Medion Erazer Beast X40 review: Gaming notebook with RTX 4090
Even though it falls under the category of gaming laptops, the Erazer Beast X40 is also conceived for other very demanding usage scenarios. The necessary computing performance is provided by a Raptor Lake CPU and an Ada Lovelace GPU. Compared with its predecessors, the laptop has received a major overhaul: Medion has given it a new screen aspect ratio (16:10 instead of 16:9), a cooling system with optional water cooling, and a mechanical keyboard.
The X40 is based on a Tongfang barebone (GM7PX9N) that is mostly identical to the one used for the XMG Neo 17. It is competing with the likes of the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI, Alienware x17 R2 P48E, Razer Blade 16 (early 2023) and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY.
Comparison with possible competitors
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88.4 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2023 | Medion Erazer Beast X40 i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | 2.9 kg | 33 mm | 17.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 89 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2023 | MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | 3.5 kg | 23 mm | 17.30" | 3840x2160 | |
| 91.2 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2023 | Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 21.99 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 87.6 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2022 | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 R9 6900HX, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.8 kg | 27 mm | 17.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 89.2 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2022 | Alienware x17 R2 P48E i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | 3.1 kg | 20.9 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.6 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2023 | Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | 3.1 kg | 30.8 mm | 18.00" | 2560x1600 |
Case - The Erazer has a metal chassis
The Erazer Beast X40 eschews a loud and flashy look in favour of a subdued design that wouldn't stand out in a professional setting. As with its predecessors, the X40 uses a black metal chassis with matt finishes. The base section is covered in a grippy rubber coating. The keyboard backlight (RGB) as well as two fully configurable LED strips (RGB) above the rear exhaust vents provide the laptop with a dash of colour. The battery, which is screwed down rather than glued on, and the rest of the internals are accessible once the bottom cover is removed.
We didn't notice any workmanship issues on our review unit. Gaps in the chassis are nice and tight, and there are no excess materials left from the manufacturing process. It is virtually impossible to twist the base section. The lid can be flexed slightly, but the amount of give is fully acceptable. The hinges keep the display firmly in place and allow the screen to be folded back by up to roughly 140 degrees. The laptop's lid can't be opened with one hand.
The Medion Erazer Beast X40 is one of the most compact devices in our comparison and sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to weight.
Specifications - Thunderbolt 4 for the Beast
The Erazer has three USB-A ports (2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2) and a USB-C port (Thunderbolt 4) on board. The latter doesn't support Power Delivery but is able to output DisplayPort signals. The laptop has a total of two video outputs (HDMI 2.1, DP), two audio jacks (headset and mic-in), one Gigabit Ethernet port and a Kensington slot. On the rear, you'll also find connectors for the optional water cooling solution.
SD card reader
The SD card reader is a medium-speed model that, in conjunction with our AV Pro microSD 128 GB V60 reference card, managed to reach speeds of up to 77 MB/s when transferring 250 JPEG images of around 5 MB each and 86 MB/s when copying large chunks of data.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (AV Pro V60) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Average of class Gaming (19 - 197.3, n=67, last 2 years) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (Angelibird AV Pro V60) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (AV Pro V60) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Average of class Gaming (25.8 - 258, n=66, last 2 years) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (Angelibird AV Pro V60) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Connectivity
Under optimal conditions (no other Wi-Fi devices in immediate surroundings, short distance between laptop and server PC), the Erazer delivered excellent transfer rates over Wi-Fi because Medion has decided to go with an Intel AX211 Wi-Fi 6E module. Wired network connections are handled by the Realtek RTL8125 Gigabit Ethernet chip, which is capable of speeds of up to 2.5 Gbit/s.
Webcam
The 2.1MP webcam captures images at a maximum resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. It is lacking in colour accuracy: the colours produced by the camera deviate significantly from the reference colours. There is no mechanical privacy shutter on the webcam.
Accessories
The laptop ships with no other accessories than the usual documentation and a power adapter. Medion is offering an optional external water cooling solution priced at around €250 (US$270), which the company also provided to us for testing.
The small cooling unit is fairly easy to use: simply fill it with distilled water, connect the cables and tubes, and switch it on. The laptop and the external cooling unit communicate with each other via Bluetooth, and the connection is established automatically. The laptop's charger supplies power to both the X40 and the cooling unit. The water tubes are held in place magnetically – no tightening of screws needed. However, a few drops of water may leak out when you are disconnecting the tubes.
Maintenance
To remove the bottom cover, you need to undo all screws on the underside as well as two more screws on the back beside the water cooling connectors. After that, the bottom cover can be pulled off in a sharp motion by the exhaust vents. Removing the cover lets you access the memory slots (both in use), two PCIe 4.0 SSDs, Wi-Fi module, fans, BIOS battery and rechargeable battery.
Warranty
Medion provides a two-year warranty on the Erazer. Upgrade options are available, but they have to be purchased together with the laptop in Medion's online shop. You can't upgrade or extend the warranty after buying the laptop. It costs nearly €200 (US$216) to extend the warranty by one year.
Input devices - Mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches
Keyboard
Mechanical keyboards are generally known for their precise inputs and feedback as well as premium typing feel – this is no different with the X40's keyboard. Its Cherry MX switches offer a moderate travel and an audible and tactile actuation point. The keyboard doesn't flex when you are typing. There are two function keys to let you adjust the per-key RGB lighting to one of the four brightness levels. Overall, the Erazer Beast X40 has an all-round fantastic keyboard.
Touchpad
Measuring approx. 15.5 x 10 cm (6.1 x 3.9"), the multitouch clickpad has a smooth surface that lets you slide your fingers across easily. It offers a short travel and a distinct click point. There are status LEDs in upper corners of the pad. Tapping the left LED will enable or disable the entire touchpad, whilst the right LED is used for turning only the right half of the pad on or off.
Display - QHD+ with 16:10 aspect ratio
The 17-inch matt IPS display (2,560 x 1,440) has a 16:10 aspect ratio and stands out with adequate brightness, fast response times, high refresh rate (240Hz) and the absence of PWM flicker. But its contrast ratio falls short of what is considered good (>1,000:1).
The panel supports G-Sync, a technology that helps the display's refresh rate adapt dynamically to the frame rate being output by the GPU. This is designed to provide a smoother viewing experience, particularly when gaming.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 384 cd/m²
Contrast: 853:1 (Black: 0.45 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.05 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86, calibrated: 0.74
ΔE Greyscale 2.3 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
69.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
68.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.017
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 BOE NE170QDM-NZ1, IPS, 2560x1600, 17" | MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI B173ZAN06.C, Mini-LED, 3840x2160, 17.3" | Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 CSOT T3 MNG007DA4-1, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 BOE0A99, IPS, 2560x1600, 17" | Alienware x17 R2 P48E AU Optronics B173HAN, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W NE180QDM-NZ2, IPS, 2560x1600, 18" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 24% | 24% | 0% | 10% | 21% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 68.6 | 94.9 38% | 98.5 44% | 69 1% | 79.2 15% | 97.2 42% |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.8 | 99.9 0% | 100 0% | 99.8 0% | 99.8 0% | 99.9 0% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 69.4 | 92.4 33% | 89.7 29% | 69.6 0% | 79.6 15% | 84.9 22% |
| Response Times | -248% | -9% | 12% | -17% | 19% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 11.3 ? | 38.4 ? -240% | 6.6 ? 42% | 10.8 ? 4% | 12.4 ? -10% | 5.41 ? 52% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 7.5 ? | 26.6 ? -255% | 12 ? -60% | 6.1 ? 19% | 9.2 ? -23% | 8.62 ? -15% |
| PWM Frequency | 2380 ? | |||||
| Screen | 78886% | -6% | 11% | -22% | -92% | |
| Brightness middle | 384 | 606 58% | 456.8 19% | 415 8% | 365.4 -5% | 490 28% |
| Brightness | 377 | 602 60% | 437 16% | 399 6% | 344 -9% | 468 24% |
| Brightness Distribution | 90 | 93 3% | 83 -8% | 90 0% | 85 -6% | 86 -4% |
| Black Level * | 0.45 | 0.0001 100% | 0.35 22% | 0.43 4% | 0.29 36% | 0.54 -20% |
| Contrast | 853 | 6060000 710334% | 1305 53% | 965 13% | 1260 48% | 907 6% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.05 | 4.8 -134% | 3.7 -80% | 1.44 30% | 3.17 -55% | 4.97 -142% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.64 | 8.2 -125% | 6.42 -76% | 2.33 36% | 7.69 -111% | 11.02 -203% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.74 | 1.8 -143% | 0.66 11% | 0.89 -20% | 0.51 31% | 2.97 -301% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.3 | 6.5 -183% | 2.6 -13% | 1.8 22% | 5.3 -130% | 7.2 -213% |
| Gamma | 2.017 109% | 2.63 84% | 2.3 96% | 2.132 103% | 2.18 101% | 2.161 102% |
| CCT | 6546 99% | 6596 99% | 6108 106% | 6327 103% | 5879 111% | 6515 100% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 26221% /
50682% | 3% /
-0% | 8% /
9% | -10% /
-15% | -17% /
-52% |
* ... smaller is better
The display already has great colour reproduction right out of the box. Its average colour difference of roughly 2 is significantly lower than the threshould of what is considered good (Delta E < 3). Calibrating the display reduced the average colour difference to 0.74 and made the greyscale more balanced. The panel is able to cover the entire sRGB colour space, but not AdobeRGB and DCI-P3. The displays on some of the competing laptops perform better in terms of colour coverage.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 7.5 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 3.3 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 4.2 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. » 19 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 11.3 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 5.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 5.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 22 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.5 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 8485 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The IPS panel has a wide viewing angle and is easily readable from any position. The display is definitely usable outdoors, provided the sun isn't overly bright.
Performance - Raptor Lake meets Ada Lovelace
Even though it is designed primarily with QHD+ gaming in mind, the Erazer Beast X40 also cuts a good figure in applications such as video editing and rendering. The required computing muscle is provided by Raptor Lake and Ada Lovelace. The X40 model in this review can be had for around €4,500 (US$4,856). But Medion also offers a slightly lower-spec configuration (RTX 4080 and 1 TB SSD; otherwise identical) at €3,500 (US$3,777).
Test conditions
There are three manufacturer-specified performance modes: Office, Balance and Turbo. We used Turbo mode for benchmarking and Office mode for our battery-life tests and enabled Nvidia Optimus in both cases. After completing these tests, we ran more benchmarks with dGPU mode enabled and the external water cooling unit connected. You can find the results of this additional testing in the comparison table, but they are not taken into consideration for the rating.
Users can toggle between the three modes using a dedicated button right beside the power button. A status LED indicates which mode is currently enabled. Customised profiles can also be created using the preinstalled Control Center software. For instance, you can specify the CPU's power limits, the GPU's TGP, temperature limits and so on.
Note: We used the English user interface in the Control Center software because there are some issues with the German translation. The software lets you switch between the two languages.
| Turbo Mode | Balance Mode | Office Mode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Limit 1 | 160 Watt | 160 Watt | 160 Watt |
| Power Limit 2 | 160 Watt | 160 Watt | 160 Watt |
Processor
The Core i9-13900HX (Raptor Lake) consists of eight performance cores (Hyper-Threading, 2.2 to 5.4 GHz) and sixteen efficiency cores (no Hyper-Threading, 1.6 to 3.9 GHz), resulting in a total of 40 logical cores. The benchmark results obtained are slightly above what the CPU can produce on average.
With the Erazer Beast X40 plugged in, its CPU ran Cinebench R15 at high to max clock speeds. On battery power, single-thread performance was only marginally lower (score: 228), whereas multi-thread performance took a considerable hit (score: 1,154). Running Cinebench 15 in a loop demonstrated that the CPU is capable of running constantly at high boost speeds when it is on mains power.
Using the water cooling unit didn't bring about any dramatic increase in performance. Nonetheless, the CPU's performance was more stable under sustained multi-thread load (CB15 loop), and the average CPU temperature dropped by around 5°C (9°F).
Cinebench R15 Multi Sustained Load
| CPU Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average of class Gaming | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Cinebench R20 | |
| CPU (Multi Core) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (9152 - 12541, n=20) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average of class Gaming (2179 - 15517, n=151, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| CPU (Single Core) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (722 - 810, n=20) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (439 - 866, n=151, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Cinebench R15 | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (3913 - 4970, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (905 - 6074, n=154, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (247 - 304, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (191.9 - 343, n=151, last 2 years) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Average of class Gaming (81 - 555, n=145, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (101 - 153, n=21) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - 4k Preset | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (23.5 - 34.4, n=21) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average of class Gaming (6.72 - 42.9, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| LibreOffice - 20 Documents To PDF | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Average of class Gaming (19 - 96.6, n=147, last 2 years) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (32.8 - 51.1, n=20) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 - Overall mean | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Average of class Gaming (0.3609 - 0.759, n=150, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.375 - 0.4564, n=21) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
* ... 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 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX | |
| Average of class Gaming | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (17589 - 27615, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (4986 - 81639, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (88686 - 137015, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (25360 - 252486, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (4362 - 7029, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (1339 - 10389, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (125644 - 141385, n=21) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Average of class Gaming (50699 - 200651, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (12334 - 17179, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (4800 - 32988, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (43850 - 69202, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (12321 - 134044, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (89413 - 237881, n=21) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| Average of class Gaming (19065 - 328679, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (1284 - 1958, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (373 - 2531, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (9481 - 15279, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (2540 - 43430, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (42994 - 51994, n=21) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v6.85.6300) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v6.75.6100) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v6.85.6300) | |
| Average of class Gaming (10805 - 60161, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (v6.50.5800) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v6.70.6000) | |
System performance
The hardware inside this snappy system offers more than enough performance for tasks like gaming and rendering. The laptop comes with 32 GB of memory running in dual-channel mode. And the memory's transfer rates are typical for DDR5-4800 RAM. What's more, the system also delivered superb PCMark results in our testing.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (7690 - 9331, n=8) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average of class Gaming (5776 - 9852, n=132, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (10972 - 11983, n=8) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average of class Gaming (9057 - 12600, n=132, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (9038 - 11680, n=8) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (6662 - 14612, n=132, last 2 years) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (10605 - 16395, n=8) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (6807 - 19351, n=132, last 2 years) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (1825 - 2295, n=8) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (1247 - 2344, n=112, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (1666 - 2166, n=8) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (1299 - 2204, n=112, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (2162 - 2514, n=8) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (1275 - 2660, n=112, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (1441 - 2275, n=8) | |
| Average of class Gaming (1030 - 2330, n=112, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 4936 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 6075 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 7932 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (67716 - 78835, n=21) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Average of class Gaming (21750 - 97515, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (73998 - 88462, n=21) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (22956 - 102937, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (65472 - 77045, n=21) | |
| Average of class Gaming (22297 - 108954, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (59.5 - 259, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13900HX (80.4 - 91.1, n=21) | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
Our standardised latency monitor test, which involves web browsing, 4K video playback and Prime95 high-load, revealed some issues. The system seems to be unsuitable for real-time video and audio processing. We hope future software updates will help rectify these issues.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
Medion equipped our X40 review unit with two 1 TB SSDs (PCIe 4.0, M.2-2280) made by Phison. One of them serves as the system drive, and the other is used for data storage. Not only do the SSDs not form a RAID configuration, but the laptop itself doesn't support RAID. The included drives are not amongst the best SSDs on the market. Even so, they still deliver great performance. Another positive thing to mention is that we didn't notice any performance drops caused by thermal throttling.
* ... smaller is better
Sustained Load Read: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
The GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop is Nvidia's current flagship mobile GPU. It features 9,728 shading units, a 256-bit memory bus and 16,384 MB of high-speed GDDR6 memory. The RTX 4090 has up to 175 watts of TGP at its disposal (150 watts + 25 watts Dynamic Boost) – this is as high as it gets. But the TGP wasn't fully utilised during our Witcher 3 test.
The benchmark results are on par with (Optimus mode) or slightly better than (dGPU mode) what we have seen so far from the RTX 4090 Laptop on average. The laptop also supports Advanced Optimus. Switching between dGPU and Optimus mode doesn't require restarting the computer.
The optional water cooling can give a slight performance gain in some benchmarks and games. Witcher 3, for example, ran at higher frame rates during our testing. Average GPU temperature was also lower than when using only air cooling.
| 3DMark Performance Rating - Percent | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI -1! | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 -1! | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 -1! | |
| 3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (54073 - 73027, n=42) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Average of class Gaming (10741 - 72178, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 60717 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 47487 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 66757 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 34788 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 19708 points | |
Help | ||
| Blender | |
| v3.3 Classroom OPTIX/RTX | |
| Average of class Gaming (10 - 95, n=143, last 2 years) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (3.3.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (3.3.3) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (9 - 19, n=39) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (3.3.3, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (3.3.3) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (3.3.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (3.3.3, dGPU) | |
| v3.3 Classroom CUDA | |
| Average of class Gaming (16 - 156, n=145, last 2 years) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (3.3.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (3.3.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (3.3.3, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (16 - 24, n=39) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (3.3.3) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (3.3.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (3.3.3, dGPU) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (3.3.3) | |
| Geekbench 5.5 | |
| OpenCL Score | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (6841 - 237138, n=39) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Average of class Gaming (5039 - 270235, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Vulkan Score 5.5 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (49663 - 163089, n=28) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average of class Gaming (9296 - 177533, n=105, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| V-Ray Benchmark Next 4.10 | |
| GPU | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v4.10.07 ) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v4.10.07 ) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v4.10.07 ) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v4.10.07, dGPU) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (873 - 1334, n=30) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v4.10.07, dGPU, Cooling ) | |
| Average of class Gaming (54 - 1317, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v4.10.07 ) | |
| CPU | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (v4.10.07 ) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v4.10.07, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (v4.10.07 ) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v4.10.07 ) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (v4.10.07, dGPU) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (18206 - 37629, n=30) | |
| Average of class Gaming (5413 - 44129, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (v4.10.07 ) | |
* ... smaller is better
Gaming performance
The X40 lets users play games at QHD+ and max settings. It is possible to use a higher resolution if you connect the laptop to an appropriate monitor. The games we tested generally ran at frame rates similar to what we have seen from the RTX 4090 until now. Depending on the game, you may be able to get higher frame rates by driving the display directly from the GeForce GPU.
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W -1! | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (139.2 - 216, n=35) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (18.4 - 214, n=114, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (91.1 - 167.7, n=40) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (12.1 - 168.2, n=129, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (1.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (1.3, dGPU) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (1.3, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (1.3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (1.3) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (122.2 - 201, n=40) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (1.3) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (1.3) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (1.3) | |
| Average of class Gaming (19.2 - 210, n=143, last 2 years) | |
| Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (1.47.22.14 D3D12, dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (1.47.22.14 D3D12, dGPU) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI (1.47.22.14 D3D12) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W (1.47.22.14 D3D12) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (1.47.22.14 D3D12) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (233 - 421, n=39) | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 (1.47.22.14 D3D12) | |
| Average of class Gaming (38.9 - 434, n=138, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E (1.47.22.14 D3D12) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 (1.47.22.14 D3D12) | |
| Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (115.7 - 220, n=42) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (65.1 - 220, n=147, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W | |
| Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 (dGPU, Cooling) | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (77.8 - 166.2, n=46) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Alienware x17 R2 P48E | |
| Average of class Gaming (33.4 - 166.2, n=151, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 | |
| Returnal | |
| 1920x1080 Epic Preset | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (141 - 155, n=3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (27 - 141, n=20, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Epic Preset | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (113 - 119, n=3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (39 - 115, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 Epic Preset + Epic Ray-Tracing | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (126 - 128, n=2) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (4 - 74, n=5, last 2 years) | |
| Atomic Heart | |
| 1920x1080 Atomic Preset | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (128.6 - 166, n=3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (10.2 - 78, n=11, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Atomic Preset | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (93.8 - 135, n=3) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (33.3 - 58.6, n=6, last 2 years) | |
| Hogwarts Legacy | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:High T | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (41.2 - 166.1, n=4) | |
| Average of class Gaming (10.3 - 108, n=14, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:High T | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (40.6 - 125.9, n=4) | |
| Average of class Gaming (29.8 - 81, n=7, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset + Full Ray Tracing AA:High T | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (52.2 - 67, n=3) | |
| Average of class Gaming (28.3 - 66, n=3, last 2 years) | |
| Company of Heroes 3 | |
| 1920x1080 Maximum Settings | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (215 - 235, n=2) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (43.8 - 153.9, n=9, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Maximum Settings | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (176.4 - 194.8, n=2) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (62.9 - 114.8, n=4, last 2 years) | |
| Sons of the Forest | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (85.7 - 93.9, n=2) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (14.8 - 93.9, n=14, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (85.2 - 89.6, n=2) | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 | |
| Average of class Gaming (45.5 - 89.6, n=6, last 2 years) | |
To test out whether the laptop can run games at mostly stable frame rates over an extended period, we ran The Witcher 3 for roughly 60 minutes at Full HD and max quality settings without moving the player character. We didn't observe any dip in frame rates.
Witcher 3 FPS graph
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 187.5 | 187.1 | 186 | 151.3 | 145.3 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 586.4 | 511.4 | 363.8 | 195.1 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 215 | 193.5 | 182.6 | 171.5 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 232 | 207 | 176.2 | 146.7 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 187.1 | 162.9 | 128.3 | ||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 199 | 172 | 167 | 158 | 151 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 515 | 387 | 369 | 365 | 292 |
| Hunt Showdown (2020) | 367 | 285 | 262 | 168 | |
| Death Stranding (2020) | 179 | 171.4 | 166.6 | 163 | 162.1 |
| Yakuza Like a Dragon (2020) | 179.7 | 167.7 | 166.6 | 152.3 | 138.1 |
| Back 4 Blood (2021) | 403 | 309 | 309 | 327 | |
| Guardians of the Galaxy (2021) | 163 | 160 | 158 | 152 | 141 |
| Riders Republic (2021) | 209 | 200 | 185 | 179 | 146 |
| Elex 2 (2022) | 118.2 | 117.1 | 116.2 | 116.2 | 116.7 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 301 | 290 | 268 | 118.2 | 79.9 |
| The Quarry (2022) | 278 | 211 | 177.3 | 146.1 | 100.2 |
| Hogwarts Legacy (2023) | 242 | 204 | 186.5 | 166.1 | 125.9 |
| Returnal (2023) | 178 | 171 | 164 | 146 | 113 |
| Atomic Heart (2023) | 205 | 161.8 | 144.2 | 128.6 | 93.8 |
| Company of Heroes 3 (2023) | 285.3 | 262.9 | 235.2 | 215.2 | 176.4 |
| Sons of the Forest (2023) | 96.1 | 90 | 87.9 | 85.7 | 85.2 |
Emissions - The Erazer laptop can get quite noisy
Noise emissions
The laptop is relatively quiet in everyday use (e.g. office applications, web browsing). The fans may even stop spinning once in a while. Unsurprisingly, the X40 can get pretty loud under heavy load, producing as much as 53 dB(A) of noise during the stress test and Witcher 3 test. Despite the fairly high noise levels, the sound produced by the two fans is tolerable as a whole: a whooshing noise is accompanied by a sonorous whirring that gradually turns into light whistling with increasing fan speed.
The laptop's fans ease off when the external water cooling unit is connected. However, the unit itself also adds to the overall noise: although the pump is relatively quiet in use, the fan inside the cooler makes more racket. All things considered, we think the overall noise is more pleasant when the water cooling unit is used.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 25 / 29 / 35 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 51 / 53 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 24 dB(A) | ||
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX | MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX | Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, R9 6900HX | Alienware x17 R2 P48E GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900HK | Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13980HX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -3% | 13% | -3% | 15% | 4% | |
| off / environment * | 24 | 24.6 -3% | 23 4% | 26 -8% | 22.7 5% | 23.9 -0% |
| Idle Minimum * | 25 | 29.2 -17% | 23 8% | 26 -4% | 23.1 8% | 23.9 4% |
| Idle Average * | 29 | 29.2 -1% | 23 21% | 29 -0% | 23.1 20% | 32.6 -12% |
| Idle Maximum * | 35 | 29.2 17% | 23.6 33% | 40 -14% | 23.1 34% | 32.6 7% |
| Load Average * | 51 | 50.7 1% | 39 24% | 47 8% | 31.9 37% | 35.9 30% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 51 | 53.3 -5% | 51.6 -1% | 52 -2% | 52.5 -3% | |
| Load Maximum * | 53 | 61 -15% | 51.3 3% | 54 -2% | 52.5 1% | 55.8 -5% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Chassis temperatures stay within an acceptable range in everyday use cases, such as running office software and Internet browsers. The laptop gets noticeably warm but not overly hot under load, as we noted during the stress test and Witcher 3 test. CPU temperatures also gave us no cause for concern.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 48 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 40.4 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 52 °C / 126 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.2 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(-) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 40.7 °C / 105 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (34 °C / 93.2 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-5.1 °C / -9.2 F).
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 Intel Core i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | Alienware x17 R2 P48E Intel Core i9-12900HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W Intel Core i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 13% | 9% | -2% | 4% | -0% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 48 | 40.6 15% | 40 17% | 49 -2% | 49.6 -3% | 54 -13% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 52 | 41.1 21% | 37.6 28% | 52 -0% | 42.4 18% | 46 12% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 30 | 26.2 13% | 32.4 -8% | 30 -0% | 29.2 3% | 30 -0% |
| Idle Bottom * | 31 | 30.3 2% | 31.4 -1% | 33 -6% | 32 -3% | 31 -0% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress test
For the stress test, we let Prime95 and FurMark run for a prolonged period. It represents an extreme scenario designed to evaluate how stable the system is under full load. The CPU started off at high clock speeds (P-cores: 4 GHz, E-cores: 3.3 GHz) while the GPU fluctuated between 1 and 1.5 GHz. After roughly five minutes, the CPU's P-cores and E-cores gradually dropped to 2 GHz and 1.8 GHz respectively, but the GPU clock climbed to about 2.3 to 2.4 GHz
Speakers
The stereo speakers sound decent but produce hardly any bass. We recommend using a pair of headphones or external speakers for a better audio experience.
Medion Erazer Beast X40 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (88 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.5% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 38% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 56% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 24% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 71% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.5% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (11.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 8% of all tested devices in this class were better, 3% similar, 89% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 6% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Power management - The X40 offers fairly good stamina
Power consumption
The X40's power consumption averaged 280 watts in the Witcher 3 test and briefly peaked at 363 watts in the stress test. Whilst power usage dropped slightly over the course of the Witcher 3 test, it fluctuated throughout the stress test. At idle, the laptop draws a fairly normal amount of power for the hardware inside. The included charger is rated at 330 watts and thus can supply enough power to the laptop.
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / Watt |
| Idle | 11 / 18 / 30 Watt |
| Load |
136 / 363 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 R9 6900HX, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | Alienware x17 R2 P48E i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | Average of class Gaming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -5% | -14% | 31% | -42% | -30% | -15% | 8% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 11 | 14 -27% | 15.2 -38% | 7 36% | 24.1 -119% | 17.3 -57% | 16.2 ? -47% | 13.5 ? -23% |
| Idle Average * | 18 | 21.6 -20% | 22.8 -27% | 11 39% | 28.5 -58% | 27 -50% | 23.1 ? -28% | 19 ? -6% |
| Idle Maximum * | 30 | 24.8 17% | 49.8 -66% | 17 43% | 60 -100% | 46 -53% | 34.2 ? -14% | 26.4 ? 12% |
| Load Average * | 136 | 122.5 10% | 121.2 11% | 92 32% | 128.7 5% | 133 2% | 130.5 ? 4% | 102.1 ? 25% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 280 | 265 5% | 242 14% | 221 21% | 254 9% | |||
| Load Maximum * | 363 | 418 -15% | 273.7 25% | 306 16% | 323 11% | 329 9% | 324 ? 11% | 247 ? 32% |
* ... smaller is better
Power consumption Witcher 3 / Stress test
Power consumption with external monitor
Battery life
The 17-inch laptop lasted 6h 22m and 6h 56m respectively in the Wi-Fi test (accessing websites automatically using a script) and video test (looping the short film Big Buck Bunny, encoded in H.264, at Full HD). For both tests, all power-saving features were disabled on the laptop, and screen brightness was set to about 150 cd/m². The wireless adapter was also disabled when we were carrying out the video test.
On the whole, the Erazer delivers great battery life for such a high-performance laptop. It can outlast most of the competitors, even those with identical battery capacity.
| Medion Erazer Beast X40 i9-13900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, 99.8 Wh | MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, 99.9 Wh | Razer Blade 16 Early 2023 i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, 95.2 Wh | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 M22 R9 6900HX, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, 99 Wh | Alienware x17 R2 P48E i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, 87 Wh | Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY-N6005W i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, 90 Wh | Average of class Gaming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -18% | -13% | 15% | -63% | -13% | -3% | |
| Reader / Idle | 565 | 533 -6% | 722 28% | 234 -59% | 585 ? 4% | ||
| H.264 | 416 | 358 -14% | 398 -4% | 419 1% | 457 ? 10% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 382 | 319 -16% | 365 -4% | 537 41% | 117 -69% | 428 12% | 389 ? 2% |
| Load | 114 | 86 -25% | 81 -29% | 109 -4% | 46 -60% | 56 -51% | 84.7 ? -26% |
| Witcher 3 ultra | 53 | 76.3 ? |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Exceptional high-end gaming notebook
The Medion Erazer Beast X40 is a laptop designed for highly demanding usage scenarios, such as video editing, rendering and gaming. The computing muscle required for these applications is provided by one of the most powerful CPU-GPU combinations right now: a Core i9-13900HX paired with a GeForce RTX 4090.
The processor and graphics card are capable of running consistently at high clock speeds, and the X40 produces a fairly normal amount of heat and noise for this class of device.
All in all, the Erazer Beast X40 is a compelling laptop for gaming and other demanding applications.
The matt 17-inch 16:10 display (QHD, IPS, 240Hz, G-Sync, sRGB) looks great for the most part. The only downside is that its contrast is slightly too low. The superb mechanical keyboard (with RGB lighting) makes the laptop look even more attractive. Those who have never used a mechanical keyboard before are in for a new typing experience. The Thunderbolt 4 port on the laptop opens up expansion options (e.g. external GPU, docking solution) but doesn't support Power Delivery.
One possible alternative to the Erazer Beast X40 is the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 2023 G834JY. The Asus ROG stands out with its 18-inch 16:10 QHD+ panel, more RAM (64 GB) and RAID support. At about €4,800 (US$5,177), it is in the same price bracket as the Beast. If money is no object, you can take a look at the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V as another alternative. It offers slightly more CPU performance, three SSD slots, RAID support and four RAM sockets. The exceptionally bright mini-LED display with excellent contrast is a highlight on the device. But the overall package will set you back around €6,600 (US$7,120).
Verdict on water cooling
The optional water cooling unit fundamentally does what it is supposed to: improving performance (Medion promises up to 10% increase) and reducing heat and noise. In actual use, however, the performance gain is rather modest, and the laptop is confined to a stationary spot. The only advantages left are lower temperatures and noise levels. It is up to every X40 owner to decide whether these benefits are worth the extra €250 (US$270).
Price and availability
In Germany, the review configuration of the Medion Erazer Beast X40 is available from Saturn.de and has a price tag of €4,499 (US$4,856).
Medion Erazer Beast X40
- 03/20/2023 v7 (old)
Sascha Mölck
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
This is how Notebookcheck is testing
Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
Price comparison
