Proteus II review

Proteus is a cheap and powerful PC that allows you to get a 970M graphics card onboard. Motherboard is made by Quanta, type NL8B.

Looks: A bit flashy but if you disable the lights it does not stand out. Looks like a solid build (my previous Acer was bending when picked with one hand, this one does not). I'd say the laptop it's on the heavy side (~2.9kg) but compared to other laptops with close prices it's ok (CPU throttling thinner laptops and bulkier 4.3kg 17inches) . The power adapter is rather large but for 180W it ok. 8/10

Build time &Transport: Build time 6 days. The laptop arrived fast, no problems there. 10/10

Accessibility: As I already had a large and fast Samsung SSD, I had to replace the existing HDD. I was (more than) a little scared as there are no guides or pictures on the net. Opening the case is really easy (about 20 screws). The battery needs to be removed to replace the HDD. Memory can be accessed directly, so is the second mSATA SSD. Haven't seen pictures of the inside anywhere on the net, now you have them attached. 9/10

Screen: TN, FHD, matte (VERY important to me as I always end up near a window). I has a reflective (rather large) bezel but it's ok. You can see that in the pictures. Attention, the colors need to be adjusted. The lid can be opened with one hand - barely. The lid is really tight and might cause problems in the future (I hope not). I say that because I had 2 laptops ( HP and Acer) that both had broken hinges after 2+ years because they were too thight. I recommend to PCSpecialist to loosen a bit the lid so it opens with one hand easily (my opinion). 7/10

Sound: I opted for the least expensive (Intel Sound Card) and it does an ok job. However don't push the volume all the way up or you will hear distortions. 7/10

Cooling: Even in most demanding programs and games, the temperatures were ok. The processor stayed at 3.4GHz (turbo boost) all the time. Make sure you don't close the air intake vents as you will have 5+ higher temps. It helps if you lift a bit the bottom of the laptop to be even cooler. 10/10

Video card: 970M - It's fast and cool. No problems there. 11/10 :)

Keyboard&pad: good keyboard, I still had to adjust to it as my former laptop had a keyboard that was 1 cm wider. The pad is ok but I use a mouse 90% of the time so ... 9/10

Conclusion: It is a good, low cost, laptop that does what it says. 8/10. Recommended.
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shihado

Member
Nice informative review. I have the same one . I have noticed the cpu gets quite hot so I have used Intel xtreme utility to undervolt cpu and cache to reduce heat. Also was able to get max frequency to 3.8ghz which gave it a really nice fps boost in games with temps under 80c
 

Akio

New member
I also plan on replacing the hdd with my SSD, I don't see the drive bay in the last picture though?

Thanks for the review )
 
It is under the battery.
You need to remove 4/6 screws (yellow).
Then pull the battery up (careful). It will slide on some sort supports (marked with blue)
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Bonus: If you look at the first picture in the first post on the laptop screen you can see in the right side the Toshiba HDD with the battery removed. :)
 

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Akio

New member
Thanks for the help :)

EDIT: I found this video of a guide of removing the HDD in an illegear z5, which uses the same chassis as the proteus

[video=youtube;htDl1tMNaU0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htDl1tMNaU0[/video]

I'm hoping it is all the same layout as the proteus(?), I can use this as a guide (and anyone else if they need to replace the hdd)
 
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Thanks for the video. Yes, its the same layout.
As they say, you never stop learning :)
By looking again at the video and at the pictures I see that Proteus has place for 2 mSATA drives! That makes a total of 3 drives with the large SATA.
 
i have the same laptop (Quanta NL8B) and the parts are near impossible to find! yet the mobo is used in so many laptops!
can someone help me to find out what power port socket is used please?
thankyou
 
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