New gaming laptop X-treme Tornado X18A

      The MAIBENBEN company has decided that 16 inches is for wimps and has rolled out a solid 18-inch laptop in the Russian market. By design, this is a powerful unit for gaming and work that can still be carried around.

      However, carrying it will be quite difficult, as it weighs nearly three kilograms. And the price, of course, is pleasing — starting from 193,990 rubles. Who said that a large screen comes cheap?

      Appearance

      The body is black, the lid is made of aluminum, and the rest is plastic. The laptop does not skimp on size: its dimensions in the folded state are 400 by 291 mm, with a thickness of 21 to 24 mm depending on the angle of view. The weight of 2.8 kg can also catch an unprepared user off guard. If you plan to use it on your lap, be prepared for your knees to remember this day for a long time. The ports are partially located on the back panel so that the cables do not hang in front of your eyes — a small detail, but nice. Image: MAIBENBEN press service

      Display

      One of the main differences of the device from its competitors lies in the screen size — after all, 18 inches with an aspect ratio of 16:10 is no joke. Its area exceeds that of a typical 16-inch counterpart by a quarter. In games, this provides space, in movies — a cinema-like experience, and in Excel — the ability to see half of the table at once. The resolution is 1920×1200, the refresh rate is 144 Hz, colors cover 100% sRGB, and the brightness is 300 nits. Image: MAIBENBEN press service

      Keyboard

      The keyboard here is full-sized, with a numeric keypad. The key backlighting is monochrome and, fortunately, does not shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow. It lights up in only one color chosen by the user. The WASD keys and arrow keys are highlighted with transparent blue plastic so that gamers do not accidentally miss in the dark. The key travel is 1.8 mm, and the manufacturer claims that the buttons feel like pure "mechanics." The power button is located at the top center, and the touchpad is made of glass, providing precise and smooth cursor control.

      Performance

      Inside the laptop is an RTX 5070 card with 8 GB of GDDR7 memory. Its power reaches 115 watts, of which 15 can be added as needed through Dynamic Boost. The Ryzen 9 processor with 16 cores can boost up to 5.4 GHz, consuming between 55 to 120 watts. The manufacturer offers RAM options of 16 or 24 GB (DDR5, 5200 MHz), and if desired, it can be expanded to 32 GB. The minimum SSD size is 1 TB, and if that seems insufficient, it can be expanded to 4 TB without any warranty issues, even if you decide to go inside yourself. By the way, the manufacturer allows this. Image: MAIBENBEN press service

      Cooling System

      Three fans and two thick heat pipes are used for cooling, with a total cooling system dissipation power of 200 watts. Instead of regular thermal paste, phase-change thermal paste is used, as it lasts longer and dissipates heat better. The ventilation grilles have been enlarged to allow air to flow freely, and at the same time, the laptop looks more aggressive. Overall, it will probably make some noise, but it won't overheat. Image: MAIBENBEN press service

      Battery and Charging

      The battery is 80 Wh (or 5200 mAh — whichever you prefer) and supports fast charging. The manufacturer supplies a compact 250 W power supply. The laptop can also be charged via USB-C with up to 100 W, in case the user loses the original charger or wants to save space in their backpack.

      Interfaces

      The laptop has more than enough ports. On the right side, there are two USB-A ports and a Kensington lock, while on the left, there is another USB-A, a USB-C with DisplayPort and charging, a 2.5 gigabit RJ-45 network port, and a headphone jack. At the back, there is a second USB-C with the same functions, a full HDMI 2.1 (supports 4K at 144 Hz and even 8K at 60 Hz), Mini DisplayPort, and a power connector. In short, you can connect anything and as much as you want, as long as there is something to connect.

      Despite the high price, the manufacturer is confident that there will be demand for this model. Especially since for this money, the buyer gets a huge screen, powerful hardware, the ability to upgrade independently, and a solid increase in weight in their backpack. If this is exactly what they need, then why not?