Only a minority of gamers will be able to afford a powerful gaming laptop in addition to a gaming desktop PC. Accordingly, a gaming laptop will have to serve as desktop computer in many cases as well and will thus also be used to run other applications. And precisely this very moment is where a traditional high-performance gaming laptop will show its weaknesses and flaws.
To overcome this, the Schenker XMG Pro 15 is not marketed as pure-bred gaming machine. Instead, Schenker attempts to address a much larger target audience. Its design language is subtle and simple, at least from a gaming perspective, and in addition to gamers it attempts to woo content creators looking for a portable workstation as well. With just 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) and an ultra-thin case it seems to be ideally suited for workloads on-the-go but the question remains: are modern high-performance laptops good enough to be used in office environments and can they be used at home without headphones?
As with many other laptops before we find it very hard to find an answer to designate the XMG Pro 15 the ultimate answer to this question. One the one hand we find it exciting that powerful hardware does not necessarily have to result in high noise emissions and temperatures any longer, and technology made huge leaps in this regard. On the other hand, powerful devices continue to get very loud and hot when challenged to their full capabilities. The Pro 15 can reach up to 66 °C (151 F) at the bottom, and its fans can reach up to 58 dB(A).
OEMs have identified these issues and are addressing them from several angles simultaneously. One such attempt is by adding additional possibilities of adjusting hardware parameters in software. No longer are OEMs satisfied with the Windows’s default power options. Instead, they create their own control centers offering more or less useful settings, such as for example silent or power saver modes lowering temperatures, noise emissions, and power consumption significantly in case the desktop replacement is used for mundane tasks such as browsing the web or running office applications. Nevertheless, hardware manufacturers are required to continue making their chips more efficient in order to reduce heat emissions, noise emissions, and increase overall energy efficiency. Until then we have to accept the fact that gaming laptops, particularly those of the ultra-thin variety, will inevitably remain both noisy and hot.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 51 °C / 124 F, compared to the average of 40.5 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 66 °C / 151 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.4 °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 45.3 °C / 114 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 39 °C / 102.2 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-10.1 °C / -18.2 F).
SCHENKER XMG Pro 15 (Early 2021, RTX 3080) GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB | SCHENKER Key 15 Comet Lake GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB | SCHENKER XMG Pro 15 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-9750H, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB | Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503Q GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS, SK Hynix HFM001TD3JX013N | Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE GX551QS GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HX, 2x Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR (RAID 0) | Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-10875H, Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heat | 1% | 17% | 5% | 15% | 11% | |
Maximum Upper Side * | 51 | 52 -2% | 43 16% | 51 -0% | 33.4 35% | 38.2 25% |
Maximum Bottom * | 66 | 62 6% | 43 35% | 56 15% | 45 32% | 42.2 36% |
Idle Upper Side * | 32 | 31 3% | 29 9% | 29 9% | 30.8 4% | 33.6 -5% |
Idle Bottom * | 32 | 33 -3% | 30 6% | 34 -6% | 35.4 -11% | 36.2 -13% |
* ... smaller is better
SCHENKER XMG Pro 15 (Early 2021, RTX 3080) GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB | SCHENKER Key 15 Comet Lake GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB | SCHENKER XMG Pro 15 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-9750H, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB | Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503Q GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS, SK Hynix HFM001TD3JX013N | Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE GX551QS GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HX, 2x Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR (RAID 0) | Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-10875H, Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Noise | 3% | -5% | 11% | 16% | 9% | |
off / environment * | 25 | 25 -0% | 30 -20% | 25 -0% | 27 -8% | 26.1 -4% |
Idle Minimum * | 33 | 26 21% | 30 9% | 26 21% | 27 18% | 26.1 21% |
Idle Average * | 34 | 27 21% | 32 6% | 27 21% | 27 21% | 26.5 22% |
Idle Maximum * | 35 | 44 -26% | 40 -14% | 31 11% | 27 23% | 30.7 12% |
Load Average * | 51 | 53 -4% | 56 -10% | 49 4% | 31.2 39% | 43.5 15% |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 52 | 51 2% | 55 -6% | 49 6% | 44.5 14% | 54 -4% |
Load Maximum * | 57 | 53 7% | 56 2% | 51 11% | 53.5 6% | 55 4% |
* ... smaller is better