For some time, various manufacturers in East Asia have been offering notebooks of all types, often at considerably lower prices – with the same characteristics – compared to more well-known brands. One of the latest models that we have had the opportunity to try is the KUU K1 , a 15 ″ notebook sold on Gearbest and which boasts an Intel Core i5-5257U processor. Here are the complete specifications and our impressions.
Packaging and technical characteristics
The notebook arrives in a cardboard box inside which we find the actual laptop, the power supply, an adaptation for Italian electrical sockets. The keyboard is in English but the stickers with the Italian keyboard layout are included in the package and, whoever wishes, can apply these on the keyboard to have references with symbols used in our language. By applying the stickers, however, the backlighting is lost a little and we have opted for the use without stickers.
The notebook is not among the lightest but it is not heavy (1.8kg), the frame is made of magnesium and aluminum alloy, with a pleasant silver finish to the touch. The dimensions are: 360 x 240 x 25mm. The display is a 15 ″ full HD glossy (matte) IPS with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. Incredibly, all the annoying stickers that the various PC manufacturers insist on placing on the palm rests next to the trackpad are absent.
The latter is large in size and a fingerprint sensor is included on the upper left. The webcam is not positioned on the top of the display but in the lower center, almost flush with the keyboard. On the input / output side we have: 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 micro-HDMI for connection with external displays and TVs, the headphone input, a microSD slot.
The keyboard (of standard size) is backlit and comfortable; It also features the numeric keypad which makes it easier to type numbers in spreadsheets and the like. The trackpad, as mentioned, is large and spacious: the quality is not comparable to that of a MacBook Pro but it does its job and, after some practice to adapt to its way of functioning, it does its duty.
The display is not of the highest quality but it is perfect for text, web, mail and other tasks that do not require absolute color fidelity. Taking into account the price at which the notebook is offered, you can't ask for more. The brightness is in any case very good and the panel offers a good view even in very bright environments.
CPU, RAM, battery
The Intel Core i5-5257U CPU is not very recent (it dates back to the first quarter of 2015), it is made with 14nm lithography, integrates 2 cores (independent central processing units), and provides 4 execution threads. The base frequency of the processor is 2.7GHz and with Turbo Boost it can reach 3.10GHz.
The cache memory is 3MB and the TDP is 28W. On the GPU side, the integrated Iris Graphics 6100 graphics card is used. No problem as long as the software to manage are simple applications. CPU and GPU are by no means suitable for running complex applications.
The integrated RAM is 8GB LPDDR3 type, while for the internal storage unit you can choose from 256 GB or 512 GB. Inside the machine there is a 2.5 ″ SATA slot accessible from the bottom compartment, ensuring possible expansion. Do not miss the WiFi module 801.11ac, with excellent signal reception and Bluetooth 4.0. Audio and webcam are the minimum acceptable.
The audio tends to reproduce the medium and high frequencies more; the volume is sufficient but nothing particularly extraordinary. The webcam offers the minimum union in terms of quality, with performance that does not satisfy particularly in low light conditions. It works but don't expect great visual quality.
The integrated battery is 38 Wh; using the machine intensively with browser, watching movies and other activities we never managed to exceed three hours / three and a half hours of autonomy. The power supply (1.57A) takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the battery.
The package the notebook comes in 
Package contents 
Package contents 
Right side view 
Left side view 
Rear view
Performance
The machine proved to be perfect in the home environment and with typical office applications (browser, Office, e-mail, document management, etc.). One annoying problem we encountered is the internal fan that often attacks for no apparent reason (even simply by staying in Windows without starting any program); in any case it could be a defect of our machine or a problem that can be solved with some BIOS update.
With “demanding” applications and games the machine has revealed weaknesses even with the graphics settings at a minimum but this is obviously not the target of this product. Mind you, games like Asphalt 8 run smoothly but when you start more demanding applications, the absence of a dedicated video card makes itself felt.
The temperature management seemed excellent: in the various stress-tests to which we subjected the machine, the notebook never exceeded 90 degrees, without prejudice to the problem of the internal fan that attacks too easily.
Who is it for?
It is a laptop with a good price / performance ratio. The ideal target are people who are not overly demanding who mainly use browsers, e-mails, office applications and productivity, and who maybe from time to time want to play with some not too demanding title. It's a cheap machine but it does its job perfectly and, in its class, it doesn't beat.
At the time of writing, the 512 GB version is on sale in flash goes up to € 390.63 on GearBest, a very interesting price, for a versatile machine capable of supporting even complex operations where, typically this category of devices leaves something to be desired. . Here are all available versions and purchase links
KUU K1 512 GB notebook with shipping from China: 390 euro
KUU K1 512 GB notebook with shipping from Spain: 405 euro
KUU K1 256 GB notebook with shipping from China: 368 euro
KUU K1 256 GB notebook with shipping from Spain: 382 euro
Pro
Cons
