At CES 2024, Medion presented the E15443, one of the first notebooks based on Intel’s new Meteor Lake generation. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 computing cores and the Intel Arc 8-Cores iGPU are not only intended to accelerate AI applications, but also to help the multimedia notebook achieve impressive performance and long runtimes. Our Medion E15443 Review clarifies why this only works to a limited extent and whether the notebook is worthwhile.
Technical data
| The product | Medion E15443 |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (16 cores, 3.8 – 4.8 GHz); 28W TDP |
| Graphics performance | Intel Arc iGPU |
| Display | 15.6 inch; Full HD; 60 Hz |
| Storage space | 1 TB SATA III SSD installed |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR5 RAM (2x 8 GB DDR5-2400 SO-DIMM) |
| Keyboard | Chiclet full size; with RGB lighting |
| Operating system | Windows 11 Home |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6; Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 359 mm x 206 mm x 24 mm |
| Weight | 1.882 g (without power supply) |
| Price | € 999.95 * |
Medion E15443 Review: Design and workmanship
- Simple, appealing design
- 180 degree opening angle
- Workmanship is not entirely convincing
After we took a look at the high-quality gaming notebook Medion Erazer Beast X40 (our review) based on the stylish Tongfang barebone back in February, the Medion E15443 has its very own, quite convincing chassis.
Medion opted for a light grey design made of plastic and aluminum, which looks quite impressive. We find the manufacturer’s new logo on the display lid, while generous rubber feet on the underside ensure a secure hold.
At 1.82 kg, the E15443 weighs quite a bit for a 15.6-inch device, while the dimensions of 359 mm x 206 mm x 24 mm (width x depth x height) are within the normal range. Medion has installed air vents on the rear and underside, which promises effective cooling of the multimedia notebook. The compact and lightweight power supply unit provides an output of around 65 watts.
The opening angle of the notebook is remarkable. The display can be folded back completely to position the laptop completely flat on the surface. The design is unagitated and simple, yet visually appealing.
However, we are not entirely convinced by the workmanship of the Medion E15443. The case looks a little creaky and gives way noticeably under pressure, especially in the left half. The trackpad can also be pressed in unusually far, but this has no effect on the functionality. In addition, the thin and light display bounces a lot when you move it. This doesn’t quite match the asking price of around 1,000 euros.
Features and connections
- Modern Meteor Lake processor
- 16 GB DDR5 RAM
- Slow M.2 SATA SSD
The heart of the Medion E15443 is of course the new CPU from Intel’s Meteor Lake series, namely the Intel Core i7 155H, which celebrates its premiere in our test lab here. It has 16 cores and provides clock rates of 3,800 MHz to 4,800 MHz.
Medion provides it with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1 terabyte SSD. However, the latter is a bitter disappointment, as it is an M.2 SATA SSD with corresponding speeds and does not live up to the price tag.
The graphics calculation is done internally on the new Intel Arc 8-core iGPU, which according to Intel should achieve approximately double the performance compared to the previous generation in the form of Iris Xe Graphics.
The chip also contains a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is designed for AI applications. However, the areas of application here are currently still very limited, but this should become much more interesting in the future. At the moment, however, there is virtually no sign of this.
The equipment is rounded off by two speakers and two microphones with decent sound, as well as an HD webcam with good image quality. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 are used as communication standards, and Windows 11 Home is pre-installed as the operating system.
By the way: Medion also offers the E15443 with an Intel Core i5 125H and a 512 GB SSD for 200 euros less.
The connections of the Medion E15443
- Good selection of connections
- Privacy mode switch available
The Medion E15443 distributes the connections on the left and right side. We find the following ports on the left:
- 1x power adapter connection
- 1x HDMI out
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C
No connection, but also on the left is a practical privacy mode switch that can be used to quickly deactivate the webcam.
The other connections can be found on the right-hand side:
- 1x Kensington Lock
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1x USB 2.0 Type-A
- 1x 3.5 mm jack combo connector
- 1x micoSD card reader
Medion E15443 Review: Keyboard and touchpad
- Good chiclet keyboard with numeric keypad
- Good typing feel despite short stroke
- Average trackpad
The Medion E15443 comes with a full-size chiclet keyboard and a numeric keypad. The keys are pleasantly large and offer a good pressure point. However, in my opinion, the stroke should be longer, as the keys barely protrude from the casing.
Nevertheless, it provides a pleasant typing experience, although I have also had my hands on much better notebook keyboards. A white backlight is provided, which makes it possible to work in semi-dark environments.
The Medion E15443 is also the first notebook I’ve held in my hands that has the new Copilot button. This is used in new notebooks of the 2024 generation and is intended to launch Microsoft’s own AI chatbot.
At least in the future, as it is not yet available. Pressing the Copilot button currently only calls up the search menu in the taskbar. This should change with the major Windows 11 AI update, which is planned for fall 2024.
The trackpad measures 13.3 cm x 8.7 cm (width x height) and is not entirely convincing. The two buttons trigger precisely, but also comparatively loudly. The casing yields surprisingly strongly under pressure. The gliding properties are average.
The display of the Medion E15443
- Full HD on 15.6 inches
- Only 60 Hz
- Low brightness and color fidelity
Medion equips the E15443 with a matte, 15.6-inch IPS panel that achieves a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Viewing angles and contrast are at a good level.
However, the display falls short in terms of color fidelity and maximum brightness. The colors in photos and videos in particular appear somewhat pale and do not fully reflect reality.
Unfortunately, the maximum brightness is rather low, which is particularly noticeable on sunny days. On the other hand, the matte display naturally prevents reflections well.
Medion E15443 in the practical test
- Very good practical features
- Mostly silent fans
In practice, the Medion E15443 cuts a good figure despite the weaknesses mentioned. Working speed and system startup are impressive, and the cooling performs flawlessly even under full load.
The maximum noise level of 45 dB(A) under extreme load is acceptable, and the laptop remains pleasantly quiet and almost imperceptible during less demanding tasks.
Medion installs a few additional apps on the notebook ex works. These include its own store and Medion Foto, a quick and easy way to order prints of your photos. There is also meinSCHUFA Plus and Luminar Neo, which, like all additional apps, can be easily uninstalled if desired. McAffee Internet Security is also pre-installed ex works.
Otherwise, the Medion E15443 works at a very good speed. Everyday tasks such as text editing, surfing or video streaming do not present the laptop with any significant challenges.
What is noticeable, however, is the slow M.2 SATA SSD, which performs some work steps and tasks noticeably slower than faster PCIe counterparts.
Benchmark: Productivity, system, SSD and gaming
As always, the Medion E15443 was subjected to a wide range of benchmarks in the test. How does the new Meteor Lake chip perform?
I measure the productivity and system performance with PCMark 10 and Cinebench R23. PCMark 10 simulates different workflows when running the benchmark, which include word processing, surfing the Internet and spreadsheets. Cinebench, on the other hand, measures the speed of the CPU cores individually and in multi-core mode. In the gaming test, I also tried out a few games in addition to 3DMark.
Geekbench 6, which measures the performance of the CPU in single and multi-core mode, as well as the power of the GPU, is now also new to our benchmark test track. In addition, Cinebench 2024, which has been available since September 2023 with a new engine and a more uniform benchmark scene, now also offers better comparison options.
SSD benchmark: AS-SSD
No question: The biggest weak point of the Medion laptop is the SSD, which is simply no longer up to date these days. Especially not in a notebook that costs just under 1,000 euros. It achieves 515.31 MB/s for sequential reading and 421.61 MB/s for writing.
These are values that we nowadays only find in notebooks below the 400 euro mark. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a PCIe 4 or PCIe 5.0 SSD, but the values on offer are still disappointing.
| Read | Write | |
| Sequential | 515.31 MB/s | 421.61 MB/s |
| 4K | 24.82 MB/s | 81.88 MB/s |
| 4K-64Thrd | 164.23 MB/s | 0.184 MB/s |
| Access time | 0.056 ms | 0.184 ms |
Cinebench and PCMark
The Medion E15443, or rather the Intel Core Ultra 7, achieves good results in the CPU tests. The Meteor Lake generation makes noticeable gains in single-core performance in particular. For example, in direct comparison with the Intel Core i7-1355U in the HP Spectre x360 14 2023 (our test).
Raptor Lake with the Core i7-13700H, as used in the Schenker Vision 16 Pro 2023 (our test), for example, is a whole lot more powerful. Both in the single-core and multi-core range. The Core Ultra 7 is roughly on a par with the Ryzen 7-Zen 4 CPUs from AMD.
The multi-core score of 10,126 points in Cinebench R23 and 576 points in Cinebench 2024 is even a little disappointing.
This is mainly due to the fact that Medion provides the chip with the minimum TDP of 28 watts. Most notebooks with Raptor Lake were allowed to use significantly more power, so the power limits are very limited here.
In a direct comparison with the Core i7-13700H or Core i7-1360P, the Intel Ultra 7 155H installed here is again ahead at 28 watts TDP, albeit only just. The performance here is at a very good level, although the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U achieves significantly higher scores.
The same result is then confirmed in the comprehensive PCMark test, in which a very good 6,334 points are achieved in the end. However, the Raptor Lake H competition is once again significantly higher, whereby the Core i7-1355U can be beaten.
| Benchmark | Result |
| Cinebench R23 Multi Core | 10.126 pts. |
| Cinebench R23 Single Core | 1.713 pts. |
| Cinebench 2024 Multi Core | 576 pts. |
| Cinebench 2024 Single Core | 99 pts. |
| PCMark 10 total score | 6.334 pts. |
| PCMark 10 Essentials | 9.953 pts. |
| PCMark 10 Productivity | 8.694 pts. |
| PCMark 10 Digital Content Creation | 7.971 pts. |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 4.810 pts. |
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 977 pts. |
| Geekbench 6 GPU | 31.996 pts. |
What does this mean in practice? Yes, Intel’s new Core Ultra 7 delivers very good performance across the entire system. However, it does not stand out from the previous generation.
Graphics performance: 3DMark and gaming
No question: The Medion E15443 is not really designed for gaming. The lack of a dedicated graphics card shows this very clearly. Yes, the performance of the new Intel Arc iGPU is indeed significantly higher than that of the Intel Iris Xe solution.
The Intel NUC 11 (our test) or Geekom Mini IT 13 with Intel Iris Xe are already clearly outperformed in the synthetic benchmarks.
But the problem has a name: AMD Zen 4, or RNDA 3 iGPU AMD Radeon 780M, which delivers significantly (!!!) better results and even allows you to play reasonably current games smoothly at high settings. In the Geekom A7 (our test), the GPU achieved absolutely smooth frame rates in 1080p in various games, sometimes even with ray tracing.
The Intel Arc solution in the Core Ultra 7 155H is miles away from this, but for less demanding games or a significantly reduced level of detail, it is certainly sufficient.
| Benchmark | Results |
| Fire Strike Total | 6.027 points |
| Time Spy Total | 2.974 pts. |
| Speed Way Total | Not possible |
| Port Royal Total | 1.288 pts. |
| Solar Bay Total | 10.665 pts. |
| Final Fantasy XV (1080p; Standard Quality) | 2.853 pts. |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p; Medium) | 20 FPS |
Battery life of the Medion E15443
- Very good battery life despite only 55 Wh
- 6 hours and 36 minutes in PCMark 10
Medion equips the E15443 with a 55 Wh battery, which, according to the manufacturer, should last up to 9 hours during video playback. Intel, on the other hand, promises that the Meteor Lake chip will also improve runtimes thanks to the use of AI.
In fact, the Medion E15443 delivers really good results in our PCMark10 battery test and ends up with a convincing runtime of 6 hours and 36 minutes at full display brightness. A more than good value considering the rather small battery.
Medion E15443 Review: Conclusion
With the Medion E15443, the manufacturer delivers a good multimedia notebook that is suitable for everyday tasks, streaming, but also more demanding applications such as image and video editing.
The selection of ports is pleasing and the keyboard also does a good job, despite its short stroke. But where there is light, there is often shadow. And in the case of the E15443, there is unfortunately a surprising amount.
In my opinion, the build quality does not do justice to the price and the display is also disappointing in terms of brightness and color reproduction. The touchpad and the speakers are okay, but here too I have seen much better in this price range.
And how an M.2 SATA SSD with a performance of around 500 MB/s can be found in a notebook for 1,000 euros is a complete mystery to me, especially as it unnecessarily slows down the system.
In my opinion, the price is at least 200-300 euros too high for what is on offer. The all too prominently advertised “Intel AI Boost” doesn’t help either, as there hasn’t been much evidence of it so far.
Medion E15443
Design & workmanship
Display
Features
Performance
Battery
Value for money
83/100
Well-equipped multimedia notebook with the latest CPU and convincing performance, but with SSD, processing and display.
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