Gaming

Flashy. Asus' latest upper mid-range gaming laptop is big on performance and visual flare, but it misses the mark when it comes to serviceability. The unique LED lights shouldn't come at the expense of features that users would have otherwise had.

Unassuming gamer. The hardware of the Schenker XMG Core 17 brings all the current games smoothly to the matte 17.3-inch screen (144 Hz, FHD, IPS). This notebook can be configured very individually. For example, it offers space for up to three storage units (2x M.2-2280, 1x 2.5 in) and can handle up to 64 GB of working memory. In addition, the BIOS allows undervolting of the CPU and iGPU. While the notebook does not show any huge weaknesses, we could complain about the lack of a Thunderbolt-3 port.

$1200 for a GeForce GTX 1650. While the GTX 1650 is an excellent upgrade over the GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti, we can't say the same about the Core i7-9750H over the Core i7-8750H. Be prepared to spend $1200 for a budget gaming laptop with the performance level of an older GTX 1060.

Runs and runs and runs...smoothly. The free-to-play MOBA, which saw the light of day almost 10 years ago and broke the 100-million-player mark in 2016, still remains very low-maintenance in 2019. Smoothly playable across the graphics card landscape of recent years, League of Legends also delights gamers with older hardware. However, one can't expect much in terms of graphics quality in such games.

An Intel Core i5 alternative. As it turns out, mid-range Nvidia GPUs pair very well with AMD's latest Ryzen H-series of CPUs. Asus is doubling down on even more Intel-less gaming laptops that gamers on tight budgets ought to consider.

A Clevo that's difficult to service. The mid-size Nightsky RX17 offers high-end gaming performance as one would expect from a Eurocom product. Unfortunately, it drops the one feature that makes other Eurocom gaming laptops so appealing to enthusiasts and tinkerers.