Review Schenker S413 (Clevo W740SU) Notebook

It cannot be said that the S413's looks are dull. The slightly uncommon design, with its wide, centered display hinge, sticks out from the masses of contenders. The rear's design is just as unusual as it is almost completely covered with a fine-mesh grille. As is typical for Clevo, the barebone comes in a restrained, matte-black color that is likely to look like brushed metal. However, it is a magnesium-aluminum alloy in part (underside and lid) and only simple plastic in other areas.

With a weight of only 1.9 kilograms and a thickness of just under 21 millimeters, the S413 is almost as portable as an ultrabook with a comparable screen size. However, while many ultrabooks not only excel with their compact size but also feature an outstanding casing quality, our review sample has room for improvement in this category. The gaps and material transitions are not always perfect up to the last detail. The stability could also be a bit better in some places, for example above the keyboard.

The remarkably thin display can be opened with one hand. However, this should be done with some care in view of its moderate stiffness. The relatively smooth-running hinges cannot prevent the lid from wobbling for a few seconds on vibrating surfaces. This problem is not unknown to the competition.

Overall, the barebone's quality can be called satisfactory but not really outstanding. We would have wanted a bit more accuracy in build for a purchase price of beyond 1000 Euros (~$1328).

Maintenance

Unlike most other Schenker laptops, the CPU in the S413 cannot be replaced. Intel's HQ models are only available as solderable BGA versions so that the upgrade options are limited to storage and Wi-Fi modules. Users who remove the device's underside will first be confronted with the backside of the motherboard and the 2.5-inch slot (empty in our case). The laptop would have to be disassembled even more in order to access the two storage slots, Wi-Fi module or mSATA slot. However, this would be possible without special tools and a bit of savvy and experience.

Warranty

A 24 month base warranty, with a pick-up & return service in some countries, is included in the purchase price. Schenker also ensures "immediate repair" in the first six months with a maximum process time of 48 hours. An additional 105 Euros (~$139) is charged for a warranty upgrade to 48 months and 210 Euros (~$278) has to be added for 48 months.

A Full HD resolution and matte screen surface - Schenker, or rather Clevo were not stingy when choosing the 14-inch display. The agreeably high pixel density of 157 dpi ensures a sharp reproduction of pictures and text but also fairly small icons and lettering. However, this should not be a problem for users with good eyesight.

The LED-backlit screen achieves a decent brightness of 268 cd/m² in maximum settings. The brightness is also distributed evenly over the entire screen surface. A minor backlight bleeding is only seen in completely darkened rooms when looking closer. However, this barely shows up in routine use and the intensity can differ in every sample.

The S413 benefits from its screen's matte surface and vibrant backlight in outdoor use. The content largely remains legible even in direct sunlight. Users who prefer working in the shade can even reduce the brightness a bit and consequently increase the battery runtime. Touchscreen rivals, such as Asus' VivoBook S551LB, have a much harder time with this due to their glare-type screens.

Like most IPS screens, the AHVA display in our review sample exhibits an excellent viewing angle stability. Colors and contrasts barely deviate even from an angle of almost 90 degrees. TN screens would be illegible in such cases. We can only hope that other laptop manufacturers will use comparable screens more frequently in future.

As to the CPU, the Core i7-4750HQ barely differs from most other Haswell processors. The base clock of only 2.0 GHz is comparatively low but can be increased to 3.2 GHz via Turbo Boost 2.0 depending on the load and temperature (4 cores: 3.0 GHz; 2 cores: 3.1 GHz). Apart from that, the differences compared with other models, such as the Core i7-4700HQ, are minor. Both support Hyper-Threading technology for processing up to 8 threads at the same time, are specified with a TDP of 47 watts and are built in Intel's latest 22 nanometer process using Tri-Gate transistors.

The graphics unit is the main difference. While the quad-cores featuring a "0" as the third digit of their model number only integrate the HD Graphics 4600, the much faster Iris Pro Graphics 5200 work in the Core i7-4750HQ, 4850HQ and 4950HQ. These models can also fall back on a 128 MB eDRAM that can be used by both the CPU and GPU.

Our review sample has a generous storage capacity of 16 GB DDR3 1600 that is distributed over two 8 GB modules from Crucial. The 256 GB SSD also comes from the same manufacturer.

Does it boost or throttle? The cooling has had a decisive influence on whether the power reserves of the fastest high-end CPUs can really be maxed out consistently even before Haswell. Clevo appears to have done its homework here. The device copes with both single and multi-thread benchmarks without ado using its maximum possible clock rate.

The answer to the burning question of what performance gains the additional eDRAM promises in regards to the CPU performance are sobering. The Core i7-4750HQ did not exhibit a measurably higher per-MHZ performance than other Haswell processors in any of the programs we tested. Considering existing measuring inaccuracies, we would estimate the gain to be ≤ 5% - possible exceptions to the top can however not be excluded.

The 4750HQ usually places itself just above the i7-4702HQ (37 watts, HD 4600) corresponding to its (Turbo) clock rate but clearly remains below the i7-4700HQ (47 watts, HD 4600). Schenker's S413 laptop is nevertheless far ahead of the swiftest ultrabooks. The lead on the Core i7-4500U (15 watts, HD 4400) in Asus' S551LB is a steep 162% in Cinebench R11.5.

An annoying and unnecessary restriction is the drastic throttling of the CPU's clock rate in battery mode. Regardless of the selected energy-savings profile, the processor is slowed down to a maximum of 1.3 GHz here, which consequently results in a performance loss of over 50%. Naturally, the battery runtime benefits from this strategy but that should be left to the user to decide.

Our review sample comes with an SSD in mSATA format rather than with a conventional 2.5-inch drive. To be precise, it is a Crucial m4 with 256 GB (CT256M4SSD3). Although the underlying Marvel controller, model 88SS9174-BLD2, has been on the market for two years, it is still considered to be quite strong and very reliable.

Our benchmarks confirm its good reputation. Sequential data rates of just under 493 MB/s in read and 275 MB/s in write are more than appropriate for a modern high-end SSD of this form factor. Together with the equally strong performance in processing small files, the storage device places itself on a level with competing models, such as Samsung's SSD 830 or various SSDs based on a Sandforce SF-2281 controller. Please see the results of the 4K and 4K-64 test in the AS SSD benchmark on the right.

In the past it was common for Intel's GPUs to only excel in specific 3DMark tests but not in real games. However, the drivers have made a big step forward in the past years. Crashes or graphics bugs were no problem in any of the games we tested.

However, the backlog on the GeForce GT 650M and 750M is much bigger than in the 3DMark benchmarks. Both Nvidia models lead by averagely 30% throughout all tested games using Notebookcheck's high settings. It seems that certain graphics settings, for example enabling 8x MSAA in Skyrim, use a bit more performance than the competition in some cases. The Iris Pro Graphics 5200 can be set equal with the GeForce GT 740M when these few situations are ignored (roughly between the 64 and 128-bit version).

A look at future games is exciting. Since the CPU and GPU share one TDP budget, the graphics unit's Turbo is also dependent on the processor's load. Although we ascertained consistently high clock rates of 1000 to 1100 MHz in current titles (even 1200 MHz when the TDP was surpassed for a short time), the CPU was usually only loaded to less than 20%. This may look different in next-gen games.

As presumable when looking at the cooling construction, the casing heats up strongly towards the back. Unlike the wrist rest that barely exceeds 30 °C even during full load, the back reaches between 42 °C on the top and 54 °C on the underside. These maximum temperatures are only achieved selectively and will hardly impair the user. The laptop can be used comfortably on the thighs in routine use.

Surprisingly, the barebone did not have any problems dealing the Core i7's waste heat even in midsummer-like test conditions (room temperature: 27 °C). The chip settled to approximately 90 °C after one hour of stress testing via Prime95 and Furmark and did not show any signs of throttling or stability issues. However, the processor only clocked with its base rate of 2.0 GHz for TDP related reasons. The graphics unit still provided 850 MHz. An interesting marginal note: When only Prime95 was performed, the CPU surpassed 100 °C within no time and the device issued a loud warning signal. Apparently the Core i7's TDP of 47 watts can only be provided with certainty when distributed evenly over the CPU and GPU. This phenomenon was not observed in practical applications.

A great surprise: Schenker's S413 is likely the first laptop with an Intel GPU that we can label "suitable for games" without restrictions. Although Intel's statement that it could compete with a dedicated GeForce GT 650M is not quite true, the performance of the Iris Pro Graphics 5200 is undoubtedly impressive. But we do not want to reduce the S413 to its graphics solution only. The laptop has a lot to offer in other areas too.

In addition to the excellent graphics and application performance, the AHVA screen is one of the special highlights. Its high resolution, high brightness and stable viewing angles can beat some considerably more expensive contenders. The content is always legible even outdoors so that the laptop's great mobility can be enjoyed without restrictions. However, the extreme clock rate throttling in battery mode is annoying and will hopefully be rectified with a BIOS update. However, the user will have to endure the somewhat spongy keyboard just like the casing's middling quality.

However, Schenker's S413 convinced us across the board. Buyers looking for a portable high-end laptop with comparable performance rates will currently not find many alternatives. Potential competitors might be MSI's GE40 or the Razer Blade. We are looking forward to the upcoming duels.