Schenker XMG Unveils Enthusiast "Raptor Lake" and RTX 4090 Powered Mobile Powerhouses

[btarunr]

German boutique gaming notebook and mobile workstation builder Schenker XMG unveiled its latest line of mobile powerhouses that combine 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake-HX" mobile processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada Lovelace" Laptop GPUs. The 2023 XMG Neo 17 packs an 8P+16E Core i9-13900HX processor, two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU with 175 W power limit, and a 17-inch 16:10 2560 x 1600 pixels display that supports G-SYNC. The machine supports NVIDIA Advanced Optimus power management. Its centered keyboard features Cherry MX ULP Tactile mechanical keyswitches. The XMG Neo 17 is designed to provide a power-packed mobile workstation and gaming experience on the move. There is a slightly smaller version of the same notebook, the XMG Neo 15, but with a 15.6-inch display, but the same hardware.

While the XMG Neo 17 is positioned more like a mobile workstation, the 2023 XMG Ultra 17 is thoroughly wooing competitive gamers and PC enthusiasts, with its RGB LED-illuminated keyboard, a meatier heatsink designed for extended gameplay sessions, and an overall racy product design. Under the hood is similar hardware to the Neo, with an i9-13900HX 8P+16E processor, two DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM slots, an M.2 NVMe Gen 5 SSD, two Thunderbolt 4 interfaces, and that sweet GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU with 175 W PL. the XMG Neo has an interesting air+liquid hybrid cooling solution that is detachable.



On its own the XMG Neo 15 and XMG Neo 17 can run air-cooled, but at higher temperatures, which could lower performance. XMG designed an interesting detachable liquid cooling solution for when you need consistently high performance. A pair of quick-disconnects run liquid-cooling coolant through the main cooling mechanism through a liquid-coolant heatpipe that makes contact with the key vapor-coolant heatpipes. This liquid channel goes to an external contraption that contains a pump, a radiator, and a coolant reservoir.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[b1k3rdude]

Woah, I think that the second only time I have seen a laptop with the ability to connect to external liquid cooling

 

[Cheeseball]

@XMG Support

Any news of Eluktronics working with you (or Tongfang) to see if this will be coming US-side?

 

[kiddagoat]

I see that tripod mounting on the GPU and CPU..... gives me Alienware 17R4 vibes..... Hopefully it manages to keep proper contact with the dies....

 

[mechtech]

ooooooooo

A laptop that can keep my tea warm or make me a tea while I game!!!

Sold!!

 

[Mordwho]

Woah, I think that the second only time I have seen a laptop with the ability to connect to external liquid cooling

This is the exact same chassis as in the video. Both are TongFang laptops being sold under other brands. MicroCenter carries these as the "Maingear Vector Pro" 15 and 17 as well, but they haven't included the liquid cooling hardware so probably ownt this generation either. If you just want the most hardware for the money, the Maingear version has been a ridiculously good buy at microcenter lately (I saw a 12900/3080ti/64GB/2TB 15" model for under $1600 last month, with reports you could get them to sell it to you for as low as $1400 at some stores).

 

[iiee]

The problems with Clevo laptop in recent years are:-
1) limit of only two m.2 slots.
2) miserable keyboard layout.
3) no thunderbolt dock that can turn on/off the laptop with lid closed (for desktop replacement mode)

 

[XMG Support]

Hi everyone,

thanks to TechPowerUp for showing by our demo area on CES and for writing this article.
We'd like to reply to a few comments.

Any news of Eluktronics working with you (or Tongfang) to see if this will be coming US-side?

We can't speak for Eluktronics but we met them on CES and I find it highly likely that they will bring this chassis with water cooling.

I see that tripod mounting on the GPU and CPU..... gives me Alienware 17R4 vibes..... Hopefully it manages to keep proper contact with the dies....

The mounting layout is mandated by the silicon vendor.
The GPU mount in the pictures has 4 screws, so it's not a tripod.
But indeed, mounting pressure is always a challenge, especially because you also have to make contact with VRAM and MOSFETs.
But this is indeed tested sufficiently in R&D and control runs by comparing average die vs. hotspot sensor temps.
XMG NEO with Raptor Lake is using Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut liquid metal on the CPU and GPU die. The application of thermal compound is intentionally slightly thicker than what you would use on a desktop CPU and a barrier material around the die (compressed foam) prevents it from leaking or pumping out.

1) limit of only two m.2 slots.

XMG ULTRA 17 (Clevo X170KM) from 2021 had four (4) m.2 slots.
XMG ULTRA 17 (Clevo X370SNx), planned for late Q1 2023, will have three (3) m.2 slots, one of which will be PCIe Gen5.

2) miserable keyboard layout.

In what way?
The keyboard layout in Clevo is always rectangle shaped to allow for greater modularity. Removable parts, consistent layouts across multiple chassis.

3) no thunderbolt dock that can turn on/off the laptop with lid closed (for desktop replacement mode)

The ability to power on/off a laptop through USB-C peripherals is not standardized in the USB-C or Thunderbolt protocols.
Vendors who build such a solution are doing this in a proprietary way, being only compatible with their own branded peripherals.
In the ODM/LOEM eco-system, there is a tendency to only use officially standardized solutions. We have already suggested to Intel to adopt such a feature into the standardization for future USB-C revisions.

Note bene:

• This features is not simply a firmware hack. It requires additional traces on the laptop's mainboard to connect the power button to the USB-C interface.
• Mice and keyboard are able to wake up a laptop through a USB-C dock from Modern Standby. But Modern Standby comes with its own set of reliability issues.

We would suggest:

1. Open lid to press power button.
2. Don't operate laptop with lid closed (see this FAQ article).

Cheers,
Tom Fichtner
Product & Community Manager