Chillblast Helios
Impressive performance and screen quality for the money, but heavy for a 13.3in laptop and it lacks stamina
SCORE PRICE £750 (£900 inc VAT) from pcpro.link/289chill
Chillblast’s laptop can’t compete with the best of the big brand models on mobility or stylish design, but take a good look at what you’re actually getting for £900. While the 13.3in 1,080p IPS screen is what you’d expect for the price, Chillblast goes big on the specification: it includes a Core i7-8550U CPU and 16GB of RAM at a price where you would normally be talking Core i5 and 8GB. Only the 250GB SSD reflects the sub-£1,000 budget. That impressive specification is reflected in the laptop’s benchmark scores as well – while the Helios isn’t quite up there with the PC Specialist Recoil II, it’s not that far behind.
The Clevo aluminium chassis not only looks good, it offers much more connectivity than most thin-andlight models on the market: you get HDMI and mini DisplayPort outputs, two USB 3.1 ports and a USB-C. Chillblast has even found room for a Gigabit Ethernet port, expanding slightly out of the case to take an RJ-45 connector. However, the chassis is larger and clunkier than the competition, with a weight of just over 1.5kg. There’s also not much backward tilt on the screen, which can be annoying.
In terms of usability, though, this one punches above its price bracket. The keyboard is big, with both a spacious layout and a MacBooklike typing action. There could be a little more feedback – you miss the odd keystroke without noticing – but it’s nothing you can’t get used to. The trackpad has an oddly gritty surface, but it’s responsive nonetheless. The screen, meanwhile, is surprisingly excellent, with strong colours, loads of contrast and an sRGB coverage of 98.5%. Colours aren’t unerringly accurate, but it’s hard to argue with an average Delta E of under 1.5.
This leaves two remaining drawbacks. Firstly, the Chillblast’s built-in speakers are rough on the ears. They’re loud but tinny, with a booming, overpowered bass. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the battery life is only just passable, with the charge running out in just over five hours in our tests.
The Chillblast Helios gives you great performance and connectivity for your money, but at 1.55kg, and with such medicore battery life, it’s not the ideal thin-and-light laptop for work or life on the go.