Krypton initial review

So I received my Krypton last night, and while I haven't had time to do a complete review I wanted to get my impressions out here. I'll add to this as I gain more experience with it.

In terms of the packaging, I was really impressed. The way it was packaged it arrived safely and without any need to re-seat anything. Not that this maters to the device itself, but my wife was apparently hounded all day long by her more geeky co-workers desperate to get a peek. I'm pretty sure the packaging alone will sell at least one more unit for DS. Delivery was on time, and I did track it the entire way. The plastic protection on all surfaces was nice, and it arrived without a scratch I can find.

As far as the appearance of the laptop itself is concerned, it's simply dead sexy. The rubberized black all over is very nice, and I love that there aren't a dozen stickers and decals all over it. I was slightly disappointed in one point though. I was concerned that the DS logo would be huge and cover the entire lid, but what I received as a totally de-badged device altogether. With the exception of the DS sticker on the bottom, there is no evidence whatsoever that this is a DS machine. It's disappointing simply because it's harder to show off. I really wish there was SOMETHING on the lid that indicated it isn't some of-the-shelf Best Buy toy.

Here's the other thing. I knew the dimensions before I bought this. I compared it to other machines, and knew the general size I was buying. That said, this thing is huge. The screen goes on forever, and the keyboard is massive (more on that later).it is pretty thin for what I expected, but the width and depth is something to behold. Personally I really like the size and it fits me and my needs perfectly. I use a laptop daily for work, and this one is so much more comfortable to use in every possible way. For others, make sure you know what you are getting into- this is a big, heavy laptop that you have to be committed to if you're going to carry. For my 6'1" heavy duty and well cushioned frame, it's not a big deal.

Next, I want to mention the keyboard, because it was a major concern of mine that Alex and I discussed in the forum. I'm happy to say he was absolutely, 100%, dead-on perfectly right. The keyboard matters. This keyboard is big, well spaced out, and I'm fairly confident I could stand on it and it wouldn't flex. The keys are quiet with a nice action to them, but not too much throw. They feel nice in the hand, in fact they feel like the way a luxury car door does when you shut it- there's a solid feel and sound to them that just can't be imitated and inspires confidence. My only argument here is that Sager really missed the boat with the placement of the arrow keys and the extraneous pipe/slash key. It will take some getting used to, but for now it's just plain annoying. I expected that to be the case, and I'd read other comments about it. So I bought it knowing it would likely annoy me and I'm still happy with the choice. I'll get over it.

The sound is so-so. It's good for a laptop I suppose, but I listen to Bose q15's at work, so I'm spoiled. I'll test that out further later on with the same headset.

The screen is gorgeous. There's not much more I could say. I can't find any off pixels, and I can't see anything wrong so far. I'll look more closely at this later as I've not had an opportunity to really push the screen yet.

In terms of speed, it's fast. Really fast. Like cold boot to swearing at windows 8.1 in 10 seconds fast. I haven't installed any games yet so I can't say I've pushed it, but so far it's easily the fastest machine I've ever laid hands on.

I'm glad I took the advice of the folks on the forum and saved money on ram to addord the NVidia 780. I'm disappointed that I didn't get the free Assasin's Creed download, but it isn't a huge deal to me so I moved on with life. I'm looking forward to pushing the graphics pretty hard this weekend, and I'll comment more on it then.

One other thing. I really recommend the SSD boot disk. It's ridiculously fast and I really enjoy not dinking around waiting on boot. It is absolutely worth every penny.

So that's what I have so far. I'm still digging into it in my free time and hope to have everything setup this weekend. For now though, I'm pretty much in love.

PS- Windows 8 really isn't all that bad. Once you get into it a bit, there is a certain familiarity to it. The metro interface is a little weird, but then I figure if I can't adapt to this I really don't deserve to all myself a geek.

PPS- I bought the Everki Titan bag to carry all of this around, and I have to say it fits like it was made for this laptop. It's awesome. I've formally abandoned my briefcase for this new bag. I won't get back pain walking from one side of the airport to the other again.

Enjoy the new Krypton and welcome to the family!

Thanks for the review! 

Originally posted by Alex Post pics!

Also, this.

Hi everybody thanks for your posts you realy helped me in my choosing of the krypton. Below is what I got, I went with best CPU and more ram then lucifersboots. I could not find any videos on you tube other then one old one by cnet on a X17. Sense I was unable to find a video unboxing and review I plan to make 1 when mine comes in in a few days . Any body have any ideas on what I should point out or make Shur to cover . Here's the version I got can't wait to smash some barbarian hoards in room2 and destroy some Terren scum on sc2

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Krypton 17.3 Inch Laptop (Model: S:8295)
Display: 17.3 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Anti-glare) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 4900MQ (Up to 3.80Ghz) (Quad Core) (8MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Premium CPU and GPU Thermal Compound (Reduces Thermal & Laptop Noise)
Memory: 32GB DDR3 1600MHz (4x8GB) (Requires Windows Pro or Higher)
mSATA SSD: 240GB mSATA Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 530 Series) (SATA 6Gbps)
Storage Drive 1: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Storage Drive 2: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s) <b></b>
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player (Blu-Ray 6x) & DVD/CD Writer
Wireless Card: Killer Wireless-N 1202 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.0 Module <b></b>
Graphics Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB with NVIDIA Optimus
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition) <


Edited by Youngtrucker91 - 15 Feb 2014 at 7:36pm

Yep, that's one heck of a setup. I wanted to go 32Gb on RAM, but my accountant declined that upgrade :)

I can help you. I just received my Krypton maybe a month ago?


1) you can buy this hardware in alot of places. You CANNOT buy the level of service DS has provided to me. You also cannot buy the kind of support you'll get later. I know exactly who you're looking at if you've done your homework- I did too. I made my call, and even spent probably more than I really had to in order to get a good company. Krypton's a good product, but without a good company behind it, you're screwed if there's ever an issue.

2) Do you need this laptop power now? Probably not. Few do. Will you in 3 years? Four? Oh yeah. You can buy a cheap system now that meets your needs now. And again in 12-18 months, and again in another 12-18 months. You'll hate it- substandard cheap crappy parts, nonexistent support, and every time you get new you get to set everything up again. No thanks man. I bought a rock solid machine now that I'm going to drive the wheels off of. It's a beast today, and it'll still be a decent machine in 3 years, probably more.

3) Any yahoo can setup a bitch and moan website and do a lovely hit piece that will last forever online. I did my research with the CA attorney general and local BBB. They love DS. So does G4, ComputerShopper, and Ziff-Davis. Believe me when I tell you that I have faith in these guys.

4) This is a boutique shop doing high end machines for a very specific and unique clientele that both knows their stuff and works with materials that are every bit as perishable as fresh tomatoes. Find me a computer shop that has video cards introduced more than 6 months ago, and I'll show that same shop's owner pissed off for all the 5.25 drives he still has too. Just In Time manufacturing is the way of the world today. Sometimes you just have to get in line. Want it now? Amazon and Best buy have tons of crap that's half as good as anything here that'll last a third as long. No thanks man.

5) yeah, my review wasn't long or detailed enough. I can say I've used it nearly every day since I bought it. In fact as we speak I'm pairing my now 5th headset to it hoping for something I like. The laptop is freaking awesome man.

By the way, the new headset is the Beats Studio Wireless. I haven't tested the mic yet, but the headset is killer.