,800 --> 00:01:01,760 Cortex processor. Learn more in the link in the video description. Now, I could 12 00:00:58,879 --> 00:01:07,760 say that zero means something like zero compromises or so thin and light as to 13 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:09,680 feel like you're carrying nothing. But 14 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:13,920 based on that, I know that the Venom guys are a bunch of gamers with a focus 15 00:01:11,439 --> 00:01:19,520 on selling gaming laptops. I suspect it means zero dedicated graphics card. So 16 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:24,320 the zero, whether it carries Intel's Ultrabook certification sticker or not, 17 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:29,600 is pretty much an Ultrabook. Sorry gamers. With that said, it's clearly a 18 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:34,320 better than average Ultrabook from the outset. It's available in a variety of 19 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:39,920 configurations all the way down to a very attractive 20 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:43,040 $999 model with a Core i5 and a 120 gig 21 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:46,759 SSD OS drive with a 500 gig hard drive 22 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:50,520 all the way up to the topofthe-line 23 00:01:46,759 --> 00:01:53,600 $2500 midnight edition with a Core 24 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:56,960 i76500U 8 gigs of RAM a top-of-the-line 25 00:01:53,600 --> 00:02:01,360 512 gig Samsung 950 Pro M.2 2 PCI 26 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:05,600 Expressbased SSD and a 2 terbte Samsung 27 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:09,039 850 EVO SATA SSD for storage. It's got 28 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:11,280 an Intel 8260 2x2 AC wireless card that 29 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:16,720 managed over 20 megabytes per second sustained transfers in my tests. It's 30 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:19,840 got Windows 10 Pro and a healthy 45watth 31 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:22,560 lithium ion battery. It features an all 32 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:27,760 aluminum chassis design with perhaps a greater propensity for picking up greasy 33 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:30,080 fingerprints and a little bit more flex 34 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:35,440 than I'd like. Not to mention that the hinge isn't the premium one finger 35 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:42,080 style, but it makes up for at least some of all of that by being crazy light, 36 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:44,480 right around 1.4 kilos or 3 lb. Overall, 37 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:51,680 I'd say the device feels pretty darn good. IO is a pretty good mix with a 38 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:54,640 single type-C port and a headphone jack 39 00:02:51,680 --> 00:03:00,239 and nothing else. Sorry, I was thinking of the MacBook. That's right. No, it's 40 00:02:56,879 --> 00:03:02,080 got power in a USB 2.0 port and a 41 00:03:00,239 --> 00:03:10,239 headphone microphone combo jack on the left with a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, 42 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:12,480 a type C 5 GB USB 3.0 port, not 43 00:03:10,239 --> 00:03:17,120 Thunderbolt unfortunately, and an SD card reader on the right. I love the SD 44 00:03:15,519 --> 00:03:22,239 card reader. I mean, the number of times I have needed one of those in the field, 45 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:28,239 let me tell you, not good. Flipping this puppy open reveals something that may 46 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:34,080 feel like a compromise to some, but that I don't actually mind. I actually 47 00:03:30,239 --> 00:03:36,959 ordered my customuilt XPS15 with a 1080p 48 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:42,560 display because I don't feel like at this size the higher DPI makes enough of 49 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:48,159 a difference to justify the battery life that I'm giving up. And apparently Venom 50 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:51,760 agrees because every model of BlackBook 51 00:03:48,159 --> 00:03:55,360 130 is equipped with a 1080p IPS 52 00:03:51,760 --> 00:04:00,080 display. But while the resolution spec 53 00:03:55,360 --> 00:04:02,080 of this panel is not that impressive in 54 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:10,159 other ways, it's among the best that I've seen. The blacks are midnight black 55 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:12,560 and there is astonishingly little 56 00:04:10,159 --> 00:04:19,600 backlight bleed even though Venom has the guts to ship it with a black desktop 57 00:04:16,919 --> 00:04:24,479 background. As a communications device, the 130 is a bit of a mixed bag. On the 58 00:04:22,479 --> 00:04:28,800 one hand, the microphone actually sounds pretty good, but on the other, the one 59 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:36,320 megapixel camera doesn't perform particularly well in either back lit 60 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:38,400 or even front lit scenarios with the 61 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:43,680 subject ending up quite washed out and pale looking. So, while the speakers are 62 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:47,919 okay, about all you'd expect for a notebook this size, making it fine as a 63 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:53,199 casual movie watching device on the couch, it is not ideal for regular video 64 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:57,919 conferencing. The keyboard is what I would characterize as pretty good. The 65 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:03,199 key caps wobble more than I'd like on a truly premium device, and the stroke 66 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:06,400 action is a little bit mushy. But for me, there are really more important 67 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:11,199 things on a thin and light. The adjustable backlight is great, and the 68 00:05:08,639 --> 00:05:16,680 130 delivers on typing speed and accuracy, as well as the overall layout. 69 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:21,600 The arrow keys have that annoying up down combo close together thing that I 70 00:05:19,759 --> 00:05:25,440 think Apple started. But it's otherwise bog standard with 71 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:30,720 function modifiers available for pretty much anything that I would need to do, 72 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:32,560 including one to disable the touchpad. 73 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:37,039 Which leads us to that, I guess. The touchpad has some high points and also 74 00:05:35,039 --> 00:05:40,320 some low points. From a things that I like perspective, it's got the full 75 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:45,440 range of gesture controls which can be set up within the Elant control panel. 76 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:49,600 It's got a satisfying pad click with no discrete buttons, and it does a pretty 77 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:54,960 darn good job of rejecting both palms and my click finger when I'm operating 78 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:56,880 it two-handed. But it comes with what is 79 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:00,240 for me a bit of an annoying flaw. Hopefully, one that can be addressed 80 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:05,039 with a driver tweak or something along those lines. There's a for me 81 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:09,120 perceptible lag between moving my finger across the trackpad and seeing my 82 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:12,639 actions on the screen. This is true with the notebook plugged in or running off 83 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:17,680 battery. And I even went as far as to reinstall Windows using the included 16 84 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:21,600 gig USB drive, which is nice to have by the way. I prefer that to a recovery 85 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:27,520 partition as an enthusiast, which resolved this issue when I encountered 86 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:29,360 it on the Blade 14 2015. Moving on, 87 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:33,199 though, there is more good stuff. The bundled software package is very 88 00:06:31,199 --> 00:06:38,880 Spartan. Basically, some alternate browsers and not much else. Norton is on 89 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:44,160 there, but it's a full year subscription rather than a 30-day subsidized trial. 90 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:48,160 So, I'll give that a a neutral rating, leaving really only a few things to talk 91 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:52,960 about in the part of this video where I would normally talk about gaming 92 00:06:49,759 --> 00:06:55,520 performance. Haha. Acoustics are better 93 00:06:52,960 --> 00:07:00,400 than I expected with the 130 managing to run fanless quite frequently, even with 94 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:05,280 the i7 installed. So, you'll do better with an i5 skew. And while the battery 95 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:09,360 takes over four hours to charge, which is agonizing when you're waiting around 96 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:13,280 for it to run a battery life benchmark, the good news is that in PC Mark 8's 97 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:17,680 productivity suite, it managed to run for well over 3 hours continuously, 98 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:23,919 which is a pretty darn solid score. Leading us finally to the conclusion. In 99 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:26,240 a market that did not contain the Razer 100 00:07:23,919 --> 00:07:30,240 Blade Stealth, the BlackBook Zero would be a savior to folks who wanted a great 101 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:33,800 Ultrabook experience without dealing with the hassle of running Windows on a 102 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:38,639 MacBook Air. There are some minor quirks. In the real world, it's a less 103 00:07:36,639 --> 00:07:43,840 obvious choice, but not an entirely invalid one. While the Blade Stealth 104 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:46,880 features an undeniably stronger, thinner 105 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,800 industrial design, Thunderbolt, an RGB 106 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:54,240 backlit keyboard, and a higher resolution display across all SKUs. Its 107 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:59,599 thinner fans will work harder to control CPU thermals. And it's much less 108 00:07:56,879 --> 00:08:06,000 configurable spec-wise with a maximum of 8 gigs of RAM soldered to the main board 109 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:09,440 and only the M.2 drive being upgradable. 110 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:11,680 The BlackBook 130, by contrast, and this 111 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:17,440 one hits pretty hard for heavy Google Chrome Tab users like myself, manages to 112 00:08:14,479 --> 00:08:21,360 cram the same capacity battery, a 2 and 1/2 in drive bay, which is pretty nice 113 00:08:19,759 --> 00:08:26,639 if your Ultrabook is your primary machine, as it is for so many people 114 00:08:22,879 --> 00:08:29,360 these days, and a so dim memory socket 115 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:35,360 into its only marginally thicker shell. And while Venom doesn't advertise the 116 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:39,680 capability of the 130 to run a single 16 117 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:41,760 gig DDR3L sodium, I tried it with a 1333 118 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:47,839 MHz intelligent memory branded stick that I had lying around and it worked 119 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:50,320 perfectly. That right there is a huge 120 00:08:47,839 --> 00:08:53,839 win from my perspective on what is already a very compelling little 121 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:57,519 product, provided that they can quickly sort out the touchpad lag. So, thanks 122 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:02,720 for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that 123 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:06,399 like button, or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code 124 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:09,080 to shop at Amazon. Instructions up there by buying a cool t-shirt. Oop, that's 125 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:12,640 not a t-shirt. Okay, that's technically also 126 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:16,560 not a t-shirt. That's also a long sleeve shirt. Whatever. Buying a cool shirt 127 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:19,200 like these ones or with a direct monthly contribution through our community 128 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:23,600 forum. Now that you're done doing all that stuff, you're probably wondering what to watch next. So, click that 129 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:27,120 little button in the top right corner to check out one of our other fantastic 130 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:32,399 videos. cuz I'm sure they'll put something there that's like super compelling. If they put something 131 00:09:29,959 --> 00:09:36,240 boring, tell me so that I can yell at them. They got to put good videos there.