CPC REALBENCH RESULTS
As for the trackpad, it’s large with a responsive surface and
two crisp, shallow buttons. It works well for desktop duties but,
as ever, it shouldn’t be relied on for gaming – you’ll want a proper
mouse for that.
XMG offers loads of configuration options. Money can be
saved by dropping down to a GTX 1660 Ti GPU, or opting for
lesser memory and storage allocations. Conversely, it’s possible
to add more memory and storage, and improve networking.
Longer warranties are also available.
Performance
The cut-back RTX 2070 is reliably quick. It ran our test games at
1080p with minimum frame rates between 47fps and 61fps,
even with ray tracing enabled. There’s enough power to play
triple-A games and to play any esports title at 144fps – handy for
the 144Hz screen. You’ll only get triple-A games at triple-figure
frame rates if you tone down GPU settings though.
The XMG is a few frames behind other machines with the
RTX 2070 Max-Q,andaroundtenframesbehindlaptops
withthe full-power RTX 2070. So, while it’s solid, there’s room
for improvement.
The CPU is consistently at the top table when it comes to
i7-9750H speeds – faster than most machines with the same
chip. It will avoid game bottlenecks and tackle Office tasks and
photo editing better than most gaming laptops.
The XMG is impressive thermally too. The CPU and GPU delta
Ts of 59°C and 50°C are fine, and the exterior remains cool.
Noise levels are good as well: the fan output is present during
gaming, but the XMG remained quieter than the vast majority of
gaming laptops. A headset will easily block it out.
The screen’s 1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate
ensure smooth gaming, even though there’s no G-Sync. The
contrast level of 1,139:1 is good as well, bringing vibrancy and
depth to the image. A maximum brightness of 319cd/m^2 is
more than adequate for most uses and should make this
laptop usable in bright conditions, although some laptops do
push even higher.
The screen’s delta E of 3.09 is good but not great – and,
similarly, the colour temperature of 7,006K is a tad on the blue
side, but not ruinous. The sRGB coverage level of 84.7 per cent
is middling. The XMG’s screen has reasonable colours and
contrast, so it’s easily good enough for mainstream gaming –
but if you need something for photo editing and the like, you
may want to look elsewhere. The speakers are only mediocre
too. They’re very bass-heavy, but the treble range is muted
and indistinct, and the top-end is a little too tinny.
When it comes to battery life, this laptop is fantastic. During
gaming, with the screen at 100 per cent and 50 per cent
brightness, it lasted for two hours and 23 minutes, and then
three hours and two minutes. None of its rivals could last for
two hours in those tests. In a work test, the XMG lasted for
a mighty seven hours and 35 minutes – more than twice as
good as most competitors.Conclusion
There’sanawfullottolikeabouttheXMGFusion15.Itsbattery
lifeis class-leading,andelsewherethismachineservesup
solidgamingpower,a fastCPU,a cleandesignanda decent
mechanicalkeyboardfornomoreextracostwhencompared
withmostrivals.It’sthermallyimpressivetoo.
It’snotperfect.ManyothermachineswiththisGPUare
faster,andthekeyboardis a littletoolight.Thespeakersare
poor,andthescreenis finebutnotthebestaround.Gaming
laptopsalwaysinvolvecompromise,though,andtheXMG
doesbetterthanmost.It’sa greatoptionif youneedsomething
smartforworkandplay.
MIKEJENNINGSFISSION
+ Smart, solid,
lightdesign
+ Greatbatterylife
+ All-round decent
performanceFRICTION- Rival machines are
fasteringames - Poorspeakers
- Middling screen
quality
OVERALLSCORE
86 %%
SPEED
22 / 25
DESIGN
22 / 25HARDWARE
20 / 25
VALUE
22 / 25VERDICT
Smart and sleek, with good design and battery life –
but not the fastest in games.Minimum Average1,920 x1,080,Ultra,DXBATTLEFIELD V1,920 x1,080,Ultradetail,AAonTOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER II1,920 x1,080,Highestdetail,TAAXMGFusion 15SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER0 40 80 120 160XMG Fusion 15 61fps81fps0 40 80 120 160XMG Fusion 15 68fps 91fps1,920 x1,080,Ultra,DX11,RTXHigh0 40 80 120 160XMG Fusion 15 47fps 64fps0 40 80 120 160XMG Fusion 15 56fps 68fpsGIMPIMAGE
EDITING52,
HEAVYMULTI-
TASKING168,
HANDBRAKEH.
VIDEO ENCODING394,
SYSTEM
SCORE159,
LUXMARK
OPENCL103,
INTELPERFORMANCE
INDEX139.36%