Schenker XMG Pro 15 (Clevo PB51RF-G) Laptop Review: Fun and games

Some of the XMG Pro 15's competitors are other 15-inch gamers equipped with a GeForce RTX 2070, such as the Asus Strix G531GW, the Asus Zephyrus S GX502GW, the MSI GE65 Raider 9SF and the Schenker XMG Ultra 15. These notebooks will feature in our comparison tables in each section.

The PB51RF-G-Barebone that this device is based on comes from Clevo. As is typical for Clevo devices, the case design is fairly simple - except for its RGB keyboard backlighting, of course. But the black surface does not feature any intricate patterns. While the display frame and base unit are made of plastic, the cover and top of the base unit are made of aluminum, which makes the Pro 15 look good.     

The wobbly display cover aside, the device is fairly stable and has good workmanship. Most of the elements on our test sample combine nicely.

The Pro 15 weighs 2.5 kg, which makes it a little heavier than most of its competition. Apart from the XMG Ultra 15, most of the other devices weigh between 2.1 and 2.4 kg. The same goes for height. At 3.0 cm, our test unit is the second-thickest device in the comparison. The MSI GE65 and the Asus devices Strix G531GW and Zephyrus S GX502GW are only between 1.9 and 2.7 cm high. At least the XMG Pro 15 doesn't have too big a footprint thanks to its slim-bezel design. Its 35.9 x 25.8 cm still makes it easily portable. 

Ports

Contrary to the recently tested (and significantly cheaper) XMG Core 15, the Pro 15 features a wide range of ports. It has three Type-A USB 3.0 ports and two Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (one supporting DisplayPort, the other Thunderbolt 3). The port selection is up to date and ensures a wide range of possible applications. The device also has two audio jacks for a microphone and headphone as well as a card reader, an RJ45 port and a Kensington lock. Finally, we have a mini DisplayPort and an HDMI 2.0 output (each 4K@60 Hz). 

The port distribution is very good. As there are hardly any ports on the left and right sides, users can easily use a mouse without worrying about other cables being in the way.

The manufacturer should also be praised for the particularly fast card reader, which reaches over 200 MB/s during sequential reading and when transferring photos - our reference card almost reached its limits. Other gaming laptops such as the MSI GE65 9SF struggle along at USB 2.0 speeds (around 30 MB/s).

Wireless communication is very fast on the XMG Pro 15. Due to the changed test setup (ax router instead of ac router), we cannot really compare the results with the competition, but more than 1300 Mb/s when sending and receiving at a distance of one meter is definitely a first-class result. We're not surprised - after all, the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (available at an extra charge) is a cutting-edge wireless module.

The scope of delivery is very generous and includes a thick user's manual, a cleaning cloth, a USB stick, a DVD with drivers as well as screws for the 2.5-inch bay. The AC adapter is fairly slim and has a rated output of 230 Watt.

To get to the insides, users will have to remove the entire bottom cover of the base unit. Once this is done, you gain access to the RAM and storage slots, the Wi-Fi adapter, the processor and graphics card. The two latter elements are soldered on and are covered by a clever cooling system that consists of two cooling fans, several heat pipes and metal plates. A great advantage: Unlike with most other laptops nowadays, the battery is directly accessible from the outside.

The standard warranty runs for 24 months. Buyers can also purchase a warranty extension that prolongs it to three years and/or includes a fast repair service.

The touchpad, which has an integrated fingerprint reader, is a mixed bag. While its smooth surface ensures good gliding, it could be more precise. Inputs occasionally feel spongy. We did not encounter any issues while testing multi-touch gestures. The pad responded quickly and reliably to two-finger gestures such as scrolling or zooming. The dedicated mouse buttons have a relatively soft feedback.  

At 10.8 x 6.2 cm, the touchpad has a good size. As it is placed quite far to the left, you might want to deactivate the touchpad while gaming with an external mouse, to avoid any false inputs. 

The display is a matte Full HD screen with a 144 Hz refresh rate. This promises low response rates, which our measurements confirmed: 11 to 17 ms are good for an IPS panel.

The XMG Pro 15 clearly belongs to the high-end segment. The six-core processor and ray-tracing GPU should provide sufficient processing power for the coming years, as long as you choose a configuration with a minimum of 16 GB of RAM and an SSD for the operating system. 

The base clock rate of the 14-nm chip is 2.6 GHz, which the turbo boost can increase to up to 4.5 GHz. However, these levels are hardly ever reached in practice. While the Core i7-9750H settled at 4.0 GHz during the single-core test, it only reached 3.0 - 3.1 GHz in the long run during the multi-core test after initially clocking at 3.5 - 4.0 GHz. The depiction of our Cinebench loop illustrates this beautifully.

This clock rate positions the XMG Pro 15 behind its 9750H competition from Asus. The power mode "performance" would probably offer better results (but this would have an effect on the emission results, which already aren't ideal).

Although the PCMark 10 results of our XMG Pro 15 are the lowest in our comparison field and booting is not particularly fast, the 15-inch notebook still offers high system performance, which is mainly due to the SSD. Modern SSDs not only guarantee a fast installation process but also short loading times and program launches. 

And now for the storage device. Our test unit is equipped with an NVMe SSD from Samsung. The 500-GB version of the 970 Evo Plus has an M.2 format and offers an attractive price-to-performance ratio. It reaches around 3000 MB/s during sequential reading and writing, which makes it one of the fastest products available. Buyers can also choose an additional M.2 SSD and a 2.5-inch hard drive during configuration.

The GeForce RTX 2070 (based on Nvidia's Turing architecture) takes care of 3D applications. The DirectX 12 chip is produced in the 12-nm process; it has 2304 shader units and is equipped with an 8-GB GDDR6 VRAM (256-bit interface) module.

Like with the CPU, we also tested the clock rate of the GPU. The GeForce RTX 2070 speeds up from a standard 1215 MHz to 1500 MHz under load. During the GPU-Z render test, the Pro 15 even managed to get 1935 MHz out of the chip. The Pro 15 is among the top of its class in terms of graphics performance based on our range of benchmarks (3DMark Port Royal, 3DMark Fire Strike, 3DMark 11, etc.).

The 60-minute test using the role-playing game The Witcher 3 (1920x1080, Ultra) didn't uncover any anomalies. The frame rate remained relatively constant throughout the test and there were no drops in performance (see graph below).  

The GeForce RTX 2070 can make good use of the 144-Hz panel in our test unit. Nvidia's high-end chip can display every current game smoothly at 1920x1080 pixels and maximum details. Only very demanding games such as Anno 1800 and Red Dead Redemption 2 have an average frame rate below 60 fps.

If you connect a QHD display (2560x1440 pixels), you will still get good performance. While Nvidia's Turing flagship, the GeForce RTX 2080, really gets to flex its muscles when it comes to 4K gaming, the GeForce RTX 2070 does reach its limits in this area.

Clevo barebones often have issues with cooling. The same goes for the new PB51RF-G case. Firstly, the cooling fans can occasionally turn up really high while idling or during simple office, video or web activities, and secondly, they are very loud during 3D applications.

Despite its thicker case, the XMG Pro 15 is louder than its competition at 55 dB during The Witcher 3. Considering the CPU and GPU temperature of around 70 °C, it should be possible to reduce the fan noise. Our conclusion: The cooling fans aren't very well balanced in entertainment mode. Users who are sensitive to noise or don't want to use a headset while gaming will have to look for an alternative.

The components do not heat up particularly either. Even during our stress test with FurMark and Prime95, the Core i7-9750H remained below 90 °C while the GeForce RTX 2070 never went over 80 °C. 

The sound quality of the XMG Pro 15 is acceptable. While mids and highs actually come out fairly well in our audio analysis, the bass - as usual - is basically nonexistent. Not even the high maximum volume of 86 dB can really make up for that. Overall, the 2.0 system is suitable for mobile use for when you don't have a headset or external speaker at hand.

The power consumption of our test unit is average for a gaming notebook. While our measurements reported a consumption of 15 - 16 Watt while idling, the device reached between 101 and 145 Watt under load. These are typical values for a combination of a Core i7-9750H with a GeForce RTX 2070.

The battery life needs improving. Despite graphics switching, the XMG Pro 15 cannot keep going for very long without being connected to a power supply. It lasts just about 1 hour under load (maximum brightness), which is not particularly impressive in 2020. The 3.5 hours of browsing on Wi-Fi (medium brightness) is disappointing as well. In perfect conditions - at low load and with the display set to minimum brightness, we managed to eke out 5 hours of battery life. The battery is not particularly strong with a capacity of 62 Wh. We would have expected at least 70 or maybe even 80 Wh (like in the XMG Ultra 15) considering the price range.