Corsair Voyager a1600: Specs
CPU: As much as AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6800M
Show: 16 inches, 2560 x 1600, 240 Hz
RAM: As much as 32 GB
Storage: As much as 2 TB SSD
Dimensions: 14.0 x 11.3 x 0.8 inches
Weight: 5.3 kilos
I had excessive hopes for the Corsair Voyager a1600. Corsair is a venerable {hardware} firm, having produced a few of our picks for the best gaming mouse, best gaming keyboard, best gaming headset and even best gaming PC over the previous few years. Given the corporate’s pedigree for high quality gear and impeccable efficiency, I believed its first foray into the world of gaming laptops would have gone just a little higher.
As an alternative, whereas the Voyager a1600 is hardly execrable, it’s a irritating piece of kit. It doesn’t carry out that nicely at both gaming or productiveness duties, which is sort of unthinkable, given its premium value. The nonstandard design winds up being awkward, from its oddly formed hinge, to its lackluster contact panel, to its aggressively massive touchpad. Then there’s the Corsair software program, which it’s good to make the pc run correctly, but in addition tries to thwart you at each flip.
The Voyager a1600 isn’t all unhealthy, granted. The mechanical Cherry MX keyboard is a pleasant contact, particularly in a skinny laptop computer, and the 16-inch QHD+ display seems suitably spectacular. However with out a severe value lower, or an equally severe UI overhaul, it’s tough to suggest this bold machine. Learn on for our full Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Worth and configurations
The Corsair Voyager a1600 is available in two configurations, a Ryzen 7 mannequin and a Ryzen 9 mannequin. They’re each extremely costly.
First, there’s the Ryzen 7 mannequin, which prices $2,700. Tom’s Information reviewed this model of the machine. This configuration comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS CPU, 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD.
You too can get the Ryzen 9 mannequin, which prices a whopping $3,000. This model of the Voyager a1600 comes with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU, 32 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD.
The 2 fashions are similar in any other case. They each include an AMD Radeon 6800M GPU; a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240 Hz display; a Cherry MX ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard; Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity; and a fingerprint reader for Home windows Good day.
There’s no denying that the Voyager a1600 packs some fairly highly effective {hardware}, however there’s additionally no denying that it costs an unusually excessive amount of cash for the privilege. Comparable machines from HP, Lenovo, Asus and MSI (opens in new tab) are inclined to run between $1,500 and $2,500. Solely the decidedly boutique Razer laptops appear to match Corsair within the value division.
Once we first discovered in regards to the Corsair Voyager a1600, I wrote that it “reimagined the gaming laptop.” I believed that the system had an uncommon design, with an enormous hole across the hinge and a touchbar that comprises a row of digital keys. The system seemed extra like a productiveness machine than a conventional gaming laptop computer — however in observe, it’s not an particularly good design for both productiveness or gaming.
First off, the machine isn’t particularly small or mild, at 14.0 x 11.3 x 0.8 inches and 5.3 kilos. I struggled to suit it inside a daily commuter backpack, and it began to really feel fairly heavy after carrying it round for a couple of hours. There’s additionally no getting round the truth that the gapped hinge is ugly, making this dear machine look surprisingly low cost.
Past that, the Voyager a1600 seems fairly plain, with a black steel chassis, an unobtrusive Corsair brand on the lid, and never a lot else. There are vents on the underside and audio system on both facet of the keyboard. The laptop computer may in all probability cross for an workplace mannequin — at the least till your coworkers hear the ridiculously loud fan.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Ports
The Corsair Voyager a1600 has surprisingly few ports. On the left facet of the machine, there’s a Kensington lock port, an influence port, two USB-C ports and a 3.5 mm audio port.
On the proper facet, there’s a USB-A port, one other USB-C port and an SD card reader. There’s no HDMI port, so your choices for exterior displays are restricted. The USB-C ports are additionally fairly shut collectively, which implies you might need bother connecting a number of gaming peripherals. Equally, having solely a single USB-A port implies that the Voyager a1600 doesn’t play properly with older gadgets, until you get a hub or a bunch of adapters.
To fight this subject, the Voyager a1600 has Corsair’s Slipstream Wi-fi protocol inbuilt. This implies you may join wi-fi Corsair peripherals with out having to make use of up a treasured USB port. Nevertheless, not each Corsair gadget works with this setup. My Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT functioned simply high-quality, for instance, however the machine didn’t acknowledge my Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE in any respect. Slipstream requires that you just use solely Corsair peripherals, and fairly new and costly ones at that. It feels way more limiting than a gaming PC ought to.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Keyboard and touchpad
On the danger of damning the machine with faint reward, the keyboard might be the most effective factor in regards to the Corsair Voyager a1600. Not like most gaming laptops, that are commonplace membrane designs with maybe just a little RGB lighting sprinkled in, the Voyager a1600 makes use of genuine Cherry MX ultra-low-profile mechanical key switches. Having Cherry MX switches has persistently elevated Corsair’s keyboards over their opponents, and this machine is not any exception. Every key provides sturdy tactile suggestions and a satisfying press, together with full per-key RGB lighting in quite a lot of patterns.
I can’t say the identical for the touchpad, which is likely one of the most baffling elements of the Voyager a1600’s design. At an incredibly massive 6 x 4 inches, it always will get in the way in which whenever you’re attempting to sort — and even whenever you’re merely resting your hand on the keyboard whereas utilizing a mouse. The touchpad isn’t that responsive, notably for right-clicks, making it a chore to make use of as nicely. Not solely do you have to get a mouse as an alternative — you must take into account disabling the touchpad altogether.
The touchbar is equally superfluous, until you need it particularly for streaming, because it performs properly with Elgato streaming gear. There’s no tactile suggestions, and should you flip the iCUE software program off, the keys received’t work in any respect.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Show
With a 16-inch show and a 16:10 side ratio, the Corsair Voyager a1600’s display is a bit uncommon by gaming laptop computer requirements. Nevertheless, it’s additionally beautiful, notably whenever you run software program that may take full benefit of its spectacular 240 Hz refresh fee. Right here’s the way it stacks up in opposition to some opponents:
| Corsair Voyager a1600 | Alienware X17 R2 | Razer Blade 15 (2022) | |
| Brightness (nits) | 334 | 333 | 252 |
| sRGB Shade Gamut (%) | 116 | 107 | 123 |
| Delta-E | 0.31 | 0.21 | 0.25 |
In comparison with the Alienware X17 R2 (not reviewed) and the Razer Blade 15 (2022) (assessment forthcoming), the Voyager a1600 has a brighter display and a comparable sRGB coloration palette. Which means that pictures on the a1600’s display present up shiny and in vivid coloration. The one subject is that the colour accuracy isn’t all it might be, because the Delta-E measures 0.31, versus 0.21 on the Alienware, or 0.25 on the Razer. (Nearer to zero is healthier.) Nonetheless, from a qualitative perspective, the display is likely one of the Voyager a1600’s strongest options.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Gaming efficiency
For such an costly machine, with such highly effective parts, the Corsair Voyager a1600’s efficiency is surprisingly middling. Right here’s the way it stacks up in opposition to the Alienware m17 R2 and the Razer Blade 15 (2022) when it comes to benchmarks. These numbers symbolize body charges on numerous demanding PC video games with “Excessive” or “Extremely” settings, measured in frames per second:
| Corsair Voyager a1600 | Alienware X17 R2 | Razer Blade 15 (2022) | |
| Murderer’s Creed Valhalla (1080p) | Not measured | 82 | 77 |
| Murderer’s Creed Valhalla (QHD) | Not measured | Not measured | 60 |
| Filth 5 (1080p) | 63 | 100 | 67 |
| Filth 5 (QHD) | 46 | Not measured | 58 |
| Grand Theft Auto V (1080p) | 80 | 128 | 106 |
| Grand Theft Auto V (QHD) | 51 | Not measured | 68 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p) | 44 | 113 | 92 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (QHD) | 26 | Not measured | 63 |
The Voyager a1600 carried out worse than the cheaper Alienware and Razer laptops. Furthermore, it merely didn’t carry out nicely typically. We couldn’t measure Murderer’s Creed Valhalla body charges in any respect, for instance, as a result of the sport froze and crashed each time we tried to load it up.
The outcomes throughout the board had been merely not good. Solely Filth 5 and Grand Theft Auto V surpassed the trade commonplace 60 fps; Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at an unplayable 26 fps at QHD settings. The variations between the Corsair and its opponents had been stark, too, with the Blade 15 offering greater than double the a1600’s body fee in at the least one case.
Qualitatively, I had the identical expertise because the benchmarks. Once I examined the machine with Age of Empires IV, Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy XIV, I obtained low body charges and uneven graphics throughout the board. Age of Empires ran at a dismal 21 fps, whereas the remainder of the video games hovered someplace within the mid-40s. A lot of the sport stuttered and infrequently froze, to say nothing of the load occasions — which actually shouldn’t be so long as they had been in a system with an SSD.
To be truthful, most video games had been playable, as soon as I tweaked the settings. However tweaking the settings was a ache, because of Corsair’s mercurial software program — and it’s truthful to count on higher than “playable” from a $2,700 machine.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Productiveness efficiency
The strangest factor in regards to the Corsair Voyager a1600 is that even once I wasn’t enjoying video games, it nonetheless wasn’t a lot enjoyable to make use of. The touchpad made navigation tough, as mentioned earlier, however Home windows 11 felt surprisingly jerky and imprecise, as if it had been operating on a a lot much less highly effective machine. Menus often lagged and apps took a very long time to start out up, which simply shouldn’t occur on a contemporary gaming laptop computer.
Here is how the a1600 stacked as much as its opponents:
| Corsair Voyager a1600 | Alienware X17 R2 | Razer Blade 15 (2022) | |
| Geekbench 5.4 (synthetic efficiency benchmark) | 9,875 | 13,470 | 9,750 |
| Copying 25 GB (MBps) | 1,671 | 2,123 | 1,866 |
| Handbrake video encoding (minutes:seconds) | 5:51 | 4:30 | 7:26 |
Whereas the Voyager a1600 carried out just a little bit higher than the Blade 15 in some benchmarks, it fell far wanting the X17 R2 in all three. However the benchmarks don’t rely for a lot when the software program makes the entire system so arduous to make use of.
With out going into super element, the Voyager a1600 requires a variety of software program to run correctly. You want the Corsair iCUE software program, which displays the keyboard, fan and wi-fi peripherals; you want the Voyager Hub, which runs the AMD software program required for the GPU, amongst different issues; you want the Diagnostics program, which retains every thing updated. (Home windows Replace will set up the mistaken drivers, left to its personal gadgets.)
Nevertheless, no program works prefer it’s imagined to. iCUE ran the fan at full gaming speeds once I was typing out paperwork; the Voyager Hub refused to put in the right model of the AMD software program; Diagnostics crashed each time I attempted (unsuccessfully) to persuade it that I actually did have the .NET Framework software program that it wanted to replace. The entire expertise made the Voyager a1600 irritating to make use of, and completely inconceivable to make use of at peak settings.
We contacted Corsair, and an organization consultant stated that our laptop computer might need obtained the mistaken software program picture. We’ll replace this assessment as soon as we obtain a brand new mannequin.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Battery life and warmth
The Corsair Voyager a1600 stays inside tolerable temperature limits for productiveness, however will get uncomfortably scorching whereas gaming. Equally, it lasts some time on a single cost for basic computing, however gaming drains the battery extremely quick:
| Corsair Voyager a1600 | Alienware X17 R2 | Razer Blade 15 (2022) | |
| Battery life – productiveness (minutes:seconds) | 6:05 | 3:54 | 4:47 |
| Battery life – gaming (minutes:seconds) | 1:13 | 1:07 | 1:04 |
| Warmth – productiveness (°F) | 89 | 106 | 107 |
| Warmth – gaming (°F) | 137 | 140 | 140 |
Because the Voyager a1600 stays beneath 90 levels for basic productiveness, you may conceivably hold it in your lap when you work. Equally, with a battery lifetime of six hours and 5 minutes, it does significantly higher than its opponents. Simply bear in mind that it’s not possible to sport away from a desk or an influence supply.
Corsair Voyager a1600 assessment: Verdict
I anticipated the Corsair Voyager a1600 to be so a lot better than it’s. Corsair makes glorious gear, and for the asking value, I had each cause to imagine that the Voyager a1600 can be one of many best gaming laptops available on the market. As an alternative, the machine suffers from an ungainly design, inconsistent efficiency and a software program suite that often makes the entire thing borderline unusable.
Since Corsair does have the flexibility to patch the machine, and for the reason that firm has typically taken excellent care of its merchandise previously, I don’t have it in me to excoriate the machine fully. It actually does have good parts, and a very good keyboard, each of that are essential for a gaming laptop computer’s longevity. However until Corsair implements some important fixes, you’d be a lot better off getting a Razer Blade 15 — and perhaps saving just a little cash within the course of.