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Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro (i7-8550U) Laptop Review

The Chinese original. Xiaomi notebooks are still considered a rarity in Europe and have to be imported from Asia. Not having the opportunity of looking at the device beforehand at your trusted local store, plus the additional effort of making warranty claims etc., makes it all the more important to read reviews of imported products before making your final decision. Notebookcheck has therefore decided that after reviewing the Intel Core i5-8250U version, we will now also take a look at the model with the stronger Intel Core i7-8550U. In this review, we have focused mainly on the device's performance and its differences to the other model that we have already tested.

We have already reviewed the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5-8250U (November 2017) and were quite pleased with it. The design and quality of the aluminum case can be directly compared to the cases of Apple's MacBook Pro 15, the Asus ZenBook UX550 or the Dell XPS series, although the surface seems to be more prone to signs of wear. We had to criticize the missing Thunderbolt port, the slow SD card reader and the M.2 slots that are connected with only two lanes. On the other hand, we were happy to note the good battery runtimes, mainly silent operation under normal load, the bright, high-contrast display and the well-dimensioned Harman Infinity speaker that cannot quite keep up with the sound quality of the MacBook, but it can still produce a nice, high-quality sound.

We were also convinced by the device's price: While the online price for the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5-8250U (8 GB RAM + 256 GB SSD) currently lies at around $930, the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7-8550U with 8 GB of RAM costs a bit more at around $1000. If you are interested in the i7 model with 16 GB of RAM, you will have to hand over $1150. In addition to this, you will need to consider delivery, import tax and currency fluctuations.

But first let us take a look at the test results of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 with the stronger Intel Core i7-8550U. As all other features such as case, connectivity and display are identical, we will focus on the expected improved performance in this review.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 (Mi Notebook Pro Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-8550U 4 x 1.8 - 4 GHz, Kaby Lake Refresh
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 1341 MHz, Memory: 1253 MHz, GDDR5, 382.64, Optimus
Memory
16 GB 
, DDR4-2400 (10-10-10-28 CR1) Dual Channel
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, BOEhydis NV156FHM-N61, IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel Sunrise Point-LP
Storage
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP, 256 GB 
, 256 GB SSD, 180 GB free
Soundcard
Realtek ALC298 @ Intel Sunrise Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 2 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: headphones
Networking
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.1
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 15 x 360 x 244 ( = 0.59 x 14.17 x 9.61 in)
Battery
60 Wh, 8000 mAh
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Primary Camera: 1 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: stereo, Keyboard: chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes
Weight
1.95 kg ( = 68.78 oz / 4.3 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
1419 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case & Connectivity

As the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7-8550U has the same build as the i5 model, we can only repeat our praise from November. The case is not constructed as a unibody case but as a pressed metal case with a reinforced magnesium frame on the inside. The feel of the aluminum case is good, and it gives the impression of high quality. Unfortunately, the only available color is a slightly boring gray. One thing we already noticed on the i5 version is that the surface shows scratches and other signs of use quite quickly. Comparable models such as the MacBook or the Dell XPS seem to be more resistant in this regard.

The included webcam is not particularly impressive and reaches its limits even when photographing text or during simple video communication in good lighting.

Display

The 15.6-inch display (NV156FHM-N61) has an FHD resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and is identical to that of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5. The results of our tests are very similar. You can read up on the results in more detail (color accuracy, PWM results etc.) in our original review of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
BOEhydis NV156FHM-N61, , 1920x1080, 15.60
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
BOE0747 NV156FHM-N61, , 1920x1080, 15.60
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
B133HAN04.9, , 1920x1080, 13.30
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
BOE06C3, , 3840x2160, 15.60
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
ID: Sharp SHP144A, Name: LQ133Z1, , 3200x1800, 13.30
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
AUO, B156HAN06.1, , 1920x1080, 15.60
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
InfoVision M133NWF4R0, , 1920x1080, 13.30
Average of class Multimedia
 
Display
Display P3 Coverage
66.5
65.4
66.6
63.6
38.73
66.3
84.7 ?(39.5 - 99.9, n=91, last 2 years)
sRGB Coverage
86.9
93.1
86.9
93
58.3
97.4
97 ?(58.9 - 100, n=87, last 2 years)
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
63.5
66.4
63.5
65.4
40.02
68.1
82 ?(40.8 - 100, n=87, last 2 years)
Response Times
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
47.9 ?(22.4, 25.5)
22.4 ?(10.8, 11.6)
41.2 ?(23.2, 18)
35.6 ?(18.4, 17.2)
42 ?(22, 20)
56.8 ?(27.6, 29.2)
21.9 ?(0.4 - 80.8, n=93, last 2 years)
Response Time Black / White *
33.7 ?(19.2, 14.5)
31.2 ?(17.2, 14)
29.6 ?(16.4, 13.2)
27.2 ?(16, 11.2)
29 ?(15, 13)
31.6 ?(17.6, 14)
15.1 ?(0.6 - 78.8, n=93, last 2 years)
PWM Frequency
21800 ?(99)
1000
19690 ?(100)
198.4 ?(99)
2022 ?(0 - 28400, n=93, last 2 years)
Screen
6%
8%
2%
5%
31%
38%
35%
Brightness middle
317
296
-7%
338
7%
338.7
7%
386.1
22%
221
-30%
330
4%
409 ?(250 - 670, n=93, last 2 years)
29%
Black Level *
0.352
0.32
9%
0.35
1%
0.28
20%
0.33
6%
0.12
66%
0.25
29%
0.1781 ?(0.27 - 0.7, n=96, last 2 years)
49%
Contrast
901
925
3%
966
7%
1210
34%
1170
30%
1842
104%
1320
47%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
4.5
4.3
4%
4.2
7%
4.9
-9%
4.2
7%
4.12
8%
1.8
60%
2.64 ?(0.5 - 7.1, n=93, last 2 years)
41%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
9
8.7
3%
6.5
28%
8.7
3%
7.6
16%
6.41
29%
4.3
52%
5.74 ?(1.1 - 20.8, n=93, last 2 years)
36%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3.8
3
21%
3.9
-3%
5.5
-45%
5.7
-50%
3.4
11%
2.5
34%
2.96 ?(0.69 - 8.3, n=93, last 2 years)
22%
Gamma
2.17 101%
2.1 105%
2.43 91%
2.08 106%
2.28 96%
2.54 87%
2.11 104%
2.26 97% ?(1.9 - 2.77, n=92, last 2 years)
Brightness
288
321
325
357
224
304
Brightness Distribution
89
90
91
83
89
88
CCT
7100 92%
7144 91%
7498 87%
7336 89%
6893 94%
6588 99%
6675 97% ?(5735 - 8838, n=93, last 2 years)
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
56.83
60.4
63.5
59
37
61.8
2.43 ?(last 2 years)
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
86.86
93.1
86.92
92.2
58
97.3
Total Average (Program / Settings)
6% / 6%
8% / 8%
2% / 2%
5% / 5%
31% / 31%
38% / 38%
35% / 35%

* ... smaller is better

Performance

Xiaomi's Mi Notebook Pro laptops are available in two CPU configurations: With the Intel Core i5-8250U or the stronger Intel Core i7-8550U. The i7 model is available with either 8 or 16 GB of RAM. Apart from the integrated graphics chip UHD 620, the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro also comes with an additional dedicated graphics card: The Nvidia GeForce MX150 with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Unfortunately, Xiaomi still only offers a 256-GB SSD in the i7 model. Luckily, users can insert an additional SSD for more storage thanks to the additional free M.2 slot.

Processor

So what are the differences between these two processors and how is the Intel Core i7-8550U faster or better? A look at the specification sheets of the quad-core chips shows that the Intel Core i5-8250U clocks between 1.6 and 3.4 GHz, while the base clock rate of the i7-8550U is a little higher at 1.8 GHz. The TDP of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 is set to 15 watts by default. In turbo mode, the clock rate increases to 4 GHz and, for 28 seconds, performance is boosted to 44 watts. The slim case of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro means that a good cooling system is vital if you want this performance to be consistent.

A look at the Cinebench R15 Single test shows that the device performs splendidly in single-core use, as one might expect from the i7-8550U due to its high clock rate of 4 GHz. Compared to other Intel Core i7-8550U CPUs, the Xiaomi's performance is right at the front, together with that of the Acer Spin 5. Both have results that are significantly higher than the average result of all i7-8550U devices tested by Notebookcheck. However, all laptops (except for the HP Spectre x360) lie within the narrow margin of between 162 and 170 points.

Out of pure curiosity, we also included the HP Envy with the previous CPU version, the Intel Core i7-7500U, in our comparison table. This can even keep up with the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5 in the single-core tests, but the four cores of Intel's new eighth-generation chip play on their assets in the multi-core benchmark and easily outpace the i7-7500U. Compared to the average results of all i7-8550U and all multimedia notebooks, the Xiaomi does very well.

But the i7 from Xiaomi has the same difficulties as the i5 model: It quickly runs out of steam in a single run of the multi-core test. While the Dell XPS 13 and the Asus ZenBook 13 both showed average performance in the Cinebench R15 Single test, they lie ahead of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro and the Acer Spin 5 in the multi-core benchmark. A look at the average results for this category confirms this impression: The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro is only minimally faster.

But not all that glitters is gold. Let us take a look at the Cinebench loop further on.

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Multimedia
  (142.6 - 308, n=96, last 2 years)
249 Points +46%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
Intel Core i7-8550U
170 Points
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
Intel Core i7-8550U
170 Points 0%
SCHENKER Slim 15 L17
Intel Core i7-8550U
168 Points -1%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
Intel Core i7-8550U
167 Points -2%
Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-8550U
Intel Core i7-8550U
164 Points -4%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
Intel Core i7-8550U
162 Points -5%
Average Intel Core i7-8550U
  (108 - 172, n=76)
159.6 Points -6%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
Intel Core i7-8550U
154 Points -9%
HP Envy 13-ad006ng
Intel Core i7-7500U
145 Points -15%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
Intel Core i5-8250U
145 (144.66min - 144.78max) Points -15%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
Intel Core i5-8250U
132 Points -22%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Multimedia
  (580 - 4703, n=103, last 2 years)
2280 Points +309%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
Intel Core i7-8550U
623 Points +12%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
Intel Core i7-8550U
603 Points +8%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
Intel Core i5-8250U
576 (544.28min - 575.47max) Points +3%
Average Intel Core i7-8550U
  (301 - 761, n=78)
576 Points +3%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
Intel Core i7-8550U
558 (511min - 558max) Points
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
Intel Core i7-8550U
558 Points 0%
Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-8550U
Intel Core i7-8550U
521 Points -7%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
Intel Core i7-8550U
519 Points -7%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
Intel Core i5-8250U
516 Points -8%
SCHENKER Slim 15 L17
Intel Core i7-8550U
515 Points -8%
HP Envy 13-ad006ng
Intel Core i7-7500U
353 Points -37%
CPU temperatures (maximum of cores) and power consumption during the Cinebench R15 loop (recorded via HWInfo64).
CPU temperatures (maximum of cores) and power consumption during the Cinebench R15 loop (recorded via HWInfo64).

How does the Xiaomi i7 deal with throttling when it is under multi-core load for a prolonged period of time? The performance of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 drops from 560 to 520 points in the second round, which makes a loss of 7%. This is no big deal, however, and a look at the test results of the Asus ZenBook show that the Cinebench loop results can be a lot worse. The Asus, which is at the top of our table for the first round in which it scores 623 points, drops to an average of 456 points afterwards and even falls below 400 points at times.

As you can see from the temperature graph above on the right, the Xiaomi can handle its temperatures and cooling quite well even for a long period of time, and it remained nicely stable between 520 and 530 points. In the bottom half of the graph you can see the 28-second TDP rise to the maximum 44 watts, then the steady 15 watts which is interrupted by short peaks in performance. The top half shows how the CPU reaches a maximum of 57 °C (~134.6 °F) in the 30 minutes of the Cinebench loop.

We noticed that the Cinebench Multi results of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5-8250U are actually slightly higher than those of the i7-8550U.

Surprising - our tested Core i5 model is faster than the i7 model under multi-core load.

The fact that the i5-8250U achieves a better result than the more powerful i7-8550U is due to the different clocking behavior of the CPUs. Both CPUs throttle after a short turbo mode of 28 seconds, but the i5-8250U continues with a slightly higher clock rate than the i7-8550U, which is why its results are a little lower in the synthetic benchmark test. It seems as if we have got a noticeably better chip with the i5 than with the i7.

0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320330340350360370380390400410420430440450460470480490500510520530540550560Tooltip
Cinebench R15 Multi Core i7-8550U
0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320330340350360370380390400410420430440450460470480490500510520530540550560570580Tooltip
Cinebench R15 Multi Core i5-8250U
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
6839
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
16569
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
6435
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.93 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
73.9 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
5.87 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
170 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
109.2 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
558 Points
Help

System Performance

Like the Xiaomi Mi Pro i5, the i7 offers a satisfying system performance for everyday working, image-processing, video-processing and even a little gaming due to the dedicated GPU. Compared to other i7-8550U models, the Xiaomi lies just behind the Acer Spin 5 and the Asus ZenBook in the Work Score Accelerated v2. It is noticeably faster than the Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360, Razer Blade Stealth and the general Notebookcheck average.

PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Multimedia
  (4484 - 5525, n=9, last 2 years)
5075 Points +37%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
4100 Points +11%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
3899 Points +5%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
3796 Points +3%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3766 Points +2%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3702 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8550U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (3145 - 4130, n=21)
3656 Points -1%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
3457 Points -7%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
3432 Points -7%
SCHENKER Slim 15 L17
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD 960 Pro 512 GB m.2
3327 Points -10%
Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-8550U
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
3268 Points -12%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
5281 Points +6%
Average of class Multimedia
  (3115 - 6078, n=9, last 2 years)
5278 Points +6%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
5037 Points +1%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
4978 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
4826 Points -3%
Average Intel Core i7-8550U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (4063 - 5228, n=20)
4771 Points -4%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
4746 Points -5%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
4436 Points -11%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
4217 Points -15%
Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-8550U
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
4184 Points -16%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3702 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
5550 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4978 points
Help

Storage Device

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 is equipped with the same Samsung PM961 SSD as the i5 model and fortunately uses all four lanes of the PCIe connection.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
Average Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
 
Average of class Multimedia
 
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
-0%
9%
9%
-59%
-27%
-8%
Read Seq
1444
1260
-13%
1248
-14%
2070
43%
430.6
-70%
1187
-18%
1627 ?(800 - 2196, n=42)
13%
Write Seq
1173
1241
6%
1476
26%
1125
-4%
424.1
-64%
599
-49%
1136 ?(341 - 1423, n=42)
-3%
Read 512
816
1039
27%
849
4%
1252
53%
275
-66%
935
15%
887 ?(406 - 1295, n=42)
9%
Write 512
851
827
-3%
1118
31%
832
-2%
369.8
-57%
609
-28%
781 ?(338 - 890, n=42)
-8%
Read 4k
61.5
60
-2%
58.8
-4%
56.2
-9%
28.04
-54%
35.61
-42%
53 ?(29.8 - 62.6, n=42)
-14%
Write 4k
171.9
154
-10%
155.2
-10%
142.4
-17%
53.5
-69%
134.4
-22%
126.7 ?(46.6 - 176.9, n=42)
-26%
Read 4k QD32
568
526
-7%
645
14%
432.9
-24%
322.9
-43%
289.3
-49%
419 ?(131.5 - 650, n=42)
-26%
Write 4k QD32
436.4
435
0%
547
25%
573
31%
211.9
-51%
331.1
-24%
384 ?(94.9 - 621, n=42)
-12%
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Sequential Read: 1444 MB/s
Sequential Write: 1173 MB/s
512K Read: 816 MB/s
512K Write: 851 MB/s
4K Read: 61.5 MB/s
4K Write: 171.9 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 568 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 436.4 MB/s

Graphics

The integrated graphics chip Intel UHD Graphics 620 is supported by the same dedicated graphics card, the Nvidia GeForce MX150 with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, in both the i5 and the i7 devices. The MX150, successor of the GeForce 930M and GeForce 940M, and the mobile version of the Desktop GeForce GT 100, performs about 2.5 times better than the Intel UHD Graphics 620 in our 3DMark 11 benchmark. The GPU performance lies at the top of our comparison table and is similar to the performance in the i5 version and the Notebookcheck average. When compared to the stronger GTX 1050, the MX150 does not stand a chance. The MX150 is the limit of possible graphics performance for the Xiaomi, since you cannot connect external graphics docks due to the missing Thunderbolt port.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Multimedia
  (3408 - 60250, n=87, last 2 years)
18296 Points +327%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
7043 Points +64%
SCHENKER Media 15
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-7700HQ
4591 Points +7%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
4564 Points +7%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
4285 (4274min - 4292max) Points
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
4252 Points -1%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (2796 - 4905, n=47)
4191 Points -2%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
3581 Points -16%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
2796 Points -35%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8550U
1810 Points -58%
Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-8550U
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8550U
1675 Points -61%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Average of class Multimedia
  (14679 - 150699, n=61, last 2 years)
57744 Points +193%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
35068 Points +78%
SCHENKER Media 15
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-7700HQ
22183 Points +13%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
20470 Points +4%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
19717 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (16227 - 22183, n=43)
19512 Points -1%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
18572 Points -6%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
17552 Points -11%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
16227 Points -18%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8550U
9511 Points -52%
Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-8550U
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8550U
9349 Points -53%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Average of class Multimedia
  (1835 - 46022, n=87, last 2 years)
13540 Points +308%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
5688 Points +71%
SCHENKER Media 15
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-7700HQ
3662 Points +10%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
3563 Points +7%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
3319 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (2323 - 3739, n=44)
3310 Points 0%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
3263 Points -2%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i7-8550U
2903 Points -13%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
2324 Points -30%
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8550U
1158 Points -65%
3DMark 11 Performance
4572 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
13256 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
2986 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Low Power 1D12 variant (Max-Q) with higher clocks
Low Power 1D12 variant (Max-Q) with higher clocks

The cheaper Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5-8250U surprised us a little in the Cinebench Multi Loop benchmark, as it performed better than the i7 version. The practical gaming benchmarks put these results back into perspective.

The Core i7 can finally take the lead over the i5 in the gaming benchmarks.

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7-8550U achieves better results than its slower relative in all games. Most games can easily be displayed in 1366x768 pixels with medium details. If you turn up the resolution or details, frame rates soon drop to below 20 fps.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided
1280x720 Low Preset AF:1x
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
44.8 (34min - 60max) fps
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
43.1 (33min - 58max) fps -4%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (40.8 - 44.8, n=5)
42.7 fps -5%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
41.2 (29min - 54.8max) fps -8%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
40.8 fps -9%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:2x
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
32 (24.5min - 42max) fps
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
31.5 (24min - 41max) fps -2%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (29.8 - 32, n=5)
31.1 fps -3%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
30.5 fps -5%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
29.8 (22.9min - 39max) fps -7%
1920x1080 High Preset AF:4x
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
17 fps +4%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
16.6 (14min - 21max) fps +1%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
16.4 (4min - 21max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (15.5 - 17, n=5)
16.4 fps 0%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
15.5 (11.9min - 19.8max) fps -5%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS AF:8x
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
7.3 (3min - 10max) fps
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
6.8 fps -7%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
6.6 (2min - 10.1max) fps -10%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (5.2 - 7.3, n=5)
6.24 fps -15%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
5.3 (4min - 8max) fps -27%
F1 2017
1280x720 Ultra Low Preset
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
82 (55min - 92max) fps +5%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
78 (64min - 91max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (55 - 83, n=4)
74.5 fps -4%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
45 fps -42%
1920x1080 Medium Preset AF:4x
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
41 (36min - 45max) fps +8%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
38 (33min - 42max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (24 - 41, n=4)
36 fps -5%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
21 fps -45%
1920x1080 High Preset AA:T AF:8x
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
32 (29min - 35max) fps +7%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
30 (27min - 34max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (19 - 32, n=4)
28.3 fps -6%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
16 fps -47%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
Average of class Multimedia
  (36 - 428, n=63, last 2 years)
198.8 fps +220%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
72 (61min - 79max) fps +16%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
68.3 fps +10%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
62.1 (52min - 69max) fps
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
60.7 fps -2%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (42.6 - 72, n=24)
58.2 fps -6%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
55.6 fps -10%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
55.1 fps -11%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
44.73 fps -28%
Lenovo ThinkPad T470p PL
GeForce 940MX, i7-7700HQ, Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
43.3 fps -30%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
30.5 fps -51%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing
Average of class Multimedia
  (23 - 316, n=62, last 2 years)
135 fps +259%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
43.2 (36min - 50max) fps +15%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
39.5 fps +5%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
37.6 (30min - 43max) fps
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
36.9 fps -2%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
34.5 fps -8%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (24.4 - 43.2, n=26)
34.3 fps -9%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
32.44 fps -14%
Lenovo ThinkPad T470p PL
GeForce 940MX, i7-7700HQ, Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
26.4 fps -30%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
24.44 fps -35%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
18.5 fps -51%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Average of class Multimedia
  (11.2 - 290, n=89, last 2 years)
90.1 fps +353%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
23.8 (19min - 27max) fps +20%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
22.8 fps +15%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
20.3 fps +2%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
19.9 (15min - 24max) fps
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
19.3 fps -3%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (13.3 - 23.8, n=25)
19 fps -5%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
14.1 fps -29%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
13.31 fps -33%
Lenovo ThinkPad T470p PL
GeForce 940MX, i7-7700HQ, Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
11.9 fps -40%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
10 fps -50%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Average of class Multimedia
  (8 - 143.2, n=94, last 2 years)
50 fps +335%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
17 fps +48%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
12.8 (10min - 15max) fps +11%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
12.8 fps +11%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
11.5 (9min - 14max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (6.5 - 17, n=25)
11.1 fps -3%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
10.9 fps -5%
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002
8.9 fps -23%
Lenovo ThinkPad T470p PL
GeForce 940MX, i7-7700HQ, Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
8.1 fps -30%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-13IKB
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
6.5 fps -43%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
6 fps -48%
Assassin´s Creed Origins
1280x720 Very Low Preset
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (42 - 47, n=3)
44.3 fps +5%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
42 (22min - 77max) fps
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
23 fps -45%
1920x1080 Medium Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
20 (7min - 25max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (18 - 22, n=3)
20 fps 0%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
10 fps -50%
1920x1080 High Preset
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (16 - 17, n=2)
16.5 fps +3%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
16 (8min - 20max) fps
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
9 fps -44%
Civilization VI
1024x768 Minimum Preset
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (75.5 - 87.7, n=4)
79.1 fps +2%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
77.3 (64P1) fps
1366x768 Medium Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
53 (34.2P1) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (42.9 - 53, n=4)
47.9 fps -10%
1920x1080 High Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
26.7 (18.8P1) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (19.5 - 26.7, n=4)
21.8 fps -18%
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
1280x720 Lowest Preset
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (47 - 73, n=6)
60.1 fps 0%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
60 (34min - 117max) fps
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
53 (22min - 131max) fps -12%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
30 fps -50%
1920x1080 Medium Preset AA:T
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (21 - 28, n=6)
25.3 fps +5%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
24 (15min - 42max) fps
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
23 (13min - 39max) fps -4%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
12 fps -50%
1920x1080 High Preset AA:T
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
17 (3min - 62max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (14 - 20, n=6)
16.4 fps -4%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
14 (3min - 46max) fps -18%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
9 fps -47%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
13 (3min - 105max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (11 - 14, n=6)
12 fps -8%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
GeForce MX150, i5-8250U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
11 (3min - 33max) fps -15%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
7 fps -46%
Fortnite
1280x720 Low Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
225 (174min - 318max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (61.7 - 225, n=5)
138.6 fps -38%
1920x1080 Medium Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
76 (69min - 82max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (33.7 - 86.7, n=5)
61.6 fps -19%
1920x1080 High Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
32.4 (26min - 38max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (22.1 - 36.7, n=5)
32.2 fps -1%
1920x1080 Epic Preset
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
23.6 (22min - 25max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (16.2 - 25, n=5)
22.3 fps -6%
GTA V
1024x768 Lowest Settings possible
Average of class Multimedia
  (42.8 - 187.2, n=67, last 2 years)
145.7 fps +8%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
145 fps +7%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
135 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (92.2 - 145, n=3)
124.1 fps -8%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
92.2 fps -32%
1366x768 Normal/Off AF:4x
Average of class Multimedia
  (33.1 - 186.4, n=74, last 2 years)
138.7 fps +13%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
137 fps +11%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
123 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (83 - 137, n=3)
114.3 fps -7%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
83 fps -33%
1920x1080 High/On (Advanced Graphics Off) AA:2xMSAA + FX AF:8x
Average of class Multimedia
  (11.8 - 181.9, n=87, last 2 years)
96.7 fps +169%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
35.9 fps
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
35 fps -3%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (25.1 - 35.9, n=3)
32 fps -11%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
25.1 fps -30%
1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x
Average of class Multimedia
  (4.24 - 123, n=84, last 2 years)
55.5 fps +234%
MSI PL62 MX150 7700HQ
GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3128GG6
19.9 fps +20%
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
16.6 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (6.9 - 19.9, n=3)
14.5 fps -13%
Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-51RL
GeForce MX150, i5-7200U, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3128GH
6.9 fps -58%
low med. high ultraQHD4K
Counter-Strike: GO (2012) 94
Alien: Isolation (2014) 40.4
GTA V (2015) 135 123 35.9 16.6
The Witcher 3 (2015) 62.1 37.6 19.9 11.5
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) 114.6 104.7 68 62
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 71 41.2 22.4 18.8
Ashes of the Singularity (2016) 33.1 17.8
Overwatch (2016) 103 48 30.3
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (2016) 44.8 32 16.4 7.3
Civilization VI (2016) 77.3 53 26.7 20.2
F1 2017 (2017) 78 38 30
FIFA 18 (2017) 80 66
Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017) 60 24 17 13
Assassin´s Creed Origins (2017) 42 20 16
Fortnite (2018) 225 76 32.4 23.6
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) 32.2 15.5 8.3
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) 82.7 56 52.3 20.6
Far Cry 5 (2018) 45 20 18 16
The Crew 2 (2018) 53.4 23.3 21.2 19.1 12 4.9
Monster Hunter World (2018) 54.3 18.9
F1 2018 (2018) 62 36 27 15
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) 46 17 12 9
FIFA 19 (2018) 50.1
Forza Horizon 4 (2018) 55 25 19 14
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 (2018) 63 26.2
Hitman 2 (2018) 21.7 14.7 11.8
Fallout 76 (2018) 54.4 23.5 19.4
Battlefield V (2018) 69 38.5 32 25.6
Farming Simulator 19 (2018) 146 61 35.1 26.7
Darksiders III (2018) 106 31.3 23.8 19.7
Just Cause 4 (2018) 39 24.1 18.2

Emissions & Energy Management

Temperature

The outside of the i7 model heats up a little more than the i5 model did in our extreme load test. We measured up to 46 °C (~114.8 °F) instead of 45 °C (~113 °F). These results are not perfect, but they are not worrisome either. You can see that Xiaomi uses the aluminum case for heat dissipation.

The internal temperatures are also no cause for concern. HWInfo64 measured 69 °C (~156 °F) around the CPU package and 62 °C (~143.6 °F) around the GeForce graphics card. In our gaming test with The Witcher 3, the CPU only heats up to 57 °C (~134.6 °F) and the GPU to 60 °C (~140 °F), which is still a little higher than in the Core i5 model (both units at 55 °C / 131 °F).

Max. Load
 43 °C
109 F
44 °C
111 F
37 °C
99 F
 
 41 °C
106 F
45 °C
113 F
35 °C
95 F
 
 30 °C
86 F
30 °C
86 F
30 °C
86 F
 
Maximum: 45 °C = 113 F
Average: 37.2 °C = 99 F
45 °C
113 F
45 °C
113 F
34 °C
93 F
46 °C
115 F
40 °C
104 F
33 °C
91 F
31 °C
88 F
30 °C
86 F
31 °C
88 F
Maximum: 46 °C = 115 F
Average: 37.2 °C = 99 F
Power Supply (max.)  51 °C = 124 F | Room Temperature 21.4 °C = 71 F | Fluke 62 Mini / AMPROBE TMD-50
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 37.2 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 46 °C / 115 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30 °C / 86 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-1.2 °C / -2.2 F).
The results measured by the thermal-imaging camera from Flir were 10% higher than those measured with our calibrated thermocoupler
The results measured by the thermal-imaging camera from Flir were 10% higher than those measured with our calibrated thermocoupler
Hot air outlets in the center dominate the bottom of the base unit
Hot air outlets in the center dominate the bottom of the base unit

Power Consumption

Although the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 has average consumption rates while idling, it consumes significantly more power than the Dell XPS 13 or the Schenker Slim 15 under load. The power consumption under maximum load is a little higher than that of the i5 model, but the differences are limited.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.98 / 1.5 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 4.3 / 7.9 / 8.3 Watt
Load midlight / 65.7 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.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
i5-8250U, GeForce MX150, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60
SCHENKER Slim 15 L17
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, Samsung SSD 960 Pro 512 GB m.2, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UN
i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, SanDisk SD8SN8U512G1002, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 13.30
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
i5-8550U, GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7, a-Si TFT-LCD, LCM, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Dell XPS 13 i7-8550U
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G, IGZO IPS, 3200x1800, 13.30
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2017
i5-7360U, Iris Plus Graphics 640, Apple SSD AP0128, IPS, 2560x1600, 13.30
Power Consumption
4%
-32%
26%
-0%
24%
20%
Idle Minimum *
4.3
3.7
14%
7.2
-67%
2.7
37%
3.9
9%
4.1
5%
3.7
14%
Idle Average *
7.9
7.5
5%
10.9
-38%
5.3
33%
6.7
15%
5.8
27%
5.2
34%
Idle Maximum *
8.3
8
4%
12.6
-52%
6.2
25%
8.7
-5%
6
28%
7.6
8%
Witcher 3 ultra *
43.2
50.6
-17%
Load Maximum *
65.7
55.2
16%
45.5
31%
60.1
9%
79
-20%
41.4
37%
50.5
23%
Load Average *
49
37
37.6
74
42.5
41.6

* ... smaller is better

A sine wave at 1 KHz still shows relatively good THD and THD+N results
A sine wave at 1 KHz still shows relatively good THD and THD+N results
But pink noise on the headset port does not show a linear result
But pink noise on the headset port does not show a linear result

Battery Runtime

The battery runtimes show up the effects of the stronger Core i7 in our test model. The Core i7 model requires more power even during our H.264 video playback. Whether the differences are due to deviations in series production or due to the stronger Core i7 is hard to tell. But particularly the H.264 playback mainly uses the processor's video engine.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7
i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, 60 Wh
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5
i5-8250U, GeForce MX150, 60 Wh
Apple MacBook Pro 15 2017 (2.8 GHz, 555)
i7-7700HQ, Radeon Pro 555, 76 Wh
SCHENKER Media 15
i7-7700HQ, GeForce MX150, 62 Wh
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, 79.2 Wh
Sager NP5852
i7-7700HQ, GeForce MX150, 62 Wh
Battery Runtime
3%
-12%
-8%
7%
-15%
H.264
600
632
5%
511
-15%
WiFi v1.3
516
597
16%
644
25%
424
-18%
511
-1%
351
-32%
Witcher 3 ultra
94
83
-12%
87
-7%
Load
119
122
3%
60
-50%
123
3%
136
14%
121
2%
Reader / Idle
354
934
498
Battery Runtime
Witcher 3 ultra 150cd
1h 34min
WiFi Websurfing
8h 36min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
10h 00min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 59min

Pros

+ fancy design
+ two M.2 slots, SSD can be upgraded by users
+ good input devices
+ high-contrast and bright display
+ stable throttling behavior
+ mainly silent when using office applications
+ good speakers

Cons

- i7 slower than our i5 test model in some multi-core CPU tests
- surfaces less resistant to effects of aging
- slow SD card reader
- no Thunderbolt
- Type-C ports only on the right, Type-A only on the left
- the two Type-C ports are not equivalent

Verdict

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro is now also available with an Intel Core i7-8550U.
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro is now also available with an Intel Core i7-8550U.

After testing, the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7-8550U leaves us with mixed impressions. After the surprise of the Cinebench R15 Multi 64 Bit loop with results below those of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i5-8250U, we were not sure what to expect from this test unit. The i7 was also left behind when measuring the system performance in the Home Score Accelerated v2, which made us wonder whether we were really dealing with the more expensive model with an Intel Core i7-8550U. In certain areas, the i7 does not seem to offer a measurable advantage.

The i7 can overtake the i5 in its gaming performance and the stronger CPU is visible at all levels of display resolution. The Xiaomi i7 can handle temperature well despite its relatively slim case and its dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX150, and it also keeps its throttling under control, although we preferred the results of the i5 model when compared directly. Both the advantage of a stronger CPU while gaming and the slightly higher temperatures when testing are reflected in our rating.

 Despite the average performance, which turns out to be good and reliable, the feeling remains that Xiaomi chose the cheaper option in many areas.

From the device's connectivity to its specifications, we keep encountering a lack of sensitivity for the right decisions. For example, the impractical decision of using two USB Type-C ports of which only one can be used for recharging and for connecting an external screen. Or the missing Thunderbolt port that would have enabled users to connect an external graphics dock or desktop GPU. This is a shame as the device might have been very interesting for gamers, particularly at this price and at a time in which many manufacturers are trying to make full use of the advantages of a full-fledged Thunderbolt port. Photographers who use SD cards a lot might suffer from the slow SD card reader that reached its limits at an incredibly low transfer rate of 20 MB/s.

At the time of writing, the price of the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7-8550U is between $1000 (8 GB of RAM) and $1150 (16 GB of RAM) on Gearbest, which is where our test unit came from. The CPU upgrade from the i5-8250U to the i7-8550U comes with an increase in price of $70 in the 8-GB RAM version. But do not forget the import tax and delivery costs, which will increase the price by at least 20%. Also, be aware that it is not yet clear where the device can be sent to in future in the case of a warranty claim. There are some rumors that Xiaomi is planning to open a branch in Milan, Italy (there is already one in Spain), but no-one knows when it will be possible to send Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro devices there for repair. If you are still interested in the Xiaomi after taking all these aspects into consideration, you will definitely be rewarded with a reliable notebook with good performance.

Update: Removed the text on SSD using only two lanes, as that only affected our older i5 unit.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro i7 - 02/08/2018 v6(old)
Daniel Puschina, Klaus Hinum

Chassis
88 / 98 → 90%
Keyboard
87%
Pointing Device
89%
Connectivity
51 / 81 → 62%
Weight
64 / 20-67 → 93%
Battery
92%
Display
83%
Games Performance
76 / 85 → 90%
Application Performance
92 / 92 → 100%
Temperature
83%
Noise
86 / 95 → 91%
Audio
80%
Camera
34 / 85 → 40%
Average
77%
86%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro (i7-8550U) Laptop Review
Daniel Puschina, Klaus Hinum, 2018-02-12 (Update: 2018-03-27)