WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.680 Venom is back. Last time around with the BlackBook 15, I told them I loved the 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:14.639 performance and loved the aluminum chassis, but I felt like the price was 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:19.439 pretty expensive. I also confessed that 00:00:14.639 --> 00:00:22.640 13 to 14 in is my ideal size and that no 00:00:19.439 --> 00:00:25.119 15-in really had a fair shot at stealing 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:30.320 my heart. So, now they've come back swinging with the BlackBook 13, which 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:35.840 targets a more aggressive price point and looks, at least on the surface, like 00:00:33.040 --> 00:00:45.360 an absolute stunner. Let's see how it fares. 00:00:45.360 --> 00:00:52.559 Cooler Master's new Master Keys ProL and Pro S keyboards provide 16.7 million 00:00:50.480 --> 00:00:56.559 color RGB backlighting, genuine Cherry MX switches, and an industryleading ARM 00:00:54.800 --> 00:01:01.760 Cortex processor. Learn more in the link in the video description. Now, I could 00:00:58.879 --> 00:01:07.760 say that zero means something like zero compromises or so thin and light as to 00:01:04.720 --> 00:01:09.680 feel like you're carrying nothing. But 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 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:19.520 on selling gaming laptops. I suspect it means zero dedicated graphics card. So 00:01:16.960 --> 00:01:24.320 the zero, whether it carries Intel's Ultrabook certification sticker or not, 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:29.600 is pretty much an Ultrabook. Sorry gamers. With that said, it's clearly a 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:34.320 better than average Ultrabook from the outset. It's available in a variety of 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:39.920 configurations all the way down to a very attractive 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:43.040 $999 model with a Core i5 and a 120 gig 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:46.759 SSD OS drive with a 500 gig hard drive 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:50.520 all the way up to the topofthe-line 00:01:46.759 --> 00:01:53.600 $2500 midnight edition with a Core 00:01:50.520 --> 00:01:56.960 i76500U 8 gigs of RAM a top-of-the-line 00:01:53.600 --> 00:02:01.360 512 gig Samsung 950 Pro M.2 2 PCI 00:01:56.960 --> 00:02:05.600 Expressbased SSD and a 2 terbte Samsung 00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:09.039 850 EVO SATA SSD for storage. It's got 00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:11.280 an Intel 8260 2x2 AC wireless card that 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:16.720 managed over 20 megabytes per second sustained transfers in my tests. It's 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:19.840 got Windows 10 Pro and a healthy 45watth 00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:22.560 lithium ion battery. It features an all 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:27.760 aluminum chassis design with perhaps a greater propensity for picking up greasy 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:30.080 fingerprints and a little bit more flex 00:02:27.760 --> 00:02:35.440 than I'd like. Not to mention that the hinge isn't the premium one finger 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, 00:02:38.160 --> 00:02:44.480 right around 1.4 kilos or 3 lb. Overall, 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 00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:54.640 single type-C port and a headphone jack 00:02:51.680 --> 00:03:00.239 and nothing else. Sorry, I was thinking of the MacBook. That's right. No, it's 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:02.080 got power in a USB 2.0 port and a 00:03:00.239 --> 00:03:10.239 headphone microphone combo jack on the left with a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:12.480 a type C 5 GB USB 3.0 port, not 00:03:10.239 --> 00:03:17.120 Thunderbolt unfortunately, and an SD card reader on the right. I love the SD 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, 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:28.239 let me tell you, not good. Flipping this puppy open reveals something that may 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:34.080 feel like a compromise to some, but that I don't actually mind. I actually 00:03:30.239 --> 00:03:36.959 ordered my customuilt XPS15 with a 1080p 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:42.560 display because I don't feel like at this size the higher DPI makes enough of 00:03:40.480 --> 00:03:48.159 a difference to justify the battery life that I'm giving up. And apparently Venom 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:51.760 agrees because every model of BlackBook 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:55.360 130 is equipped with a 1080p IPS 00:03:51.760 --> 00:04:00.080 display. But while the resolution spec 00:03:55.360 --> 00:04:02.080 of this panel is not that impressive in 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:10.159 other ways, it's among the best that I've seen. The blacks are midnight black 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:12.560 and there is astonishingly little 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:19.600 backlight bleed even though Venom has the guts to ship it with a black desktop 00:04:16.919 --> 00:04:24.479 background. As a communications device, the 130 is a bit of a mixed bag. On the 00:04:22.479 --> 00:04:28.800 one hand, the microphone actually sounds pretty good, but on the other, the one 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:36.320 megapixel camera doesn't perform particularly well in either back lit 00:04:33.320 --> 00:04:38.400 or even front lit scenarios with the 00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:43.680 subject ending up quite washed out and pale looking. So, while the speakers are 00:04:41.280 --> 00:04:47.919 okay, about all you'd expect for a notebook this size, making it fine as a 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:53.199 casual movie watching device on the couch, it is not ideal for regular video 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:57.919 conferencing. The keyboard is what I would characterize as pretty good. The 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:03.199 key caps wobble more than I'd like on a truly premium device, and the stroke 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:06.400 action is a little bit mushy. But for me, there are really more important 00:05:04.880 --> 00:05:11.199 things on a thin and light. The adjustable backlight is great, and the 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:16.680 130 delivers on typing speed and accuracy, as well as the overall layout. 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:21.600 The arrow keys have that annoying up down combo close together thing that I 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:25.440 think Apple started. But it's otherwise bog standard with 00:05:23.520 --> 00:05:30.720 function modifiers available for pretty much anything that I would need to do, 00:05:27.520 --> 00:05:32.560 including one to disable the touchpad. 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:37.039 Which leads us to that, I guess. The touchpad has some high points and also 00:05:35.039 --> 00:05:40.320 some low points. From a things that I like perspective, it's got the full 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:45.440 range of gesture controls which can be set up within the Elant control panel. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:49.600 It's got a satisfying pad click with no discrete buttons, and it does a pretty 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:54.960 darn good job of rejecting both palms and my click finger when I'm operating 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:56.880 it two-handed. But it comes with what is 00:05:54.960 --> 00:06:00.240 for me a bit of an annoying flaw. Hopefully, one that can be addressed 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:05.039 with a driver tweak or something along those lines. There's a for me 00:06:02.880 --> 00:06:09.120 perceptible lag between moving my finger across the trackpad and seeing my 00:06:06.960 --> 00:06:12.639 actions on the screen. This is true with the notebook plugged in or running off 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:17.680 battery. And I even went as far as to reinstall Windows using the included 16 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 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:27.520 partition as an enthusiast, which resolved this issue when I encountered 00:06:23.840 --> 00:06:29.360 it on the Blade 14 2015. Moving on, 00:06:27.520 --> 00:06:33.199 though, there is more good stuff. The bundled software package is very 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:38.880 Spartan. Basically, some alternate browsers and not much else. Norton is on 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:44.160 there, but it's a full year subscription rather than a 30-day subsidized trial. 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 00:06:46.080 --> 00:06:52.960 about in the part of this video where I would normally talk about gaming 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:55.520 performance. Haha. Acoustics are better 00:06:52.960 --> 00:07:00.400 than I expected with the 130 managing to run fanless quite frequently, even with 00:06:58.400 --> 00:07:05.280 the i7 installed. So, you'll do better with an i5 skew. And while the battery 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:09.360 takes over four hours to charge, which is agonizing when you're waiting around 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 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:17.680 productivity suite, it managed to run for well over 3 hours continuously, 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:23.919 which is a pretty darn solid score. Leading us finally to the conclusion. In 00:07:20.880 --> 00:07:26.240 a market that did not contain the Razer 00:07:23.919 --> 00:07:30.240 Blade Stealth, the BlackBook Zero would be a savior to folks who wanted a great 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:33.800 Ultrabook experience without dealing with the hassle of running Windows on a 00:07:31.840 --> 00:07:38.639 MacBook Air. There are some minor quirks. In the real world, it's a less 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:43.840 obvious choice, but not an entirely invalid one. While the Blade Stealth 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:46.880 features an undeniably stronger, thinner 00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:48.800 industrial design, Thunderbolt, an RGB 00:07:46.880 --> 00:07:54.240 backlit keyboard, and a higher resolution display across all SKUs. Its 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:59.599 thinner fans will work harder to control CPU thermals. And it's much less 00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:06.000 configurable spec-wise with a maximum of 8 gigs of RAM soldered to the main board 00:08:02.080 --> 00:08:09.440 and only the M.2 drive being upgradable. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.680 The BlackBook 130, by contrast, and this 00:08:09.440 --> 00:08:17.440 one hits pretty hard for heavy Google Chrome Tab users like myself, manages to 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 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:26.639 if your Ultrabook is your primary machine, as it is for so many people 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:29.360 these days, and a so dim memory socket 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:35.360 into its only marginally thicker shell. And while Venom doesn't advertise the 00:08:31.840 --> 00:08:39.680 capability of the 130 to run a single 16 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:41.760 gig DDR3L sodium, I tried it with a 1333 00:08:39.680 --> 00:08:47.839 MHz intelligent memory branded stick that I had lying around and it worked 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:50.320 perfectly. That right there is a huge 00:08:47.839 --> 00:08:53.839 win from my perspective on what is already a very compelling little 00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:57.519 product, provided that they can quickly sort out the touchpad lag. So, thanks 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 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:06.399 like button, or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:09.080 to shop at Amazon. Instructions up there by buying a cool t-shirt. Oop, that's 00:09:08.160 --> 00:09:12.640 not a t-shirt. 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