Schenker XMG Neo 17 (Tongfang GM7ZG7S) laptop review: El Dorado tuning

[Redaktion]

While other manufacturers don't disclose the graphics card's TDP, not only does Schenker list the corresponding value on its homepage, but it even lets customers adjust the TDP via software (at least in the case of the Neo 17). However, at a maximum of 140 watts, the RTX 3070 laptop that we tested produces a hefty amount of noise.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-Neo-17-Tongfang-GM7ZG7S-laptop-review-El-Dorado-tuning.517577.0.html

[romi]

are the benchmarks done with optimus on or off?

[dude what]

Don't care about battery life on a desktop replacement, this one looks pretty damn good specs wise, shame about the loud noise.

[Florian Glaser]

are the benchmarks done with optimus on or off?

Optimus was off for the benchmarks.

[ThinkPad AMD Ryzen 9]

Would love to understand how it compares to the Lenovo Legion 5, 5 Pro and Slim 7 (all running with AMD Ryzen) and their RTX 3080.

I found the Legion 5 (AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, RTX 2060) to be audible, but not a real issue when using Apple AirPods Pro during gaming or productivity sessions espesially because the fans are relatively low pitches and do not have the pulsating behaviour of the Asus G14, G15 series.

[Drake]

The fact that the new Neo17 is noisy in Overboost-Mode... that's fine. What I somehow missed in several reviews/test is the noise-emission with a predefined fps-cap of 162fps (fps are often capt at max. Hz of Display minus 3 because of tearing / input-lag) and the mentioned video-presets of the given game.
Another interesting scenario would be the performance I still have if I switch to a "Silent-Fan-Mode" (So I can play in silence and don't need a headset).

Is there any information about Freesync / adaptive Sync concerning the Display ?

The "Cons" in the summary seem a little bit too harsh for me.

The battery-life is in my opinion not a real problem. The Notebook is focused on maximum performance and I don't think that someone who will buy it will often use it on battery.

The noise in "Overboost-Mode" is not that big of a deal because it seems that you can still have a lot of performance even if you tweak the CPU/GPU to a decent volume (e.g. 35db or something. The Control-Center-Software seems absolutely capable of that kind of tuning).

Missing Thunderbolt-Support is not a problem of the Neo17 / XMG. As far as I understand, Thunderbolt isn't available on every AMD/Cezanne Laptop.

[Matt C]

I second the request for more information using different performance settings.

This is the #1 bit of info I want to know to inform my next laptop purchase. If I knock the TDP down to the minimum supported, what short of performance/noise level am I looking at?

[_MT_]

Don't care about battery life on a desktop replacement, this one looks pretty damn good specs wise, shame about the loud noise.

While it might not be a deal-breaker and it's understandable when desktop components are used, it's really hard to excuse in this day and age with laptop components. I mean, 5800H is supposed to be very, very efficient and it still managed less than 5 hours idling on minimum brightness, no Wi-Fi with dGPU disabled (automatic switching on). How the hell do you excuse that? Poor optimization? It should be just sipping power. Even with the less than ideal battery capacity. It's not like it's a huge device. It's quite a bit lighter and thinner than my first business laptop.

[_TM_]

Is there a way to limit the fans' noise level to 50dB?

[Roenee]

All-in with this puppy despite the fact that you're sitting next to a starting jet. I like the massive amount of power. Good job guys you really deserve it.

[Tind]

Does this support Freesync / adaptive sync ? If yes what is the vrr range for the 240 hz panel ? 48-240 hz ?
Does this laptop have MUX switch to disable optimus ?
Does this laptop have lcd overdrive factory activated which causes overshoot ? If yes, can it be disabled by the user ?

[Iñaki Núñez]

Slow card reader isn't a con??

[JohnnyD]

The noise in "Overboost-Mode" is not that big of a deal because it seems that you can still have a lot of performance even if you tweak the CPU/GPU to a decent volume (e.g. 35db or something. The Control-Center-Software seems absolutely capable of that kind of tuning).

Are you serious? In Overboost mode fan noise is 20(!!) db louder than your prefered 35 db! Considering the fact that 10 db is subjectively double the noise, Overboost would be 4 times louder!
Which kind of performance do you expect with so heavily decreased fan speeds? Tetris?

I would be fine with kind of loud fans in Overboost too, because I would also reduce performance a bit for lower fan noise. But the problem is, the Neo 17 gets extremely loud AND hot. So you have to reduce performance heavily to get acceptable fan noise levels and temperatures.
The Neo 17's cooling is rather cheap. The comensate low quality with extrem noise.