Benchmarks: CPU
Four of the 10 laptops on show are armed with the 4.1GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor, and the PiFast results indicate that they are all rapid when it comes to light loads and regular computing.
Cinebench and HandBrake are more demanding tests, stressing the six available cores and bringing to the fore any frequency throttling. We wouldn't expect the Blade 15 to be able to compete with the larger Zephyrus M when it comes to maintaining peak speeds, but the size of the gap is nonetheless surprising, with the Asus machine delivering 37 per cent more performance from the same chip.
Throttling is clearly in evidence, and digging into our log files reveals that the Blade 15 would often dial down the Core i7-8750H to as little as 2.2GHz when the going gets tough. Are you going to notice the performance drop during everyday use? Perhaps not, yet if maximum speed is the name of the game, other laptops are better equipped at getting the most out of the Intel chip.