Corsair, a long-time leader in the desktop market, is introducing its first gaming laptop. The new Voyager a1600 is an AMD powerhouse, including Ryzen 6000-series processors as well as AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics. Corsair’s first foray into mobile devices follows the acquisition of enthusiast PC builder Origin in 2019.
We don’t know for certain what this gadget will look like because the images Corsair has released are simply renderings, and we only got a brief glimpse at AMD’s Computex event. Still, take a look, and one element will most certainly catch your eye: there’s a touch bar.
Of course, this row of shortcut buttons above the keyboard deck isn’t called a “touch bar.” Corsair clearly characterized it to me as “ten easy-access customizable S-key shortcut buttons.” The good news is that this row of ten easily accessible customizable S-key shortcut buttons adds extra keys to the keyboard rather than replacing the function row, which other manufacturers have done with mixed results.
Because these S-keys are powered by Elgato Stream Deck software, you’ll most likely use them for live streaming controls such as switching scenes, playing media and changing audio. We wouldn’t expect a laptop to be the device of choice for many streamers, but it’s an intriguing notion that’s rare in the gaming arena — and it can also double as a Zoom conference controller.
Furthermore, it appears that you may access these touch controls even while the laptop is closed. We appreciate that you can see the battery indication before you open the item, however, we’re concerned about buttons getting bumped while the laptop is in a bag or something. When we get our hands on the gadget, we’ll learn more about how these buttons work (which should be sometime in July, Corsair says).
A full-size Cherry MX low-profile mechanical keyboard with per-key RGB backlighting will be included, as will a 1080p FHD webcam. In these images, we observe what appears to be a physical webcam shutter, which could be a clue that Corsair is putting some work into this area (which not all gaming manufacturers do).
Prospective Voyager purchasers will have a choice between a Ryzen 7 6800HS and a Ryzen 9 6900HS, both of which include a Radeon 6800M GPU. Up to 64GB of RAM (Corsair Vengeance DDR5, of course) and 2TB of storage are available. The device contains two Thunderbolt 3 USB 4.0 ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, one SDXC 7.0 card reader, and one audio jack, as well as a 16-inch 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display.
Corsair is following in the footsteps of Razer, another gaming hardware manufacturer that expanded into the enthusiast laptop market after a building and purchasing binge. Corsair has made a number of recent acquisitions, including Elgato, Scuf Gaming, and Origin, and it appears set to broaden its reach to consumers who don’t necessarily want to construct their own systems.
The quality and success of this laptop could be our first indication of how well that expansion will go. Origin has previously produced great PCs and is particularly famous for the customizability of the systems they sell. It will be interesting to see how customizable the new Corsair machine is, as well as how well these design choices are received in the enthusiast community.
