RECOIL 16'' 2024 - PERFORMANCE TESTS & BENCHMARKS

[magicdog]

Hi, id be very interested on any feedback concerning the RECOIL 2024 model with an rtx 4090. What is the performance like and how are the benchmark tests specifically cinebench 2023?
Earlier in the year XMG with GizmoSlipTech showed they're version of the unit reaching scores of over 35000 (multicore rendering) in cinebench 2023.

 

[Paul1964]

Especially when you take water-cooling into account. It increases the thermal headroom of the CPU and GPU. The ODM (Original Device Manufacturer) changed the design of the water-cooling loop within the 2024 16" laptop to improve heat dissipation.

Yeah, there are many sellers of these laptops around the work, each putting their own spin on them but it's more of a regional thing.

In the EU you have Medion and XMG. In the US it's CyberPower and Eluktronics, in the UK it's PC Specialist.

I've found PC Specialist to be a very good company, going above and beyond with their after-sales service.

 

[magicdog]

Thats great to hear. Ive been impressed talking to them so far. My Recoil 16 has turned up today ( The Eluktronics video completely convinced me ) so Im hoping for good things especially faster rendering times.

 

[GulApa]

If you're gonna use it with the water cooler, you can expect a 25% multicore performance increase. If not, depending on the unit, you might see a 5-10% improvement. 14th gen laptops have less variance between units due to better manufacturing. IMO, you should go for the 2024 version for build quality and convenience reasons, not performance. 2024 version has an all-metal build, brighter screen with much better screen/body ratio, a better touchpad, better keyboard layout, usb-c charging, one hand opening and stuff like that. These might make it worth it or not depending on your preference, but I wouldn't say performance increase is enough to warrant the 2024 version.

 

[magicdog]

If you're gonna use it with the water cooler, you can expect a 25% multicore performance increase. If not, depending on the unit, you might see a 5-10% improvement. 14th gen laptops have less variance between units due to better manufacturing. IMO, you should go for the 2024 version for build quality and convenience reasons, not performance. 2024 version has an all-metal build, brighter screen with much better screen/body ratio, a better touchpad, better keyboard layout, usb-c charging, one hand opening and stuff like that. These might make it worth it or not depending on your preference, but I wouldn't say performance increase is enough to warrant the 2024 version.

But the 2024 version has just smashed the msi titan 18 in cinebench 2023. 37000 on a 10 min run is maybe the best ever score. So in as far as rendering performance for a 3d visualiser thats a stunning improvement on the 2023 model. I take all the points you have mentioned. Plus I bought it so I cant wait to use it.

 

[Paul1964]

But the 2024 version has just smashed the msi titan 18 in cinebench 2023. 37000 on a 10 min run is maybe the best ever score. So in as far as rendering performance for a 3d visualiser thats a stunning improvement on the 2023 model. I take all the points you have mentioned. Plus I bought it so I cant wait to use it.

37000? That's awesome!

 

[SpyderTracks]

If anyone is interested, Eluktronics sell there version of the recoil 16 2024 (HYDROC 16) in the U.S. and they tested it against the MSI titan 18.

Other than some provisional testing of the xmg neo 16 at CES, this is the first real look at what the laptop can do. Just to say it outperformed the Titan considerably. The benchmarks were pretty impressive.

Here is the link:

Please be aware, how one SI configures the chassis compared to PCS is completely irrelevant.

I think people don't understand how the custom laptop market works.

There are pretty much only 2 barebones manufacturers left, Clevo and TongFang. They make the barebones chassis which is simply the chassis itself, the motherboard and the GPU embedded

Then there are SI's (System Integrators). PCS are an SI, there are SI's all over the world. Every SI will complete the build with their own components such as screens, drives, RAM, wifi cards etc etc.

Each SI is supplied with a standard BIOS by the manufacturer (clevo / TongFang). Some will further customise it, but most don't.

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding and people are expecting one SI's product to be exactly the same as another, that's just not how it works, it's impossible for that to be the case.

 

[Paul1964]

Please be aware, how one SI configures the chassis compared to PCS is completely irrelevant.

I think people don't understand how the custom laptop market works.

There are pretty much only 2 barebones manufacturers left, Clevo and TongFang. They make the barebones chassis which is simply the chassis itself, the motherboard and the GPU embedded

Then there are SI's (System Integrators). PCS are an SI, there are SI's all over the world. Every SI will complete the build with their own components such as screens, drives, RAM, wifi cards etc etc.

Each SI is supplied with a standard BIOS by the manufacturer (clevo / TongFang). Some will further customise it, but most don't.

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding and people are expecting one SI's product to be exactly the same as another, that's just not how it works, it's impossible for that to be the case.

While they do build with different options such as RAM and storage, the performance should be fairly comparable between the different SIs using these chassis. Even the BIOSs are interchangeable. I run the XMG BIOS on my PCS Recoil 17 as it allows for a bit more configuration than the PCS version. It all runs beautifully.

 

[SpyderTracks]

While they do build with different options such as RAM and storage, the performance should be fairly comparable between the different SIs using these chassis. Even the BIOSs are interchangeable. I run the XMG BIOS on my PCS Recoil 17 as it allows for a bit more configuration than the PCS version. It all runs beautifully.

Did you get PCS approval to do so though? As if not you’ve voided your warranty unfortunately.

Again, because components are different, another SI BIOS can very easily brick a PCS laptop if it's paired with incompatible components.

And as per the terms, if you flash a BIOS without PCS approval, you void warranty. Also on a custom laptop, flashing a BIOS is far more low level than people may be used to and bricking is far more common as there are specific steps that need to be taken. This is exactly why you need to ask PCS first so if a brick does occur following their guidance you’re fully covered by warranty and they’d just replace the system.

The PCS version has an entirely different MUX and display setup, so you’d never get the same experience as some other SIs. But again, this is very much reflected in the price also.

We’ve had it in the past where flashing a 3rd party BIOS has led to requiring a completely clean install of the OS and all data is lost, that’s really common. Screen failures are also very common with 3rd party BIOS as they're pushing completely the wrong voltage to the screen as the other SI uses a completely different panel.

 

[Paul1964]

Did you get PCS approval to do so though? As if not you’ve voided your warranty unfortunately.

Again, because components are different, another SI BIOS can very easily brick a PCS laptop if it's paired with incompatible components.

And as per the terms, if you flash a BIOS without PCS approval, you void warranty. Also on a custom laptop, flashing a BIOS is far more low level than people may be used to and bricking is far more common as there are specific steps that need to be taken. This is exactly why you need to ask PCS first so if a brick does occur following their guidance you’re fully covered by warranty and they’d just replace the system.

The PCS version has an entirely different MUX and display setup, so you’d never get the same experience as some other SIs. But again, this is very much reflected in the price also.

We’ve had it in the past where flashing a 3rd party BIOS has led to requiring a completely clean install of the OS and all data is lost, that’s really common. Screen failures are also very common with 3rd party BIOS as they're pushing completely the wrong voltage to the screen as the other SI uses a completely different panel.

I remember a PCS employee posting in another thread that the XMG BIOS would work. Otherwise I wouldn't have risked it. But yes, it's very good to be cautious and don't try it if you don't know what you are doing and are prepared to accept the potential risks.

 

[Paul1964]

Found it.

Notice for owners of the 16" and 17" Recoil

Hello Everyone, Chris here, from the PCS technical team. We have heard that there is currently a freezing issue being reported with the 4080 and 4090 models of our 16" and 17" Recoil laptops. Our friends over at XMG have worked with the manufacturer to develop a BIOS with a fix for this and...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

This thread started by PCS says that XMG have a few more options in their version of the BIOS such as the undervolting of the CPU - which is why I run that BIOS. I have a 150mv undervolt which lets the CPU run a little cooler for the same performance.

They even suggested using it until they'd fixed (or had fixed by TongFang) some issues with their version.

But yes, the caveat still stands, proceed with extreme caution.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I remember a PCS employee posting in another thread that the XMG BIOS would work. Otherwise I wouldn't have risked it. But yes, it's very good to be cautious and don't try it if you don't know what you are doing and are prepared to accept the potential risks.

That was for that particular issue and only until the PCS BIOS fix was available, but you still had to contact them to get approval first. Did you get their approval? If not then you've voided any warranty.

ESPECIALLY with a laptop, warranty is paramount, as if you get a GPU failure for instance, it's the whole motherboard that has to be replaced as it's part of the motherboard these days, not modular, and this can be very near the cost of a new laptop.

For anyone else reading, on a PC or laptop, you void your warranty if you don't flash with PCS approval. They verify BIOSes for stability, so they will dictate which one they've verified for use with your specific build.

 

[Paul1964]

That was for that particular issue and only until the PCS BIOS fix was available, but you still had to contact them to get approval first. Did you get their approval? If not then you've voided any warranty.

ESPECIALLY with a laptop, warranty is paramount, as if you get a GPU failure for instance, it's the whole motherboard that has to be replaced as it's part of the motherboard these days, not modular, and this can be very near the cost of a new laptop.

For anyone else reading, on a PC or laptop, you void your warranty if you don't flash with PCS approval. They verify BIOSes for stability, so they will dictate which one they've verified for use with your specific build.

I get what you're saying, I'll do a bit of digging to see if the 150mv undervolt is actually worth it. I might well go back to the PCS BIOS if the gain is negligible.

It is rock solid stable though.

 

[magicdog]

Paul have you tested any benchmarks comparing both the pcs bios and the xmg bios? Eg cinebench r23

 

[SpyderTracks]

Paul have you tested any benchmarks comparing both the pcs bios and the xmg bios? Eg cinebench r23

This forum is not for reviews of XMG products as per the forum rules. If you want to discuss any competitors products please do so off the forum

 

[Paul1964]

Paul have you tested any benchmarks comparing both the pcs bios and the xmg bios? Eg cinebench r23

As per your DM - you are running the 2024 Recoil 16 which is a different beast so it's really not worth the risk. The 2024 Recoil 16 is a complete redesign and has improvements to the water-cooling loop inside that specific laptop. The 16 is a different chassis to the 17 for the 2024 models.

I get around 31000 with my modest undervolt on Cinebench r23 but if you are running the Recoil 16 2024 with water-cooling I would expect you to be getting closer to 34000 or 35000 out of the box.

The XMG bios compatibility information was only specific to the 2023 Recoil 17 to address a specific issue which is now fixed.

Stick with the PCS bios. It's really not worth the risk and without any "official" word on the matter - would be idiotic to try.