Water games. Users of powerful 15-inch gamers often have to live with high volumes and temperatures. While laptop components are becoming increasingly efficient, it will probably be a while yet before gaming is possible on silent and cool high-performance laptops. Perhaps Schenker thought it was time for some practical interim solutions and so decided to experiment by creating a gaming laptop with an optional, liquid cooling system, the XMG Oasis. A successful piece of bridging technology? Find out in our review.
Christian Hintze, 👁 Christian Hintze (translated by Jacob Fisher), 🇩🇪
In February of this year, we were able to get our hands on one of the pre-production models of the XMG Neo 15 (together with the XMG Oasis) and gather initial benchmark results. Now both the Neo 15 and the external Oasis liquid cooling unit are ready for production and it’s time for a proper and thorough test.
Our review sample combines an i7-12700H with an RTX 3080 Ti in a 15.6-inch chassis. Added to this is 32 GB of DDR5 and a QHD display with almost complete sRGB coverage. The case comes from Tongfang/Uniwill with the designation GM5AG8W.
The external XMG Oasis liquid cooling unit can be purchased separately for EUR 199 (~US$ 199) and is supposed to increase performance as well as reduce noise and temperature.
We examine both the laptop and the Oasis, and compare the Neo 15 with and without liquid cooling in our benchmarks. For external comparison, we use other laptops with an RTX 3080 Ti alongside the predecessor. These include the Razer Blade 15, but also the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16, the Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 and the Alienware x17 R2 due to the lack of other 15-inch laptops with an RTX 3080 Ti.
Processor
Intel Core i7-12700H 14 x 1.7 – 4.7 GHz, 95 W PL2 / Short Burst, 95 W PL1 / Sustained, Alder Lake-P
Memory
32768 MB
, 2x 16 GB Samsung DDR5
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixel 188 PPI, BOE0A67, IPS, glossy: no, 240 Hz
Mainboard
Intel Alder Lake-P PCH
Soundcard
Intel Alder Lake-P PCH – cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech)
Connections
2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: Speaker-out + Microphone-in, Card Reader: SD-Reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC)
Networking
Realtek RTL8125 2.5GBe Family Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000/2500MBit/s), Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (a/b/g/h/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth Bluetooth 5
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 26.6 x 360.2 x 243.5 ( = 1.05 x 14.18 x 9.59 in)
Battery
93 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 11 Home
Camera
Webcam: HD Webcam
Primary Camera: 1 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo Speaker, Keyboard: optomechanical keyboard with RGB per key, Keyboard Light: yes, 24 Months Warranty, Pickup & Return
Weight
2.26 kg ( = 79.72 oz / 4.98 pounds), Power Supply: 1.057 kg ( = 37.28 oz / 2.33 pounds)
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.
For a gamer, the Neo comes across as rather plain. Apart from the keyboard, there are no flashing RGB elements, and even the otherwise obligatory colorful spec stickers are “missing” from the palm rest. The matte black design is functionally simple and unobtrusive, and pleasing exactly for these reasons. Even professionals don’t have to be embarrassed about having the Neo on their office desk. However, there is a kind of bar with a lattice structure at the front, which also allows the keyboard backlighting to shine through, but not too obtrusively.
Upon initial examination of the NEO, an clearly noticeable feature is the two gold-colored pipe ports for the liquid cooling at the back, protected by a rubber cap.
The display lid and the topside of the baseplate are made of metal, while the underside is made of plastic. The base is very stable and does not make any cracking or creaking sounds when subject to torsion. This also applies to the display lid, but this is naturally easier to bend. The hinges could perhaps be a little tighter, but they are solid.
The metal surface is sensitive to fingerprints and grease stains. The build quality is very good; we did not discover any unusual or uneven gaps.
The external liquid cooling unit comes in the form of a black plastic case. Coolant or distilled water is poured in at the top. The two hose connections are at the bottom on one side and the power connection on the opposite side. This is where the Neo’s power supply is connected, a short cable from the Oasis then goes into the Neo’s power slot as a power feeder.
The case is about 18 cm high, at least just as long, and about 7.5 cm wide. At the top is the fill hole, which is secured by a small plastic cover that is inserted into a rubber cap to prevent leakage.
At the front there is a narrow, transparent viewing column where you can read the fill level. Unfortunately, this is hardly visible, at least when using distilled water. A colored “ball” that is pushed up by the water or something similar would be helpful here.
After connecting the Oasis to the Neo, you fill Oasis with distilled water. When the two devices are connected, some of the water is pumped into the cooling circuit of the Neo and so a little more water has to be added again. Afterwards the water level should remain constant and no more refills are needed as long as you don’t drain the water out of the Neo (in order to use it as a mobile laptop without the Oasis, for example). How coolant is used is thus based on your own laptop use. Mobile users will often have to drain the coolant and refill it. In stationary use, the Oasis almost never needs to be refilled, since the coolant has nowhere else to go.
Because comparison with 16- and 17-inch models makes little sense, we use other 15-inch gamers here, also with a different GPU.
Nothing has changed compared to the predecessor. The Razer Blade 15 is slightly smaller and significantly thinner than the Neo, but the other competitors tend to be slightly larger. Overall, the Neo 15 is not overly noticeable compared to the competition in terms of weight or dimension.
The Neo 15 has a total of four USB ports, three of them type A and one type C, which is also a Thunderbolt port. The latter supports DisplayPort, but is unfortunately not VR-capable due to the connection to the iGPU, and PowerDelivery is not supported. Of the three USB-A ports, only the one on the left is capable of 10 Gbit/s, the two on the right only 5 Gbit/s (USB 3.2 Gen1 corresponds to USB 3.0).
The two separate audio ports are also a nice feature. But the special feature is certainly is the external liquid cooling port, which is at the back.
The ports are distributed over three sides, and most of them are at the back. The cable from the beefy 280 W power adapter to the laptop is a bit short for our taste.
The SD reader is on the right side and leaves SD cards that are only inserted and not properly locked in half sticking out. While the transfer rates are more functional than fast, at least there is a card reader.
The installed Intel AX201 module offers fast transmission rates in the 2.4 and 5 GHz range, but is not yet capable of using the new 6 GHz Wifi 6E network. Under testing, the device repeatedly had problems finding the 5 GHz network of our reference router, which often failed to appear in the list of available Wi-Fi connections.
Upon detection, the connection was stable and also pleasingly fast at approximately 1,600 Mbit/s.
Razer Blade 15 2022 |
|
Schenker XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 |
|
Alienware x17 R2 P48E Intel AX1675s 160MHz (211NGW) |
|
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (49.8 – 1775, n=322) |
|
Average of class Gaming (450 – 1603, n=146, last 2 years) |
|
Schenker XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 |
|
Razer Blade 15 2022 |
|
Alienware x17 R2 P48E Intel AX1675s 160MHz (211NGW) |
|
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (136 – 1743, n=322) |
|
Average of class Gaming (90 – 1743, n=146, last 2 years) |
|
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650RX MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wireless LAN Card |
|
Schenker XMG Neo 15 (i7-12700H, RTX 3080 Ti) Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 |
|
Average of class Gaming (787 – 1748, n=21, last 2 years) |
|
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (1239 – 1724, n=12) |
|
Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 |
|
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650RX MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wireless LAN Card |
|
Schenker XMG Neo 15 (i7-12700H, RTX 3080 Ti) Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 |
|
Average of class Gaming (851 – 1695, n=17, last 2 years) |
|
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (925 – 1715, n=9) |
|
Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 |
|
; iperf3 receive AXE11000; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1638 (839-1727)
; iperf3 transmit AXE11000; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1592 (1234-1729)
Schenker makes use of a 1080p webcam. A fundamentally welcome feature, but the quality is rather mediocre despite FullHD resolution, and color deviations are quite high.
16.5 ∆E
19.5 ∆E
20.6 ∆E
17.3 ∆E
20.2 ∆E
17.8 ∆E
18.2 ∆E
29 ∆E
18.3 ∆E
13.2 ∆E
15.5 ∆E
12.7 ∆E
24.3 ∆E
21.3 ∆E
20.3 ∆E
16.2 ∆E
18.6 ∆E
22.4 ∆E
1.8 ∆E
11.3 ∆E
19.4 ∆E
16.8 ∆E
13.9 ∆E
5.9 ∆E
A Kensington port is available, as is TPM. However, the Neo does not offer features such as a fingerprint sensor, IR camera or similar.
In addition to the usual documentation, the Neo comes with a typical Schenker USB stick with drivers – practical. A large mouse pad is also included.
The warranty in Germany is 24 months, which includes pickup and return service. This may differ in other countries and regions, so be sure to check with your supplier before purchasing.
A total of 14 Phillips screws have to be removed in order to access the interior. Fortunately all have the same length, including the three at the liquid cooling port. Afterwards the underside can be levered off quite easily by hand, preferably from the lateral rear.
Once inside, you have access to the RAM, the SSD (incl. second M.2 slot), the fans, battery, the liquid cooling circuit and the replaceable Wifi module.
The keyboard takes up the entire space of the 15-inch base, at least in terms of width. This makes for a successful normal-sized keyboard design with good spacing between keys as well as a numpad on the right. The extremely tidy layout is pleasing: even the arrow keys are of a decent size and everything seems to be exactly in the right place.
The power button is designed as an extra key above the keyboard and next to it is another key that switches through the performance modes. Oddly, the “End” key is located as a secondary function on the right arrow key, as well as directly above it on the “1” of the numpad, so the two are directly on top of each other. It took us a while to find the key for the keyboard lighting, for which the symbol is tiny and is on the upper left corner of the space bar.
The lettering is relatively small overall, but mainly kept in a dark tone, which means that it is sometimes unrecognizable during the day in suboptimal lighting conditions – brighter and/or larger lettering would be helpful here.
The optomechanical keys have a good typing feel, the travel is 2 mm and the feedback is pleasant. Typing noise is only slightly higher than on “normal” keyboards, but significantly lower than on purely mechanical keyboards. The keycaps are very thin. You can see under the caps and thus catch glimpses of the underlying mechanics.
Each key can also be individually illuminated, and any special functions of a key are also dimly illuminated.
The touchpad measures around 11.6 x 7.4 cm, so it is quite large. A white mini-LED in the upper left corner indicates whether it is (de-)activated. The surface is very smooth and does not cause stutters even during slow movements.
Schenker relies on integrated keys, which want to be pressed quite firmly, give clear feedback, are moderately loud, but sometimes simply do not execute the desired function. Occasionally, several clicks in a row did not work, but a subsequent click via a finger tap on the pad did.
A matte QHD IPS panel from BOE with a refresh rate of 240 Hz is installed. The panel brightness is over 300 nits, but the distribution could be better, especially towards the lower left corner where the brightness decreases more strongly. Black level and contrast are average.
Screen bleeding is only minimally visible in the lower corners, and PWM is not used for brightness control. The response times are satisfactory at around 10 ms.
|
Distribution of brightness
BOE0A67
X-Rite i1Pro 3
Maximum: 365 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 335.4 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 365 cd/m²
Contrast: 1141:1 (Black: 0.32 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.38 | 0.59-29.43 Ø5.3, calibrated: 1.22
ΔE Greyscale 1.36 | 0.64-98 Ø5.6
69.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
97.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
68.2% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.48