Review: BFG Tech Deimos X-10

Geeks might know BFG Tech as a veteran graphics-card maker. Now the hardware manufacturer is moving into high-end laptops. Its first effort at portable computer is nothing if not record-breaking. At 13 pounds, the Deimos X-10 is the heaviest laptop we've tested, and its 18.4-inch LCD marks the biggest display we've seen. Its 48 minutes of battery life is the shortest we have on record, and while its $4,423 price tag isn't the most expensive laptop we've encountered, it's pretty close.

That's probably not a critical data point. Few users will spend that kind of money on a laptop from a company with virtually zero track record in the portable space.

That said, maybe they should: The Deimos X-10 broke all our benchmark records too, setting new high scores for both general applications performance and gaming — turning in a ridonkulous 220.4 frames per second on Quake 4. The face-palming specs for those numbers are due to top shelf components: 2.53-GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, 8 gigs of RAM, dual 500-GB hard drives and SLI-enabled Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards. Yowza, most desktops don't even have it this good.

Alas, while BFG has earned its keep under the hood, it's got a lot to learn in the industrial design department. In short, this is a hideously ugly computer, with lots of '90s-inspired ground effects (you pick the color of the LEDs!), gaudy touch-sensitive panels, a programmable macro pad (where the LED color doesn't quite match) and, to be honest, a chassis design that can be described as clunky at best. The battery pack, for example, has to be screwed into the underside of the machine. With a screwdriver. No, really.

For sheer performance, the Deimos X-10 is unbeatable. But aside from the occasional billionaire who does nothing but go to LAN parties, we simply aren't sure who will actually buy this machine.