System builders are in the midst of upgrading their product lines with new CPUs from Intel and AMD. On the mobile side, Origin PC recently announced the return of its 15.6-inch EVO15-S with a built-in Intel Comet Lake-H CPU and several display options, including a 240Hz 1080p screen. The same CPU and display combination is now available on the boutique builder's 17.3-inch EVO17-S, but it is an expensive combination. More on pricing in a future issue.

The EVO17-S is a larger version of the EVO15-S, but it is not exactly the same. One of the main differences is that the larger model does not have the option of a 4K OLED screen. While this is a bit disappointing, buyers can avoid the risk of burn-in by sticking with LCD screens with refresh rate and resolution options.

The advantages of 4K resolution are somewhat weaker on smaller displays (compared to larger desktop monitors). Nevertheless, the EVO17-S uses an LCD screen instead of an OLED and offers the same 60 Hz refresh rate option as the EVO15-S. Otherwise, buyers can choose either 144 Hz or 240 Hz at 1080p.

Other hardware options and features include: [The Core i7 10875H is one of Intel's newest CPUs, with 8 cores and 16 threads running from 2.3GHz to 5.1GHz, along with 16MB of L3 cache. paired with the RTX 2080 Super it delivers enough performance to play high-load games at higher settings.

There are a few caveats, however: One is the refresh rate. Playing the latest games is one thing, but taking full advantage of 240Hz or 144Hz is not so straightforward. Faster refresh rates are desirable for competitive games, but even the RTX 2080 Super will struggle to keep up with some games.

Another point to note is pricing. Here are prices starting at $1,999.99:

RAM and storage are meager for a laptop costing $2,000; doubling RAM to 16GB costs $29 and doubling storage costs only $42.

As for the display, the 240Hz option is only available on the RTX 2080 Super. This combo adds $592 to the price, so a laptop with just 8GB of RAM and 240GB of storage costs $2,591, or $2,652 if you wisely double up on both.

Although expensive, the pricing is actually comparable to top-end competitors: a 17.3-inch display gaming laptop with an RTX2080 Super (Max-Q) GPU typically sells for $2,500 to $3,000 (4K or more for a display).

The EVO17-S is available now.