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Schenker XMG Ultra 17 (Core i9-9900K, RTX 2080) Clevo P775TM1-G Laptop Review

No half-measures. That was probably the motto at Schenker when the company equipped the over 4,000 Euros (~$4,485) XMG Ultra 17 with an Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU, an Intel Core i9-9900K processor and 64 GB of RAM. Read on to find out whether this 4K beast can live up to expectations and how the Clevo case handles such a powerful GPU.

Nvidia has replaced its GeForce GTX 10 series cards with the RTX 20 series, which brings real-time ray-tracing to consumer GPUs for the first time. Hence, it is time for OEMs to upgrade their flagship gaming laptops to tease out the last ounce of performance. Schenker has upgraded its XMG Ultra 17 from a GeForce GTX 1080 to an RTX 2080, which should deliver better frame rates when gaming at 4K. It remains to be seen whether the new Ultra 17 can handle this extra power though as its predecessor struggled to maintain consistent performance with the GeForce GTX 1080. Schenker also offers the Ultra 17 with an RTX 2060 or RTX 2070, which are both more power-efficient GPUs than the RTX 2080.

The previous Ultra 17 was already expensive, but its RTX-powered successors are even pricier. Our review unit costs around 4,500 Euros (~$5,093) on Schenker’s website, which is almost 10% more expensive than its predecessor.

Laptops with RTX GPUs are still relatively rare, which means that we can only compare the Ultra 17 against a few devices. Our comparison devices will include the ASUS ROG G703GX and the Acer Predator Triton 500, the latter of which is powered by the RTX 2080 Max-Q, for reference. We shall also compare our review unit against its GeForce GTX 1080-powered predecessor and the Razer Blade 15, which has an RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU.

SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing (XMG Ultra Series)
Processor
Intel Core i9-9900K 8 x 3.6 - 5 GHz, Coffee Lake-R, Socketed
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile - 8 GB VRAM, Core: 1380 MHz, Memory: 1750 MHz, GDDR6, ForceWare 418.81, no Optimus
Memory
64 GB 
, 2x 32GB SO-DIMM DDR4-2666, dual channel, 2 out of 4 slots occupied
Display
17.30 inch 16:9, 3840 x 2160 pixel 255 PPI, AU Optronics B173ZAN01.0 (AUO109B), IPS, G-Sync, 4K / UHD, 60 Hz, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Z370 (Kaby Lake)
Storage
Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB, 500 GB 
, , Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500 GB. Bays: 2 x M.2 Type 2280 & 2 x 2.5-inch
Soundcard
Realtek ALC898 @ Intel Kaby Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
4 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 2 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 HDMI, 3 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: Headphones + S/PDIF optical, Microphone, Line In, Line Out, Card Reader: 6-in-1, 1 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Killer E2500 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000MBit/s), Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter (a/b/g/h/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 41 x 418 x 295 ( = 1.61 x 16.46 x 11.61 in)
Battery
82 Wh Lithium-Ion, removeable
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: Full-HD
Primary Camera: 2 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: 2.1, Keyboard: RGB gaming keyboard with anti-ghosting, Keyboard Light: yes, 330 W power supply, 36 Months Warranty
Weight
4.348 kg ( = 153.37 oz / 9.59 pounds), Power Supply: 1.272 kg ( = 44.87 oz / 2.8 pounds)
Price
4 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

Schenker continues to use almost the same Clevo barebones case that we first saw the company use four years ago with the XMG U716. If you ignore the fingerprint reader and the redistributed ports, then the Ultra 17 looks much like its four-year-old predecessor and even the Guru Mars K, which we reviewed in 2017. The latter has a Clevo P775DM3-G barebones case, but it looks identical to the P775TM1-G that Schenker has used with the new Ultra 17.

The case is made entirely from plastic, with its two aluminium strips being decorative rather than offering structural support. However, our review unit feels sturdy despite the materials that Schenker has used, although it will creak slightly under pressure. We hardly noticed this during our time with the device though. The display lid is surprisingly stiff too. Unfortunately, the bottom of the display frame does not sit flush with the display, which means that we can slip a finger between the two and lift the frame slightly.

The case is large and bulky even for a 17-inch laptop too. While the Ultra 17’s huge dimensions should provide better cooling than more-compact laptops, it restricts the device to only really being used on a desk; carrying a 4.3 kg and 41 mm thick laptop around plus its charger is simply impractical.

We have chosen to compare our review unit against other 17-inch laptops here as many of our main comparison devices are 15-inch laptops, which would not be a fair comparison. While the Ultra 17 looks clunky and bulky, it is 1 cm thinner than the ROG G703GX and 1.7 cm thinner than the MSI GT75 8RG. The Aorus X9 DT and HP Omen X 17 are noticeably thinner than our review unit, but overall the Ultra 17 remains one of the most compact 17-inch gaming laptops on the market.

The XMG Ultra 17 comes with a huge power supply
The XMG Ultra 17 comes with a huge power supply

The Ultra 17 is lighter than the class average too, with some of our comparison devices weighing up to 4.9 kg. It is worth keeping in mind that the Aorus X9 DT is around 600 g lighter though.

Incidentally, the Ultra 17 comes with a huge power supply that is heavy enough to carry around on its own, let alone with the laptop too. The power supply that Schenker included with our review unit weighs 1.3 kg, which is about as heavy as most 13-inch ultrabooks or thin and light business laptops.

Size Comparison

428 mm / 16.9 inch 314 mm / 12.4 inch 58 mm / 2.28 inch 4.6 kg10.1 lbs425 mm / 16.7 inch 319 mm / 12.6 inch 51 mm / 2.01 inch 4.7 kg10.3 lbs425 mm / 16.7 inch 327 mm / 12.9 inch 36.3 mm / 1.429 inch 4.9 kg10.7 lbs418 mm / 16.5 inch 295 mm / 11.6 inch 41 mm / 1.614 inch 4.3 kg9.59 lbs428 mm / 16.9 inch 314 mm / 12.4 inch 30 mm / 1.181 inch 3.7 kg8.07 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

I/O

The Ultra 17 has the same ports as its predecessor, but it remains well stocked, nonetheless. Strikingly, the device has four audio connections on its right-hand side along with three video-outputs that are distributed across the back panel. There are also six USB ports, four of which being Type-A, while the other two are Type-C with one also being Thunderbolt 3.

That being said, having a plethora of ports is no good if they are packed close together, but the Ultra 17’s are distributed well, although we would have preferred to see the Type-A ports further apart. You may struggle to use an external mouse if you are using all four audio outs, but this is a minor gripe.

Right-hand side: audio In, microphone, audio Out, headphones/optical, 2 x USB Type-A, Kensington lock slot
Right-hand side: audio In, microphone, audio Out, headphones/optical, 2 x USB Type-A, Kensington lock slot
Left-hand side: Gigabit LAN, USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3, USB Type-C, USB Type-A, USB Type-A (powered), SD card reader
Left-hand side: Gigabit LAN, USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3, USB Type-C, USB Type-A, USB Type-A (powered), SD card reader
Rear: HDMI 2.0, 2 x miniDP, power connector
Rear: HDMI 2.0, 2 x miniDP, power connector
Front: No connections
Front: No connections

SD Card Reader

Our review unit has the same SD reader as its predecessor and thus achieved almost identical values in our tests. Both models have well above average transfer speeds and are on par with the ROG G703GX, albeit the latter averaged 18% faster read speeds.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
190 MB/s 0%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
190 MB/s
Asus ROG G703GX
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
180 MB/s -5%
Average of class Gaming
  (19 - 202, n=104, last 2 years)
98.2 MB/s -48%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Asus ROG G703GX
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
243 MB/s +18%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
206 MB/s
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
204 MB/s -1%
Average of class Gaming
  (26 - 269, n=95, last 2 years)
122.3 MB/s -41%

Communication

Our review unit is equipped with a Killer Wireless AC 1550 module, which is a 10-Euro (~$11) upgrade over the default Intel Wireless-AC 9260. Both modules support Bluetooth 5 and achieve excellent transmission speeds. The Ultra 17 averaged class-leading transmission speeds in iperf3 Client and finished a close third behind its predecessor and the Razer Blade 15 in the other iperf3 Client test that we ran. In short, all the devices in our comparison tables have impressive Wi-Fi performance that is well above average. You can use the Gigabit LAN port for a wired connection too.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Average of class Gaming
  (450 - 1412, n=13, last 2 years)
1030 MBit/s +45%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter
712 MBit/s
Acer Predator Triton 500
Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)
683 MBit/s -4%
Asus ROG G703GX
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
682 MBit/s -4%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
655 MBit/s -8%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter
648 MBit/s -9%
iperf3 receive AX12
Average of class Gaming
  (423 - 1700, n=13, last 2 years)
1242 MBit/s +85%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter
688 MBit/s +2%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
684 MBit/s +2%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter
673 MBit/s
Asus ROG G703GX
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
671 MBit/s 0%
Acer Predator Triton 500
Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)
671 MBit/s 0%

Security

A closer look at the fingerprint sensor on the Schenker XMG Ultra 17
A closer look at the fingerprint sensor on the Schenker XMG Ultra 17

Schenker has equipped the Ultra 17 with a few security features, which is surprising for a gaming laptop. The device has a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM 2.0) as all devices that ship with Windows 10 must have, along with a Kensington lock slot and a fingerprint sensor that sits in the upper left-hand corner of the trackpad.

Accessories

Schenker has not splashed out on accessories considering the price of our review unit. The company includes a user manual, a driver DVD and some screws for drive bays. There are also a few nice touches like a one-year BullGuard Internet Security code, a lanyard, an "XMG" sticker, a 16 GB USB stick containing a digital manual and drivers along with a large gaming mousepad. The latter has a rubberised non-stick bottom to help keep it in place as you game.

Mousepad & key fob
Mousepad & key fob
The mousepad has a rubberised and non-slip back
The mousepad has a rubberised and non-slip back
A look at the included BullGuard security key, DVDs, stickers and USB stick
A look at the included BullGuard security key, DVDs, stickers and USB stick

Maintenance

The Ultra 17 remains easy to repair and maintain. There are two maintenance flaps on the bottom that are secured with a few screws. Loosening these allows you to simply lift the flaps up by the rubber feet, foregoing having to use the cumbersome levers that Schenker also includes. Unfortunately, the company does not state this procedure in the manual, but there are tutorials on YouTube should you become stuck while trying to open the machine.

Beneath the smaller of the two flaps are an M.2 slot and two 2.5-inch bays. The main SSD, which brings the total drive bays to four, sits under the larger maintenance cover. Removing the latter also gives access to the fans along with RAM slots 3 and 4; the first two are behind the keyboard. There are copious heatpipes too, beneath which sits a socketed CPU, which is rare for a laptop as most are soldered to the motherboard. Hence, you could upgrade the CPU at some point should you need or want to do so.

A look at the empty drive bays
A look at the empty drive bays
The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 with its bottom case removed
The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 with its bottom case removed
A close up of the two Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSDs
A close up of the two Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSDs
The 82 Wh battery is replaceable
The 82 Wh battery is replaceable

Warranty

Schenker warranty options
Schenker warranty options

The Ultra 17 comes with 36 months warranty by default that Schenker describes as its “Basic Warranty”, for which it offers a fast pickup and returns service for the first six months of the warranty period. The company also offers “Premium Warranty” and “Platinum Warranty” options, which cost 50 Euros (~$56) and 60 Euros (~$67) more, respectively. The former extends the pickup and return service to 18 months and the latter for the whole warranty period.

You could also save 130 Euros (~$145) and opt for the 24-month basic warranty instead. Schenker also offers premium and platinum 24-month warranties. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The Ultra 17 has a tidy-looking and clearly laid-out keyboard. The keys are pleasantly large, but there are no gaps between them, so you might find yourself accidentally pressing the wrong key until you get acclimatised to using the laptop. Unfortunately, the same applies to the number pad on the right side, while the right arrow key sits below the 1 key, which may annoy some people. The device also has a large power button that sits in the centre at the top of the keyboard, below which there are some system LEDs.

The keyboard is great to type on by gaming laptop standards. The keys have just the right mix of feedback without feeling too hard or soft. We were able to type quickly on our review unit and the keys make a noticeable clicking sound when pressed, but not annoyingly so.

A look at the keyboard deck
A look at the keyboard deck
The arrow keys stray into the numpad
The arrow keys stray into the numpad

The keys are labelled clearly too, while the white border around the WASD keys is a nice touch. The function keys are half-sized as with most keyboards, but their labelling is legible too.

The WASD keys have a white border around them
The WASD keys have a white border around them
A look at the control console and function keys
A look at the control console and function keys

Schenker has also included RGB backlighting, as is common with gaming laptops. The Ultra 17 comes with software preinstalled that allows you to customise the backlighting to your preferences. There are three lighting zones as demonstrated by the photos below, but you can set the whole keyboard to the same colour too. The backlighting has three stages too.

The keyboard set to blue
The keyboard set to blue
The keyboard has three lighting zones
The keyboard has three lighting zones

Trackpad

A closer look at the trackpad
A closer look at the trackpad

The trackpad is good, but it is not as easy to use as the large glass on laptops like the Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 or the Razer Blade 15. In practice, we found it to be a decent mouse alternative because it is fairly large. We did not accidentally trigger the fingerprint sensor during our tests too, so you be worried about doing that.

The Ultra 17 has dedicated mouse buttons that worked well throughout our tests. There is a gap between the trackpad and the buttons, should you should not accidentally press either button as you are using the trackpad. The buttons have comparatively soft pressure points that might not be crisp enough for some people. The keys have a long stroke though and emit a pleasant clicking sound when pressed.

Unfortunately, the trackpad temporarily stopped working in all the games that we ran on our review unit. The trackpad and mouse buttons would suddenly stop working in-game, which is unacceptable for this to happen with any laptop, let alone one that costs 4,500 Euros (~$5,093). We are unsure whether this is a localised issue to our review unit or whether it is a wider driver-related issue.

Display

Sub-pixel array
Sub-pixel array
Our review unit suffers from hardly any backlight bleeding
Our review unit suffers from hardly any backlight bleeding

Our test device has a 17.3-inch 4K display, but Schenker also sells a 1080p 144 Hz version should you prefer gaming at higher refresh rates. Both displays are IPS panels and have G-sync support, but this means that no model supports Nvidia Optimus, which increases power consumption as the system cannot switch between GPUs to save power.

Our review unit has an AU Optronics AUO10B panel, which is the same display with which Schenker equipped its predecessor. Correspondingly, both displays achieve similar values, although there is a degree of variance, which is common as no two displays are identical. Our review unit achieves an average maximum brightness of 328 cd/m², which is marginally darker than the display in its predecessor but is on par with our comparison devices overall. The screen is only 82% evenly lit though, which is worse than all our comparison devices and will make large areas of colour look less homogenous than on devices like the Acer Predator Triton 500 or the Razer Blade 15.

Positively, our review unit suffers from hardly any backlight bleeding or haloing, which is common with IPS panels. There is a minor amount of clouding in the upper left of the display, but we hardly noticed this in daily use; it is only obvious in a dark room, and even then it is a comparatively minor amount of backlight bleeding.

325
cd/m²
337
cd/m²
336
cd/m²
328
cd/m²
343
cd/m²
361
cd/m²
295
cd/m²
301
cd/m²
325
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
AU Optronics B173ZAN01.0 (AUO109B) tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 361 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 327.9 cd/m² Minimum: 17 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 343 cd/m²
Contrast: 1106:1 (Black: 0.31 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.03 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 0.86
ΔE Greyscale 6.29 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
100% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
88% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
99.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
86.3% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.38
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
AU Optronics B173ZAN01.0 (AUO109B), IPS, 3840x2160, 17.30
Asus ROG G703GX
AU Optronics B173HAN03.2 (AUO329D), IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
AU Optronics B173ZAN (AUO109B), IPS, 3840x2160, 17.30
Acer Predator Triton 500
AU Optronics B156HAN08.2 (AUO82ED), IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
LG Philips LGD05C0, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Display
-22%
-0%
-22%
-21%
Display P3 Coverage
86.3
64.1
-26%
85.8
-1%
64.2
-26%
65.3
-24%
sRGB Coverage
100
93.3
-7%
99.9
0%
92.6
-7%
94.9
-5%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
99.1
65.6
-34%
98.9
0%
65.7
-34%
66.3
-33%
Response Times
70%
-2%
65%
53%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
41.6 ?(20.4, 21.2)
7.2 ?(3.8, 3.4)
83%
41.2 ?(20.8, 20.4)
1%
8 ?(4, 4)
81%
16.8 ?(9.2, 7.6)
60%
Response Time Black / White *
21.6 ?(9.6, 12)
9.6 ?(4.4, 5.2)
56%
22.4 ?(10, 12.4)
-4%
11.2 ?(6, 5.2)
48%
11.6 ?(7.2, 4.4)
46%
PWM Frequency
Screen
-10%
2%
-13%
-5%
Brightness middle
343
296
-14%
349
2%
304
-11%
314.7
-8%
Brightness
328
279
-15%
339
3%
299
-9%
312
-5%
Brightness Distribution
82
85
4%
87
6%
89
9%
90
10%
Black Level *
0.31
0.25
19%
0.41
-32%
0.27
13%
0.38
-23%
Contrast
1106
1184
7%
851
-23%
1126
2%
828
-25%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5.03
4.77
5%
4.04
20%
4.66
7%
2.56
49%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7.91
9.08
-15%
6.01
24%
9.65
-22%
4.89
38%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
0.86
1.46
-70%
0.93
-8%
1.72
-100%
1.71
-99%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
6.29
5.83
7%
4.19
33%
5.53
12%
3.4
46%
Gamma
2.38 92%
2.47 89%
2.44 90%
2.5 88%
2.3 96%
CCT
6389 102%
8076 80%
6411 101%
8028 81%
6435 101%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
88
60
-32%
87
-1%
60
-32%
60.7
-31%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
100
93
-7%
100
0%
93
-7%
94.6
-5%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
13% / -2%
0% / 1%
10% / -5%
9% / -1%

* ... smaller is better

Our review unit also has a good contrast ratio thanks to its low black value, which we measure at 0.31 cd/m². The 1080p displays of the ROG G703GX and the Predator Triton 500 achieve better results here, but colours look vibrant on the Ultra 17, nonetheless.

The device has acceptable DeltaE colour deviations out of the box too, but these can be improved to better than ideal values with additional calibration. We have included our calibrated ICC profile should you wish to it.

CalMAN: Grayscale
CalMAN: Grayscale
CalMAN: Colour Saturation
CalMAN: Colour Saturation
CalMAN: ColorChecker
CalMAN: ColorChecker
CalMAN: Grayscale - calibrated
CalMAN: Grayscale - calibrated
CalMAN: Colour Saturation - calibrated
CalMAN: Colour Saturation - calibrated
CalMAN: ColorChecker - calibrated
CalMAN: ColorChecker - calibrated

The same applies to our review unit’s colour-space coverage. CalMAN measures 100% sRGB coverage and 88% AdobeRGB coverage, which is considerably better than all but its predecessor out of our comparison devices.

100% sRGB colour-space coverage
100% sRGB colour-space coverage
88% AdobeRGB colour-space coverage
88% AdobeRGB colour-space coverage

The only other criticism we have of our review unit’s display besides its mediocre maximum brightness is its response times, which are below what we would expect of an expensive gaming laptop. Our comparison devices generally have response times of less than 20 ms, which is less than half of the 41.6 ms grey-to-grey response times that we measured with our review unit. While most people will not notice the difference in daily use, the Ultra 17’s slow response times may be an issue for those who like to play fast-paced first-person shooters. Apart from that, the Ultra 17 has an excellent UHD display.

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
21.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 9.6 ms rise
↘ 12 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 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 41 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
41.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 20.4 ms rise
↘ 21.2 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 62 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).
Using the Schenker XMG Ultra 17 in direct sunlight
Using the Schenker XMG Ultra 17 in direct sunlight

The Ultra 17 is easy to use outdoors thanks to its matte IPS display, which diffuses reflections well. The screen remains readable even in direct sunlight, although it will look washed-out as demonstrated by the photo to the right.

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
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 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Our review unit has stable viewing angles too, making it ideal for co-op lovers. In short, the display should remain readable from practically any angle, although there is some loss of brightness at acute viewing angles.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles

Performance

The Ultra 17 is a true gaming laptop and is powerful enough for almost any task that you could throw at it. Its Core i9-9900K processor is currently Intel’s most powerful mobile chip, while its GeForce RTX 2080 GPU is Nvidia’s flagship mobile graphics card. The CPU can clock up to 5 GHz clock and has eight cores, which is complemented by a whopping 64 GB of RAM along with two fast SSDs. On paper, the Ultra 17 is one of the best packages that you could currently buy. Our review unit has no latency issues too, as measured by LatencyMon.

 

Processor

The Core i9-9900K is based on Intel's Coffee Lake architecture and can utilise Hyper-Threading to execute up to 16 threads simultaneously. The CPU has a 3.6 GHz base clock speed and can reach up to 5 GHz on a single core with Intel Turbo Boost. Its K suffix indicates that the processor has an unlocked multiplier and can be overclocked, although it must be connected to a Z390 chipset for this to be possible. Unfortunately, the Ultra 17 has an older Z370 chipset motherboard instead.

It is worth noting that the Ultra 17 cannot use the processor’s integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 as G-Sync always forces the laptop to use its dedicated GPU instead.

Cinebench R15 single-core rendering
Cinebench R15 single-core rendering
Cinebench R15 multi-core rendering
Cinebench R15 multi-core rendering
GPU load during a Heaven 4.0 benchmark
GPU load during a Heaven 4.0 benchmark

We subjected our review unit to a looped Cinebench R15 benchmark that we ran for around 30 minutes to determine how well the machine managed its performance under sustained load. The results are impressive. The device initially scored 1,932 points, which rose to 1,934 points in the second benchmark pass-through. The system then throttled slightly and finished below its first two scores, but this corresponds to about a 5% loss of performance. The Ultra 17 outperformed its predecessor throughout this looped benchmark and maintained more-consistent scores too. In short, it appears that the new Ultra 17 manages its performance better than last year’s model.

01002003004005006007008009001000110012001300140015001600170018001900Tooltip
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing Intel Core i9-9900K, Intel Core i9-9900K: Ø1887 (1858.65-1934.33)
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh Intel Core i9-9900K, Intel Core i9-9900K: Ø1747 (1697.29-1865)

The Ultra 17 also noticeably outscores our comparison devices in CB 15, although most are equipped with the theoretically less-powerful Core i7-8750H processor. Still, it outscores its predecessor in both CB 15 benchmarks, albeit marginally. Overall, the Ultra 17 has excellent CPU performance for a gaming laptop when connected to mains power.

However, our review unit throttles heavily when it runs on battery. The CPU downclocks to 2.3 GHz in CB R15, which is well below its 3.6 GHz base clock speed. Correspondingly, scores drop from 1,944 points to 940 points, which is a huge reduction in performance. We suspect that few people will use the Ultra 17 away from a power source though.

Cinebench R10
Cinebench R10
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 on battery
Cinebench R15 on battery
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Gaming
  (79.2 - 318, n=246, last 2 years)
265 Points +28%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Intel Core i9-9900K
209 Points +1%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Intel Core i9-9900K
207 Points
Acer Predator Triton 500
Intel Core i7-8750H
176 Points -15%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
Intel Core i7-8750H
174 Points -16%
Asus ROG G703GX
Intel Core i7-8750H
167 Points -19%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Gaming
  (400 - 5663, n=247, last 2 years)
2988 Points +54%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Intel Core i9-9900K
1944 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Intel Core i9-9900K
1865 Points -4%
Asus ROG G703GX
Intel Core i7-8750H
1212 Points -38%
Acer Predator Triton 500
Intel Core i7-8750H
1019 Points -48%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
Intel Core i7-8750H
999 Points -49%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Gaming
  (2.62 - 3.73, n=23, last 2 years)
3.21 Points +35%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Intel Core i9-9900K
2.38 Points 0%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Intel Core i9-9900K
2.38 Points
Acer Predator Triton 500
Intel Core i7-8750H
1.98 Points -17%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Gaming
  (19.7 - 64.3, n=24, last 2 years)
35.7 Points +67%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Intel Core i9-9900K
21.39 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Intel Core i9-9900K
21.2 Points -1%
Acer Predator Triton 500
Intel Core i7-8750H
10.98 Points -49%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
Average of class Gaming
  (11082 - 17400, n=8, last 2 years)
13966 Points +37%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Intel Core i9-9900K
10192 Points
Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
Average of class Gaming
  (63144 - 125983, n=8, last 2 years)
87750 Points +37%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Intel Core i9-9900K
64138 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
6832 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
64138 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
10192 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
21.39 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
89.4 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
2.38 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
207 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
158.6 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
1944 Points
Help

System Performance

The Ultra 17 and its predecessor are considerably ahead of our comparison devices in PCMark 10 benchmarks, despite the former having double the RAM. It is a different story in PCMark 8, but the benchmark is now outdated, and its results are more indicative of a laptop’s performance than for demonstrating differences between devices.

Our review unit felt lightning-fast throughout our tests regardless of how hard we pushed it. We noticed no delays or stutters, which is to be expected of such a powerful system.

PCMark 8 Home
PCMark 8 Home
PCMark 8 Work
PCMark 8 Work
PCMark 10
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 - Score
Average of class Gaming
  (4477 - 9852, n=207, last 2 years)
7532 Points +7%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
7050 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 Pro 1TB
6959 Points -1%
Acer Predator Triton 500
GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H, 2x WDC PC SN720 SDAPNTW-256G-1014 (RAID 0)
5883 Points -17%
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
5680 Points -19%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
5416 Points -23%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 Pro 1TB
5243 Points +12%
Average of class Gaming
  (3570 - 6657, n=37, last 2 years)
5218 Points +11%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
4692 Points
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
4622 Points -1%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
4150 Points -12%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Gaming
  (4622 - 7085, n=36, last 2 years)
6071 Points +20%
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
5697 Points +12%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
5607 Points +10%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 Pro 1TB
5123 Points +1%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
5079 Points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
4692 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
5079 points
PCMark 10 Score
7050 points
Help

Storage Devices

Schenker has equipped the Ultra 17 with two 500 GB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSDs, which is currently one of the fastest consumer drives on the market. You can find out more information about the 970 EVO Plus in our review or in our HDD/SSD benchmark tables.

The Ultra 17 performed well in both AS SSD and CrystalDiskMark benchmarks, albeit it averaged 5% lower transfer speeds than we would have expected. Our review unit finished between 16% and 31% ahead of our comparison devices in CrystalDiskMark 5.2/6 though, underlining how fast its two SSDs are.

CrystalDiskMark 3
CrystalDiskMark 3
CrystalDiskMark 5
CrystalDiskMark 5
AS SSD
AS SSD
AS SSD copy benchmark
AS SSD copy benchmark
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
Asus ROG G703GX
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Samsung SSD 970 Pro 1TB
Acer Predator Triton 500
2x WDC PC SN720 SDAPNTW-256G-1014 (RAID 0)
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6
-25%
-16%
-15%
-31%
Write 4K
183.2
90.4
-51%
129.6
-29%
93.6
-49%
93.9
-49%
Read 4K
52.4
39.19
-25%
53.3
2%
38.82
-26%
40.56
-23%
Write Seq
1790
1863
4%
1863
4%
2455
37%
1468
-18%
Read Seq
1743
2100
20%
1670
-4%
2107
21%
1540
-12%
Write 4K Q32T1
550
260.2
-53%
310
-44%
298.7
-46%
293.5
-47%
Read 4K Q32T1
648
297
-54%
397
-39%
338.7
-48%
346
-47%
Write Seq Q32T1
3236
1870
-42%
2739
-15%
2902
-10%
1941
-40%
Read Seq Q32T1
3538
3471
-2%
3495
-1%
3536
0%
3266
-8%
Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
Sequential Read: 1873 MB/s
Sequential Write: 1737 MB/s
512K Read: 2236 MB/s
512K Write: 2677 MB/s
4K Read: 64.1 MB/s
4K Write: 131.9 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 400.3 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 332 MB/s

Graphics Card

The GeForce RTX 2080 is currently Nvidia's flagship mobile GPU and is the most-powerful laptop GPU that money can buy. The RTX 2080 has a slightly lower clock speed than its desktop counterpart, while Nvidia has also reduced its thermal design power (TDP) from 215 W to 150 W. Both cards have 8 GB of VRAM and a 256-bit interface, which means that it should be powerful enough to handle all triple-A games at maximum graphics in 4K.

3DMark benchmarks give somewhat contradictory results. While our review unit outscores its predecessor by 17% in 3DMark11, the Predator Triton 500 scored 2% less than the latter despite having a more-powerful GPU. A similar pattern occurs in other 3DMark benchmarks too, although to a smaller extent. In short, it appears that the GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q cannot outperform the GeForce GTX 1080 in benchmarks.

Our review unit falls around 5% short of the ROG G703GX in the Port Royal benchmark, which specifically tests a device’s ray-tracing capabilities. In general, the Ultra 17 falls just short of expected values for an RTX 2080-powered laptop, but not worryingly so.

3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Port Royal (ray-tracing)
3DMark Port Royal (ray-tracing)
3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Average of class Gaming
  (781 - 53059, n=249, last 2 years)
28989 Points +26%
Asus ROG G703GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
26223 Points +14%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
23089 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile
20901 Points -9%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
18153 Points -21%
2560x1440 Port Royal Graphics
Average of class Gaming
  (280 - 14457, n=163, last 2 years)
7581 Points +41%
Asus ROG G703GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
5649 Points +5%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
5383 Points
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
3679 Points -32%
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Gaming
  (1029 - 72070, n=245, last 2 years)
39604 Points +19%
Asus ROG G703GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
36478 Points +9%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
33396 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile
28606 Points -14%
Acer Predator Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
28083 Points -16%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
22723 Points -32%
3DMark 11 Performance
26926 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
52716 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
20760 points
Help

It is worth noting that the GPU throttles even harder than the CPU does. Our review unit scored 26,926 points in 3DMark 11 but only reached 7,145 points on battery, which represents around a 75% loss of performance. We set the power management to maximum performance in both scenarios too. In short, the Ultra 17 throttles so heavily on battery that you will struggle to play even moderately demanding games at enjoyable frame rates.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
3DMark 11 on battery
3DMark 11 on battery

Gaming Performance

The Ultra 17 performs exceptionally well in games, as you might expect from a laptop featuring a core i9-9900K and an RTX 2080. Modern triple-A titles like The Witcher 3 and Rise of the Tomb Raider cause our review unit to hardly break a sweat even at 4K and maximum graphics. Some games like The Witcher 3 average marginally less than 60 FPS, which may only become an issue if you want to game at high-resolution in VR, for example. Moreover, the Ultra 17 may struggle to play games in 4K with ray-tracing enabled and may require dropping the resolution to 1080p to achieve smooth frame rates.

Our review unit blows away our comparison devices at low resolutions and graphics levels, but it falls short of the ROG G703GX in 4K and maximum graphics. Overall, the RTX 2080 generally achieves around 30% higher frame rates than the RTX 2070 Max-Q in the Razer Blade 15.

The Witcher 3
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Average of class Gaming
  (17.5 - 449, n=176, last 2 years)
213 fps +57%
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H
169.6 fps +25%
Acer Predator Triton 500
GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
136 (104min) fps 0%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
135.6 fps
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H
130.1 fps -4%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Average of class Gaming
  (8.61 - 216, n=244, last 2 years)
114.2 fps +21%
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H
99.7 fps +6%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
94.5 fps
Acer Predator Triton 500
GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
76.5 (63min) fps -19%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H
68.9 fps -27%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K
61.7 fps -35%
Rise of the Tomb Raider
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
144.3 fps
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H
103.9 fps -28%
Average of class Gaming
  (95.9 - 95.9, n=2, last 2 years)
95.9 fps -34%
1920x1080 High Preset AA:FX AF:4x
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
168.2 fps
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H
121.9 fps -28%
Average of class Gaming
  (121 - 121.4, n=2, last 2 years)
121.2 fps -28%
Doom
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:SM
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
159.7 fps
1920x1080 High Preset AA:FX
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
161.3 fps

We also subjected the Ultra 17 to an hour-long play-through of The Witcher 3, to see whether it could maintain its initial frame rates over a prolonged period. Perhaps expectedly, our review unit does so and even achieves higher frame rates by the end of our gaming test than it did at the start. The device averages around 40 FPS more than its predecessor too.

05101520253035404550556065707580859095100Tooltip
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB: Ø94.3 (87-101)
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 Pro 1TB: Ø62.5 (57-68)
low med. high ultra4K
The Witcher 3 (2015) 335.4 266.8 135.6 94.5 55.8
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 275.8 207.8 168.2 144.3 64.4
Doom (2016) 176.8 171.2 161.3 159.7 91.8

Emissions

Fan Noise

The Ultra 17 is no silent assassin. While our review unit often gets as loud as the ROG G703GX, its fans reach a maximum of 58 dB(A) in games like The Witcher 3, which is 6 dB(A) more than the ROG G703GX reached. In short, we would suggest using headphones or connecting the Ultra 17 to external speakers while gaming because the fans will drown out the speakers.

We found the speakers annoying during our tests not because of their pitch or frequency but because of their propensity to ramp up aggressively under low load. Schenker should adjust the Ultra 17’s fan curve in our opinion as the fans could be quieter than they currently are with no consequences.

Fan noise at idle
Fan noise at idle
Fan noise under load
Fan noise under load
Speaker characteristics
Speaker characteristics

Noise Level

Idle
30 / 33 / 35 dB(A)
Load
44 / 58 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 30 dB(A)
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K
Acer Predator Triton 500
GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H
Noise
-1%
-5%
6%
14%
off / environment *
30
30
-0%
30
-0%
29
3%
28.8
4%
Idle Minimum *
30
30
-0%
33
-10%
30
-0%
28.8
4%
Idle Average *
33
35
-6%
35
-6%
32
3%
28.8
13%
Idle Maximum *
35
41
-17%
43
-23%
34
3%
29.4
16%
Load Average *
44
44
-0%
43
2%
44
-0%
35.7
19%
Witcher 3 ultra *
55
51
7%
53
4%
46
16%
42.5
23%
Load Maximum *
58
52
10%
59
-2%
47
19%
45
22%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

The Ultra 17 is a comparatively cool gaming laptop. Surface temperatures on our review unit never exceeded 46 °C during our tests, which makes the device cooler than the ROG G703GX. Likewise, the palm rest remains pleasantly cool even when the device is being pushed hard, although the keyboard will feel warm to the touch apart from the WASD keys. Overall, we are impressed at how well the Ultra 17 manages its temperatures, albeit this comes at the cost of intrusive fan noise.

Heat map of the top case under load
Heat map of the top case under load
Heat map of the bottom case under load
Heat map of the bottom case under load
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K
Asus ROG G703GX
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i7-8750H
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-9900K
Acer Predator Triton 500
GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H
Heat
-1%
3%
-8%
7%
Maximum Upper Side *
45
50
-11%
44
2%
49
-9%
49
-9%
Maximum Bottom *
45
50
-11%
45
-0%
58
-29%
49
-9%
Idle Upper Side *
36
30
17%
32
11%
33
8%
25.4
29%
Idle Bottom *
33
33
-0%
33
-0%
33
-0%
27.2
18%

* ... smaller is better

Max. Load
 45 °C
113 F
45 °C
113 F
38 °C
100 F
 
 45 °C
113 F
45 °C
113 F
37 °C
99 F
 
 27 °C
81 F
31 °C
88 F
25 °C
77 F
 
Maximum: 45 °C = 113 F
Average: 37.6 °C = 100 F
45 °C
113 F
41 °C
106 F
44 °C
111 F
39 °C
102 F
39 °C
102 F
37 °C
99 F
24 °C
75 F
30 °C
86 F
28 °C
82 F
Maximum: 45 °C = 113 F
Average: 36.3 °C = 97 F
Power Supply (max.)  49 °C = 120 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Voltcraft IR-900
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 37.6 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F for the devices in the class Gaming.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45 °C / 113 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 45 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.1 °C / 88 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 34.9 °C / 95 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31 °C / 87.8 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-2.1 °C / -3.8 F).

Stress Test

The XMG Ultra 17 during a stress test
The XMG Ultra 17 during a stress test
CPU and GPU load while playing The Witcher 3
CPU and GPU load while playing The Witcher 3

We also subjected our review unit to a stress test to determine whether the system throttles under extreme load. We run FurMark and Prime95 in parallel for an hour, during which the CPU averaged 4.2 GHz, which is well above its base clock speed. The fans reached 58 dB(A) too, which helped keep CPU core temperatures to around 95 °C, which is a few degrees short of its 100 °C Tjunction Max, which is the temperature at which the CPU will thermal throttle.

The GPU does not thermal throttle either, although it cannot operate at its boost clock speed. It averaged around 60 MHz less during our stress test than it did in our The Witcher 3 test, while its core temperatures averaged 84 °C. In short, the Ultra 17 manages its internal temperatures well too.

Speakers

Considering the power and technology that manufacturers can now cram into small Bluetooth speakers, it is puzzling to see so many large laptops with disappointing speaker systems. The Ultra 17 has a 2.1 speaker system that looks promising on paper, but it could only partially meet our expectations during our tests. While its subwoofer delivers some bass frequencies, the speakers do not sound any fuller than laptops with decent stereo speakers. In short, the speakers are not a flop, but they should deliver better low frequencies than they currently do.

Fortunately, the Ultra 17 has plenty of audio outputs to connect headphones, microphones or speakers. You could connect the laptop to Bluetooth headphones or speakers too, which should work well thanks to support for Bluetooth 5.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2042.845.42537.738.33129.833.14034.234.9503231.16327.434.98031.636.110029.845.512524.749.616023.158.320023.863.625025.564.631522.668.140019.273.950018.675.563017.968.880017.468.710001866.5125018.863.616001864.6200017.467.4250017.567.7315017.765.6400017.662.8500017.761.2630017.461.2800017.5621000017.458.91250017.355.61600017.248.6SPL30.378.8N1.447.1median 17.9median 63.6Delta1.64.738.741.935.640.829.132.133.940.42730.625.927.427.236.228.451.42452.723.959.226.961.926.260.421.168.120.176.918.977.417.672.8187118.366.71962.117.461.917.165.817.367.617.265.817.264.417.362.417.362.917.262.417.260.417.158.61751.830.380.21.449.3median 17.6median 62.41.83.6hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseSCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 TuringSCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 7.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.6% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (13.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 18% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 75% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 11% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 85% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 5.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 7.1% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (13.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 16% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 79% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 10% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 88% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Power Management

Power Consumption

We expected the Ultra 17 to have high power consumption because of its powerful components, and it did not disappoint. Our review unit consumed a minimum of 39 W at idle, which rose to 346 W during our stress test and 259 W while playing The Witcher 3. In short, look elsewhere if you want a gaming laptop that is kind on your electricity bill, as the Ultra 17 is not the device for you. However, our review unit consumed 10% less in our The Witcher 3 test than the ROG G703GX, which is surprising considering that the latter has a weaker CPU and a lower resolution display. Overall, the Ultra 17 has higher power consumption than all our comparison devices, but we expected as much considering that it has a 4K display and currently the most-powerful laptop CPU/GPU combination around.

A closer look at the XMG Ultra 17’s 330 W power supply
A closer look at the XMG Ultra 17’s 330 W power supply

As we mentioned at the start of the review, Schenker includes a 330 W power supply, which proved too weak to charge our review unit during our stress test. However, you should have no issues during most tasks and even if you push the system hard in games, as our review unit consumed a maximum of 259 W while playing The Witcher 3.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.3 / 1.8 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 39 / 45 / 55 Watt
Load midlight 122 / 346 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
i9-9900K, GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
Asus ROG G703GX
i7-8750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
i9-9900K, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile
Acer Predator Triton 500
i7-8750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
i7-8750H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
Average of class Gaming
 
Power Consumption
27%
19%
45%
54%
42%
Idle Minimum *
39
5
87%
33
15%
16
59%
10.4
73%
13.7 ?(2 - 64, n=190, last 2 years)
65%
Idle Average *
45
24
47%
42
7%
22
51%
14.6
68%
19 ?(6.5 - 67, n=190, last 2 years)
58%
Idle Maximum *
55
42
24%
49
11%
32
42%
16.3
70%
26.6 ?(9 - 101.1, n=190, last 2 years)
52%
Load Average *
122
112
8%
93
24%
89
27%
88.5
27%
112 ?(32.1 - 202, n=190, last 2 years)
8%
Witcher 3 ultra *
259
284
-10%
156
40%
147
43%
155.4
40%
Load Maximum *
346
320
8%
293
15%
173
50%
182.4
47%
249 ?(64.5 - 418, n=189, last 2 years)
28%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The Ultra 17 has an 82 Wh replaceable battery, which is on par with the capacities of our comparison devices, apart from the 96 Wh battery in the ROG G703GX. We would recommend buying an additional battery or two if you plan to use the Ultra 17 on the move though, as it has dreadful battery life even by gaming laptop standards.

Our review unit lasted just 2:45 hours at idle before it needed recharging, which dropped to 2:15 hours on Wi-Fi and if we played an H.264 video on a loop. Likewise, the Ultra 17 ran out of battery just 1:05 hours under sustained load. It is worth noting that its predecessor achieved comparable runtimes, but our other comparison devices lasted significantly longer than both Schenker laptops.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
2h 45min
WiFi Websurfing
2h 15min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
2h 15min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 05min
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
i9-9900K, GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, 82 Wh
Asus ROG G703GX
i7-8750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, 96 Wh
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Coffee Lake Refresh
i9-9900K, GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, 82 Wh
Acer Predator Triton 500
i7-8750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, 82 Wh
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q
i7-8750H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, 80 Wh
Average of class Gaming
 
Battery Runtime
61%
1%
56%
178%
157%
Reader / Idle
165
301
82%
171
4%
335
103%
682
313%
548 ?(57 - 1290, n=90, last 2 years)
232%
H.264
135
226
67%
393 ?(56 - 747, n=98, last 2 years)
191%
WiFi v1.3
135
238
76%
116
-14%
190
41%
387
187%
366 ?(57 - 745, n=191, last 2 years)
171%
Load
65
78
20%
73
12%
81
25%
88
35%
85.8 ?(36 - 173, n=154, last 2 years)
32%

Pros

+ abundant I/O
+ easy to repair and maintain
+ good upgrade options
+ backlit keyboard
+ convincing 4K display
+ high performance
+ fast SSDs
+ moderate surface temperatures

Cons

- wildly expensive
- trackpad hangs in games
- slow display response times
- heavy throttling on battery
- loud fans
- high power consumption
- poor battery life

Verdict

The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 laptop review. Test device courtesy of Schenker Tech.
The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 laptop review. Test device courtesy of Schenker Tech.

The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 is an excellent choice for those who are looking for an alternative to a gaming desktop PC. Our review unit is packed full of the most powerful components on the market, while its socketed CPU leaves room for upgrades that few other laptops currently offer.

However, we would have expected more from such an expensive device. Our review unit throttles too heavily when running on battery for our liking; although we appreciate that few people would leave the Ultra 17 unplugged anyway because of its short battery life.

The Schenker XMG Ultra 17 is a worthy upgrade over its predecessor and offers first-class gaming performance. However, it is let down in our eyes by loud fans, its exorbitant price and its heavy throttling on battery.

Schenker must fix the trackpad problem though as it is almost unusable when playing games because of its frequent dropped connections. The speakers are underwhelming too, as are the display’s reaction times. Moreover, while our review unit manages its temperatures well, it does so with intrusively, and often unnecessarily, loud fans.

With that said, the Ultra 17 offers excellent gaming performance, numerous ports, outstanding maintenance options, a decent keyboard and an otherwise impressive 4K display. In short, Schenker has got a lot right with its new Ultra 17, but it misses out on our top marks because of a few frustrating shortcomings.

SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing - 05/14/2020 v7
Christian Hintze

Chassis
76 / 98 → 77%
Keyboard
85%
Pointing Device
78%
Connectivity
73 / 80 → 91%
Weight
46 / 10-66 → 64%
Battery
40 / 95 → 42%
Display
86%
Games Performance
96%
Application Performance
95%
Temperature
88 / 95 → 92%
Noise
62 / 90 → 69%
Audio
79%
Camera
45 / 85 → 53%
Average
73%
85%
Gaming - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Schenker XMG Ultra 17 (Core i9-9900K, RTX 2080) Clevo P775TM1-G Laptop Review
Christian Hintze, 2019-03- 7 (Update: 2019-03- 9)