XMG upgrades its PRO laptops with Tiger Lake-H processors and Thunderbolt 4 support

XMG is upgrading the PRO laptop lineup with Intel’s Tiger Lake-H processors. The new 15-inch and 17-inch XMG PRO models come with an L21 (late 2021) suffix in order to make it easier for buyers to differentiate them from the early 2021 variants that are powered by the Intel Core i7-10870H processors.

Upgrade highlights for the L21 models include the i7-11800H 8-core/16-thread processors (Intel HM570 chipset). Since these are based on the Tiger Lake platform, the new laptops now come with a Thunderbolt 4 port and the PCIe slot for the dGPU is upgraded to Gen 4 x16, as well, plus one of the M.2 NVMe SSD slots supports PCIe 4.0 X4. Additionally, XMG now offers a MUX switch for the iGPU through the USB-C/DP 1.4/TB 4 connectors for external displays, so the laptop may consume less power when running less demanding applications, but it can still switch to dGPU mode via TB4 when playing games. (2x DP 1.4 via Thunderbolt via iGPU or 1x DP 1.4 via Thunderbolt via dGPU). The internal display does not benefit from the MUX switch, unfortunately.

The new L21 models also do away with the microSD card reader. Otherwise, the specs are identical to the E21 models. The 15-inch variant still  features the 4K OLED display with 60 Hz refresh rate or a 1080p IPS panel with 300 Hz refresh, while the 17-inch variant gets the IPS 1080p 300 Hz panel or the IPS 4K 60 Hz one. Maximum RAM capacity is set to 64 GB DDR4-3200 and storage slots support up to 4 TB via two M.2 slots. Two dGPU options are available: the RTX 3070 105W or the RTX 3080 105 W.

Connectivity support includes a Realtek GbE NIC and a Wi-Fi 6 card with BT 5 support. Port selection comes with 2x audio jacks, HDMI 2.1 and Mini DisplayPort 1.4 video outputs, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 + Thunderbolt 4 (DP mode, no PD) connectors, and an Ethernet jack. There is added security via the area fingerprint reader, and the battery capacity is rated for 73 Wh. Profiles are some of the thinnest on the market measuring 19.9 mm (0.78 inches), and the PRO 15 L21 weighs 1.99 kg (4.38 lbs), while the PRO 17 L21 weighs 2.3 kg (5.07lbs).

Pre-orders are open now on the Bestware site, with the PRO 15 L21 variants starting at 2,199 Euro, and the PRO 17 L21 starting at 2,249 Euro. Depending on the configuration, there are different expected shipping dates, however. All FHD variants should ship by the end of October, but the 4K + RTX 3080 configurations will be available in mid November, and the 4K + RTX 3070 ones should ship in early December.

Buy the Intel Core i7-11700K desktop CPU on Amazon