Maingear Vector Pro review: An RTX 3080 gaming laptop you can take anywhere

Our Verdict

The Maingear Vector Pro is a powerful gaming laptop that delivers exceptional performance in a thin chassis — if you can afford it.

For

Rock-solid performance for gaming and everyday tasks
Crisp, beautiful brandish
Thin chassis is piece of cake to comport
Abundant ports

Confronting

Low speaker volume
Subpar 720p camera

Tom'south Guide Verdict

The Maingear Vector Pro is a powerful gaming laptop that delivers exceptional performance in a thin chassis — if you tin beget information technology.

Pros

+
Rock-solid operation for gaming and everyday tasks
+
Well-baked, beautiful display
+
Thin chassis is like shooting fish in a barrel to carry
+
Abundant ports

Cons

-
Low speaker volume
-
Subpar 720p camera

Maingear Vector Pro specs

Toll:$2,499 equally reviewed
Display:17.three-inch 16:ix QHD screen (two,560 x ane,440 pixels) (reviewed); xv.6-inch 16:9 FHD screen (1920 ten 1080 pixels)
CPU:Intel 11th Gen Cadre i7 (reviewed); AMD Ryzen 9 5000 series
GPU:Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU (reviewed); Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU
RAM:32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200MHz SODIMM RAM
Storage:1TB Thou.2 NVMe SSD (reviewed); 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Ports:1 USB-C westward Thunderbolt 4, three USB-A 3.ane Gen i, one HDMI, 1 Kensington lock, 1 Ethernet, i microSD reader, headphone jack, mic-in jack
Size:xv.5 x 10.2 10 0.79 inches
Weight: 5.00 pounds

The Maingear Vector Pro delivers the kind of experience players want from a gaming laptop. Powered past either an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 or 3080 (depending on configuration), the device runs most modern games as well or better than some desktop PCs. Information technology is comparable to gaming laptops like the Razer Blade fifteen Avant-garde and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. In some respects, it outclasses both. Maingear'due south device is serious business organisation.

The Vector Pro's power comes with a cost, however, with high-end units costing near $3,000. However, if you want to bask desktop-quality gaming wherever you go, it'south easy to recommend the Maingear Vector Pro — to those who can beget it.

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Maingear Vector Pro review: Cost and configuration

15 and 17 inch configurations available
Expect to pay betwixt $i,699 - $ii,999

The Vector Pro is available exclusively from Amazon and Micro Center and comes in 15 and 17-inch configurations. You can get an Intel or AMD processor for either model. There's also a choice between purchasing a unit with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 graphics card. Almost configurations feature a 1TB NVMe SSD and 32 GB of RAM, but models with 2 TB of storage or 64 GB of RAM are also available.

Pricing is somewhat scattered depending on where you lot shop and which model you lot opt for. On Amazon, the 15-inch model with an AMD CPU costs as low as $1,999 while the 17-inch model with a 2TB SSD sells for $2,999. Micro Heart sells the 15-inch version as low as $i,699 and the 17-inch model with a 1TB SSD for $1,799 (discounted from $2,399).

Nosotros reviewed the 17-inch model with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, Intel Core i7-11800H and 1TB of SSD storage. If you were to try and buy the aforementioned model on the day this review was published, you would pay roughly $ii,499.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Blueprint

Sparse, heart-pleasing all-black chassis
Sturdy and easy to carry (for a gaming laptop)

The Vector Pro has a thin all-blackness chassis that'due south pleasing to both come across and hold. At fifteen.five x 10.2 10 0.79 inches and v pounds for the 17-inch model, information technology'south not exactly a light and modest device. Though it has some heft, it's still easy to carry around in a bookbag.

The laptop feels sturdy and durable. Its lightly textured surface is smooth merely not so smooth that it will slip from your hands when carrying it. Whether during active employ or when transporting it, the Vector Pro feels like a premium product.

A grayness Maingear logo adorns the top of the Vector Pro. The visitor'south name is also written underneath the screen. At that place's a small amount of resistance when opening and closing the laptop. This not only contributes to the same sturdiness, but it ways the hinges should withstand continued use for a long time.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Ports

Enough of ports to work with

The laptop'due south right side has 2 USB three.1 ports. Each supports USB iii.1 Gen ane and 2.0 devices. Yous'll as well discover a 2-in-one bill of fare reader that supports SD, SDHC, SDXC and UHS-I cards. The bill of fare reader is perfect if yous're a photographer who needs an efficient style to upload photos.

The left side has a USB three.1 Gen 2 port, a mic-in jack and an audio jack. There's besides a Kensington lock port. The back has a network jack to connect to a LAN, an HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port and a power connector. The Kensington lock port is crucial if yous like to work from a cafe. You don't desire someone stealing your laptop!

The Vector Pro is no slouch when it comes to ports. It has every blazon of connector you could demand. The only negative is that you lot can't charge the laptop with the USB-C port, though you tin charge other devices with information technology.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Display and sound

Crisp, articulate 165Hz display looks astounding
Speaker book is decidedly low

As we mentioned, there are 15 and 17-inch configurations of the Maingear Vector Pro. Our review unit has a 17.3-inch display with a 2560 10 1440 pixel resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate.

This is how the Vector Pro stacks upwards against the Razer Blade fifteen Advanced and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.

	Maingear Vector Pro	Razer Blade 15 Advanced (11th Gen)	Alienware m15 R4 (2021)	Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
Brightness (nits)	345.vi	313	293	320
sRGB Color Gamut (%)	113.5	109.1	111.3	110.3
Delta-Due east	0.2	0.24	0.iii	0.24

Based on our lab testing, the display achieves an boilerplate of 345.6 nits, with the center of the screen reaching 382. This is less than the 400 nits advertised past Maingear but still in a higher place the 300 nits most gaming laptops tend to hit. Images appear clear in both dim and bright rooms, though you volition want to avoid playing against straight sunlight to avoid a washed-out epitome.

Our colorimeter test found that the screen achieves 113.five% of the sRBG color spectrum and fourscore.four% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (the closer to 100%, the meliorate). Colors appear vibrant and rich on screen, whether y'all're playing video games, watching YouTube videos or simply browsing the web.

The laptop beats out the other units we compared it against. Asus' ROG Zephyrus G14 comes the closest with its 320 nits merely the Razer Blade fifteen Avant-garde (313 nits) and not-OLED Alienware m15 R4 (2021) (361 nits) autumn short, though if you splurge for the Alienware m15 with an OLED display our testing shows it can get quite a chip brighter (460 nits) than the Maingear Vector Pro.

Audio quality is Vector Pro's weakest attribute. The book is surprisingly low, even at 100%. This was true for both YouTube videos and video games. The speakers crackled during gameplay, which became grating fast. The laptop is practically begging you to employ headphones due to its subpar speakers.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Keyboard and touchpad

Spacious keyboard and responsive touchpad
No per-primal RBG lighting

The keyboard gives your fingers aplenty space to move around. Keystrokes feel precise and pressing them creates a satisfying clicking audio. The palm rests beneath the keyboard appear overly spacious but you'll capeesh the large surface area after a few minutes of typing.

Instead of per-cardinal RBG lighting, the Vector Pro features four-zone lighting. This could be a problem for those who want more than RBG options. I'k not a fan of RGB lighting then this wasn't an issue for me. The pre-installed NODE control heart app allows yous to adjust the laptop's lighting.

The large touchpad feels effortless to use. It never failed to accurately respond to swipes and presses. Using the touchpad quickly became 2nd nature despite my preference for mice.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Operation

Exceptional performance while gaming, delivering above 60fps in most titles
Perfect for every 24-hour interval tasks

Our performance tests reveal the Vector Pro for the powerful gaming laptop Maingear bills it as. This is how it compares to 2 other gaming laptops.

Assassin'southward Creed Valhalla, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Borderlands 3 all performed better on the Vector Pro than on the Razer Blade 15 Advanced and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. The Razer Blade 15 Advanced only fell behind past a little over 10 frames per second in Assassin'southward Creed Valhalla and Borderlands three but almost twenty in Yard Theft Auto V. Maingear's Vector Pro outperformed the Zephyrus G14 in both aforementioned titles by over 30 and 40 frames per second.

The Alienware M15 R4 proved to be a decent match, with frame rates inching close to what nosotros saw on the Vector Pro. In the instance of Grand Theft Auto V, the frame rate divergence is negligible at best.

	Maingear Vector Pro	Razer Blade 15 Avant-garde (11th Gen)	Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	Alienware m15 R4 (2021)
Assassin's Creed Valhalla (1080p)	74	67	36	82
Borderlands 3 (1080p)	89	74	41	100
K Theft Auto V (1080p)	124	106	DNR	125

My ain qualitative tests saw equal results. Titles like Doom Eternal and Red Expressionless Redemption 2 ran buttery polish. Doom Eternal was the big winner, reaching frame rates as high every bit 104fps at 1080p on High settings. Cyberpunk 2077'south frame rates fluctuated between the depression thirties and high fifties. We tin't blame the laptop in this case, given all of Cyberpunk 2077's optimization issues (equally detailed in our review). Frame rates drop precipitously without the AC adapter connected, so exist certain to stay plugged in while gaming.

Everyday tasks aren't a trouble for the Vector Pro. I never had issues browsing the web or watching the latest Star Talk episode on YouTube. It even proved to be an effective work estimator, thank you to its comfortable to utilize keyboard and touchpad.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Bombardment life and heat

Average battery life for a gaming laptop
Doesn't go overly warm fifty-fifty when gaming

Our tests reveal an average of six hours and 24 minutes of battery life when performing normal tasks like web browsing and watching videos. You won't become more than than 1 hour and 34 minutes while gaming, every bit revealed by a PCMark 10 benchmark examination. As such, y'all'll want to continue the AC adapter plugged in (every bit mentioned before).

These results surpass the Alienware m15 R4's 1 hr and 26 of gaming time and are comparable to the Razer Blade 14 (6:02 web browsing, 1:17 gaming). However, they pale in comparison to the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14'southward impressive eleven hours and 32 minutes of browsing time.

Our heat exam establish that the Vector Pro reaches an boilerplate of 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit with normal usage and an boilerplate of 110 degrees while gaming. Information technology took less than five minutes of playing Doom Eternal before fan dissonance became noticeable, though not irritating. Despite the estrus, the laptop felt lukewarm at most when gaming.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Webcam

Good for video conferencing but that's about it

The webcam, situated higher up the display, is adequate at best. Its 720p resolution works well enough for video conferencing or individual chats only the somewhat hazy video quality and subdued colors disappoint. Thankfully, you lot tin can e'er connect an external photographic camera to get better picture quality. In that location are no privacy shutters to speak of.

Maingear Vector Pro review: Verdict

The Maingear Vector Pro is one of the nigh impressive and powerful gaming laptops we've reviewed. Though pricy, information technology has everything a player could want from a gaming laptop. The RTX 3000 cards help the device run well-nigh titles well in a higher place 60fps and its crisp display brings out even the tiniest details. Outside of gaming, the laptop besides serves as a secondary work reckoner.

Despite its weak speakers and webcam, the Maingear Vector Pro is an excellent device. If y'all can beget information technology, it's worth your money if you lot're in the marketplace for a thin, powerful gaming laptop.

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Tony is a computing writer at Tom's Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending too much fourth dimension on Twitter. His not-nerdy pursuits involve attention Hard Stone/Heavy Metallic concerts and going to NYC confined with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such equally Laptop Mag, PC Mag, and diverse contained gaming sites.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/maingear-vector-pro-review

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