XMG SECTOR high-end desktop PC with Intel Core i9-13900K and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 reviewed

Many people associate Schenker with powerful laptops. The added "XMG" branding indicates high-end gaming devices, which meanwhile also include desktop PCs. In this review, we'll be focusing on the Intel-based XMG SECTOR. The base configuration is priced at €1,239 (US$1,306) and ships with an Intel Core i5-12400F, 16 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. Our review unit is a high-end model featuring a Core i9-13900K and a GeForce RTX 4090, but it also carries a very hefty price tag of about €4,700 (US$4,956). However, thanks to the many options offered by the XMG shop, you can equipped the PC with various hardware components and assemble a system tailored specifically to your needs.
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A detailed look at the XMG SECTOR Intel
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1,000 USD/Euros, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
Case - Corsair 4000D Airflow
Schenker has installed the hardware of the XMG SECTOR Intel in a black Corsair 4000D Airflow. The case has a dark glass window to showcase the components inside with lighting effects. However, the included AIO cooler and Corsair Dominator RGB memory modules are the only sources of lighting in our review configuration.
The Corsair 4000D Airflow is fundamentally a very premium case with sufficient space to house numerous components. Even the massive MSI GeForce RTX 4090 VENTUS 3X can fit in the case easily.
Specifications
Practically no compromises have been made in terms of I/O ports. For example, the included motherboard (Asus ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming) offers a myriad of USB interfaces and modern ports for networking. Furthermore, it can accommodate up to four M.2 SSDs and 128 GB of DDR5 RAM and comes with 6x SATA 6Gb/s connectors. Users have direct access to one USB-A and one USB-C ports on the front panel of the Corsair 4000D Airflow. The display outputs available depend on the graphics card in the system. Our review unit has three DisplayPorts and one HDMI output. If your system isn't fitted with a non-F CPU, you can use the processor's integrated GPU for video output as an alternative to the dedicated graphics card. There are also various ways to drive displays from the motherboard.
Connectivity
An Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 wireless module is installed on the Asus ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming. We weren't fully impressed by the module's performance when testing it with our reference router, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000. The recorded transfer rates were below our expectations when the system was connected to the 5G network. After switching to a 6G connection, the transfer rates improved substantially. As an alternative, the motherboard in our review unit also has an RJ45 interface that supports speeds of up to 2.5 Gbit/s.
Accessories
In the box, besides the computer itself, you'll find various motherboard accessories such as cables and Wi-Fi antennas as well as unused cables belonging to the power supply, which is fully modular.
Maintenance
Maintaining the XMG SECTOR Intel is a breeze. The side panels on the Corsair 4000D Airflow can be easily removed, allowing you to clean off any dust on the fans quickly and conveniently. The included Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix is a high-performance AIO cooling solution that doesn't require a great deal of maintenance.
Warranty
Schenker provides a 36-month base warranty with pickup & return service on every XMG SECTOR Intel. There is, however, no option to extend the warranty period during the ordering process.
Performance - second-fastest Intel CPU meets fastest GPU
The XMG SECTOR Intel in this review is equipped with the second-fastest Intel gaming CPU – the Core i9-13900K. The processor is flanked by 32 GB of memory and an SSD with a whopping 2 TB capacity, meaning the system has enough storage to accommodate PC games with large install size. The included graphics card is an MSI GeForce RTX 4090 VENTUS 3X, which is the fastest GPU for the consumer market right now.
Test conditions
All performance-related tests were carried out with the power profile set to "High performance" so that we can get the best possible results. Moreover, the manufacturer already disabled all restrictions on CPU power usage in the BIOS. As a result, the Core i9-13900K was not limited to a max power draw of 253 watts (the CPU's PL2). We only switched to a different power plan when measuring power consumption and noise levels. Refer to this page to find out more about our test criteria.
Processor
Our XMG SECTOR Intel is powered by a Core i9-13900K, which is Intel's second-fastest gaming CPU at the moment. The results produced by the review unit are as good as one might expect. It is neck and neck with the other devices in our comparison. When it comes to performance rating, the difference between the XMG SECTOR and the similarly specced test system is extremely small at just 2% and can almost be attributed to measuring tolerances.
The processor isn't bound by any power limits because all restrictions have been lifted. Consequently, the CPU's performance is limited by temperature, which goes hand in hand with the AIO cooler installed.
You can find more processor benchmarks on this page.
* ... smaller is better
XMG SECTOR Intel in Cinebench R15 Multi loop
System performance
The XMG SECTOR Intel was extremely snappy in synthetic benchmarks, thus putting itself on par with the competitors. On top of that, our review unit delivered outstanding performance in AIDA64 memory tests and managed to secure the top spot thanks to its fast memory (DDR5-5600) and low latencies. During our time with the XMG SECTOR Intel, it consistently ran very fast without any significant latency.
Performance Rating - Percent | |
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
Intel Core i9-13900K | |
Schenker XMG SECTOR, i9 13900K, RTX 4090 | |
Intel Core i5-13600K | |
Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon | |
Corsair One i300 | |
Intel Core i9-12900K | |
Intel Dragon Canyon NUC - RTX 3060 | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Schenker XMG SECTOR, i9 13900K, RTX 4090 | |
Intel Core i9-13900K | |
Average Intel Core i9-13900K (68722 - 80203, n=4) | |
Corsair One i300 | |
Intel Core i9-12900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
Intel Core i5-13600K | |
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | |
Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Intel Dragon Canyon NUC - RTX 3060 | |
Average of class Desktop (6308 - 80203, n=39, last 2 years) |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Schenker XMG SECTOR, i9 13900K, RTX 4090 | |
Intel Core i9-13900K | |
Average Intel Core i9-13900K (73392 - 88780, n=4) | |
Intel Core i9-12900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
Intel Core i5-13600K | |
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | |
Corsair One i300 | |
Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon | |
Intel Dragon Canyon NUC - RTX 3060 | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Average of class Desktop (6292 - 88780, n=39, last 2 years) |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
Schenker XMG SECTOR, i9 13900K, RTX 4090 | |
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | |
Intel Core i9-13900K | |
Average Intel Core i9-13900K (68948 - 78678, n=4) | |
Intel Core i9-12900K | |
Intel Core i5-13600K | |
Corsair One i300 | |
Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Intel Dragon Canyon NUC - RTX 3060 | |
Average of class Desktop (6866 - 81193, n=39, last 2 years) |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon | |
Intel Dragon Canyon NUC - RTX 3060 | |
Corsair One i300 | |
Intel Core i5-13600K | |
Average Intel Core i9-13900K (72.6 - 93.4, n=4) | |
Average of class Desktop (56 - 153, n=39, last 2 years) | |
Intel Core i9-13900K | |
Schenker XMG SECTOR, i9 13900K, RTX 4090 | |
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition |
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
Our review unit is fitted with a super speedy Samsung NVMe SSD. The Samsung 980 Pro is one of the fastest consumer-grade SSDs. This is something we can also see in benchmarks: the drive almost consistently outperformed the storage solutions in competing devices. Only the Kingston Fury Renegade in the Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon was able to surpass the performance of the Samsung 980 Pro in AS-SSD Benchmark. That said, this is enough for the Samsung SSD to come in first in the overall rating. Even during the stress test, the drive managed to maintain a high read speed over an extended period, indicating that the SSD cooling is highly effective.
You can install up to three more M.2 SSDs on the Asus ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming. There is also the option to connect even more storage drives via SATA.
Refer to our storage device comparison table for more information and benchmarks.
Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
Schenker XMG SECTOR, i9 13900K, RTX 4090 | |
Corsair One i300 | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
Intel NUC13 Raptor Canyon | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Intel Core i5-13600K | |
Intel Core i9-13900K | |
Intel Core i9-12900K -11! | |
Intel Dragon Canyon NUC - RTX 3060 -11! | |
Average of class Desktop |