Review of the ONEXPLAYER X1, a high-performance portable gaming PC! Enjoy gaming on a large screen of about 11 inches and ultra-high resolution of 2.5K!

The models to be released are as follows (all prices are for the main unit only).

Intel Core Ultra 5 125H model

Memory: 16GB/Storage: 1TB......151,200 yen (tax included)

Intel Core Ultra 7 155H model

Memory: 32GB/Storage: 1TB......187,200 yen (tax included)

Memory: 32GB / Storage: 2TB......196,200 yen (tax included)

Memory: 64GB / Storage: 4TB......241,200 yen (including tax)

In advance of the product's release, we will provide an advance review using the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage.

The model we reviewed is a trial model with specifications that differ in some respects from the model scheduled for release, but in addition to its appearance and functional features, we will also discuss frame rate trends after actually playing several games on it.

Amazing specifications with a 10.95-inch large screen and 2.5K image quality

As mentioned above, this is a 3-in-1 model that can be used in three different forms, but the basic component is the main unit, which can also be used as a stand-alone tablet. The LCD screen is 10.95 inches in size, with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 at 2.5K quality, a screen ratio of 16:10, and a refresh rate of 120 Hz at double speed. The impact of the screen size is particularly large. Compared to other portable gaming PCs reviewed by Akiba Research Institute in the past, the difference is obvious (8.4 inches for the AYANEO KUN and 7 inches for the Steam Deck). The screen size of this unit seems to be one of the largest for a portable gaming PC.

As for the basic specifications, as mentioned above, the processor is Intel's latest processor, the "Intel Core Ultra 5 125H" or "Intel Core Ultra 7 155H". These processors are based on the latest architecture that was introduced at the end of last year, and offer significantly improved processing performance. Graphics processing uses the CPU's built-in Intel Arc graphics, which is clocked at a maximum speed of 2.25 GHz, providing ample performance for game play. Memory uses high-speed LPDDR5x and is available in 16GB/32GB/64GB capacities, depending on the model. NVMe-compatible M.2-connected SSDs are used for storage. Depending on the model, capacities of 1TB/2TB/4TB are available.

Next, let's take a look at the interface. First, there are connectors on the left and right sides for connecting a controller (sold separately), which can be used as a portable gaming PC by inserting it between the main unit and the controller. In addition, on the right side there is a slot for inserting a microSD card and a USB 3.2 Typer-A port, and on the left side there are two USB 4 ports. On the top side, there are buttons for power and volume control, an OCuLink (PCI Express) port for external video output, a 3.5mm earphone jack, and a "Turbo" button for changing the performance of the device; the Turbo button will be discussed later.

The main body of the tablet measures 252 mm wide, 163 mm high, and 13 mm thick, and weighs approximately 789 g. It feels reasonably heavy when held in one hand. The battery has a capacity of 16890 mAh, and its operating time is about 2 hours when playing games, about 8 hours for non-game use (when working with Word, Excel, etc.), and about 11 hours when playing videos.

The controller, which attaches to the left and right sides of the main unit, and the magnetic keyboard, which attaches to the bottom of the main unit, as well as the storage case and LCD protection film, are sold separately for 9,680 yen (tax included), It should be noted that the portable gaming PC mode and notebook PC (laptop) mode require additional peripherals worth approximately 10,000 yen.

We tried out the three modes: portable gaming PC, tablet, and laptop.

We quickly tried out each of the modes in which the device transforms.

Tablet mode is a mode in which only the main unit is used as a Windows tablet, and is not really suitable for game play. As mentioned above, the main unit alone weighs approximately 789g, which is quite heavy considering it is a tablet. However, by attaching the bracket included in the standard package to the back of the tablet, it is possible to place the tablet on a desk, and it can be tilted up to 135 degrees. In this condition, the tablet can be tilted up to a maximum of 135 degrees, making it easy to watch videos. A stylus pen (8,800 yen) that supports 4,096 levels of pen pressure is also available as an option (sold separately), allowing the tablet to be used as a pen input device.

Dedicated Bracket

In portable gaming PC mode, controllers are attached to the left and right sides of the main unit. The appearance of the combined tablet and external controller is similar to that of the Nintendo Switch, and the feel is almost identical. However, in the case of this device, the controller weighs 125g in addition to the 789g of the main unit, for a total weight of 914g, and to be honest, it was hard to hold a device weighing close to 1kg for a long time without any support. If you are going to use this machine in portable gaming PC mode, I personally recommend that you use it with your elbows on the floor or in a prone position.

Let's take a look at the external controller. The stick and four buttons (A, B, X, and Y) as well as the RB and RT buttons are located on the right part, while the stick, cross keys, LB, and LT buttons are located on the left part.

In addition, both controllers have a single expansion button on the back, allowing for a fair amount of flexibility when changing control methods and button layouts.

The RT and LT trigger buttons can be pushed in deeper, allowing for finer adjustment of the input strength depending on the amount of force applied.

Next, let's take a look at the laptop mode.

In this mode, as mentioned above, a bracket supporting the tablet portion of the main unit and a keyboard (sold separately) are used in combination, and the feeling is good. The screen is easy to read and the graphics are beautiful, thanks to the large 11-inch display with 2.5K resolution, the latest Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor, and more than 16GB of memory. The screen is beautiful to look at and the graphics are beautiful. The USB 3.2 port on the right side of the device can be used to connect an external controller or mouse, and a Bluetooth wireless mouse can also be used, so the device can be operated just like a normal notebook PC.

In addition, the ONEXPLAYER X1 has a " Turbo " function. The start button is located on the right side of the top of the main unit, and pressing it allows the user to freely check and set the performance of the main unit. In addition to screen resolution, cooling fan speed, and the strength of the vibration function, the brightness and volume of the screen can also be changed. It is nice that all the major settings are integrated and can be accessed with a single press of the Turbo button.

The "Performance" item in particular has a significant impact on gameplay, as it controls the power consumed by the CPU, which can be changed from 6W to 35W in 1W increments. Playing the same game at the exact same in-game settings with 6W will result in an extremely low frame rate of around 10 FPS, whereas with 35W, the frame rate can be close to 60 FPS. We will explain this in the following sections, along with our impressions after playing a few titles.

Even large titles with heavy processing can be played at 2.5K quality

From here, I will share my impressions after playing " Apex Legends," " Eldenring," and " Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade " using this system.

The first game I tried was "Apex Legends," a battle royale-style FPS in which 20 teams of three descend on a field and fight until the last team is left standing.

Apex Legends: Recommended System Requirements

OS: 64-bit Windows 10

Processor: Ryzen 5 CPU or Equivalent

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 290, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

At first, the frame rate during play was hovering around 30 FPS, probably due to the high load caused by the default resolution setting of 2560 x 1600. This is still an acceptable figure for play, but considering that "Apex Legends" is primarily a versus game, we would like to see a frame rate of around 60 FPS for a clearer on-screen depiction. Therefore, we increased the power consumption from the previous setting of 17W to 35W in the Turbo setting, and the frame rate improved to an average of 40FPS.

With this 35W power consumption, the frame rate was maintained at around 60 FPS when the picture quality was lowered to 1980 x 1020, suggesting that unless 2.5K is a priority, it would be better to lower the picture quality setting to Full HD or lower when playing "Apex Legends" on this machine.

In this way, it is easy to tune this machine to one's own preference.

Next is "Elden Ring. In this mega-hit game, which has shipped more than 20 million units worldwide, players travel through a vast world called the land of the interstices to become the king of Elde.

■Elden Ring: Recommended Environment

OS: Windows 10/11

Processor: INTEL CORE I7-8700K or AMD RYZEN 5 3600X

Memory: 16 GB RAM

Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 8 GB or AMD RADEON RX VEGA 56 8 GB

When tested with the in-game settings set to "Highest" while maintaining the 2.5K resolution of 2560 x 1600, the frame rate hovered around 20 FPS. When the setting was lowered to "high," the frame rate improved to around 30 FPS. When the settings were returned to "Highest" and the resolution was set to 1920 x 1200 (1920 x 1020 stretches the screen vertically, so this setting was used), the frame rate was around 30 FPS. These figures were obtained with the CPU power consumption set to 17W.

As in the case of "Apex Legends," we changed the power consumption in Turbo and checked the difference in frame rates when playing at 2.5K and 1920 x 1200 with 17W and 35W respectively, and in both cases the frame rate increased by 5 to 8 FPS with 35W compared to 17W.

At least based on the results of this study, when playing "Elden Ring" on this machine, either the "2560 x 1600 resolution + high" setting or the "1920 x 1200 resolution + highest" setting will be used. In my opinion, the difference between the highest and highest settings is minimal, so I would personally recommend setting the picture quality to 2.5K instead of dropping the setting to "High".

The final title is Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which includes additional elements to the 2020 Final Fantasy VII Remake, and features an episode with Yuffie Kisaragi, who also appeared in the original story, as the main character.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: Recommended Environment

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 2004 or later)

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 / Intel Core i7-3770

Memory: 12 GB RAM

Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 / 8 GB VRAM or higher

The screen settings were set to 2560 x 1440 because 2560 x 1600 resolution could not be selected for this game. The game was played with the shadow and texture settings set to "High". In this state, the frame rate was hovering around 30-40 FPS, and the game is playable as is. When one of the shadow and texture settings was lowered to "low," the values increased to about 45-60 FPS.

When power consumption was increased from 17W to 35W using Turbo, the frame rate increased to over 40 FPS even with the various settings set to "High. When the graphics settings were further lowered to 1920 x 1080, which is Full HD quality, the values remained between 50 and 60 FPS.

Incidentally, battery life while playing each title at 17W was around 2 hours, which was almost in line with catalog specifications.

So, we have reviewed the remarkable portable gaming PC "ONEXPLAYER X1," which can be used in different ways depending on the location and situation, such as tablet mode for portable use, portable gaming PC mode for use on the go, and notebook mode for use facing each other at a desk. Convenience is the most attractive feature.

The 11-inch screen with 2.5K resolution display and the latest processor "Intel Core Ultra" are also perfect in terms of basic performance, allowing users to play titles that require a lot of machine power while maintaining high image quality. Even the cheapest model costs more than 160,000 yen (including options), but considering the contents, it seems reasonable. The results of the various tests are only an example, but we hope they will be of help to you when purchasing this product.

ONEXPLAYER X1 main specifications

Intel Core Ultra 5 125H model

Intel Core Ultra 7 155H model