Erazer Views

• General Goods

The entry-level Erazer X6811-MD97623 goes for 1049 Euro. This model comes with a dual-core i5 460M processor, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and a matte HD display with a resolution of 1366x768. The premium model adds a good deal to the price, coming to 1599 Euro. For this price, you get the Erazer X6811-MD97625 with a speedy quad-core i7 740QM CPU, a memory of 6G (DDR3) and a full-HD screen (1920 x 1080). Our in-review model (available starting January 2011), the Erazer X6811-MD97624, is virtually the same as the previously mentioned model but costs a whole 400 Euro less (1,199 Euro). In just about every area besides CPU, memory, and display, all three X6811 models are built the same. Medion has fitted each model with a 640 GB HDD and a classic DVD burner. And to top off the package, you get the speedy GeForce GTX 460M graphics card from Nvidia, which supports DirectX 11. Also available for purchase directly from the Medion homepage is the 17

The Erazer's case is not produced by Medion but actually by MSI. Taking a look the MSI GX660R and the GT660R, it quickly becomes apparent that Medion has gone with a much less flashy case design. Instead of having a sensitive high-gloss finish, the display lid appears matte, black and slightly textured. The keyboard is bordered by matte silver with no stylish elements like bright red around the speakers. All in all, the changes in design of the Erazer X6811 give it a more stylish and classy look—the cheap plastic look is no more! Another improvement is that the case does not attract dust and dirt very much except along the display frame and the area between keyboard buttons. Upon close inspection, however, a few flaws do end up revealing themselves. The case is designed in such a way that spaces to the left and right of the keyboard in our review model actually measure a significantly different width.

There's not much room for complaints concerning the sturdiness of the base unit, which only slightly caves to strong pressure. The display lid's sturdiness is not quite as praiseworthy since the degree to which it can be twisted is quite unsettling. The display lid hinges do their job quite well, on the other hand. When opening up the laptop, the base unit stays perfectly still. At a height of 5.6 cm and a weight of 3.5 Kg, the Erazer X6811 is not too thin or light but turns out to still be halfway portable.

Although the folks at Medion held back on pre-installing a plethora of software, the operating system reacts astoundingly slowly after first booting it up. Only after getting rid of a good deal of unnecessary software does the Erazer X6811 show its true potential.AccessoriesMedion deserves some recognition for their extensive set of accessories. As opposed to most manufacturers, Medion was kind enough to include two recovery discs for the operating system Windows 7 Home Premium: 32 bit and 64 bit. In addition to the bulky 150-watt power supply, an instruction manual and a DVD with drivers and utilities are part of the package. Finally, there's also a cleaning cloth and some utensils for the second HDD slot.