Schenker Technologies XMG Core 15 (i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060, Full HD) Laptop Review

The case has a simple black design and has dispensed with almost all traces of color and form factor that can often be found on other gaming laptops. Instead of the XMG logo, there is a single unobtrusive grey square cut through by black diagonal lines on the lid of the laptop. It is only on the inside of the device that the XMG Core 15 reveals its gaming ambitions, with its triangular on/off button in the top center, the gently slanted borders around its edges, and thereto parallel-running top side of the touchpad, which itself is slightly trapezoidal instead of being a normal rectangle.

Elsewhere, the Core 15's new grip is immediately evident, as the top side has a sort of matte-rubber finish called "Grip Touch", which supposedly offers "significantly more grip than normal plastic or metal surfaces". This claim we can confirm, although we have to say that the finish is a magnet for grease and fingerprints.

Another change when compared alongside the A517 is the underside. The battery is unfortunately no longer removable, which, despite nowadays being the regrettable norm, is still less practical. On the underside, one can make out the subwoofer grill, which is ever so slightly misaligned on our model.

The case seems all in all to be rather sturdy, although it does continue to make soft, dull clicking sounds when weight is placed onto the underside or the hand rests. The laptop lid seems to be comparatively more stable than those found on some of its competitors, although the clicking sounds can still be heard here, especially when the corners are twisted or turned. The two hinges hold the screen firmly in position, and the lid will not fall until it reaches the very sharpest of angles.

On the whole, we can attest that the new chassis is sturdy and well manufactured, although it tends to make clicking sounds now and again.

In terms of weight, there is not much separating the competitors. The weights range from 2.4 kg (~5.3 lb/A517) to 2.6 kg (~5.7 lb). The only outlier here is the Lenovo, weighing in at 3.1 kg (~6.8 lb).

As for the physical size, the XMG Core 15 falls into the middle of the pack. The Asus and the Acer are somewhat slimmer; the remaining devices are somewhat thicker. In comparison to the XMG A517, the XMG Core 15 is 5 mm (~0.2 in) thinner, somewhat longer, but not quite as deep to compensate. However, the sister model is around 200 grams (~7.1 oz) lighter.

There are ports on both sides of our test model and none on the front and back. This causes the right hand side of the device to be rather cramped; the ports are positioned very close together, and thicker cables or USB sticks could find themselves competing for space. Despite this, there is still plenty of space on the front end of the device left free. Furthermore, the concentration of ports on the right hand side could negatively affect mouse operation for a right handed user. It could just be a thick HDMI cable or a heavy Ethernet cable that sticks out and restricts normal mouse movements. The manufacturers have wasted the chance to optimize connections layout.

As for the connections themselves, the Core 15 offers the usual. We are happy to see that there are no more USB 2.0 ports; all Type A ports support USB 3.0. For external monitors, there is a mini DisplayPort available as well as an HDMI outlet, and even the USB Type-C connector supposedly supports video display. Unfortunately, there is no Thunderbolt 3 support.

For headphones and microphones, there is unfortunately only a single combined input.

We are testing the performance of the SD card reader with our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64GB UHS-II reference storage card. In this test, we can hardly tell the competitors apart. Only the Acer falls noticeably behind, operating about 70% slower. Our test device and all other models are only separated by a performance difference of a few percentage points. Overall, the performance of the SD card reader is par for the course.

The XMG Core 15 does not hold up quite so well when it comes to data transfer speeds. It appears to be operating at two different standards; on one hand, the device manages to climb up to second place in our rankings with its download speeds. On the other hand, it drags its feet into last place in our upload test, a full 26% behind the next worse Gigabyte. The winner in our upload test, the Lenovo, is a full 77% faster. The cause of this defeat most probably lies in the drivers, and not a poor network adapter.

As to be expected for a device of this caliber, the Schenker laptop is equipped with a Kensington lock. In addition, it offers TPM version 2.0 from Intel PPT.

The following accessories are included with the purchase of the Core 15 in the laptop packaging; power adapter, a stylish, green-black "XMG" sticker, a Windows recovery DVD, a driver DVD as well as a black USB stick with additional drivers. Additionally, Schenker offers a range of external accessories via their website. These are, however, not specific to any particular device, which is why we will not be going into details about them.

As per usual, the manufacturer offers a standard 24-month warranty. It costs an additional 60 Euros (~$70) to include a device checkup with the warranty. The same service for 36 months costs a ludicrous 200 Euros (~$232) extra.

A quick turnaround time for repairs comes free with the laptop only for the first six months. We hope this does not mean that warranty claims outside of this timeframe entail extremely long waiting times. In any case, one can always pay the manufacturer for this service. 12 months of quick turnaround can be bought for 40 Euros (~$46), and having access to this "service" for the life of the warranty costs 60 Euros (~$70). Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Keyboard

Touchpad

Overall, the device performs as expected, but that can also be said for most of its competitors. At their greatest, the performance differences were about 2%, and only the Asus and the Acer tended to fall behind.

In our PCMark 8 test, the gap between our competitors is somewhat larger, at least in terms of the Home Score. The XMG Core 15 comes in second place, trailing only 3 percentage points behind the first place Asus, which in our Work Score test came last, performing somehow 50% slower than the competition. Our test device came first in the Work Score test. Thus, in a direct comparison, the system performance is very good. Subjectively, we can say that the laptop performs its tasks smoothly, and without lag or stuttering. Along with the good CPU and GPU, the fast EVO 960-SSD must surely also contribute to the good results.

The Core 15 runs current games smoothly. However, the rather average refresh rate of 38 FPS on “The Witcher 3” running on ultra presets could lead one to believe that the GTX 1060 will soon be pushed to its limits by future top titles on their maximum graphics settings, as an average of 38 FPS in “The Witcher 3” already leaves precious little room for some of the game's more demanding scenes. On the other hand, the Core 15 has no problems with “Rise of the Tomb Raider” or “Doom”. And the same should hold true for most of the current games, even on the highest graphics settings. However, it is likely that high details on an external 4K monitor will push the graphics card beyond its limits.

In our endurance test with “The Witcher 3” running for at least an hour, we will examine whether or not the performance of the laptop is throttled with extensive use, for example through cooling issues or simply with time. And this appears to indeed be the case, as seen in our graph below, although at the end of the day it seems to be only the automatic GPU Turbo speeds that are suffering.

Our practical gaming comparison brings with it neither positive nor negative surprises. All devices perform more or less equally. For example, the otherwise strong Lenovo falls behind by about 5% to 9% when running “The Witcher 3”. As all of our competing devices have the same combination of GPU and CPU, the differences in performance were minimal.

The Core 15 has a 2.1 sound system - two stereo speakers and a subwoofer, the latter of which is supposed to bring about deeper basses. Nonetheless, the sound system fails to impress. The bass is not particularly strong, and there is especially a lot to be desired in terms of maximum volume. However, these are problems that most of the Core 15's competitors do not address any better either.

External devices or headphones can be connected via the analogue jack. The sound-out port is simultaneously the same sound-in port for the microphone; unfortunately there is no additional or dedicated port.

Frequenzdiagramm im Vergleich (Checkboxen oben an-/abwählbar!)

We were not expecting great energy efficiency in light of the heat loss in our test model. And we were proven right. The XMG Core 15 is unfortunately in a direct comparison the most power hungry laptop, both while idling and under load. At 22 watts, the device uses in an average idle state about twice as much power as the remaining competitors, many of which benefit from Nvidia's Optimus technology and can save power when idle by turning off the dedicated graphics card. Only the Asus also lacks the Optimus, although even it uses less power than our test device.

Under extreme load, both Schenker models turn into power hungry monsters. The top power consumptions of 180 W (A517) and 175W (Core 15) are noticeably higher than the 150 W average of the competition. The higher temperatures and power consumption are probably the reason for the performance throttling that comes about now and again, particularly when the device is running on battery mode. Nevertheless, the 200-watt power supply is strong enough to charge the laptop even when it is operating under full load.

We will just say it up front: The battery life is the worst when compared to the competition, despite the fact that the XMG Core 15 has the largest battery (82 Wh instead of roughly 60 Wh)! Only the Asus puts in a similarly poor performance, but then it has a smaller battery. The laptop's sister model does not win any accolades for its battery life either, although it does last a fair bit longer than its newer sibling.

When idle - that is, not running any noteworthy programs - our test model was able to get through just five hours on one charge. The Lenovo and Gigabyte achieve a runtime of 12 hours, but the other devices are even somewhat better. This trend holds true in our further testing.

In our test to determine the minimum battery life, we simulate a heavy load using Battery Eater while activating all the power hungry services such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the high performance profile. Under these conditions, the Core 15 lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. Most of the competition performed similarly poorly in this test, even the Lenovo. Only the Acer managed to hold on for an extra hour.

For our practical use test, we use the laptop's balanced power profile, reduce the brightness down to 150 cd/m2 and surf through different websites using a script. The battery lasts for about 4.5 hours under this load.

Similarly, we reduced the brightness for our battery test, changed the battery profile to energy saving and deactivated the wireless modules. The device lasted 234 minutes in this test before its lights went out.

There are gaming laptops that perform even worse in battery tests, but the XMG Core 15's direct competitors offer significantly better battery life. These modest results, in combination with the extreme graphics throttling when not plugged in, greatly limit the portability of the 15-inch gaming device. Gaming while on the road is impossible, even on medium graphics settings. You can basically save yourself the trouble of carrying the device with you onto a train or similar scenarios.