The world is changing, and the gaming industry has become so popular that more and more companies want to work in it. It’s interesting that over the past year we have learned not only about new manufacturers /” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener”>gaming accessories, but also about more expensive gaming toys – laptops. Dream Machines is one of them, and the G980 is one of the flagships of their line of gaming laptops.

 

Dream Machines laptop manufacturing roots go back to Taiwanese OEM Clevo. By the way, we found his stand at the recent exhibition Computex 2016. However, we can assure you that after two weeks of working with this laptop, there were no complaints about the build quality or performance.

The appearance of the Dream Machines G980 is very ascetic, and nothing at all hints that “under the hood” it has top-of-the-line hardware for modern gaming laptops. The body is made of matte plastic, pleasant to the touch. All panels are made in a single trapezoidal design. The side ends, the back wall, the keyboard space – beveled corners and straight lines everywhere. This is not a minus, but there is no aggressiveness, which can be found in modern gaming laptops. One gets the feeling that the G980 is a corporate workstation for pedantic Germans.

 

However, there are no shortcomings in the assembly and ergonomics of the components. The first move with a new laptop is opening the lid. Dream Machines respects the quirks of geeks, and the engineers made it so that the lid can be opened with one hand. There is even a special ledge for this.

The space around the keyboard continues the style of a serious guy. The backlighting of the buttons is white and there is no way to change it to some kind of gaming shade, not to mention animation. The only thing that shows that the keyboard is related to the gaming theme is the red arrows on the [W/A/S/D] buttons.

 

 

The keyboard itself is recessed into the body. It looks like they decided to implement the palm rest this way. In addition, there is less chance that pressing on the cover will cause the screen to come into contact with the buttons. In general, the solution can be called practical, except for cases when liquid is spilled on the keyboard – it will get under the buttons faster. The touchpad is intuitive, and there is a fingerprint scanner between the buttons.

The bottom plane of the laptop is unremarkable, except that the battery is not removable, and if something happens to it, replacement will be a little more difficult.

 

Above the keyboard are two speakers from the famous Japanese speaker manufacturer Onkyo. In addition, Sound Blaster X-FI MB3 technology is implemented here. Of course, a good brand did not make an audio monster out of a laptop, but playing and watching movies with this sound turned out to be very comfortable.

 

 

The connectors are concentrated on the side ends and on the back. On the left are HDMI, USB 3.0 and two MiniDisplay ports, on the right are two USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet, a card reader, a hole for a Kensington lock and audio connectors (S/PDIF and separate for microphone and headphones). On the back side, slightly to the left of center, there is another USB 3.0 and a charging port. Speaking of charging: the power supply here is large, like that of other gaming “classmates”. It is the size of an iPad Mini in area and as thick as two of them.

 

 

As you can see, the G980 has a complete set for connecting additional devices and equipment for playback and display. Please note, there is no exchange for USB 2.0, which they are still trying to install here and there even in top gaming models.

 

The laptop here uses a 15.6-inch Full HD matrix, made using IPS technology with a matte finish. This is the most optimal set of parameters, in our opinion.

 

What is also worth adding about the screen is the possibility of choosing a model with G-Sync technology. Yes, yes, Dream Machines decided to give mobile gamers no less than desktop PC owners. Unfortunately, we received a version without NVIDIA synchronization technology, but I believe that this will be a very pleasant bonus when choosing.

 

Above the display is a webcam lens with a 2 megapixel matrix. and the ability to shoot pictures in Full HD.

 

Judging by indirect signs, such as a set of video ports and the possible implementation of G-Sync technology, you probably already realized that the G980 is also not simple inside. And you will be 100% right.

 

 

So, the processor used here is the top-end model that can be imagined for a laptop – Intel Core i7 6700HQ. It belongs to the “H” family with the fastest chips. The processor is equipped with four cores, running up to eight threads simultaneously. The base frequency is 2.6 GHz, and in Boost mode it increases to 3.1 GHz.

 

NVIDIA GTX GeForce 980M (8 GB GDDR5) video card before the release of the generation 1070/1080 was the top solution. Together with 8 GB of RAM (DDR4, 2133 MHz), it makes almost any task feasible for a demanding gamer or, as far as it is appropriate to say, the average user. However, the maximum amount of memory is 64 GB.

 

Actually, the test results and what we tried to load this gaming system with can be found below.

 

 

Among other points, we note that the manufacturer allows a wide selection of components. When purchasing, you can choose to have literally any of the components. So, our version has only one Toshiba MQ01ABD100 1 TB hard drive, but the laptop can have up to four drives (2 SATA + 2 M.2). At a minimum, it would be logical to add a small SSD, for example 128 GB, to speed up the operating system. There is no optical drive here, and, in general, it’s good 🙂

 

 

Even for such powerful laptops, cost remains an important issue. At the price of the Dream Machines G980, there are only a couple of models on the market with similar characteristics. However, they have “gaps” in other things – for example, the lack of a matte screen or a slightly weaker graphics card.

 

However, we were initially skeptical about the design of the G980 and the Clevo software interface for installing system drivers. It is made in, to put it mildly, retro style. Actually, you will only have to encounter it twice: when installing drivers and to enable G-Sync in the proprietary control panel. The design of the software and the case are practically the only shortcomings.

 

In general, the G980 does not feel like a raw product at all. It has everything for gaming at high settings and working with “heavy” applications. It works stably under load. Traditionally, for laptops with the latest generation processors, for office tasks it is enough for 5–6 hours of battery life. Some may not like the laconicism and rigor of the design, but its attributes as a laptop are at the level of a full-fledged gaming monster.

 

Dream Machines G980-15UA01 characteristics
Processor:	Intel Core i7-6700HQ (2.6 GHz to 3.5 GHz)
Chipset:	Intel HM170
RAM:	8 GB (SO-DIMM DDR4, 2133 MHz), max – 4 slots (up to 64GB)
Video card:	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 8 GB GDDR5
Display, resolution, coverage:	15.6”, IPS, 1920×1080, matte
Storage drives:	1 TB (SATA) 5400 rpm (max. quantity 4 (2 SATA + 2 M.2))
Audio:	Onkyo Sound Blaster X-FI MB3
Web camera:	2 megapixels. Full HD
Interfaces:	4x USB 3.0, 2x Mini Display port 1.2, 1x HDMI, 1x MiniJack headphones, 1x MiniJack microphone, 1x S/PDIF, Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-FI 802.11 ac/a/b/g/ n from Intel, 2×2 AC + Bluetooth
Optical drive/card reader:	no/6-in-1
Operating system:	DOS
Battery:	Fixed, 4-cell, 60 W/h
Dimensions:	385×271×25 mm
Weight:	2.5 kg
Supplier:	ERC, www.erc.ua
Price:	$2100
Rating:
+ assembly
+ performance
+ flexible customization
+ G-Sync technology
+ price
– design