Specification
Flipping over the P503 PRO reveals three compartments that provide access to all of the laptop's core components, many of which are user upgradeable. Handy for future hardware upgrades, but one of the key benefits of various Clevo-based gaming laptops is that they can be thoroughly customised right from the off.
Giving customers a good choice of configuration options, the XMG product page allows for various components - including display, graphics card, processor, memory and hard disks - to be tailored to your needs. Or, rather, to your budget.
The base configuration, priced at £1,099, includes a matte-finish full-HD LED-backlit display, an Intel Core i7-4700MQ Haswell processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 770M 3GB graphics, 4GB of system memory and a 320GB Seagate Momentus SATA 3Gbps hard disk. The latter duo are underwhelming on a gaming laptop of this ilk, though there are ample upgrade options available at an extra cost. Upgrading to 8GB of RAM will set you back a further £35, and switching to a 120GB Samsung SSD will add another £46.
Get carried away with a faster Intel processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M 4GB graphics, 32GB of memory and a couple of SSDs, and the build price can quickly reach the £3,000 mark. It's easy to want more power and speed when you have four SATA 6Gbps storage bays to choose from (two 2.5in and two mSATA), so it's probably a good thing that our review sample was preconfigured to hit a more respectable £1,566 fee.
For this amount, Schenker configures the XMG P503 PRO to include a Core i7-4800MQ processor, an integrated Intel HD 4600 IGP, dedicated Nvidia GTX 770M graphics with Optimus switching technology. Rounding off the high-performance setup is 8GB of Corsair Vengeance memory, a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD, a 750GB Seagate hard disk, a Blu-ray reader, an Intel Centrino 2230 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapter, and a clean install of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system.
The laptop's connectivity, meanwhile, is well catered with mini-FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, a further USB 2.0 port, eSATA, audio jacks and a multi-card reader lining the sides of the device. On the back, alongside the connector for the large 180W power supply, are three video outputs; HDMI, DisplayPort and mini-DisplayPort. All that's missing here is ThunderBolt.
The hardware is certainly impressive, and it's backed by a standard two-year collect-and-return warranty, but what's the P503 PRO actually like to use?
Display and Sound
A well-built gaming laptop needs an enjoyable display, so it's good to know that the XMG P502 PRO employs a full-HD TN panel from LG (model LGD0259) that's well above average.
1,920x1,080 is a good fit for a 15.6in gaming machine, and the panel offers ample brightness coupled with good contrast. Colour reproduction is good and horizontal viewing angles are simply excellent - the picture remains clear pretty much all the way up to 180 degrees.
Vertical viewing angles aren't quite as impressive, with the image washing out when tilted outside of the somewhat-narrow sweetspot, but on the whole, we were able to enjoy the panel without having to worry about tilting the display or adjusting brightness. The matte finish has a large part to play as you needn't worry about reflections or glare.
As for audio, the XMG P503 PRO appears to have plenty of promise. The marketing material describes a pair of Onkyo speakers, a dedicated subwoofer and Sound Blaster X-FI MB3 processing; however the end result doesn't quite live up to the billing. The sound is clearly a cut above most laptops - i.e. it isn't a tinny mess - but the speakers don't provide a lot of depth and ultimately struggle to overcome the noise of the system's fans (more on that shortly).