Polaris 17" Gen 5 review
Great laptop with a few shortcomings.
Choosing the right laptop can be daunting, especially when you're on the look for Linux compatibility. In this review, I'll cover the key aspects of my custom TUXEDO laptop, including its build quality, performance, and daily usability, to help you decide if it's the right choice for you.
My custom laptop has the following specs:
- 17.3-inch | 240 Hz | 95 % sRGB
- AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB (max. 140 Watt TGP)
- 32 GB DDR5 5600 MHz RAM
- 1x High-speed M.2 SSD (PCIe 4.0 x4)
- 62 Wh battery
- 4x USB, Mini DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.1, SD card reader
- TPM 2.0 (Windows 11 ready)
- Price: €1,688.51 (including a 5% discount and 21% tax)
Build Quality
Overall the main part of the laptop feels like plastic that would easily scratch. The back-cover is made out of aluminium, and is probably the sturdiest part. I wouldn't say the build quality is bad but it's a bit less than what I expected for this price range. The design itself is pretty neat, the laptop looks rather professional. One thing I do have to note is that the back-cover is a fingerprint magnet.
The trackpad is one of the biggest and best I've ever worked with. Coming in at 154 x 100 mm it's very sensitive and I've found myself accidentally enabling the half-trackpad option, making it somewhat frustrating at times. But after a month of use, I've gotten used to it.
The keyboard is delightful to work with. It's rather smooth sailing and I can't complain about it in the slightest. However, the numpad is very small, which is something I dislike. I'd rather not have one at that point. Keyboard also comes with backlight, which you can customise (no animations).
The upper right corner where keyboard and screen split is a bit loose. Maybe this is a manufacturing defect? As the other side does not display the same defect.
Ports
The laptop came with a total of 10 ports. Nothing to write home about if I'm honest. The USB-C port it comes with does not have power delivery or video just data. The laptop also comes with an SD-card slot which could be handy if you work with cameras or want a bit more storage without having to open the laptop and add an additional M.2 SSD.
Something to note is that the HDMI 2.1 port is hardwired to the dGPU and so is the mini displayport.
In my opinion the laptop could've made use of less USB-A ports and more USB-C ports. It also comes with a Kensington lock slot for extra security.
TuxedoOS
This isn't a TuxedoOS review, but I do feel the need to mention it. Out of the box, the laptop works perfectly fine and you should be good to go. If you'd like to download another OS you can customise it whilst ordering or install it yourself. Tuxedo has made it very easy for the latter as they have a tool called WebFAI (Web Fully Automated Installation), only thing you need is an active wired connection.
It also comes with the Tuxedo Control Center.
Which is a fancy resource monitor but also allows you to edit the keyboard backlight, webcam settings or power profiles (e.g. turn on fans at 100%).
Laptops running Tuxedo hardware can also rely on the Tomte configuration tool provided by Tuxedo to install missing drivers or required packages automatically. Relieving us of that task or troubleshooting.
Windows compatibility
I'm simple and I need a back-up in case I mess up my Linux installation.
The only downside with Windows is that the fans keep going regardless of me rendering something or just checking my email.
TUXEDO does give you all the required drivers (and even offers you the option to get the laptop shipped with a dualboot windows installation) to make the system work as expected.
What Tuxedo fails to mention is that the laptop is equipped with an IR webcam. Making it Windows Hello compatible.
You could use Howdy to achieve that same functionality using TuxedoOS but I haven't gotten it to work.
Battery & Performance
This thing is a beast. I've never owned something as powerful before. It does come at a cost and that is battery. This thing will not last you 5 hours chatting, watching videos, making up documents,...
It handles Minecraft, GTA V and rendering simple things in Blender just fine.
Final Thoughts
For a daily drive (uni, home, office) it's outstanding. If you're constantly on the move I recommend a smaller laptop or their 15" version. I haven't encountered any issues that I'd write home about. Occasionally I encounter bugs but it's rare.
Overall, it's a great laptop if you're not on the move or don't mind being plugged in most of the time.