3. Construction: Noisy Keys and Thin Sound

Generally speaking, the Znote 6324W is well built. The housing doesn’t creak, the optical drive and its surrounding framework are stable, and the lid opens without a sound. The latter has an opening angle of more than 180°, which means you can view it properly from many angles.

The hinges holding the lid provide a good level of resistance, which ensures that the display reliably remains in the position you put it in. The resistance is not so strong that you’ll accidentally tip the Znote over when opening the lid with one hand. The latching mechanism on the lid - a slider with two hooks – works well and is easy to operate.

The Znote’s lid could do with being a little thicker or tougher. The middle, in particular, reacts very sensitively to touch and bends far too easily when pressure is applied. While this doesn’t affect the display, it does leave you feeling that the lid flexes just a little too much. The wrist rest, on the other hand, is very stable and only gives way under considerable pressure.

The right quarter of the keyboard clatters. It is possible that this was a problem with our review sample. Nonetheless, it was very noticeable, especially since the keys felt loose. We’ll go into more detail in the "Keyboard" section.

The small speakers below the display are very low on bass. Using the equalizer to try and improve sound only resulted in buzzing and over-modulation. While the speakers are perfectly adequate for the Windows system sounds, you would be well advised to use headphones or desktop speakers when listening to music, watching films or playing games.