Schenker XMG Apex 15 Gaming Laptop Rocks 16-Core Ryzen 9 3950X CPU, RTX 2070 At Under 6 Lbs
There are a multitude of laptop options out there, and if you are willing to throw budget pricing and slim for factors right out the window, the desktop replacement category is where you will find the absolute best raw performance. Driving that point home, a German PC maker has introduced a meaty gaming laptop outfitted with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X processor.
Yes folks, that is a desktop CPU. Not only that, the Ryzen 9 3950X is AMD's highest end 'mainstream' desktop CPU. Despite the classification, there is nothing mainstream about the specs. It's a burly CPU with 16 cores and 32 threads of compute muscle, clocked at 3.5GHz to 4.7GHz, with a generous 64MB of L3 cache.
You can read our review of the Ryzen 9 3950X, which earned an Editor's Choice award for outstanding multi-threaded performance and strong single-core performance.
Schenker offers the high-end part in its new XMG Apex 15 laptop. However, you not obligated to pony up for the top CPU option. A baseline configuration consists of the following...
- Display: 15.6-inch Full HD, IPS, 144Hz
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- RAM: 8GB DDR4-2666
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
- Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250GB M.2 SSD
- Wireless: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 + Bluetooth 5.0
- Webcam: HD (Windows Hello compatible)
- Ports: 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 1x mini DisplayPort 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x 3.5mm headphone-out, 1x 3.5mm microphone-in, 1x RJ45 (LAN), 1x microSD
- Battery: 62 Whr
Pricing runs €1,337 (har har), which is around $1,466 in US currency. Upgrade options abound, and if you want to pair a Ryzen 9 3950X with a GeForce RTX 2070, the price jumps to €2,254,01 (~$2,472). And if you really want to really deck this thing out, you can also bump the RAM to 32GB and bump the storage up to a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB SSD. Once you factor in Windows 10 Pro (an OS is not included in the baseline config), the price climbs to €3,326 (~3,648).
There is no option to outfit this laptop with a GeForce RTX 2080, which feels like a missed opportunity for a desktop replacement. Still, these are strong specifications, to say the least.
As you might imagine, the laptop is a bit on the chunky side by today's standards, measuring 361 (W) x 258 (D) x 32.5 (H) mm (14.21 x 10.16 x 1.28 inches). It's surprisingly 'light' for a desktop replacement, though, weighing in at 2.6 kg (around 5.73 pounds).
For anyone who is interested, the XMG Apex 15 is available now through Bestware.
