A Closer Look

I definitely like the clean, crisp lines with the matte finish. Rather than going with a rather garish gaming branding, XPG kept it simple, using a completely black design that uses the difference between matte and glossy finishes to highlight their logo while sticking with an understated look. A quick flip to the bottom shows the unit is heavily vented, which should help with cooling; however, the feet are a bit short in terms of height. Making them a bit thicker would have been nice considering the power-hungry components inside.


The front has an ARGB LED bar front and center you can control via the built-in software. Other than that, you won't find anything else of interest in the front. On the left side is where we start seeing some connectivity options, including USB 3.0 Type A, a headphone jack, microphone jack, and a Kensington security slot. The only other interesting characteristic of note is the air vent for the cooling system.


Moving to the rear of the XPG Xenia 15, you will notice two fairly large exhaust ports and some more connectivity options. Going from left to right, there is a Thunderbolt port, HDMI, Ethernet, and, finally, the power port. Last but not least is the right side, which has a card reader and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports.


The keyboard is illuminated, and its lighting can be controlled in the XPG software, along with the lighting for the front LED bar. In regards to the keyboard itself, it uses optical mechanical switches which, while not the same as your standard mechanical switch, still have a nice tactile feel. I found the keys actuate with just about as much force as those on my Cherry MX red mechanical keyboard. In general, the keys feel a bit stiffer than Cherry MX red keys, but are still relatively easy to press down. Overall, the keyboard, while not on par with a proper mechanical keyboard, still feels quite good, remaining comfortable to type on over longer sessions. As for the touch pad, it is slightly off-center and uses a glass top, which is quite nice, and better yet, it worked well out of the box. It felt accurate and responsive with regular browsing and office work. Its placement also didn't interrupt my typing with the odd activation from my thumb or palm, which is always a plus. As for the webcam, it is an HD 720p offering that has been put into the middle of the display's top bezel for good measure. In terms of image quality, it leaves a lot to be desired as the image is extremely grainy unless you have exceptional lighting, and even then it's not exactly something to write home about. It does, however, support Windows Hello. The power button is on the right side, along with a secondary button that lets you switch between various performance and power profiles, including Battery Saver, Balanced, and Performance, which also ties into the XPG software.