The S1 has now been fully reviewed, you’ll find the Livefan S1 review here.
Livefan, a brand you probably haven’t heard of (I hadn’t until a forum user pointed it out) has an interesting notebook. The S1, it’s powered by a Core M-5Y10, 8GB of dual channel DDR3 RAM, has a 13.3″ 2650 x 1440 anti-glare matte coated display, Wireless AC and user accessible M.2 SSD bay. You can buy the model with or without a SSD and add your own M.2 2260/2242 SATA3 SSD. My one has a 128GB Kingston SSD preinstalled with Windows 10.
This model 128GB costs $569 from Banggood, it’s cheaper than the Core M3 Xiaomi Notebook Air, I reviewed, but doesn’t have a backlit keyboard. But if you have you own a 22×42 or 22x60mm SATA3 SSD it’s $509 USD. Here’s the unboxing:
First impressions of the Live fan S1:
- Very nice, sharp and bright matte coated 2560 x 1440 screen
- The build quality isn’t bad at all.
- Intel Wireless AC 3165
- The keyboard is spacious, with a good tactile feel to it and travel. Nothing like the cheap Voyo vBook V3 keyboard with stuck keys.
- The rear is made of aluminium, including the M.2 bay door
- Screwdriver included for opening up and installing your own M.2 SSD
- The lid is made of alloy, only the palm rest and sides are made of plastic.
- The champagne gold color doesn’t look as bad in person as it did in the press shots
- Power supply is 12V 3A, it’s rather small, and feels a little cheap compared to the rest of the notebook
- Windows 10 Pro is installed on my unit. Says it’s activated, I’ll have to check it’s legit and not a KMS hacked version
- Speakers sound okay, average at best. Lacking bass. Not a patch on the Mi Notebook Air’s AKG speakers
- Touchpad works well but doesn’t have a nice smooth glass like finish. The left and right mouse buttons have a little too much travel which makes them feel a bit cheap.
- Battery life looks to be around 6 hours (Like the Mi Notebook Air)
- USB 3 type C port accepts charge, data, and can power an external HDD (No display output)
- Both the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports can power external HDD’s
- SSD speeds seem okay for a Sata3 unit.
- The mic is located above the keyboard.
- 3.5mm jack supports microphones.
So cons encountered so far:
- (Obvious ones) Core M 5Y10 is last years Core M model, No SD or MicroSD slot & no backlit keys
- Average sounding speakers
- Touchpad material and buttons
- Thermals – 90 degrees+ when gaming or running intensive apps.
More on thermals, benchmarks and battery life in the coming days. I’ll be putting it through my tests and a little bit of gaming to see just what it can do. My many concern now is battery life. Often cheaper ultrabooks (This isn’t really cheap) fall short when it comes to battery life.
Chris G
Hey all the review is now up here: http://techtablets.com/2016/09/livefan-s1-review-core-m-8gb-2k-notebook/
Valery
Thanks for this preview. Looks to be promising machine. Cant wait for the full review with opening it up so see internals and possible solution to heating issues. Why do you think they put an old cpu on a newly released device?
Chris G
I might open it and have a look as to why it gets up to 93 degrees. Needs a bigger heatsink obviously. I think they used the 5Y10 as they bought it in bulk for cheap, much cheaper than the 6Y30.
Koen De Croo
This livefan looks promising! Curious to see the rest of the tests.
On a sidenote:
Have you ever hear of these laptops?
I can’t find any info about these, but the specs seem interesting!
http://www.gearbest.com/laptops/pp_354518.html?wid=21
Chris G
All good unit I looked at thermals, reaching over 90 degrees when gaming or with benchmarks 🙁 Shame, they just don’t seem to have enough copper on the heatsink or bad thermal paste job?
Chris G
Martian A8 Intel Core i7-4650u. Not sure about them, I prefer fanless models like the Mi Notebook and this Livefan. (Hate fan noise)
Valery
Completely with you on this one. Passive cooling is the way to go. And Mi air 12.5 seems to have nice thermals.
Koen De Croo
I can absolutely relate. My macbookpro 2015 i7 from work always sounds like it is about to take off… plus gets really hot 🙁
Have you ever tried any ‘mainstream’ brands with the core m3 processor?
Currently looking at e.g. HP pavilion x2 12. Nice specs on paper and good price but notoriously little amount of real reviews to be found 🙁
Valery
Asus seem to have a very nice laptop to meet ur needs. 8 gigs ram 256 ssd latest core m plus its flippable with touch screen in robust aluminum body and weighting 1.2kilos. There even is unflippable version (lighter but no touch screen)
vgiozo
In the written comments you forgot to mention the Wifi AC support, which is great. The highlight of this device is its matte 2K screen…at last a “professional” touch on these “entertainment” devices.
Can’t wait to see matte screens on tablets
Chris G
Yes I did! added that, thanks.
duartix
Compared with the Z8300 trash that’s popping out every week, this is a God send when it comes to specs.
Given the general panorama, I’d rather have a bit compromised battery life than a lot of compromised performance. At least we can do something about the first.
Chris G
The designs of the Atom Z800 devices has been improving, but enough fo this chipset already, I would love to see more X7 Z8700 or the new Z8550 or Z8750 in something. Seems the temps in Cherry Trail or the price put off MFG’s so they just stick with the Z8300 now for EVERYTHING.
ScutMonkey
The specs on this are really nice. If it’s a decent unit, you’re going to have to update your recommendations page.
Chris G
Yes, but gaming it gets up to 93 degrees and throttles. Apart from that all else seems good. Battery is good for close to 7 hours, keyboard is nice to type on and the build is good. Best part is the screen, 2560 x 1440, and anti-glare for once!