Corsair’s first gaming laptop is streamer-friendly and all-AMD
The Voyager a1600 boldly goes where no Corsair has gone before
PC gaming supremo Corsair is gearing up to launch its first ever laptop, and in a move that’ll please AMD fans, it’s going all-in on Team Red. The Corsair Voyager a1600 is set to land with a choice of AMD Ryzen 6000 CPUs and Radeon RX 6000 graphics, and has a few touch-friendly tricks for streamers looking to take their broadcasts on the move.
The 16in laptop is less than 2cm thick, but finds room for an 8-core, 16-thread CPU: either a 4.4GHz Ryzen 7 6800HS, or a 4.8GHz Ryzen 9 6900HS if you’re feeling particularly flush. The former is paired with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of PCIe storage, while the latter doubles up to 64GB and 2TB respectively. Both get an AMD Radeon RX 6800M GPU, which should handle most titles at the IPS LCD screen’s native 2560×1600 resolution. It’ll max out at 240Hz for ultra-smooth gaming and rapid response times.
So far, so mainstream, at least as gaming laptops go – but Corsair has pulled out something special on the keyboard front. The Voyager a1600 gets a MacBook Touch Bar-style row of customisable S-Key shortcuts, which use the firm’s Elgato Stream Deck software for one-touch control over your streams without having to lug around additional hardware.
Based on Corsair’s early renders, you should be able to see the shortcut row even when the screen is shut, for triggering settings while the laptop is docked. There’s also a battery life indicator in the middle.
A 4-mic array with built-in noise cancellation and a 1080p webcam really hammer home that this is a machine for streaming games as much as it is for playing ’em.
Naturally the rest of the keyboard is (mostly) mechanical, courtesy of Cherry MX ultra-low profile switches. The half-height function keys still use membrane tech, but seeing as they’re no good for gaming, it seems like a sensible compromise. Full RGB backlighting is a given, too.
There’s no shortage on the connectivity front, with two Thunderbolt-friendly USB 4.0 ports, one USB 3.2 Type C, one USB 3.2 Type A, an SD card reader and a 3.5mm combo headphone port.
The entry-level, Ryzen 7-powered Voyager a1600 will set you back $2700 (around £2150) and the more powerful Ryzen 9 model $2999.99 (or £2400).
There’s currently no word on when Corsair Voyager a1600 will be going on sale. Expect more info in July, when the tech world gets their first hands-on opportunities with the machine.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
