XPG Xenia 15 KC (2021) review: Huge performance gains and some new features make this high-end laptop a winner
Source: Windows Central
ADATA'south venture into the globe of Ultrabooks and gaming laptops that began a couple of years ago with the XPG brand has delivered us a few excellent devices. I absolutely loved the XPG Xenia 14 equally a lightweight productivity choice, and the original XPG Xenia fifteen (2020) gaming laptop was an excellent foundation on which the company could build.
I at present take some of the visitor'due south continued progress in-hand for testing; the XPG Xenia 15 KC for 2022 is back with updated operation hardware, fresh ports, a new display, and more. I've been using it for a couple of weeks to run across where it excels and whether or not it's worth your money.
Big changes within
XPG Xenia 15 KC (2021)
Bottom line: XPG's Xenia xv KC, refreshed for 2022, builds on the stiff foundation nosotros offset saw in the 2022 Xenia fifteen. It tin can absolutely shred modern games thanks to the provided functioning hardware, and everything looks crisp and colorful on the QHD brandish. Actress features, like Thunderbolt 4, IR photographic camera, HDMI ii.ane, PCIe 4.0 SSD, and per-key RGB lighting for the optical mechanical keyboard, are wholly appreciated.
Pros
- Tons of performance
- Speedy RAM and SSD are upgradeable
- QHD display with 165Hz refresh charge per unit
- Included Intel software is a pace up
- IR camera, Thunderbolt 4, HDMI ii.1
Cons
- Fans run loud under full load
- Primal actuation is sometimes finicky
- Some throttling due to excess oestrus
XPG Xenia 15 KC: Price, availability, and specs
Source: Windows Fundamental
XPG supplied Windows Central with a review unit of the Xenia 15 KC gaming laptop refreshed for 2022. This can be considered the 2nd generation of the laptop, and it comes with quite a few upgrades. Our review unit of measurement has within an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H processor (CPU), delivering considerably better performance than the 9th Gen Intel Core i7 in the 2022 model.
The 2022 model again has dual 16GB stick of RAM for a total of 32GB, but it's been upgraded to DDR4-3200MHz from DDR4-2666MHz. RAM is upgradeable after purchase. Every bit for storage, XPG has moved to its own Gammix S70 PCIe 4.0 bulldoze sized at 1TB. There'due south an extra Chiliad.2 slot bachelor if you'd like to add together storage, and the factory-installed drive is accessible for upgrades.
Graphics take been bumped upwards to a NVIDIA RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, an upgrade over the RTX 2070 Max-Q carte in the 2022 model. I last major difference is the display. Y'all can now bask a 1440p movie with a 165Hz refresh rate, up from 1080p with a 144Hz refresh charge per unit.
This model costs about $2,400 and is bachelor at Amazon. This is most $one,000 more than than the previous model, though the upgrades to performance hardware, display, and features don't come without a cost.
Following are the exact specs as plant in the review unit.
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| Bone | Windows 10 Habitation |
| Processor | 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H 8 cores, 16 threads |
| RAM | 32GB (2x16GB) XPG DDR4-3200MHz |
| Graphics | NVIDIA RTX 3070 Laptop |
| Storage | 1TB G.2 NVMe PCIe iv.0 XPG Gammix S70 Extra M.2 slot |
| Display | 15.6 inches 2560x1440 (QHD) 165Hz refresh rate IPS, Matte |
| Ports | Thunderbolt 4 Three USB-A 3.ii (Gen two) HDMI 2.one Ethernet SD card reader 3.5mm audio |
| Audio | Dual speakers |
| Wireless | Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Photographic camera | Front end-facing 720p IR camera for Windows Hello |
| Keyboard | Optical mechanical Per-cardinal RGB |
| Touchpad | Precision |
| Bombardment | 94Wh |
| Dimensions | xiv x 9.two 10 0.8 inches (356mm 10 234mm x 21mm) |
| Weight | 4.2 pounds (i.94kg) |
| Color | Black |
| Textile | Magnesium alloy |
Similar build, new features
XPG Xenia fifteen KC: Design and features
Source: Windows Central
The Xenia 15 KC (2021) is a lot similar the previous 2022 model. It'due south still using a Tongfang reference pattern for the chassis, with a matte black finish and magnesium alloy construction. At that place's not a whole lot of wink, just that's OK for a lot of people. An XPG logo on the hat and a customizable RGB light bar along the front end edge are the most you'll get when the laptop is closed. It yet weighs in at around four pounds and has the same dimensions every bit the older model.
The USB-C port has been upgraded to Thunderbolt 4 for better performance, and all three USB-A ports are now 3.2 (Gen 2). HDMI two.1 is at present included for better video output, and you lot withal get Ethernet, 3.5mm audio, and an SD carte reader. The more permanent ports — HDMI, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, and ability — withal reside on the back edge of the laptop for easier cable management, with USB-A, 3.5mm audio, and SD card reader living on the sides. For added security, there's a Kensington lock slot.
Source: Windows Central
Opening the laptop reveals an optical mechanical keyboard with per-cardinal RGB lighting that's customizable through onboard Intel NUC Software Studio. Information technology'due south essentially the same keyboard as on the 2022 model, and I still enjoy it for gaming and productivity work. Full-size arrow keys, an Fn-attainable number pad, and dedicated nav keys are all appreciated. After spending quite a bit of time with the keyboard, I did discover that you really need to strike the center of some of the larger keys (Shift, Tab, Space) to become them to actuate. It's non bad, but it takes some getting used to.
As for the Precision touchpad, it's a corking alternative to a gaming mouse when you need to become some work done. It's large, the glass surface is smoothen, and it tracks well. There's even a double-tap toggle in the corner that allows you lot to quickly enable and disable the touchpad when gaming.
Source: Windows Central
There'south still no camera shutter for extra privacy, but an IR sensor for Windows Hello makes a return. This isn't something you see on a lot of gaming laptops, but it is appreciated. The forepart-facing 720p camera does an OK job for standard video conferencing, but if you lot're planning on a career streaming video games, something from our best webcam roundup will fare much ameliorate.
A single speaker is situated on both sides of the laptop. Instead of existence strictly downwardly-firing, the chassis now has actress cutouts on the side to help get sound up and abroad from the laptop. The speakers piece of work fine for casual gaming when not every step needs to be heard clearly, but don't wait to be wowed. Fan noise does interfere with audio when the laptop is nether total load.
Overall, I nonetheless like the design of this laptop. It's understated, it'due south fairly light considering what's all independent within, and the port layout is smart. Ane thing I don't like is the inclusion of side frazzle vents; they'll blow hot air onto your mouse hand whether y'all're a lefty or a righty. I don't retrieve removing them is an option, equally the laptop is too thin for simply a couple of exhaust vents along the back side by side to the ports. Information technology's something you'll accept to put up with when cramming as much performance into a thin body.
More than pixels
XPG Xenia 15 KC: Display
Source: Windows Central
The Xenia xv KC now sports more pixels for its fifteen.6-inch display with a bump up to 2560x1440 (QHD) from 1920x1080 (FHD). The IPS console has a matte cease that does an excellent job of cut out glare, and the fairly slim bezel helps give information technology a modern look. The 16:nine attribute ratio is a bit dried, but it's notwithstanding what most people prefer for gaming.
The Xenia 15's QHD display is a step upwardly for anybody who wants something more crisp than 1080p.
NVIDIA's G-Sync technology would exist a big improver, but, unfortunately, it's still omitted. You can connect the laptop to a M-Sync external display for all the benefits, so check out our drove of the best gaming monitors if you lot're looking for something to pair with the Xenia fifteen. The refresh rate is set at 165Hz, doable in many games at 1440p with the RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. Games look groovy on the display, and at that place are a number of color presets available in Intel's NUC software for farther customization.
Furthermore, Intel's Graphics Control Center allows for per-color tweaks for brightness, too every bit saturation, hue, and contrast sliders to help you get the exact flick you want. The brandish looked OK out of the box, but after a couple minutes of tweaking I had it looking a lot better.
Measuring brightness, I got back 338 nits at peak and just 8 nits at the lowest point. This helps with gaming later hours when you don't want to burn your retinas. As for colour accurateness, measuring with a SpyderX Pro colorimeter revealed 100% sRGB, 78% AdobeRGB, and 81% DCI-P3. These are excellent numbers that result in a great motion picture no matter the game you're playing.
As for response fourth dimension, it sits somewhere around the 6ms to 7ms mark. That might non work for competitive gaming where reaction time is crucial, simply otherwise it should exist fine for nigh gamers.
Hot and loud
XPG Xenia 15 KC: Gaming
Source: Windows Cardinal
Intel'south NUC software on the Xenia 15 KC is a big step upwards from the proprietary Prime software that was on the 2022 Xenia 15 model. It offers more control over the system with more stability and a more intuitive UI. Within you lot can conform battery charge limits, brandish presets (with color, contrast, and brightness sliders), and keyboard and lite bar RGB colors and presets. In that location'south too quite a fleck of functioning tuning available, though don't wait easy overclocking without getting into the BIOS.
The Xenia xv KC has a smart switch next to the power button that lets you lot toggle power profiles on the fly without having to utilise an app. Information technology's a handy addition, but I was curious to see if XPG had implemented any sort of deeper ability direction to help deal with thermal throttling, something the 2022 model suffered from. The Lenovo Legion v Pro, for example, intelligently balances ability to the CPU and GPU to prevent thermal throttling. You still go reduced system performance, but at to the lowest degree the PC knows what's going on and can better deal with it to maximize performance.
The Xenia 15 KC'due south Balanced ability mode offers a ton of performance with no thermal throttling.
With the laptop on Ac ability and set to Operation mode (though with fans set to Standard fashion to reduce noise), I ran a 15-minute stress examination with AIDA64 using both the CPU and GPU. The CPU averaged 87 degrees Celsius, pulling in about 45W at a clock speed of around 3.2GHz. The GPU averaged 87 degrees Celsius and pulled in about 92W at a clock speed of about 1.58GHz.
With fans running on Standard mode, I measured nigh 54 decibels of sound. On Operation fan mode, that climbs to about 64 decibels. Non exactly quiet. In this exam, AIDA64 measured constant throttling between 5% and 30% due to rut. In that location wasn't a huge change between Balanced and Performance fan modes in terms of thermal throttling.
XPG's Balanced ability mode cuts down on heat, but it also saps some of the laptop's ability. After letting the laptop absurd downwardly, I ran the same stress test with fans set to Standard and power fix to Balanced. The CPU averaged 78 degrees Celsius and ran at 36W with a clock of about three.1GHz. The GPU averaged 80 degrees Celsius while pulling in 70W with a 1.21GHz clock speed. As for fan noise, information technology striking about 47 decibels. At that place was absolutely no thermal throttling in this test; Balanced really means balanced.
Despite the throttling in Performance mode — which plenty of modern gaming laptops suffer from — the Xenia 15 KC is a true performer in benchmarks and existent-world gameplay. Notice how it compares to the Razer Blade 15, Bract 14, and Lenovo Legion 5 Pro. I ran these benchmarks using Performance way with fans set to Balanced to reduce noise.
Actual gaming operation is just every bit impressive. With adequately robust ray tracing abilities thanks to the NVIDIA RTX GPU and DLSS compatibility with enough of games, you're going to become a satisfying gaming experience. The QHD display looks quite crisp, and you can always scale down in resolution if you'd similar a amend framerate. I tested a number of demanding modern games to see how the Xenia xv KC fares in existent-globe scenarios.
Annotation that in all tests I maxed the in-game settings and played at the native QHD resolution. DLSS is specified per game. I ran the first gear up of tests with the laptop on Performance mode (for both hardware and fans).
- Far Weep 5: 93 FPS average (108 max, 81 min)
- Red Dead Redemption ii: 66.6 FPS average (85 max, 34 min, DLSS Auto)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 95 FPS average (DLSS, DX12)
I tested over again with the laptop set to Balanced and fans set to Standard to see the divergence in existent-world gameplay functioning.
- Far Cry 5: 84 FPS (98 max, 77 min)
- Ruby Dead Redemption 2: 59.5 FPS average (96 max, 28 min, DLSS Auto)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 87 FPS average (DLSS, DX12)
Equally you can see from the above results, at that place's not a huge dip in operation if you choose to run the laptop on Balanced mode with quieter fans. If you're wearing a headset and don't care about noise yous can always eke every terminal frame out of the hardware, but a much quieter (and cooler) feel isn't going to ruin your fun at all.
Huge 94Wh battery
XPG Xenia 15 KC: Performance and battery
Source: Windows Central
Battery life in the Xenia fifteen (2020) wasn't spectacular, and you shouldn't expect whatever miracles here either with the 2022 version. The large 94Wh battery lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes in PCMark 10'south Modernistic Part rundown exam, with the screen fix to fifty% effulgence and the power contour set to Counterbalanced (aka Windows x Better Performance). No complaints with this event, merely it'south not out of the ordinary.
Upgradeable SODIMM RAM and two G.2 SSD slots volition help keep this laptop relevant longer into the future.
You could drop down to Battery Saver fashion if yous're only going about productivity piece of work, which would no doubt boost battery life by another hour or two. Killing the RGB lighting and enabling Intel's enhanced power savings pick in the Command Centre app would as well benefit hither.
I also tested gaming battery life with PCMark'due south Gaming rundown test. With fifty% screen brightness and the Intel power profile fix to Balanced, the battery managed 1 hour and 53 minutes. This is pretty standard for a gaming laptop; if you're planning on having some fun while mobile, be sure to bring the Ac adapter.
The bottom panel of the laptop is easy to remove with a Philips screwdriver; once gone it reveals the dual-fan setup, sizable heat pipes, and upgradeable hardware. There are two M.2 slots available, i filled from the manufacturing plant and the other ready for an upgrade. The two SODIMM RAM slots are front and center as well for piece of cake upgrades, equally is the single M.2 slot used for the Wi-Fi six network carte.
I ran some full general benchmarks to see how the Xenia 15 KC fares for productivity work. Notice how fast the PCIe 4.0 SSD is compared to other laptops we've tested with PCIe 3.0 drives.
Heated boxing
XPG Xenia 15 KC: Competition
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Cardinal
The Xenia 15 KC reminds me a lot of the Razer Blade xv. The RGB mechanical-optical keyboard, the fairly thin matte blackness chassis, and the super performance are all comparable. You don't get the same high-level custom design (XPG is using a reference chassis later all), merely it's the operation and price that a lot of people will look at. In that regard, the Xenia xv KC certainly competes, as you can see in the performance graphs in the previous section. A Bract 15 with similar specs — though with 16GB of RAM and a PCIe iii.0 SSD — costs about $200 more than than the Xenia 15 KC.
The Razer Blade fourteen is a slightly smaller option with AMD hardware. A model with powerful Ryzen ix 5900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and 14-inch QHD display with 165Hz refresh rate costs about $2,200. Chalk that upwards to the lower cost for AMD systems.
Lenovo's Legion 5 Pro is a larger option with a 16-inch display with 16:ten attribute ratio. A model with AMD Ryzen vii 5800H CPU, NVIDIA RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, QHD+ display with 165Hz refresh rate, 2TB SSD, and 16GB of RAM currently costs about $2,080 at Lenovo. That's a great deal, but Lenovo's prices fluctuate often.
Finally, the HP Omen 15 is a fantastic option if yous're looking to continue prices down. A model with AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 15-inch QHD display with 165Hz refresh charge per unit, 512GB SSD, and 16GB of RAM costs nigh $ane,700. You lot won't get quite every bit much power out of the RTX 3060, simply saving $700 might just exist worth it.
Be certain to take a look at our drove of the best gaming laptops if none of these are quite what you're looking for.
Building on a strong foundation
Should you buy the XPG Xenia 15 KC?
Source: Windows Key
Who it's for
- Those who desire a ton of high-stop functioning with NVIDIA DLSS and ray tracing.
- Those who adopt the crisp look of a 1440p (QHD) display.
- Those who like the feel of a mechanical optical keyboard (and the look of per-primal RGB lighting).
- Those who can spend more $2,000 on a new laptop.
Who it isn't for
- Those who don't mind a 1080p (FHD) brandish for amend framerates and lower cost.
- Those who need a productivity laptop with lengthy battery life.
- Those who are looking to stick to a tight budget.
The Xenia 15 KC for 2022 builds profoundly on the original model we outset saw last year. The 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H and NVIDIA RTX 3070 Laptop GPU shred, and though there's some thermal throttling in the uncapped Functioning mode, the Balanced power setting does a nifty job of keeping things cool without harming perfomance in whatsoever considerable manner.
A PCIe 4.0 SSD isn't something you find in a lot of laptops, and the incredible speed is appreciated. Load times and transfers are non an issue. You can upgrade the SSD (or add a second bulldoze to an additional M.2 slot) and yous can upgrade the dual-channel SODIMM RAM with relative ease after removing the bottom panel. The chassis itself doesn't really stand out in any meaningful style, which a lot of people tin appreciate. It'south fairly lightweight, information technology'due south sparse, and information technology has ports along the back for easier cable management. Thunderbolt 4 is a smashing addition, equally is HDMI 2.one.
The optical mechanical keyboard has a satisfying feel and sound, plus the per-key RGB lighting gives the laptop some flair. There is some discrepancy in actuation, but I was able to get used to the pressure level required after a few days. Not many gaming laptops bother with security measures, but the Xenia xv brings an IR camera for Windows How-do-you-do and a Kensington lock slot.
Gaming on the QHD display is smooth thanks to the 165Hz refresh charge per unit. Color accurate in the sRGB range, and in that location are plenty of tweaks available via the onboard software. The response fourth dimension might not be low enough for some competitive gamers, but otherwise you should bask looking at it each time you open up the lid.
The Xenia fifteen KC'southward price is competitive with other high-end options out at that place, and its performance, equally is evident in our testing, tin can certainly keep up (or fifty-fifty surpass) more expensive laptops. If you lot're planning on spending more than than $two,000 on a new gaming laptop, definitely give this 1 some serious thought.
Large changes inside
XPG Xenia fifteen KC
Bottom line: The Xenia xv KC competes with loftier-cease gaming laptops in terms of price and performance. Its feature set is quite generous, and while it does encounter some throttling when left wide open, the Counterbalanced power mode keeps things in check without sacrificing much operation. If you're looking for a high-end gaming laptop, this one is definitely worth considering.
We may earn a committee for purchases using our links. Learn more.
UH OH
An internet connection will soon be required when setting up Windows 11 Pro
Microsoft has announced that afterwards this year, users volition be required to connect to the internet and sign-in with a Microsoft Account during the out of box setup experience on Windows 11 Pro. Microsoft has already been enforcing this requirement on Windows xi Home since launch last October, and Windows 11 Pro is now expected to follow suit soon.
I like 'em big ... I like 'em chunky
These are the all-time gaming mice for folks with large hands
A bang-up gaming mouse is important for anyone looking to get into PC gaming. However, if you lot have large hands, you may struggle to find a mouse that feels comfortable for you. Thankfully, at that place are plenty of plus-sized mouse options on the market.
Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/xpg-xenia-15-kc-2021-review
Posted by: lindseysamot1957.blogspot.com
0 Response to "XPG Xenia 15 KC (2021) review: Huge performance gains and some new features make this high-end laptop a winner"
Post a Comment