The Eluktronics MAX-15 is one of the lightest gaming laptops available that’s still able
to pack in up to RTX 2070 graphics, but just how well does it actually perform in games?
I’ve tested 20 different games at all setting levels and also compared it with other laptops
to help you decide if it’s worth it.
My configuration of the Eluktronics MAX-15 has an Intel i7-9750H CPU, Nvidia RTX 2070
graphics, there’s no Max-Q here, 16gb of memory in dual channel, and a 15.6” 1080p
144Hz screen. You can change the specs a bit when ordering, there’s an RTX 2060 model
too, you can find updated prices for both models linked in the description.
The control panel software lets you select different performance modes, I’ve done all
testing with turbo mode which enables EluktroBoost, and I had fan boost enabled for best results.
There’s a -0.05v undervolt to the CPU by default too, and my unit has stock thermal
paste. The Max-15 is quite impressive as it’s under 2cm thick and weighs around 1.7kg or
3.8lb, yet can still pack full RTX 2070 graphics inside, so let’s see how it goes.
We’ll only be covering gaming performance in this video, so if you’re new to the channel,
you'll definitely want to get subscribed for the upcoming full review. Let’s start out
by going through all games at all setting levels, then afterwards we’ll see how the
Max-15 compares with some other laptops.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested using the game’s built in benchmark tool. High settings
was still able to give decent average frame rates considering this is a resource heavy
game.
Battlefield 5 was tested in campaign mode, I’ve got the results with RTX enabled, shown
by the green bars, and RTX off, shown by the purple bars. It was pretty playable with RTX
on, though as a first person shooter game you’ll probably want the higher FPS that
can be obtained with RTX off, which ran much better.
Control was also tested with and without RTX enabled. The game still plays ok with lower
frame rates for the most part, so RTX even with the highest setting was usable, but I
personally preferred high settings with RTX off which averaged above 60 FPS.
Apex Legends was tested with either all settings at maximum, or all settings on the lowest
possible values, as it doesn’t have predefined setting presets. The 144 FPS frame cap was
being hit at minimum settings, and even maxed out it was still running well, easily above
100 FPS.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare was tested in campaign mode, and I’ve also tested it with
the settings either maxed out or at minimum. Minimum settings was almost at 100 FPS in
this test, however it still played pretty well even with everything at maximum.
Borderlands 3 was tested using the game’s built in benchmark, and even with the highest
setting preset we’re pretty much averaging 60 FPS, which is a great result for a gaming
laptop, and is definitely due to the RTX 2070 graphics we’ve got here.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was again tested with the built in benchmark, and the results
were ok, but I’ll show you how different laptops compare in this game and some others
soon.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was also tested with the benchmark tool, and this was another demanding
game that was still able to surpass 60 FPS even with the highest setting preset due to
the 2070 graphics that we’re dealing with.
Fortnite was tested with the replay feature, and as a less demanding game epic settings
wasn’t too far behind the refresh rate of the screen, so no problems playing it all,
while medium settings would give us even 1% low performance above the screens refresh
rate.
Overwatch is another less demanding game and was tested in the practice range. Again, even
with the epic setting preset the frame rates are very high, with the 1% low not that far
below the refresh rate of the screen, so excellent performance.
CS:GO was tested using the Ulletical FPS benchmark, and the results aren’t too different compared
to other laptops with lower tier GPUs. This test seems to be more CPU heavy, and once
we’re at frame rates this high there’s usually more of a benefit seen from laptops
that allow you to disable Optimus, which unfortunately the MAX-15 does not support.
Dota 2 was tested playing in the middle lane, and as is typically the case with this game,
higher end graphical power in most laptops hardly makes a difference as the limitation
tends to be the i7 CPU. Either way, normal results here, which means it’s performing
extremely well.
Rainbow Six Siege was tested with the built in benchmark but using Vulkan, which was recently
added to the game. If you saw my recent blog post at jarrods dot tech, I mentioned I’ll
be moving to Vulkan for future testing as it tends to perform better than the older
DirectX 11 implementation. I’ll leave a link to that in the description if you’re
interested. Anyway, excellent results here.
Metro Exodus was tested using the built in benchmark, most parts of the game perform
a fair bit better than this, so don’t take these results as a good indication of what
to expect throughout the entire game, it’s more of a worst case.
The Division 2 was also tested with the built in benchmark, and the results here seem better
compared to most other laptops, the 1% low in particular isn’t quite as far back as
it usually is, so it appears that the RTX 2070 is providing some benefit here.
PUBG was tested using the replay feature. Even at ultra settings it was possible to
reach 100 FPS, however we could reach the same level in 1% low performance with the
very low setting preset which would deliver a smoother experience.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was tested with the built in benchmark, and as a resource
heavy game the frame rates weren’t that high with the higher setting presets, however
hitting 60 FPS in this test for a laptop at very high settings is a fair result.
Far Cry New Dawn was also tested with the games benchmark, and for the most part the
results aren’t really that much different when compared to most other laptops I’ve
tested with lower GPUs, as it seems to be more limited by the i7 processor.
The Witcher 3 was playing fine even with max settings, I don’t think it really sees a
benefit from super high FPS, however stepping back just one setting level would perform
a fair bit better without too much loss to visual quality.
F1 2019 was tested using the game’s benchmark tool, and although max settings had decent
average FPS, simply stepping down one preset to high settings was able to score more for
the 1% low than the average at max settings.
Let’s also take a look at how this config of the Eluktronics MAX-15 compares with other
laptops, use these results as a rough guide only as they were tested at different times
with different drivers.
In Battlefield 5 I’ve got the MAX-15 highlighted in red near similarly specced machines. The
performance is ahead of the thicker ASUS Scar III which also has RTX 2070 graphics, however
it’s a little behind the thicker GP75, granted that does have a GPU overclock by default.
The MAX-15 is behind the GX502 here, as that one gets a boost from G-Sync, however it’s
also worth noting the GX502 weighs more than 300g or 0.6lb more than the MAX-15. Definitely
a fair result for the weight and size, coming in just a couple FPS behind some of the 2080
Max-Q laptops.
These are the results from Far Cry 5 with ultra settings in the built in benchmark.
This time the results are very similar to the GP75, and probably as this is a CPU sensitive
test so I suspect the small undervolt would be aiding it here. The GX502 is still ahead
though, the ability for it to bypass Optimus typically gives it an edge, however its extra
weight is probably additional cooling material.
These are the results from Shadow of the Tomb raider with the built in benchmark at highest
settings. Like the other games, the MAX-15 was a little ahead of the Scar III with same
specs, however as more of a GPU heavy test the overclocked GP75 was in front, however
it’s still a fair improvement when compared to the 2060 laptops.
With the RTX 2070, the performance is comparable to other 2070 based laptops I’ve tested
despite the MAX-15 being on the thinner side and easily lighter when compared against all
the other options. In terms of power to weight ratio, the MAX-15 would be ahead.
It’s also generally cheaper than most others too, the config I’ve got here goes for $1600
USD, and for comparison that ASUS GX502 that was a little ahead usually goes for over $2000.
I’ve also got the Eluktronics MAX-17 here to test too, it’s got the same specs but
in a larger chassis, so in theory there’s more cooling capacity meaning it may end up
performing better. Let me know if you’d be interested in a comparison between the
MAX-15 and MAX-17, and let me know what you thought of the gaming performance from the
MAX-15 gaming laptop down in the comments. If you’re new to the channel consider getting
subscribed for the full review to see everything this machine has to offer.