Review: Schenker XMG P503 PRO

Conclusion

...if you're happy to trade finesse in favour of maximum performance, Schenker's XMG P503 PRO has it where it counts and can be configured to go like the clappers.

Schenker is targetting a specific market with the XMG P503 PRO. With a fourth-generation quad-core Intel processor and dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 770M graphics, this is a machine ideally suited to enthusiast gamers seeking high-performance thrills from what's essentially a powerful desktop replacement.

2D and 3D performance is among the best we've ever seen in a 15.6in laptop, and there's enough speed on offer here to put most modern-day desktops to shame. Though, as expected, such power does come with a compromise or two. A rather large chassis is required to house such mighty components, and as a consequence the XMG P503 PRO is big, bulky and not quite ultra-portable.

There are trade-offs in various areas, as well. The laptop's overall thickness is offset by excellent performance; the average keyboard and trackpad are compensated by an enjoyable full-HD matte display; and though the speakers aren't great there's a well-rounded choice of I/O ports. Our biggest gripe is that fan noise can be bothersome during everyday use, but even that's unlikely to perturb gaming sessions where you're seeing the latest DX11 titles run very smoothly.

We'll need to wait until the likes of Asus and Alienware get their hands on the latest CPUs and GPUs to see this level of performance in a sleeker and more aesthetically-pleasing package. However, if you're happy to trade finesse in favour of maximum performance, Schenker's XMG P503 PRO has it where it counts and can be configured to go like the clappers.

The Good

Excellent HD gaming performance
Enjoyable 1080p display
Good range of connectivity
Ample configuration options
User upgradeable

The Bad

Bothersome fan noise
Average keyboard and trackpad
Big, bulky chassis

HEXUS Awards

XMG P503 PRO

HEXUS Where2Buy

The XMG P503 PRO gaming laptop is available to purchase from Schenker Notebooks.

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

[17/06/2013] Neil Richards, Managing Director, Schenker Technologies UK, issued the following right2reply:

As mentioned in the review, this was a pre-production sample supplied before the Haswell launch - so unfortunately there were some missing features which are to be integrated in the full production version. These include the XMG logo on the lid and the XMG touchpad design.

We have also been working on an updated fan table for the system, following internal pre-release testing, by smoothing out the fan response and concentrating on the lower and upper third of the curve. This will have the primary advantages of stopping the intermittent fan spin ups from idle, reducing the idle/light system usage fan speeds and to bring the maximum level down a little whilst gaming. As the review states, the cooling system itself performs very well, however improvements can be made which is why we have been testing different solutions for several weeks before releasing the final update very shortly. This revised fan table will be included in every new P503 order, as well as being supplied to all our existing P503 owners with a full update video tutorial and written instructions to follow. Like the XMG touchpad, this improved fan response will be exclusive to XMG laptops and Schenker Technologies customers.

It would only be fair for HEXUS to review the system as presented to them and we completely agree with this and the comments in the review; we hope that the optimised fan performance will help to solve one of the very few negative points raised in the article.

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!

Was just thinking that its good to see another player get in on making these, thinking that the competition will be good and maybe help bring prices down a little (especially since I'm looking to buy one soon). How wrong I was.
A quick like for like comparison on Scan's site and the Schenker is over £150 more expensive than the Scan LG155. Even their little 11.6" model is over £130 more expensive (on this model they didn't include the OS automatically which is really annoying).
Had to check it a few times to see if I was doing something wrong.

Hi george1979

We have been selling XMG laptops since 2002 so we’re really the old boys playing this game;-)

We checked the price of the A102 and it’s under half the difference you mentioned, might not have had the same exact specifications?

We are the only company in Europe that sells the P503 but even the W503 is different to other offerings, so it’s more difficult to compare like for like – different starting GPU options, we have 2x mSATA in all our XMG P series and Schenker W series Haswell chassis whereas others only have 1x mSATA, custom touchpads and so on.

We will certainly take your feedback into account regarding the OS option at default. We used to include Windows as the default option in all configurations but it was actually due to customer feedback that we changed the default OS option to “no OS”. This may be different to other companies but it was changed for a legitimate reason rather than to make pricing look cheaper.

STUK
Hi george1979

We have been selling XMG laptops since 2002 so we’re really the old boys playing this game;-)

We checked the price of the A102 and it’s under half the difference you mentioned, might not have had the same exact specifications?

We are the only company in Europe that sells the P503 but even the W503 is different to other offerings, so it’s more difficult to compare like for like – different starting GPU options, we have 2x mSATA in all our XMG P series and Schenker W series Haswell chassis whereas others only have 1x mSATA, custom touchpads and so on.

We will certainly take your feedback into account regarding the OS option at default. We used to include Windows as the default option in all configurations but it was actually due to customer feedback that we changed the default OS option to “no OS”. This may be different to other companies but it was changed for a legitimate reason rather than to make pricing look cheaper.

Hi,

When you upgrade the ram to 8Gb Corsair, take the i3 3230 (which would be my preferred option), put in a 500Gb HDD and the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 (all of which except CPU are default on the Scan LG5) in the A102 then it cost's £722.00. The same thing on Scan cost's £639.70 so £82.30 difference for that particular specification. That's still a big difference.

Scan include Kaspersky security so when you take that off then theirs is £633.10 so its actually closer to £90 difference. Plus add the £6.02 credit/debit card charge (really?) and £12 shipping then you have a difference of around £106. Being a member of the Hexus forums I get free shipping from Scan.

I'm sure your systems are good, and from what I've read they are, but I can't understand why there's such a premium to pay when its more or less exactly the same product with the same warranty.

I don't wanna sound like I'm a cheerleader for Scan as I was initially quite excited to see your prices and would have considered buying from Schenker until I compared like for like. You do offer more customisation options though which is nice :)

and PC Specialist come somewhere between the two, more expensive than Scan but cheaper than XMG, although they top out at something like 2 year warranty vs a 4 year one, and their stock warranty is much worse at something like a month where they'll pay for pickup/return, much greater choice though. It's just different resellers, sources for components and everything else I think.