XPG Xenia 15 KC Review: A tough gaming laptop laptop that’s in level of reality mild

Handiest Prices On the novel time

We’ve long wondered if it became simply very no longer seemingly to love a skinny Intel-based entirely mostly gaming laptop laptop that didn’t howl savor a banshee or if no person became bothering to even strive. That every adjustments with XPG’s Xenia 15 KC, which is in actuality the thinnest, lightest and—extra importantly—the quietest gaming laptop laptop that we’ve touched.

The Xenia 15 KC will explore familiar to many because it’s far largely constructed on the identical chassis as its predecessor, which we reviewed previously The well-known adjustments embody a extra unparalleled CPU and GPU, a extra distinguished veil for work, and spectacular acoustic attributes.

And we’re no longer moral no longer throwing out the observe spectacular either—many of the time the Xenia 15 KC is dead soundless the establish other laptops may perhaps presumably presumably well be screaming. There’s a price to the quietness, but no longer as significant because it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also anticipate. First, we’ll stroll you thru what’s for the length of the Xenia 15 KC.

XPG Xenia 15 KC Specs

• CPU: Intel 8-core 11th gen Core i7-11800H
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080@125TGP with 20 watt Dynamic Enhance 2.0
• RAM: 32GB DDR4/3200 in dual-channel mode
• SSD: XPG 1TB Gammix S70 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD1
• Battery: 94 Watt hour battery
• Recount: 15.6-wander 2560 x 1440@165Hz IPS
• Weight and size: 9.2 x 14 x 0.8 inches. 4.2 pounds for laptop laptop, with 1.3 pounds for 230 watt charger

Ports: Be pleased the old originate, the Xenia 15 KC contains a healthy quantity of ports with a lock port, USB-A 10Gbps, and headset jack on the left facet. The just facet beneficial properties an extra two USB-A 10Gbps ports and an SD card reader. The SD Card reader is on USB 3.0 and gives the identical meh to OK efficiency because the old laptop laptop with read speeds in the 90MBps fluctuate. We enact enjoy that the XPG has placed significant extra ports on the rear of the laptop laptop including a Thunderbolt 4, stout-size HDMI 2.0, Gigabit ethernet port, and DC-in port for the charger.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard is additionally unchanged from the old iteration. The mechanical keys exhaust optical switches and provide a generous 2mm of shuffle. As the laptop laptop physique is magnesium, which helps decrease the total weight, the price is a single window for the keyboard opening rather then for my portion decrease holes for every key. This implies the keys are placed a microscopic bit closer collectively than what it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also secure in other designs. Some may perhaps presumably presumably also in point of fact feel the keys are too end collectively—in spite of their generous key cap size—but our paunchy fingers had no complications with it.

Every secret’s lit with RGB lights but it unquestionably’s no longer very keen. If you occur to’re into the familiar rainbow wave enact—the Xenia 15 KC’s colors drift about as with out problems as jagged pixels in a 1980s console game. That talked about, XPG officials claim the updated tool smooths out the enact. The trackpad is gorgeous as smartly, but our mannequin had a microscopic rattle to it, which we’ve considered from many diversified vendors event. It’s seemingly the tolerance of our unit became no longer a complete lineup dispute.

Webcam and audio system

The webcam is a Home windows Hello-compliant biometric digital camera, which we enjoy as its in most cases a characteristic overlooked in gaming laptops. It is, nonetheless, accrued moral 720p. Which approach you won’t be getting very appropriate image quality on Zoom calls. Nonetheless, in spite of the lackluster webcam, the audio is significant improved from the Xenia’s old iteration.

The popular Xenia 15 sounded skinny and became appropriate ample for an electronic mail alert chime, but no longer significant else. The Xenia 15 KC has a microscopic bit extra presence but is accrued moral barely ample, especially when when put next with laptop laptop vendors that establish so significant speaker in them, they virtually rattle when cranked up. Extra audio system additionally approach extra weight and a better physique, despite the undeniable reality that—but for any individual procuring for the bass—withhold taking a look.

It’s in point of fact, in point of fact mild

There are two chilly beneficial properties of the Xenia 15 KC that you simply wants to be privy to. The first one is its weight. Coming in at 4.2 pounds on our scale, it’s enormously lighter than other laptops with identical specs. Comparable laptops in total weigh about 4.5 pounds or extra. The other compelling characteristic is moral how mild the laptop laptop is.

We’ve long gotten veteran to gaming laptops that sound savor jets taxiing for purchase off. The Xenia 15 KC, nonetheless, infrequently ever makes noise below customary exhaust. A few of that is tied to the laptop laptop’s with out problems accessible efficiency mode button, which toggles between the next modes in real-time: battery saver, balanced, and efficiency. Change it to efficiency and the laptop laptop may perhaps presumably presumably also investigate cross-take a look at an 8dB magnify in quantity. On default, despite the undeniable reality that, it’s in balanced mode. It additionally prompts its passive cooling mode, which approach the followers or fan barely spins up.

How mild is it? Surely mild. Actually, right here’s a comparability of how loud the old Xenia 15 would rating running 3DMark Time Gaze versus basically the most up-to-date Xenia 15 KC doing the identical graphically intense benchmark bolt. For every 3 decibels, the sound vitality in point of fact doubles. Which approach older ninth and 10th gen laptops in a identical-size physique would all initiate to cry far sooner and far louder.

The Xenia 15 KC handles CPU-handiest tasks savor a champ, because it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also investigate cross-take a look at in the Cinebench R20 chart below. The blue line represents the Xenia 15 KC, which never spikes above 30dBA—the 2 peaks early on are from a automobile going down the facet road delivery air the home the establish the test took map. It’s in point of fact dead soundless many of the time with handiest one fan spinning as a lot as 1,300 RPM. One key disagreement in the new edition is the usage of a liquid metallic compound over much less efficient thermal paste. Liquid metallic isn’t the answer to the entirety, despite the undeniable reality that. We’ve considered many liquid-metallic laptops in the past that sound savor Huey helicopters, so right here’s seemingly as a result of tuning and originate extra than anything else.

If you occur to’re questioning why the blue line for the Xenia 15 KC’s Core i7-11800H is so significant shorter than the orange line for the older Core i7-9750H—it’s because the Core i7-11800H has 8-cores versus the 6-cores of the older Core i7-9750H as well to being per the more recent and significant extra and plenty faster 11th gen Tiger Lake H CPU. The Tiger Lake H model simply finishes the identical all core job that significant faster. Yes, it’s faster whereas additionally being quieter too.

Since there’s no such ingredient as a free lunch, there’s a efficiency price for running the Xenia 15 KC in its default Balanced Mode. We seen that going from Performance Mode to Balanced Mode charges you about 19 percent in efficiency. We additionally tested the laptop laptop in Performance Mode and Benchmark Mode, which approach 100 percent followers.

To rating a better belief of how the Xenia runs lighter tasks savor browsing the on-line or using Adobe Photoshop, we ran the Cinebench R15 benchmark, which makes exhaust of a single CPU thread or core. The short answer is few can instruct the adaptation between any of those laptops whereas doing the silly work. Even when the older Core i7-9750H seems to be to be meh, most of us won’t be ready to instruct the adaptation between them.

Cinebench R15 is a 3D modelling benchmark that runs rather snappy. Normal laptop laptop efficiency is regularly constrained by heat, so longer running tasks abet shed extra gentle on its real efficiency. For this, we exhaust Handbrake to convert a 1080p video file using the Android Tablet preset. In Performance Mode, the Xenia 15 KC finishes the job in about 17 percent much less time versus the significant quieter Balanced Mode environment. Since our all-core encode takes extra than 25 minutes to bolt—we investigate cross-take a look at the efficiency between the 8-core Core i7-11800H end up moral below 8 percent with the 6-core Core i7-9750H when attach to Balanced Mode. In Performance Mode, despite the undeniable reality that, the more recent Xenia 15 KC accrued trounces the older Xenia 15 and in all fairness faster than the Dell XPS 17 9710 with the identical CPU.

The Xenia 15 KC’s GPU is rated at 125 watt TGP but, with its Dynamic Enhance 2.0, it’s able to hitting 145 watts below some hundreds. The exhaust of 3DMark Time Gaze, which is known as a GPU benchmark, the Xenia suits in with other 3070 laptops. In Benchmark Mode with the followers running 100 percent, we investigate cross-take a look at a critical efficiency bump that locations it in the neighborhood of some RTX 3080 laptops. Strangely, we’re no longer seeing significant of a disagreement between Performance Mode and Balanced Mode.

Upward thrust of the Tomb Raider is a 6-year-veteran game and no longer exactly very strenuous for these laptops. The Xenia 15 KC does fairly smartly in all modes, in point of fact handiest losing to an Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 with an 11th-gen Core i9 and GeForce RTX 3080.

Our next game is Metro Exodus, which is significant harsher than the older Upward thrust of the Tomb Raider. Even when we don’t switch the games’ exhaust of DirectX Raytracing, it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also investigate cross-take a look at it fracture any beliefs that an even bigger TGP RTX 3080 doesn’t pull its weight. Total, we’d dispute the Xenia 15 KC does fairly smartly, especially whenever you’ve got in thoughts its svelte originate and weight when put next with the opposite gaming laptops right here.

Battery lifestyles in a laptop laptop this gentle is significant, as you’ll seemingly must purchase it with you. All over the battery test, we activated the Xenia 15 KC’s balanced mode using our customary 4K video local file in airplane mode and the brightness in the 250 to 260 nit fluctuate. With extra than 8 hours of video playback time, the Xenia 15 KC is handiest eclipsed by the Dell XPS 17 9710—but we’d dispute both are fairly spectacular. Several of the laptops right here characteristic compromised battery skill for laptops with this significant hardware inside, so it’s no shock they are wanting the Xenia 15 KC by loads of hours.

We had been taken aback by the establish the XPS 17 and the Xenia 15 KC got right here in because they like got bigger choice panels, that are inclined to exhaust extra vitality. The Xenia 15 KC’s 2560 x 1440 choice is virtually twice the pixel density because the older Xenia, as an illustration. The Dell XPS 17 is significant extra spectacular because it contains a substantial bigger 17-wander veil with a 4K UHD+ choice panel. Within the stop, thanks to the battery skill and the Xenia 15 KC’s optimization choices, it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also in level of reality exhaust it on the avenue.

We’ll end out with extra attempting out on moral how warm the Xenia 15 KC will get when its running in its default balance mode which turns on a passive cooling mode. That in most cases approach the laptop laptop will in most cases flip off the total followers or handiest bolt a single fan at 1,300 RPM. That’s mild ample the establish it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also’t hear that fan except you identify your head to the keyboard. As it’s likely you’ll presumably presumably well presumably also imagine, that approach the laptop laptop additionally will get rather warm.

To learn the approach hot it will get, we connected four temperature sensors to the laptop laptop and recorded its temperature whereas running 3DMark’s Time Gaze stress test. The test loops Time Gaze 20 conditions, which is ready to remaining 10 minutes. It additionally measures for balance and may perhaps presumably presumably well accrued flag you if physique charges fluctuate by extra than 3 percent from bolt to bolt. The WASD keys and the palm leisure had been 82 degrees or much less with the backside of the laptop laptop getting the freshest.

We did hit about a snags whereas temperature attempting out. The followers would decrease in velocity and never streak up again, which brought on the laptop laptop to reach near unpleasant phases of 144 degrees near the bezel and on its underside. XPG officials talked about this can even doubtlessly be a driver topic, that may perhaps presumably presumably also like been launched from Home windows Update. The producer suggested we reset the laptop laptop after which strive and replicate the difficulty. After resetting the laptop laptop to its manufacturing facility settings, we had been unable to reproduce the topic again even after installing the drivers and updates from Home windows Update.

The principle purchase away is that in spite of the Xenia 15 KC being extremely mild below smartly-liked exhaust, the temperatures are accrued fairly cheap.

Conclusion

There’s plenty of savor about the Xenia 15 KC, but it unquestionably’s no longer perfect. The originate is a microscopic bit generic procuring for us and doesn’t stand out savor the MSI GS66 Stealth, Acer Predator Helios 300, or Alienware X15. All three of those laptops are heavier, despite the undeniable reality that–with about a of them critically heavier at 5 pounds. The principle differentiator is moral how mild the Xenia 15 KC runs. As we talked about, we’re moral so veteran to the followers spinning up on a skinny gaming laptop laptop so with out problems, that we legitimately wondered if something became execrable with this laptop laptop. We’ve moral never considered the kind of skinny, unparalleled laptop laptop bolt so mild. Optimistically that’s something other vendors replicate as but every other of chasing the longest bar on a benchmark chart. If you occur to savor to love a gentle, gentle-weight gaming laptop laptop, the Xenia 15 KC is laborious to beat.