Schenker Vision 14 M23 review – The magnesium ultrabook now with a GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB

We already tested the iGPU version of the current Schenker Vision 14, so now the only one left to review is the model which uses the GeForce RTX 3050 (Refresh, 6 GB VRAM) in place of the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (4 GB VRAM). But is it really an upgrade, and how big is the difference to the competition that now predominantly uses the new GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop? Our test device with the Core i7-13700H, GeForce RTX 3050, 32 GB RAM, a 1-TB SSD and a matte 3K IPS display costs around US$2,200. In many aspects such as its case, connectivity, input devices, screen and speakers, there aren’t any differences compared to the iGPU version we previously tested.

Therefore, in this review, we will be concentrating on the laptop’s performance and what impact its dedicated GPU has on its emissions. For all further information, please take a look at our review of the Vision 14 M23 iGPU . Our current test device is the black version of the Vision 14 and its case (magnesium alloy) is the exact same as on the previously tested iGPU model.

Subjectively, we prefer the silver version, as it is considerably less of a dirt and fingerprint magnet. On the inside, there have been changes made to its cooling, and it of course has the dedicated Nvidia GPU installed. As a result, its weight is now about 80 grams more, so ~1.

35 kg in total. In addition, the dGPU version comes with a more powerful 150-watt power supply which is actually even more compact and somewhat lighter than the 120-watt variant. Compared to its competitors, the Vision 14 dGPU is still the most compact and lightweight device—plus, it offers lots of advantages when it comes to connectivity and maintenance options thanks to its two RAM slots.

The preinstalled Control Center offers two profiles— quiet and performance —whereby the profile performance has two sub-profiles, namely balanced and enthusiast . We summarized the profiles’ effects in the table below. If you are aiming for maximum GPU performance, then you should use performance/enthusiast , which is exactly what we did for the following benchmarks and measurements.

During simpler tasks, you can easily also use the profile quiet. The Core i7-13700H (Raptor Lake) features a total of 14 cores (6 performance, 8 efficiency) and can process 20 threads at once. In the current version of the Vision 14, the processor consumes a maximum of 45 watts for a short space of time, then it sinks down to 40 watts.

In total, this is a reduction compared to the predecessor , whose power limits were 60/40 watts. As a result, the old model with the Core i7-12700H is a little faster during the first minutes of multi-core load, however, in total, this is balanced out through its poorer single-core performance. This makes its performance fine in general, but we would like to have seen a bit more.

In battery use, the processor consumed a maximum of 36 watts, leading to its multi-core performance being around 15 % worse. Further CPU benchmarks can be found in our tech section. Subjectively, the Vision 14 shows excellent performance and during the synthetic benchmarks, it showed no issues—even though the competitors with the RTX 4050 Laptop mostly did better.

On the other hand, you won’t likely notice these differences in everyday use. In our standardized latency test (surfing the web, 4K YouTube playback, CPU load), the test device with the current BIOS version showed slight limitations when using real-time audio applications. There were also many skipped frames during video playback (111 out of 3,683).

Our test sample of the Vision 14 is fitted with the 1-TB version of the Samsung 990 Pro. The PCIe-4. 0 SSD achieves very high transfer rates and its performance remains constant under longer periods of load, which isn’t necessarily a given on compact laptops.

In total, its performance is a little worse than the iGPU variant, although you won’t suffer any limitations in everyday use. After first starting up the device, 873 GB are free to use. Further SSD benchmarks can be found here.

Schenker has swapped out the RTX 3050 Ti (4 GB) for an RTX 3050 Refresh with 6 GB VRAM. This is quite a surprise, as the logical step would surely have been to switch to the new RTX 4050 Laptop (which is what its competitors did). Thanks to its additional RAM, the GPU offers advantages when it comes to higher resolutions, however, in the synthetic benchmarks, its performance was actually slightly worse than the old RTX 3050 Ti.

This is despite the fact it has a higher TGP of 50 watts. Depending on the TGP, the new RTX 4050 Laptop is considerably faster (33-87 per cent). During the gaming benchmarks, our findings were confirmed and in our standardized test at 1080p and maximum details, the RTX 3050 6 GB was again slightly slower than the old RTX 3050 Ti.

The RTX-4050-Laptop competitors all did much better, making them more future-proof. In current games such as Cyberpunk 2077 , you have to make do without maximum details at 1080p to play the game smoothly. Under permanent load, its graphics performance at least remains stable.

In battery mode, the GPU consumes a maximum of 35 watts, leading to its performance sinking by 17 %. Further GPU benchmarks can be found here . The laptop’s fan noise emissions and activity depend on which energy profile you are using.

If you use the profile performance , then you’ll notice the fans whirring even during simple tasks. This leads us to recommend the profile quiet for everyday use. It also makes sense to check the performance while gaming, as many games primarily rely on the GPU.

Under load and when running games, it gets quite a bit louder—we measured around 49 dB(A). When using both of the weaker modes, we noted a maximum of 46. 9 dB(A) ( performance / balanced ) and 35.

7 dB(A) ( quiet ). We didn’t note any additional electronic noises. Under low load, the Vision 14’s surface temperatures are totally fine, but as soon as you demand more from the components, the cooling nears its limits.

We measured over 45 °C on the top of the base unit and over 50 °C on the bottom in the middle. At this point, you should avoid placing the device onto your thighs. In the stress test, the graphics card was preferred, as it was run consistently at its maximum of 50 watts.

The processor, on the other hand, started the test at 45 watts and then immediately balanced out at 35 watts. The test device’s idle consumption is slightly higher than that of the iGPU version but in total, its differences aren’t all too big. During the stress test, the Vision 14 consumed a maximum of 121 watts and then quickly balanced out at 110 watts and remained on this level.

As a result, the supplied 150-watt power supply is sufficiently sized and it even has a bit of wiggle room to charge the battery under demanding conditions—if this is ever needed. Analog to its higher idle consumption, its runtimes are slightly lower than on the iGPU version ; in comparison to the old Vision 14 with the RTX 3050 Ti , there have been some improvements, however. With its 99-Wh battery, the test device achieved very good runtimes of 12 hours during the WLAN test with an adapted brightness of 150 cd/m² (35 % of our test sample’s maximum brightness) and even at full brightness, it managed 09:40 hours.

These results make it easy for the Vision 14 to set itself apart from the comparison devices. The 2022 model of the Schenker Vision 14 was an extremely good package in particular, with its Intel-H45 processor in combination with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti—all housed inside a compact case. Its high-quality case with lots of connectivity options, good maintenance options (both RAM slots are especially worthy of praise nowadays), high-resolution display as well as its long runtimes are all positive aspects to note.

However, the 2023 model is now slowly starting to show its age. As a result of its reduced power limits, the Raptor-Lake processor Core i7-13700H is even slightly slower than the Alder-Lake predecessor—plus, its “new” GeForce RTX 3050 with 6 GB VRAM is, in total, on the same level as the old GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 4 GB VRAM. The biggest issue is that its multimedia competitors have continued to switch to the new GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop that simply offers more graphics performance.

The Vision 14 M23 lags behind the competition when it comes to graphics performance, as its GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Laptop can’t keep up with the new GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop. In and of itself, the Vision 14 with the RTX 3050 Refresh continues to be a very good subnotebook which can set itself apart from the competition thanks to its good maintenance options in particular. Unfortunately, competitors simply offer better performance and if you are on the hunt for a compact subnotebook/multimedia laptop with a dedicated GPU, then you might be better off going for one of these devices.

Its biggest competitor is likely the Yoga Pro 7 14 with its Core i7-13700H, RTX 4050 Laptop and its 3K IPS display with a 120-Hz refresh rate. It is also slightly cheaper, but its battery life isn’t as good and its RAM (16 GB) cannot be expanded. The Schenker Vision 14 M23 can be configured via Bestware and prices start from around US$1,500.

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