Haier sent one of the laptops from his Thunderobot gaming series – 911 Air D to our editors. We have not covered this rule before, so let’s start from the beginning – we will understand the features of the device and evaluate its performance in games.
The 911 Air D has a 15.6-inch screen, an 11th-generation Core i5 processor, an NVIDIA GTX 1650 graphics card, and 8GB of RAM. Using synthetic and game tests, we will check whether the device can withstand various loads.
More information about the laptop
Appearance and iron
The design is made in a futuristic style – narrow stripes with blue lighting and a logo are built into the black plastic housing. There are no bumps or bumps on the smooth surface. The exception are the ventilation holes on the bottom and rear panel of the case, as well as cutouts for ports for connecting devices. And the matte finish doesn’t leave fingerprints at all.
Build quality is near perfect – there is a subtle creak when opening and closing the lid. Perhaps this is due to the undeveloped hinge mechanism. There are no more clearances, the keyboard is securely fastened and the body parts are precisely aligned.
The display does not open fully. In the extreme position, it is fixed at about 120-125 degrees. The weight is 2.1 kg without the charging module and the dimensions are 35.9 x 25.3 x 2.39 cm.
All the basic stuff is built into the keyboard — a large 107×62mm touchpad, a numeric keypad, arrows, and an ANSI layout with a long left Shift button and a single-level enter. Function keys adjust brightness, sound and manage media files, turn Wi-Fi on and off, and so on – a standard set for any laptop. There are no other game solutions. You can only adjust the brightness of the diodes or remove the keyboard backlight completely. But all keys clearly respond to pressing and do not stick.
911 Air D got the usual 15.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The image is clear, without glare and defects. Revelations are not to be expected, but for games and work it will certainly do. A standard HD webcam (720p and 30 FPS) is built into the plastic housing at the top of the screen. Image acceptable for video calling in Zoom or similar applications.
On the left are Kensington Lock, RJ45, USB 3.1 Gen 1, a 3.5mm audio headset jack and an SD card reader.
On the right side are the connection for an external power supply, HDMI, USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB-C connectors with support for DisplayPort, HDMI 1.4 or USB 3.1 Gen 1. There are no ports on the back panel.
Speakers are built in over the entire width of the housing above the keyboard. Thanks to Steelseries’ Nahimic software, the sound is clear even at maximum volume and musical compositions sound pleasant. Admittedly, low frequencies are still missing and in tracks with many instruments there is a lack of clarity in reproduction. Good for games, but not enough for audiophiles.
The laptop takes air for cooling from below. When working with office programs, the laptop makes almost no noise, however, under load in games, a clear fan noise occurs.
The laptop is powered by an Intel Core i5-11260H processor with 6 cores and 12 threads. Also installed is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card with 4 GB GDDR6 without ray tracing, 8 GB DDR4 memory at 3200 MHz, a Realtek RTL8168/8111 network module with Wi-Fi 5 and a Bluetooth 4.2 module.
The drive is NVMe SSD Kimtigo MG981K with a capacity of 256 GB. The actual space for the user’s needs is 237 GB.
There’s room for an upgrade – inside is a free SO-DIMM module for RAM and an additional 2.5″ SATA slot for a hard drive or SSD. The used drive is also easy to replace.
Battery capacity – 51 Wh. With the screen brightness set to maximum, the device will run for approximately two hours. In games, of course, this time will decrease significantly. The laptop comes with a 120W Lite-On power supply.
Characteristics
- Display: 15.6 inches, 1920×1080, AHVA IPS, 60Hz
- Processor: Intel Core i5-11260H
- Memory: 8GB (1x8GB) DDR4-3200 expandable
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6 Notebook
- Disk Subsystem: 256 GB NVMe SSD (256 GB NVMe PCIe 3.0) with free memory expansion module
- Sound: Nahimic Audio
- Connectivity: Realtek RTL8168/8111, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 with stated 5.0 support
- Connections: 1x Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1 / DP / HDMI 1.4), 2x Type-A USB3.1 Gen 1, 1x RJ45, 1x SD Express, 1x (2K @ 144Hz / 4K @ 60Hz) HDMI 2.0.
- Battery: non-removable, 51 Wh
- Dimensions: 359.2 (W) x 253.8 (D) x 23.9 (H) mm
- Weight: 2.15 kg
Performance. Synthetic Testing
We tested the laptop with Cinebench R23, CPU-Z and CrystalDiskMark applications. Screenshot results:
We also evaluated performance in 3DMark, Time Spy Extreme, Fire Strike Extreme, Wild Life Extreme, CPU Profile, Mesh Shader Bump Test, and VRS Bump Test.
Performance. Game Tests
Gaming tests were performed at the maximum and optimal graphics level. With a balanced power supply in the most demanding projects, the processor temperature reached 98 degrees and the video card values went up to 82 degrees. The central part of the keyboard often got hot. Fortunately, thanks to a special cooling system, the WASD zone didn’t get hot.
Cyberpunk 2077. As expected, even with the latest patch, the CD Projekt RED game proved demanding on the laptop’s hardware. There was a noticeable drop in frame rate in some cutscenes. At the maximum graphics level, the laptop barely reached 30 FPS. It is more or less comfortable to play on medium settings, the laptop reached up to 38 FPS.
Project cars 3. At maximum settings, the frame rate was around 45 FPS. It was comfortable to play.
At the high graphics settings offered by the game itself, the laptop produced a stable 60 FPS, only on rare occasions sagging a bit.
Elden Ring. The creation of FromSoftware did not work flawlessly upon release. Even after multiple patches, significant framerate drops can occur, especially during animations related to fire and item usage.
The maximum parameters set near the 40 FPS mark with small jumps up and down. On high and medium settings, the frame rate stayed within 50-60 FPS indoors and around 46 FPS in open spaces.
Results and prices
The Thunderobot 911 Air D may not be the killer of all gaming laptops, but it is quite competitive. The main thing is not to wait for revelations: budget hardware allows you to play modern games only on high settings, it is better to forget about “ultra”. And in the most demanding games you will have to lower the graphics level even more. Although the differences are still minimal.
See the price on the manufacturer’s website
But the device offers a futuristic design, a pleasant keyboard response, a fast SSD drive and an affordable price that will please many.
Keeper of the Treasury. Reasonable price for a laptop that lets you enjoy games on medium and high settings.
Designer’s choice. The futuristic body design with blue accent stripes will appeal to many.
Source: VG Times
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.