Searching for “EVOO” on Amazon is a great way to find extra virgin olive oil—unless, of course, what you’re looking for is a laptop. The same term under electronics reveals plenty under the EVOO brand. EVOO will be a familiar name to bargain hunters who have hunted online, of late, for low-cost laptops and Android tablets, and its LP-7 gaming laptop ($1,199 as tested, available through Amazon and Walmart) teams an eight-core AMD Ryzen processor with Nvidia GeForce RTX-class graphics for smooth frame rates on its 15.6-inch 120Hz screen.
The LP-7 is an able performer, though its attractive pricing for those internal components means settling for an all-plastic design and noisy fans. HP’s Omen 15 avoids both issues for about the same price and remains our Editors’ Choice pick for an upper-entry-level AMD-based gaming notebook. Nonetheless, the LP-7 is a worthy alternative that performs at least as well, and its ray-tracing-capable graphics processor could tip the balance in its favor, depending on the games you play.
Jazzed Up Inside, Not Outside
The LP-7 is available in one fixed configuration, with an eight-core Ryzen 7 4800H “Renoir” processor (2.9GHz base, up to 4.2GHz boost), a 6GB GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card, 16GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, and a 512GB solid-state drive for its Windows 10 Home operating system. Newegg had both the HP Omen 15-en0029nr and the MSI Alpha 15 for $1,099 (the MSI after a rebate) as I typed this, but the LP-7 is still a good value given its GeForce RTX card. Intel-CPU-based gaming notebooks around this price typically pack just a six-core Core i7 chip and a 6GB GeForce GTX 1660 Ti.
But that’s inside. On the outside, the LP-7 looks generic next to the Omen 15 and Intel competitors like Acer’s Predator Helios 300 and even Lenovo’s Legion 5i. The glitz and glam is limited to EVOO’s reflective logo on the lid.
Then again, an unassuming appearance can be a plus if you don’t want to feel like you overspent. The design is also entirely plastic when many like-priced gaming laptops have a metal lid or keyboard deck. The plastic is satisfyingly thick, but it is a reminder that this is a value-first machine.
Fortunately, the chassis is strong enough to resist flex. Its measure of 1 by 14.1 by 9.5 inches (HWD) and weight of 4.2 pounds are average for a mainstream gaming notebook sporting a 15.6-inch screen. On the LP-7, the latter’s full HD (1080p) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate are ideal for gaming. Some gaming laptops offer 144Hz at this price, but the difference is trivial in practical use.
The screen gets most other things right, too: a glare-killing surface, wide viewing angles from its IPS technology, and adequate colors and contrast. Its major downside is underwhelming brightness, though I had no trouble seeing darker areas in games.
Mostly Solid Input Devices
The LP-7’s full-size keyboard layout is familiar enough, but touch typists will bemoan the lack of dedicated Home, Page Up, and Page Down keys. Ample key travel and soft feedback otherwise encourage typing. I like the large, centered typeface on the keytops.
The unintuitive three-column number pad seems like an afterthought, though. Just above it is the power button and another that switches power modes, such as gaming and office, though I never did find out what the modes did; the EVOO Control Center app has no descriptions. The app also provides keyboard brightness and color controls, and a switch to disable the Windows key.
The keyboard can be only one of its 29 available colors at a time. It’s not technically RGB since you can’t specify the red, green, and blue values, but it looks colorful enough. Gaming notebooks around the LP-7’s price rarely offer more than a few colors. The Alpha 15 is an exception with its per-key RGB backlighting.
The practicality continues with the amply sized, buttonless touchpad. Its quiet clicks and smooth surface make it a cinch to use.
The stereo speakers are on the flip side, facing downward. Their volume is impressive, but they sound muffled and artificially hollow. The THX Spatial Audio app has an equalizer if you care to tinker.
The laptop’s underside also allows component upgrades. The entire panel comes off after removing the screws, revealing two M.2 slots (one is occupied) and two SO-DIMM memory-module slots. (Both of these are occupied.) The upgradability is refreshing when many notebooks take the soldered/non-upgradable route, at least for memory. (Storage remains upgradable in most gaming laptops.)
Practical Port Placement
The LP-7 spreads its plentiful port selection along its sides and, surprisingly, the back edge. The sides hold three USB Type-A ports (two version 3.2 Gen 1 and one legacy 2.0), separate headphone and microphone jacks, a jaw-style Ethernet jack, and a rare full-size SD card reader.
Meanwhile, on the back edge, you’ll find an HDMI 2.0 video out (good for 4K output at 60Hz), a pair of mini-DisplayPort video outputs, and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port. It’s a luxury to see three video outputs on a laptop. Also, having the AC power connector back here conveniently keeps the cord out of the way.
The LP-7 supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 standards thanks to its Intel AX200 networking card. Like most gaming notebooks, the LP-7 lacks built-in biometric features like a fingerprint reader or an IR webcam. Its 720p webcam, centered above the display, offers no better or worse video quality than the cams on competing gaming notebooks.
Testing the EVOO: Not the Latest Tech, But Still Fast
Though the LP-7 uses previous generation technology, its near-triple-digit 1080p frame rates in our gaming benchmarks demonstrate that it still packs a punch. Moreover, it was readily available for purchase as I typed this, something that couldn’t be said for most bleeding-edge laptops with Ryzen 5000 CPUs and/or RTX 3000 GPUs. Why wait when you can enjoy great gaming performance right now?
I pitted the LP-7 against a variety of 15.6-inch gaming laptops for our benchmark comparisons. Their basic specifications are below. (See more about how we test laptops.)
The HP Omen 15 and the MSI Alpha 15 are the two other AMD-CPU laptops. Meanwhile, the far more expensive Alienware m15 R4 ($2,499 as tested) and the uncanny Asus TUF Dash F15 ($1,699) offer the latest Intel silicon and GeForce RTX 3000 graphics. Expect the LP-7 to fall behind those two in our gaming tests, but it should keep or exceed the pace elsewhere.
The LP-7 was quite vocal throughout my testing and gaming sessions. It stayed cool enough outside and inside—the GPU spent most of its time in the upper 60 degree C range and the CPU in the upper 70s—but its twin cooling fans were audible across a living room. They have a semi-high pitch that can’t meld into background noise. The MSI Alpha 15 is slightly quieter, though the HP Omen 15 is the quietest of the bunch.
Storage, Media, and CPU Tests
Our first test is UL’s PCMark 10, a performance suite that simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. We use it to assess overall system performance. PCMark 8, meanwhile has a Storage subtest that we use to assess the speed of the system’s storage subsystem. The LP-7 predictably did well in both, finishing just behind the Asus. Its PCMark 10 score is particularly good; informally, we look for at least 4,000 points from high-performance PCs.
Next up is a pair of CPU-crunching tests: Cinebench R15 stresses all available processor cores and threads while rendering a complex image, while in our Handbrake test, we transcode a 12-minute 4K video down to 1080p.
The LP-7 performed in line with the HP and MSI with excellent scores in both tests. The trio handily outperformed the eight-core Intel chip in the Alienware despite sporting the same number of CPU cores, highlighting the dominance of AMD’s Renoir in the high-end mobile space.
The final test in this section is photo editing. We use an early 2018 release of Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud to apply 10 complex filters and effects to a standard JPEG image, timing each operation and adding up the totals. This test is not as CPU-focused as Cinebench or Handbrake, bringing the performance of the storage subsystem, memory, and GPU into play.
The Intel notebooks caught up here, especially the Asus with its 11th Generation “Tiger Lake” H-series chip. That said, the LP-7’s time is respectable for a gaming laptop.
Graphics Tests
Our first two benchmarks in this section measure the gaming performance potential of a PC. In UL’s 3DMark, we run the Sky Diver (lightweight, capable of running on integrated graphics) and Fire Strike (more demanding, for high-end gaming PCs) tests, both DirectX 11-based. Unigine Corp.’s Superposition is the other; it uses a different rendering engine to produce a complex 3D scene.
The LP-7 performed as it should with its GeForce RTX 2060. The GPU-focused Superposition 1080p test placed it ahead of the HP’s GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and even further ahead of the MSI’s Radeon RX 5600M. Naturally, there was no catching the GeForce RTX 30-Series cards in the Alienware and Asus.
Let’s see if those numbers translate to real games. We use the built-in 1080p benchmarks in Far Cry 5 (at its Normal and Ultra presets) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (at its Medium and Very High presets). Far Cry 5 uses DirectX 11, while we flip Rise of the Tomb Raider to DirectX 12.
These results place the LP-7 much closer to the HP, MSI, and even the Asus. Its numbers suggest that it’s a highly capable 1080p gaming platform and should easily push triple digit frame rates in less demanding esports titles like Fortnite.
Its GeForce RTX card has the potential to perform significantly better than the HP and the MSI in games that support Nvidia’s DLSS technology, which has seen increased support in newer games. (Cyberpunk 2077 comes to mind.)
Battery Rundown Test
For our last benchmark, we measure a laptop’s unplugged runtime while playing a locally stored video with screen brightness at 50 percent and audio volume at 100 percent. We use the notebook’s energy-saving rather than balanced or other power profile, turn off Wi-Fi, and even disable keyboard backlighting to squeeze as much life as possible out of the system.
The LP-7 trailed the MSI and overachieving HP, but more than eight hours of unplugged life from a gaming notebook is still an achievement.
Value-First Gaming With AMD and GeForce RTX
EVOO’s LP-7 is a value gaming laptop that performs like a pricier enthusiast model. Its all-plastic build and minimal frills keep its focus on excellent gaming performance. At its price, an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 chip and GeForce RTX 2060 are impressive inclusions.
Though the HP Omen 15-en0029nr remains our top pick for an upper-entry-level AMD gaming notebook, because of its richer features and quieter fans, the LP-7 performs at least as well. It could even be a better choice if the games you play support Nvidia’s RTX features, and your budget just doesn’t have much wiggle room.
Just remember to start your “EVOO” search in the Electronics section, lest you find yourself browsing cooking oil. But either way, for your money, you’ll find yourself with something pretty slick.
