Introduction

ADATA and XPG, ADATA's enthusiast gaming-focused sub-brand, have made significant strides since XPG was formed back in 2008. ADATA was originally a vendor of value-oriented memory and SSDs, but has with time climbed to a position of prominence, and serves a growing PC gaming market with the formation of XPG, which had the company really kick things into high gear by offering performance-focused memory and SSDs while also expanding into cases, power supplies, keyboards, and now laptops with the Xenia 15 series I will be reviewing today.


Equipped with an Intel i7-9750H 6c/12t CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, the XPG Xenia 15 I will be looking at today is the more affordable option of the two models they have released. They also chose to use their own memory and SSDs with these units, which may give them a leg up over other OEM designs. But with that said, this is a traditional 15.6" model, so no touch screens or other gimmicks are included. Instead, the whole package as delivered is a solid mid-range gaming laptop for $1399. Considering it also packs a 1080P 144 Hz IPS panel for the display, I wouldn't say it is a bad deal for such a compact unit, at least on paper. However, before I heap any praise on the XPG Xenia 15, a closer look is definitely necessary, including at its internals because with these specifications and its compact size, I imagine it is likely to get a bit toasty as well.

Packaging and Contents

The packaging is rather sharp with its red and black color scheme, but otherwise quite simple. It has the XPG logo front and center, with "XENIA 15" designating the unit that is inside. Moving over to the left side, we see various certifications and bar codes, but nothing else.


Taking a look at the backside, it is exactly the same as the front, with no other details. Much like the left side, the right side is very similar apart from a QR code, which makes for some rather plain packaging, but there is nothing wrong with that. After all, it's the product inside that matters.


Upon opening the box, users will find the laptop inside a black cloth bag, situated between some foam inserts for protection. The power brick and cord are in a smaller box beneath the laptop.


All you need is included, and you won't find any real fluff here, just your typical pieces of PR material detailing some of the laptop's features, user guides, the warranty leaflet, charger, and power cable.

• Laptop
• User guides
• Warranty info
• Support contact info
• Battery charger and cable

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.

A look Inside

Using my trusty iFixit kit, opening the Xenia 15 up was a cakewalk. Simply remove the screws along the bottom, which were thankfully not hidden behind any warranty sticker baloney. Next, gently work the plastic tabs along the edge free, which will have the bottom plate eventually pop right off. Overall, the internal layout is pretty damn good, with users having easy access to various ports and hardware, which is always great to see. The cooler appears to be quite beefy as well, which is good, but we will put that to the test soon.


The laptop features two M.2 slots, which allows for some nice storage options or further upgrades in the future. Granted, the unit comes with a 1 TB NVMe SSD to start with, but having the ability to add another is still a nice touch. Meanwhile, the WiFi adapter is Intel's AX200NGW, which has support for 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.0.


The XPG Xenia 15 uses 2x 16 GB (32 GB in total) of ADATA 2666 MHz memory with CL 19-19-19 43 timings. Meanwhile, the SSD is XPG's very own SX8200 Pro 1 TB. Finally, the battery is rated at 94 Whr, which should provide plenty of battery life, especially if you tweak the power profiles.