So I previously wrote a rather scathing initial review on my new Origin EVO15-S custom laptop a little while ago, and in that review, I promised to update you all on my opinions, should they change. Well, that happened, so here’s what I currently think.

I’ll be honest here: This is a good laptop. It has some issues, such as the extremely hot left side of the laptop, but with additional cooling (such as the 6-fan cooling tray I got), it is tolerable. But all of the other issues I was previously experiencing with the laptop have either been resolved, or found to be features, as opposed to bugs. For example, the BSODs all went away, once I removed some software from the machine that monitored the fan speed and internal temperatures. It was basically bloatware, and things are fine now.

Now then, I still have a concern about the soundcard, since it still cranks the volume on my headphones, when plugged into the audio jack. But this is a software issue, apparently, as the Soundblaster software is supposed to be able to fix this issue by adjusting the default settings. Unfortunately, thus far I have yet to be able to get any changes I have made to these setting to actually take. It is as though the Default settings are locked in, and cannot be adjusted. Most likely, this is a User Error, so I’m not freaking out about it. This is more of an inconvenience than anything, at this point.

Okay, with all that out of the way, how well does the Origin EVO15-S perform? Well, let’s put it this way, in one word: Phenomenal

I play mostly MMORPGs, as folks familiar with this site well know, and they might not be the best testbed for such a machine, but it’s what I’ve got. On “Lord of the Rings Online”, with all graphics settings cranked up to Ultra, I have been able to get 100+ frames per second, with the exception of in crowded areas such as Bree. When streaming LOTRO, with the same settings at Ultra, the machine ranges wildly, but averages around 40 frames per second. I have dropped the settings to High, and been able to get a solid 70 frames per second in almost all situations, including combat or in major hubs, and well over 100 in quieter situations… and yes, that’s while streaming or recording.

Yes, this is a 10 year old MMORPG we’re talking about here, but also one not exactly optimized for making full use of my quad-core i7 processor, let alone the GTX 1060 video card. With a modern game, optimized for making full use of this fully armed and operational gaming laptop, I expect it to perform really, really well. Yes, this is no 1070 or 1080 beast-mode card, but it should anything I throw at it and handle them well at moderate settings. I plan to do some further benchmarking, but for my purposes, it isn’t really necessary. This machine handles everything I throw at it, and can stream it all, like a champ (except for some heat issues, as discussed before)!

So in the end, I have to say this laptop kicks all manner of ass, for what I need out of it. If I were streaming the latest games, and required much more out of it graphics-wise, then maybe there would be an issue, but most dedicated Twitch streamers aren’t streaming with just one computer, let alone doing it on a laptop. I am, and this EVO15-S handles that task with aplomb!

Final verdict: 9/10

Update: I was a bit… optimistic… with this appraisal of the Origin PC EVO 15-S. Like I said, when it runs, it runs really well. But just slapping a cooling tray under a laptop that is overheating because , as it turns out, one of its heat exchangers doesn’t work, isn’t going to fly for long. And that got born out as true, when the keyboard started failing, likely because of all the excessive heat on the left side of the unit. But hey, it’s good to know that when the keyboard problem is reported to Origin, they get right on fixing it!

Oh, wait… No, they said they could send me a replacement keyboard, so I could fix it myself, and even then, failed to actually send the replacement keyboard! then they tried to argue that I shouldn’t be able to return the laptop for a refund, because it was now outside of the 30-day money back guarantee window!

Luckily, I reported the keyboard issue to them with a few days to spare, so they relented and approved the refund. then failed to issue an RMA to send it back, so I had to follow up with that, and when they did issue said RMA, it lacked a packing label, so I had to follow up yet again, and get another RMA issued. But hey, they finally got it taken care of, and they got the laptop over a month ago.

As of today, I still haven’t received my refund. I called them earlier today to – yet again – follow up, and was told it must have “slipped through the cracks”. Supposedly I’ll receive my refund within 3 days, but I’ll believe that when I see it.

Final assessment: Origin might make decent computers as a general rule, but not in my case. It was nothing but delays, excuses, and outright lies on their part (the biggest being that my laptop was delayed in shipping because they found a problem with it, had to replace a part, and then extensively test it, to make sure it was perfect… only to have it arrive in clearly defective condition!).

Do not buy from Origin PC. Ever.

Hi, I’m Scormus

I'm the editor, publisher, and primary "talent" here at Scormey.com.

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