PC accessory maker Corsair has unveiled its first laptop, the 16-inch Voyager AMD Advantage Edition, designed unabashedly for gamers and streamers. It’s an all AMD affair, with both Ryzen 6000 series processors and an AMD Radeon RX 6800M GPU. It appears to be one of the first fruits of the 2019 purchase of gaming PC manufacturer Origin.
The highlight is a 10-key LCD macro bar above the keyboard that is powered by Elgato, allowing streamers to customize the controls using Stream Deck software. At the same time, you don’t have a MacBook Pro touch bar situation where the function keys have been replaced like that one too. And because of the laptop’s unusual clamshell design, you can access the macro bar even when the laptop is closed.
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You can customize the keys for various live streaming controls, such as switching scenes, adjusting audio, and loading videos or photos. That way you could presumably control streaming from your laptop, and the keys could also be used with video conferencing apps like Zoom.
The 16-inch 2,560 x 1,600 240Hz (16:10) display looks ideal for gaming with a good mix of resolution and speed. Other features for gamers and streamers include a full-sized keyboard with ultra-low profile Cherry MX mechanical switches (combined with a semi-high key membrane) and a 1080p30 webcam with a physical privacy shutter.
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Corsair offers two versions with either a Ryzen 7 6800HS or Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU, along with a Radeon RX 6800M GPU for both. Both versions are well equipped for gaming or creative work, with 32 GB DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD on the Ryzen 7 version, and 64 GB DDR RAM and a 2 TB PCIe 4.0 M. 2 NVMe SSD on the Ryzen 9 model. Both include a pair of Thunderbolt 3-compatible USB 4.0 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, and a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, along with an SDXC 7.0 card reader, 3.5mm combo audio jack , WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 .
The design is certainly different from other gaming laptops, but it looks sleek with a 19.9mm tapered design and a thin screen area. It weighs 2.4 kg (5.3 pounds), a bit heavier than the 16-inch HP Omen 16 gaming laptop (5.03 pounds). The bottom bezel is quite thick, probably to accommodate the extra space needed for the touch bar.
With the Voyager AMD Advantage Edition, Corsair seems to be taking on Razer in the enthusiast gaming segment. Corsair’s press release shows price tags of $2,700 and $3,000 respectively for the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 models, though the company also said “availability and pricing will be announced at a later date.”
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