Huawei MateBook X Pro: Performance And Value In A Sleek Ultraportable
Huawei MateBook X Pro: Storage, Productivity And Content Creation Tests
Before jumping into our gauntlet of benchmarks, we applied the latest Windows and Huawei software updates to the MateBook X Pro. Other than that, we didn't change any settings. Our goal is to test the system as it ships to accurately reflect what buyers can expect from an out-of-box experience. Our benchmarking kicks off with storage, CPU, and GPU tests to get an idea how the MateBook X Pro performs in day-to-day tasks.
Running ATTO allows us to gauge the speed of the storage drive in the MateBook X Pro. Huawei opted for a 512GB M.2 NVMe solid state drive, which shuttles data through the PCIe bus for much faster file transfers than what can be achieved on even the speediest SATA-bound SSDs.
Cinebench tests the CPU and GPU independently and provides a glimpse of raw performance. The test is based on Maxon’s Cinema 4D modeling software that’s used in movie productions.
Geekbench 4 is a cross-platform benchmark that simulates real world processing workloads in image processing and particle physics scenarios. We tested the MateBook X Pro in Geekbench 4’s single and multi-core test workloads.
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Running ATTO allows us to gauge the speed of the storage drive in the MateBook X Pro. Huawei opted for a 512GB M.2 NVMe solid state drive, which shuttles data through the PCIe bus for much faster file transfers than what can be achieved on even the speediest SATA-bound SSDs.
Huawei doesn't advertise a specific brand of SSD, though our unit shipped with a LiteOn CA3 model that is rated to deliver sequential read and write performance of up to 2,900 MB/s and 1,200 MB/s, respectively. It actually performed better than its rated specs in ATTO—we saw sequential read speeds top 3,000 MB/s and write speeds climb past 2,000 MB/s. It's always nice when a drive is able to exceed what it's rated to do.
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Cinebench tests the CPU and GPU independently and provides a glimpse of raw performance. The test is based on Maxon’s Cinema 4D modeling software that’s used in movie productions.
Turning our attention to the CPU, Huawei's MateBook X Pro settled into the middle of the pack of our collection of systems in Cinebench R15. Its placement is right where it belongs when sorting by CPU, save for the Acer Swift 3 and HP Envy x360. Every other laptop that sits above the MateBook X Pro is working with a faster-clocked processor compared to the Intel Core i7-8550U.
If sorting by OpenGL performance, the MateBook X Pro jumps into second place. The discrete NVIDIA GeForce MX150 plowed through the graphics portion of Cinebench R15, averaging 95 frames per second. In our testing, that is only bested by the Radeon RX Vega M inside Dell's XPS 15 2-in-1.
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Geekbench 4 is a cross-platform benchmark that simulates real world processing workloads in image processing and particle physics scenarios. We tested the MateBook X Pro in Geekbench 4’s single and multi-core test workloads.
Here the MateBook X Pro climbed further up the benchmark chart, settling in at fourth place when sorting by multi-core scores. This is entirely CPU bound, so the discrete graphics doesn't come into play. The Core i7-8650U scored right where we would expect it to, coming out ahead of most slower clocked processors like the Core i5-8250U and batch of last generation chips.
So far, so good for the MateBook X Pro. Now let's see how it fares in graphics and gaming...
