At times, when we grow tired of
the mundane cubicle life, or
when we need to complete
multiple tasks while on the go,
dependable computing
capabilities are a necessity. As
such, leveraging a laptop with
substantial power permits
flexibility for accomplishing
tasks normally requiring a
desktop workstation, all while
still on the go. The Xi PowerGo
XT Notebook is more than capable
of delivering high-quality
performance, while engaging
users with premium workstation
features to drive productivity.
As a first-time user of a Xi
notebook, I was curious to see
how different the PowerGo XT
would be from my typical
everyday laptop experience. For
instance, does the hardware
configuration allow me to run
graphics applications such as
SOLIDWORKS, or even Photoshop,
without crashing? Can I toggle
between multiple Internet-based
programs without the notebook
stalling or gasping for more
memory? Would the onboard sound,
graphics processing unit (GPU)
and display hardware support my
desire for great sound and
enhanced visuals? Or would I be
limited in how I could upgrade
and expand the system’s
capabilities? Ok, so for my
broad, but necessary, questions,
I must say yes, the PowerGo XT
Notebook performed very well
under varying design conditions
and never left me on the bench
begging to get in the game. The
machine is a complete workhorse
that pushed beyond what I would
expect from a notebook.
Figure 1. The Xi PowerGo XT.
Mobile
Workstation Features
First, I will go ahead and point out that this system is huge—but that’s a good thing. The spacious 17.3 in. LED screen enhanced the viewing experience and made it easier for me to work on. If your eyes are less than perfect, like mine, the larger screen makes the user experience even more enjoyable and gives the feel of a desktop monitor. The keyboard also has an illuminated backlight that adds both flair and ease of use in rooms with minimal lighting. I found the backlighting to be a great option for varying environments, especially in low light areas. This is an option I never even thought of incorporating into a system. Nonetheless, the PowerGo XT also has a wider, yet stylish, body that is heavier than an average notebook, but with the amount of power, performance and stability packed into this device, I am surprised that it doesn’t weigh more. There are several premium features in this workstation, such as the sixth-generation Quad Intel Core i7-6700K desktop processor with Turbo Boost, along with a Microsoft Windows 7 OS and 16GB DDR4 dual-rank interleave RAM to support system performance and multitasking between programs. I definitely took advantage of this, since it seems that I can never run less than five programs at a time, in addition to having multiple social networking Internet tabs opened simultaneously. The PowerGo XT integrates a full keyboard, multitouch track pad, video camera and dual-band wireless Bluetooth module to name a few. I must also mention the vibrant audio. It is a must that I listen to music while I work, and this internal audio system did not disappoint me. Multiple inputs to choose from include:
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(3) USB 3.0 connectors
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Headphone and microphone inputs
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Multi-memory SD card reader slot
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HDMI input
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(2) Rear DisplayPorts (for optional dual monitors)
Graphical
Performance and
Efficiency
Moreover, the
graphical performance on the
PowerGo XT is phenomenal.
When creating part features
with a SOLIDWORKS CAD
application, I was more than
amazed by how quickly parts
could be generated or opened
with ease. For instance, I
can’t even count the amount
of times in which simple
tasks, such as opening a 3D
part or assembly, has caused
my laptop and/or desktop
workstation to crash, losing
work in the process. This
was not an issue with the Xi
PowerGo XT. The graphics in
this mobile workstation are
powered by a high-end NVIDIA
Quadro M3000M GPU. The
performance of the GPU, in
combination with the 17.3
in. LED screen, made my 3D
CAD renderings, as well as
any video I watched, look
amazing. The laptop also
features a 256 GB Samsung
solid-state drive (SSD). The
SSD option could be
considered a pricey one by
some, but it yields the
benefit of less heat draw
and can perform
significantly better than a
typical hard drive.
Moreover, I was impressed
with the overall processing
speed. Every component
integrated into the PowerGo
XT was definitely built to
conquer high-level design,
multipart assembly and any
computational task that is
thrown at it. This notebook
is lightning fast.
Figure 2. SOLIDWORKS part created on the Xi PowerGo XT.
Benchmarking
the PowerGo XT Notebook
A few general benchmarks were run for the PowerGo XT Notebook and are illustrated below
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Windows Experience Xi PowerGo XT |
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|
Windows Experience HP ProBook |
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Figure 3. Windows Experience Index score for system components.
Using
Windows 7 built-in
experience index, I
compared the PowerGo XT
to my trusted work HP
ProBook laptop that I
use on a daily basis.
The index score measures
computer hardware and
software capabilities
and reports the metric
for the lowest
performing component. I
was curious to see just
how well the PowerGo XT
matched up, but as you
can see from the
illustration above, the
base score for the Xi
PowerGo XT came in a lot
higher at 7.8 in
comparison to the 6.5
base score for the HP.
The scores were nearly
perfect across every
subscore. As such, the
Xi PowerGo XT performed
better when performing
resource-intensive tasks
such as CAD modeling and
even high-level gaming.
PassMark
Xi PowerGo XT 
PassMark HP
ProBook 
Figure 4. PassMark comparison with other systems.
A second
benchmark for system
performance was run
using the PassMark 8.0,
which measures system
performance against
several standard
hardware configurations.
The Xi PowerGo XT
produced an overall
PassMark composite score
of 6,442.7, while the HP
ProBook eked out a 2,165
for the same test—yes, a
significant difference
in processing speed,
giving the upper hand to
the PowerGo XT.
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SPECviewperf Benchmark Xi PowerGo XT |
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SPECviewperf Benchmark Online report |
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Figure 5. SPECviewperf benchmark for Xi PowerGo XT Notebook and other models.
For the SPECviewperf benchmark, which specifically measures real-world professional graphics performance, I pulled a few recent scores of a few comparable mobile workstations that were published on the SPECviewperf 12 site. Higher scores in each category indicate a higher graphical performance when used for each listed application—for instance, behavior under conditions within SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, NX, etc. From Figure 5 above, you will see that the Xi PowerGo XT returned a composite score of 112.58 in the SOLIDWORKS test. In comparison, the HP ZBook 17 mobile workstation reported a score of 61.9 and the Lenovo ThinkPad W540 returned a score of 35.06 for the same test—another hands-down win for the Xi PowerGo XT. Online SPECviewperf scores from the compared models can be found here.
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Cinebench |
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Figure 6. Cinebench benchmarking.
The final
benchmark comparison
involved the Cinebench
benchmark. This
benchmark measures CPU
processing power and
OpenGL GPU performance
under real-world
conditions. I ran this
benchmark for both the
Xi PowerGo XT and my
trusted HP ProBook. In
addition, I added
another laptop, an HP
Pavilion G series that I
use for other graphics
applications. The
comparison from Figure 6
shows that the PowerGo
XT generates the highest
metrics of 104.65 for
the graphics and 485 for
the CPU. My everyday
ProBook, sporting the
modest consumer-grade
Intel HD Graphics 4000
consistently failed the
graphics test and
consequently would not
return a value.
Furthermore, the CPU ran
at less than half the
rate of the PowerGo CPU.
Finally, the Pavilion
scores were nothing less
than disappointing and
don’t even compare to
the performance of the
Xi PowerGo XT. This
notebook is a beast.
Pricing Summary
The base model for this notebook is stacked with multiple features, comes with a Xi parts replacement warranty and is competitively priced at around $1,699. Now, this price level may not be right for everyone, but again, high-quality workstations that can handle 3D modeling tasks and simulations demand more coin. As such, the as-reviewed configuration is significantly pricier at $3,120, but of course this is not your average off-the-shelf notebook. The PowerGo XT is built for professional performance and is meant to be driven by users requiring graphics-intensive applications. If you are only looking to surf the Web or send an occasional email, then there may be too much power under this hood for you. However, if you are looking for a high-quality notebook that can operate as your main CAD workstation by supporting on-the-go design and gaming capability as a bonus, then the PowerGo XT will inspire you. See the added component options below.
|
PART# |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
|
00031 |
Xi® PowerGo™ XT (Base Configuration) |
$1,699.00 |
|
01041 |
Intel® Core™ i7-6700K 4.0/4.2GHz-1C Turbo Boost 8MB Shared L3 Cache DMI 2.0 Quad-Core 6th Gen. 14nm w/Artic Silver® 5 Thermal Compound |
$169.00 |
|
02347 |
16GB DDR4 @ 2666MHz SO-DIMM Dual Rank Interleave |
$99.00 |
|
04579 |
NVIDIA® Quadro® M3000M 4GB GDDR5 VRAM Maxwell™ architecture GPU (In Stock) |
$539.00 |
|
05206 |
17.3" 1920x1080 Full HD LED Backlit Matte Type Display |
$79.00 |
|
03199 |
256GB Solid State Drive Samsung® SM951 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 2150/1200MB/s Seq.R/W 512MB Cache Buffer <.3ms seek Shock Resistant 1500G. (UEFI Boot, Not to be used as boot drive on XEON based systems) |
$199.00 |
|
32142 |
Optional 1TB 5400 RPM SATA 6Gb/s (9.5mm) Seagate® Solid State Hybrid Drive with 64MB cache 8GB MLC SSD NAND Cache |
$139.00 |
|
06067 |
No Internal Optical Drive Bay available for this model |
Incl. w/ Base |
|
41115 |
External DVD Writer 8x Max. USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 Compatible) Slim Optical Drive |
$69.00 |
|
10001 |
No External Speakers option |
Incl. w/ Base |
|
12099 |
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN and Killer™ Dual Band Wireless-AC 1535 + Bluetooth® module Ver. M.2 |
$49.00 |
|
13029 |
Built-In Backlit Full Size Keyboard with Numeric Keypad |
Incl. w/ Base |
|
14019 |
Built-In Multi-touch Trackpad Pointing Device (for CAD use a cordless mouse is highly recommended) |
Incl. w/ Base |
|
16084 |
Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional Edition SP1 64-bit (32Bit avail. on request) Fully installed, configured and updated, includes original DVD media and COA |
$79.00 |
|
35025 |
Mouse Pad & Balsa Glider w/ Xi logo. (Assorted, design may vary). |
Incl. w/ Base |
|
35027 |
McAfee® Antivirus Plus for Windows - One-Year subscription - McAfee Registration code provided for Download & Installation |
Incl. w/ Base |
|
18001 |
Standard Xi Warranty w/Express Advance Parts Replacement, Lifetime Tech Support, Three Year Labor FOB Xi, One Year on System parts. Manufacturer warranty on Software, Monitors and external accessories.(Freight both ways paid for parts only inside US & CA) |
Incl. w/ Base |
Figure 7. The PowerGo XT Notebook pricing options.
Conclusion I must commend Xi for producing this premium notebook that encompasses enough onboard power to support a 3D designer’s passion for stability, as well as a gamer’s critical desire for system performance. The PowerGo XT has the power of a professional desktop but merits praise for remaining a robust mobile CAD workstation with the fortitude to effortlessly outperform many notebooks and desktop PCs on the market. The benchmarks clearly show the PowerGo XT notebook is worth engaging for serious CAD workflows. Not every company can stake that claim about their mobile computers.
