Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H review: The multimedia laptop with an Intel Arc A730M from US$1,050

After being announced for fall 2022, the Intel NUC X15 - a laptop for gamers and creators - finally sees the light of day a year later. This should mostly be a case of getting rid of goods: The X15 as well as the NUC series as a whole has already been discontinued by Intel. The Schenker distributed laptop's Core i7-12700H, Arc A730M and FHD panel are set, whereas its RAM and SSD(s) can be selected.
Competitors include devices such as the Asus TUF A15 FA507, Gigabyte G5 KE, MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF, Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 and the Asus VivoBook Pro 16.
Possible competitors compared
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
84.4 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2023 | Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H i7-12700H, A730M | 2.2 kg | 26.7 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
86.3 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2023 | Asus TUF A15 FA507 R7 7735HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 24.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
81.8 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2023 | Gigabyte G5 KE i5-12500H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2 kg | 23.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
87.1 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2023 | Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 i7-13700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 19.95 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
86.3 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2023 | Asus VivoBook Pro 16 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU | 1.9 kg | 20 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
82.4 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2023 | MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF i7-12650H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2 kg | 22.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Case & connectivity - The Intel NUC features Thunderbolt 4
The back of the lid and the top part of the matte black case are made from aluminium, and the bottom of the display frame is made from plastic. We didn't note any build issues. Intel relies on a sleek, stripped-back case which shouldn't draw too much attention to itself in professional surroundings. After disassembling the bottom part of the case, you can access the battery (screwed in, not glued on) as well as the rest of the laptop's innards.
The LAPAC71H features three USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and one USB-C port (Thunderbolt 4/USB 4). The latter doesn't support Power Delivery but it can output a DisplayPort signal. In total, the laptop has two video outputs (1x HDMI, 1x DP). Intel hasn't given the device an SD card reader. Its webcam (0.9 MP, max. 1,280 x 720 pixels, no cover) delivers pretty standard results.
Under optimum conditions (no WiFi devices in close vicinity, short distance between laptop and server PC), it can achieve excellent WiFi data rates. The laptop uses a WiFi 6E chip (Intel AX201). Wired connections are also taken care of by an Intel controller (I225-V; 2.5 GBit/s).

Input devices - A keyboard with RGB lighting
The laptop's chiclet keyboard (RGB illumination) doesn't feature a numerical keypad, even though there would be enough space for one. Its even, smooth keys feature a medium lift and a clear pressure point. The key resistance could do with being a little more crisp. The keyboard doesn't warp when you type on it. In total, Intel has delivered a keyboard fit for everyday use. A clickpad (ca. 13.3 x 8.3 cm) is installed as a mouse replacement and it features a short lift and a clear pressure point.
Display - The LAPAC71H features a high-contrast FHD panel
The fast-reacting 144 Hz panel with an aspect ratio of 16:9 shows no PWM flickering at any brightness level. The 15.6-inch display's (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) brightness and contrast targets have been hit (> 300 cd/m² and 1.000:1). Its relatively high contrast value deserves to be mentioned. Other display options are not available.
|
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 366 cd/m²
Contrast: 2147:1 (Black: 0.17 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.51 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.89, calibrated: 1.88
ΔE Greyscale 3.83 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
66.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
92.6% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
64.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.47
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H BOE HF NV156FHM-N4G, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Asus TUF A15 FA507 N156HMA-GA1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Gigabyte G5 KE Chi Mei N156HRA-EA1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 LG Philips 160WQ2, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Asus VivoBook Pro 16 Au Optronics B160QAN02.L, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF AU Optronics B156HAN15.1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | 1% | -36% | 8% | 30% | -34% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 64.9 | 64.9 0% | 40.7 -37% | 70.1 8% | 98.5 52% | 42.3 -35% |
sRGB Coverage | 92.6 | 96.5 4% | 61 -34% | 99.6 8% | 99.9 8% | 62.6 -32% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 66.3 | 66.6 0% | 42.1 -37% | 72.3 9% | 86.1 30% | 43.7 -34% |
Response Times | -238% | -199% | -291% | 32% | -137% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 7.8 ? | 30.4 ? -290% | 26.64 ? -242% | 35 ? -349% | 2 ? 74% | 22 ? -182% |
Response Time Black / White * | 7.3 ? | 20.8 ? -185% | 18.65 ? -155% | 24.2 ? -232% | 8 ? -10% | 14 ? -92% |
PWM Frequency | ||||||
Screen | 13% | -67% | -10% | 5% | -27% | |
Brightness middle | 365 | 288 -21% | 269 -26% | 299.4 -18% | 504 38% | 247 -32% |
Brightness | 356 | 271 -24% | 248 -30% | 290 -19% | 465 31% | 234 -34% |
Brightness Distribution | 86 | 91 6% | 85 -1% | 92 7% | 87 1% | 89 3% |
Black Level * | 0.17 | 0.17 -0% | 0.5 -194% | 0.21 -24% | 0.35 -106% | 0.25 -47% |
Contrast | 2147 | 1694 -21% | 538 -75% | 1426 -34% | 1440 -33% | 988 -54% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.51 | 1.9 46% | 4.54 -29% | 4.25 -21% | 1.83 48% | 3.78 -8% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 6.37 | 3.3 48% | 17.28 -171% | 6.71 -5% | 5.51 14% | 6.42 -1% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.88 | 0.9 52% | 3.34 -78% | 0.52 72% | 1.34 29% | 3.94 -110% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.83 | 2.7 30% | 3.8 1% | 5.5 -44% | 3.02 21% | 2.16 44% |
Gamma | 2.47 89% | 2.32 95% | 2.17 101% | 2.35 94% | 2.39 92% | 2.33 94% |
CCT | 7362 88% | 6535 99% | 7408 88% | 6368 102% | 6688 97% | 6906 94% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | -75% /
-25% | -101% /
-79% | -98% /
-46% | 22% /
14% | -66% /
-44% |
* ... smaller is better
Ex works, the display shows relatively good color depiction: With a deviation of around 3.5, its target (DeltaE < 3) was just missed. Calibrating the screen lowers the deviation to 1.9 and leads to more balanced gray tones. The panel can almost completely cover the sRGB color space, but not AdobeRGB or DCI P3. Most of its competitors' panels paint a similar picture. Only the VivoBook's display can cover the P3 color space.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
7.3 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 3.3 ms rise | |
↘ 4 ms fall | ||
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 18 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
7.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 3.9 ms rise | |
↘ 3.9 ms fall | ||
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 17 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8619 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance - An Intel team powers the gaming laptop
A Core i7-12700H and Arc A730M power the gamer- and creator-directed Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H. Other options are not available. The laptop can currently be found from around US$1,050. The present variant costs about US$1,280. You will possibly have to factor in additional costs for a Windows license.
Testing conditions
The Intel NUC Software Studio (Control Center) provides three profiles to influence its performance and fan control (see table). The profiles "Performance" (benchmarks) and "Power Saving Mode" (battery tests) were used to perform this test. Its maximum performance is only available after activating the "Benchmark Mode" option. However, the fans then also run permanently at full power.
Performance | Balanced | Power Saving Mode | Benchmark Mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Power Limit 1 (HWInfo) | 45 watts | 35 watts | 35 watts | 45 watts |
Power Limit 2 (HWInfo) | 90 watts | 80 watts | 65 watts | 90 watts |
TGP (Arc Control) | 75 watts | 65 watts | 55 watts | 85 watts |
Processor
The Core i7-12700H's 14 CPU cores (6P, 8E) achieve maximum clock rates of 4.7 GHz (P) and 3.5 GHz (E). Continuous multi-thread performance (CB15 Loop) led the turbo clock to sink from the first to the second run. After this, it remained stable.
The benchmark results were slightly above the CPU average when connected to the mains. In battery mode, its more relevant single-thread performance (213 points) dropped to a lesser extent than its multi-thread performance (1,012 points).
Cinebench R15 Multi continuous test
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Performance Rating | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H |
AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia (5121 - 50388, n=76, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (2585 - 17957, n=62) |
AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia (14528 - 201874, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (12439 - 90760, n=62) |
AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
Average of class Multimedia (1529 - 8623, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (833 - 4242, n=62) | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF |
AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (57923 - 103202, n=62) | |
Average of class Multimedia (21547 - 181505, n=77, last 2 years) | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Gigabyte G5 KE |
AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia (1240 - 28794, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (3249 - 9939, n=62) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Gigabyte G5 KE |
AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia (9903 - 105740, n=76, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (7135 - 44760, n=62) |
AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (31839 - 144360, n=62) | |
Average of class Multimedia (31432 - 169946, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 |
AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (305 - 1171, n=62) | |
Average of class Multimedia (454 - 2022, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 |
AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia (2759 - 26875, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (1437 - 9692, n=62) |
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average of class Multimedia (13699 - 58844, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (12863 - 52207, n=62) | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
System performance
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
PCMark 10 / Score | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average of class Multimedia (4542 - 8670, n=72, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M (6830 - 6845, n=2) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M (10529 - 11116, n=2) | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average of class Multimedia (8480 - 12420, n=72, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Average of class Multimedia (6089 - 10615, n=72, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M (7070 - 7260, n=2) | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H |
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M (10714 - 11691, n=2) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Average of class Multimedia (3651 - 13548, n=72, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M () | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Average of class Multimedia (978 - 2255, n=85, last 2 years) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M () | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Average of class Multimedia (913 - 2050, n=85, last 2 years) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M () | |
Average of class Multimedia (1054 - 2795, n=85, last 2 years) | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Arc A730M () | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Average of class Multimedia (869 - 2094, n=85, last 2 years) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 |
PCMark 10 Score | 6845 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Average of class Multimedia (25615 - 104459, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (25615 - 80511, n=62) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Average of class Multimedia (25586 - 125604, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (25586 - 79442, n=62) | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Average of class Multimedia (23679 - 117933, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (23679 - 88660, n=62) | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Average of class Multimedia (7 - 346, n=77, last 2 years) | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H | |
Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H (76.2 - 133.9, n=60) |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
Gigabyte G5 KE | |
Intel NUC X15 LAPAC71H |
* ... smaller is better
Storage devices
The laptop can accommodate two M.2-2280 SSDs (1x PCIe 4.0, 1x PCIe 3.0/SATA). RAID-0/1 is supported. The Samsung SSD (1 TB, PCIe 4, M.2-2280) within our test device delivered excellent transfer rates. Positive: Thermal throttling did not occur.