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Aftershock Titan V2.1 review: With great power, comes great size

By Salehuddin Bin Husin - 13 Jan 2015
Launch SRP: S$4208

Conclusion

The new benchmark for performance?

As soon as we saw the specs for the Aftershock Titan V2.1, we knew that unless Aftershock really messed up somewhere along the line, the Aftershock Titan V2.1 would be a monster of a gaming machine. Now, after testing it with our benchmarks, we can definitively say that it currently is the monster to beat. The notebook is overwhelming powerful with its dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M GPUs. One such GPU already packs quite a bit of horsepower, as can be seen in the benchmarks for the MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro. But put two of them in the same machine and you're pretty much guaranteed to be in gaming heaven for the next few years.

Given the raw specs and performance, one would be wondering how Aftershock can release the Aftershock Titan V2.1 for just $4,208 (our review unit's specs, which is the recommended configuration). Meanwhile, the MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro's base cost is S$4,299! While the MSI notebook doesn't give you a secondary graphics card, it has quite bit of other features to enhance the usability of the machine to make up for the cost. Some of the notable qualities are its faster processor, dual SSDs in RAID mode, upgradeable MXM graphics module, Blu-ray writer, wired and wireless Killer network connectivity, a spacious SteelSeries designed keyboard, Dyneaudio speakers with Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 2 audio hardware and software suite, six USB 3.0 ports and enough video outputs to run surround gaming. Do the math and you'll see where all the extra cost and bulk go into for the MSI GT72 notebook. 

Does that mean the Aftershock Titan V2.1 is actually a rather plain machine? Apart from its high-end dual GPUs, unfortunately, the Aftershock machine is rather straightforward. It's not a bad thing, but there's nothing interesting, unique nor revolutionary about it. If you just need the most affordable powerful machine, the Aftershock Titan V2.1 will fit the bill to a tee.

This is the price of power. A gigantic notebook that's almost as thick as phone books.

Given the notebook's massive graphics firepower, we're actually disappointed that its display is just a standard Full HD screen. We wished Aftershock offered an option for a higher resolution screen but alas, that's not to be. The 1080p screen is the only display option available for the Aftershock Titan V2.1, which is a real shame. Sure, you can output the visuals to a bigger display (which would probably be the choice for most) but the fact is that there's no option for outfitting the Aftershock Titan V2.1 with a better display. You're forced to get a higher resolution monitor or use the built-in one. Speaking of display outputs, the primary options are the single HDMI and single DisplayPort connections. While the notebook has a Thunderbolt port to rely upon as well, there are very few such displays in the market and this leave the Aftershock Titan V2.1 without an option to have a surround gaming setup if you consider those two primary outputs. Quite a shame given all it's graphics crunching power.

External storage and peripheral connectivity are aided by having the Thunderbolt option, but again, drives that use them and (provide effective performance improvement) are few and far between. So having Thunderbolt is an added feature, but not one that's of immediate use to most. Moving on to USB matters, take note that there's no USB ports on the left side of the machine. It's a very rare thing to have one side of a notebook completely devoid of the ubiquitous port. We really don't like having USB ports only on the right and the back of the machine (which is even more inaccessible). Considering that most of us are right-handed, having a USB device attached in the right port (maybe a thumb drive or some other wired device) on the right side can only lead to accidental collisions with the mouse. Since this is a gaming laptop, do you really want to be interrupted in the midst of gaming just because you bumped into your thumb drive?

We're not quite done yet and have a few other minor quibbles to relate. For starters, audio output of the machine is acceptable for a notebook, but if you're going to be playing or watching movies on the notebook, you owe it to yourself to get a decent pair of headphones as soon as you can. The other is replacement of its clickpad (from the older Titan models) with a trackpad that has no demarcation or differentiation of where the trackpad buttons are present. There's also no divider to let you know you've crossed over on the right or left side of the buttons.

Fortunately, there are some positive points going for the the Aftershock Titan V2.1, both externally and internally. Build-wise, while it's mostly a plastic chassis, the choice of finish is great. The matte material finish is highly resistant to getting dirty, even smudges from fingers have a hard time finding purchase. Even if they do mess up the look of the chassis, cleaning it off is effortless. We certainly hope that more of their notebooks down the line use the same finish.

Large vents on either side of the chassis lets the warm air flow out easily.

We don't know what deal Aftershock's made with the devil but the the Aftershock Titan V2.1 is relatively quiet (compared to its contemporaries) even when the fans are running at full blast. It's not whisper silent, but compared to some notebooks that sound as if there's a hairdryer running full tilt in the chassis, the Aftershock's noise level is surprisingly bearable. Even more amazing is that it remains that way even with two graphics cards needing to be cooled. Temperature performance was positive too as it was generally running cooler than most others of its class. We think the bigger build helped it harbor a better cooling solution.

Another aspect that we like (which is becoming a rarity strangely) is that the battery of the Aftershock Titan V2.1 is not integrated. That means that if for any reason the battery fails, swapping it out for a fresh pack is as simple as sliding aside a few tabs, removing the old battery and slotting the new one in. It takes seconds and might save you weeks in wasted time otherwise as you send your machine in to have a battery replaced, which could potentially happen in the case of closest thing the Aftershock TItan V2.1 has for a rival (in size, if not in power), the MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro.

With removable batteries, you can bring along a spare or two if you need the Aftershock Titan V2.1 to operate without an electrical outlet.

Size does have its advantages. In this case, it's stability.

The ungainly size of the Aftershock Titan V2.1 may be scary, but the size also bring with it benefits that we feel might be worth the trade off in portability. Owning to its thicker base, the Aftershock Titan V2.1's keyboard affords more key travel, allowing the keys to sink in deeper. This certainly makes the notebook's keyboard feel more comfortable, akin to a regular PC keyboard. The backlight color customization option is also a welcome addition. The bad thing is that under normal lighting conditions, the colors are weak. You can barely make out unless you look between the cracks of the keyboard's keys.

What it all boils down to in the end is function. At the end of the day, what would you rather have? A dainty machine that can barely run today's games or a hulking behemoth that can take anything you throw at it while asking for seconds? If your answer's the second one, the Aftershock Titan V2.1's made for you, especially at the price the recommended version of the Aftershock Titan V2.1 is retailing for.

If not, you might want to consider reading our slim gaming notebooks review, featuring the Aorus X7 Pro and the Gigabyte P35X V3. You might find them more to your liking. The MSI GT72 2QE Dominator is also an option if you would much rather enjoy more creature comforts to enhance your gaming experience as well as for other purposes beyond just gaming. Not to mention, its visual appeal is better too.

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8.5
  • Design 6.5
  • Features 8
  • Performance 10
  • Value 8.5
  • Mobility 6
The Good
Tremendous power, reasonable price
Comfortable keyboard
Customizable backlight colors
Thunderbolt port
Removable battery
The Bad
Plain design
Huge size and weight
Limited SSD storage
Processor could be better
Display underwhelming
No USB ports on the left side
Lacks a third display output for surround gaming
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