Gigabyte Aero 15 X Gaming Notebook With GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q Graphics

[Atom80]

Hi Atom80. Many thanks for your reply.

My wife and I took the subway up to Gigabyte support office in North Beijing yesterday and walked in asking if an engineer could look at the problems. The support office is actually a company called 'Best Yield Tech' and acts as an official support centre for Gigabyte in Beijing. My Chinese is pathetic and my wife's understanding of tech isn't much better, so it made for a very frustrating explanation of all my problems

We were there for six hours in the waiting room while an engineer had my laptop in the back. He managed to get the HP SSD working alongside the Toshiba SSD currently installed but that lasted for about 30 minutes at which point the HP SSD was no longer being seen in Windows (it was in the BIOS though). Every time my laptop would start up it would take 3-4 minutes to boot with both SSD's in. It would take 10 seconds with only the Toshiba in. On some restarts the HP one would be visible in the BIOS, on other restarts it wouldn't. He mentioned there has been two other's who have been in contact in recent weeks about their v8 refusing to take a secondary SSD and even RAM. I myself purchased a G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB 2400hz a week ago which caused black screen on start up probably cos it was 2400hz and the one included is 2666hz? Had to return it in the end to JD.com and get he money back.

At one point he was checking Windows and the mouse froze for 15 seconds, laptop blue-screened and restarted itself at 15% into the diagnostic. All the problems I outlined above happened during the six hour period. The engineer took the laptop in the back and told us he would do a fresh install of windows on it and wouldn't take long. I've done 12 fresh installs so far and nothing helped so I was feeling hopeless, but he told us he would try. It took another hour and when he came back he had installed windows on his OWN Samsung 128GB SSD that he was testing in the machine instead of on my Toshiba SSD At this point it was late and the centre was closing so all we could do was leave and get the train home.

My wife inquired about the possibility of Gigabyte sending me a replacement laptop to try. He told us that they can only do that within 15 days purchase and that unfortunately I've had the device now for 17 days.... The official dealer I bought it off has long since stopped any support and does not reply to any of our messages now.

The conclusion was that the engineer thinks it may be a faulty motherboard/hard-drive so he is ordering both items from Taiwan which will take 7 days. He will ring us when they arrive and my wife will travel there with the laptop because the service center is only open through the week and I cannot get any time off work. Apparently we were extremely lucky to take it yesterday, on a Sunday, because they were working but were not supposed to be in on weekends.

I've had an awful experience this last two weeks and I feel extremely sorry for any others who also have so many issues. Hope it can get sorted but if it cannot there is apparently no way I can receive a refund now

Atom80 - If you need the serial number of the machine, should I send it by PM? It looked like the engineer took some pretty extensive notes yesterday when he ordered the parts.

OK - We have forwarded your latest post to colleagues in HQ support, and China manager - they should be able to identify the machine from the information you have provided.

We don't know the consumer laws in China, but there isn't a lot we can do from UK side, just communicate and try and help you.

Hope it gets resolved swiftly and apologies for situation.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Prot0]

OK - We have forwarded your latest post to colleagues in HQ support, and China manager - they should be able to identify the machine from the information you have provided.

We don't know the consumer laws in China, but there isn't a lot we can do from UK side, just communicate and try and help you.

Hope it gets resolved swiftly and apologies for situation.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

Hi Atom80. Thanks again for the reply.

So an update. The service centre here placed an order with Gigabyte Taiwan for a new motherboard and hard drive on Sunday 06th May which is supposed to take 7 days to arrive. My wife and I asked him for an update on 10th May to see if the parts were on the way but he informed us he has not heard anything from head office (he included 10 members of staff in the email) and nothing has been done as far as RMA'ing is concerned. So we are in the same position as last week.

He then told us that we have to ring Gigabyte ourselves to sort this out because he cannot ring Gigabyte Taiwan himself. He said the procedure in China is that Gigabyte Beijing has to inform Gigabyte Shenzhen, then Shenzhen has to inform Shanghai, and then Shanghai has to inform Taiwan. That is the chain of command but we can "try ringing Taiwan ourselves to see if it helps"

The laptop is unfortunately unusable right now so it's been as good as a paperweight this last week and now I'd just like my money back and to go with another option. But I just don't know how to do this because Gigabyte are making it very difficult to assist us. I've had the laptop since release day on 16th April and have been able to use it for just under a week in total.

Is there anything you can suggest I can do or can you escalate anything further for me? I'm sorry to you because I find it shocking that I have to direct my queries to a UK rep due to Gigabyte not helping me over here in China.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer mate.

 

[Atom80]

Hi Atom80. Thanks again for the reply.

So an update. The service centre here placed an order with Gigabyte Taiwan for a new motherboard and hard drive on Sunday 06th May which is supposed to take 7 days to arrive. My wife and I asked him for an update on 10th May to see if the parts were on the way but he informed us he has not heard anything from head office (he included 10 members of staff in the email) and nothing has been done as far as RMA'ing is concerned. So we are in the same position as last week.

He then told us that we have to ring Gigabyte ourselves to sort this out because he cannot ring Gigabyte Taiwan himself. He said the procedure in China is that Gigabyte Beijing has to inform Gigabyte Shenzhen, then Shenzhen has to inform Shanghai, and then Shanghai has to inform Taiwan. That is the chain of command but we can "try ringing Taiwan ourselves to see if it helps"

The laptop is unfortunately unusable right now so it's been as good as a paperweight this last week and now I'd just like my money back and to go with another option. But I just don't know how to do this because Gigabyte are making it very difficult to assist us. I've had the laptop since release day on 16th April and have been able to use it for just under a week in total.

Is there anything you can suggest I can do or can you escalate anything further for me? I'm sorry to you because I find it shocking that I have to direct my queries to a UK rep due to Gigabyte not helping me over here in China.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer mate.

Hi Prot0,

Sorry to hear this situation hasn't been resolved smoothly - we have again forwarded to our manager in China, and also HQ service contacts that we deal with in UK.

Is it possible for you to send me Trust message, with your contact details please, mobile phone number for them to call would be best, along with email of course.

Thanks,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Prot0]

Hi Prot0,

Sorry to hear this situation hasn't been resolved smoothly - we have again forwarded to our manager in China, and also HQ service contacts that we deal with in UK.

Is it possible for you to send me Trust message, with your contact details please, mobile phone number for them to call would be best, along with email of course.

Thanks,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

Trust message sent! Thanks again!

 

[Adamdavi3s]

What cases are everyone using?
I had the original 15x (returned due to fault) and was using the case below but it was OK rather than great

Inateck 2017 & 2016 MacBook Pro 15 Case Sleeve (Model A1707), Dark Gray https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072B7TM98/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_TUUUd39JGGjSq

 

[Prot0]

What cases are everyone using?
I had the original 15x (returned due to fault) and was using the case below but it was OK rather than great

Inateck 2017 & 2016 MacBook Pro 15 Case Sleeve (Model A1707), Dark Gray https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072B7TM98/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_TUUUd39JGGjSq

I've found that the laptop fits perfectly inside 15" Herschel wallets designed for 15" MacBook Pro. They are the wallets with the zip along the top.

 

[Adamdavi3s]

Loving the v8! Seems much improved over the previous version.

One question, I did a benchmark and it recommended setting up an XMP bios profile to improve the RAM (I have switched to 32gb 2400mhz) but I can’t spot this in the bios anywhere

 

[JiDey247]

I almost ended up buying the laptop but read too many things that discouraged me to do so. This laptop needs to be more mature, more reliable.
Too many bugs and issues, BSOD, backlight bleed, over heating, laptop being too noisy, keyboard doing double keystrokes

The laptop seems to be the perfect laptop on the paper but it seems to have many issues people are dealing with on Reddit.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are many satisfied people out there, but for a laptop that costs this much, the package has to be perfect from the moment you open up the box. No need to tweak anything for it to work properly + a better thermal cooling design.
I’ve always heard that technology at its finest is when you forget it’s there.


I’m not going to buy any other laptops yet as I still think yours got the best concept however it still needs that extra touch to be perfect.
I’ll probably be waiting for the next iteration of the laptop to decide and see whether all these issues disappeared.

I know you guys are listening to your customers and I am thankful for that so here is my piece of advice for the next few months

Cheers & respect for the work you’ve been putting into this laptop.

 

[Atom80]

I almost ended up buying the laptop but read too many things that discouraged me to do so. This laptop needs to be more mature, more reliable.
Too many bugs and issues, BSOD, backlight bleed, over heating, laptop being too noisy, keyboard doing double keystrokes

The laptop seems to be the perfect laptop on the paper but it seems to have many issues people are dealing with on Reddit.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are many satisfied people out there, but for a laptop that costs this much, the package has to be perfect from the moment you open up the box. No need to tweak anything for it to work properly + a better thermal cooling design.
I’ve always heard that technology at its finest is when you forget it’s there.


I’m not going to buy any other laptops yet as I still think yours got the best concept however it still needs that extra touch to be perfect.
I’ll probably be waiting for the next iteration of the laptop to decide and see whether all these issues disappeared.

I know you guys are listening to your customers and I am thankful for that so here is my piece of advice for the next few months

Cheers & respect for the work you’ve been putting into this laptop.

Hi JiDey,

Entitled to, and we respect your views, however, with regards to "maturity", the product has had a 12 month span since the first generation in May 2017.

Of course, there has, and always will be problems, but forums, with global audiences have the effect of magnifying/exaggerating issues, because of their nature. And of course, the vast majority of users only post when they have problems, and generally don't post or review when the experience is positive.

Its the nature of the beast.

We have confidence in the product, returns & problems on a UK level, have been well within "tolerance" and expectations at less than 3%. (industry standard for notebooks)

Referring to you list of "issues":

• BSOD - it happens, and yes probably hardware related, possibly caused in transit (difficult to assess, so that's just a general comment)

• Backlight bleed - All panels ship within tolerance of our suppliers standards, and also ship from us within what is considered to be "acceptable" levels. All IPS panel will experience a level of backlight bleed, known as "IPS Glow", and again, each panel is different, as is the variance with each end users expectations and tolerance to what is "acceptable".

• Overheating and Noisy - Not had reports of this to ANY of our re-seller partners in the UK, and overall the media reviews (and some end user reviews) reported the unit is very quiet under normal load, and of course there is fan noise when pushed.

• Double Keystroke - this issues was identified on day 2 of the product launch, and was fixed within 12 hours of it coming to light. All users received a firmware update, and ALL users who we were in contact with have now confirmed all is well. (it was first reported in UK, and we worked directly with our R&D team, with the initial user to fix, and proved was fixed)

We continue to refine and improve our products, and work closely with our customers and potential customers to develop them further. We are confident that we have supplied many AERO15 units from this and previous generation and have majority of happy customers.

When former faithful customers of a couple of very significant brands/providers of mobile solutions, targeted at "creative" and "professionals" tell us that AERO15 is the best Laptop they have ever owned, we think some things must be right with the product

Thanks for sharing your views and we hope to "win" you as a Gigabyte customer sometime soon.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[JiDey247]

Don't get me wrong, your laptop is amazing Just want it to be perfect. Mainly at this price point.
Any news on the availability of the laptop in Switzerland?

Thanks for sharing your views and we hope to "win" you as a Gigabyte customer sometime soon.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

You probably will either at this one or at the next iteration of the laptop but not feeling like spending so much for a 1070 while the next Nvidia architecture MIGHT be around the corner

Thanks for sharing your reassuring answer @Atom80

 

[JimboJet]

I'll chip in here as a positive. Granted i've not used the laptop a great deal since I've got it but it really is a fine machine.

I had no issues whatsoever with the keyboard either before or after the firmware/software update.
It is a little loud when pushed but no more so than any of my previous 3 alienware machines that are twice the weight and thickness and half (or less) the performance of the Aero 15x v8.
My ambient room temps are high as I live in the UAE and are around 23/24C yet I've had zero instances of overheating and if throttling has happened, I haven't noticed it. I've been using it for Fusion360 rendering and games. I do tend to prop up the rear of my laptops where I can though to help airflow, and I recommend ppl do this with all performance notebooks.
I've yet to get a single BSOD.
The keyboard took a short time to adjust to but is great to type on.
I do have some backlight bleed, but for my usage it's not an issue and again no worse than any previous laptop I've owned. I would say you only notice it if you specifically look for it with a black screen. The colours are great and its a bright display if needed.

This is without doubt the best machine I have owned and I hope it keeps me going for a few years to come. I have only two niggles; I'd prefer the power cord to have a right angled connector so it applies less stress on the power port, and I'd prefer to have the lid Gigabyte logo more discreet and have the ability to turn off/dim the logo light.
As these are my only two complaints, I think its fair to say the Aero 15x v8 is a very accomplished machine and Gigabyte have a winner!

 

[Atom80]

I'll chip in here as a positive. Granted i've not used the laptop a great deal since I've got it but it really is a fine machine.

I had no issues whatsoever with the keyboard either before or after the firmware/software update.
It is a little loud when pushed but no more so than any of my previous 3 alienware machines that are twice the weight and thickness and half (or less) the performance of the Aero 15x v8.
My ambient room temps are high as I live in the UAE and are around 23/24C yet I've had zero instances of overheating and if throttling has happened, I haven't noticed it. I've been using it for Fusion360 rendering and games. I do tend to prop up the rear of my laptops where I can though to help airflow, and I recommend ppl do this with all performance notebooks.
I've yet to get a single BSOD.
The keyboard took a short time to adjust to but is great to type on.
I do have some backlight bleed, but for my usage it's not an issue and again no worse than any previous laptop I've owned. I would say you only notice it if you specifically look for it with a black screen. The colours are great and its a bright display if needed.

This is without doubt the best machine I have owned and I hope it keeps me going for a few years to come. I have only two niggles; I'd prefer the power cord to have a right angled connector so it applies less stress on the power port, and I'd prefer to have the lid Gigabyte logo more discreet and have the ability to turn off/dim the logo light.
As these are my only two complaints, I think its fair to say the Aero 15x v8 is a very accomplished machine and Gigabyte have a winner!

Hi @JimboJet - thanks for posting your views and we are delighted to read that you are happy with your purchase.

Thanks again and we trust your enjoyment continues long into the future.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Scorpuk]

Hi @Scorpuk - current information, which should be accurate, should see product landing W/C 14th May.

Hope that helps,

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

Sorry to be a pain, but any update on deliveries?

Looks like I'll be going back to Kazakhstan next week for up to 3 months.

 

[Scorpuk]

@Atom80 Can you confirm if a competitor's website is correct and the AERO 15X v8-CF1 is "due on 01 June 2018"?

 

[Wry]

Sorry to be a pain, but any update on deliveries?

Looks like I'll be going back to Kazakhstan next week for up to 3 months.

@Atom80 Can you confirm if a competitor's website is correct and the AERO 15X v8-CF1 is "due on 01 June 2018"?

Just for your information mine was shipped on Monday(14th), received on Tuesday(15th). I think i was probably near the front of the queue, but it does mean they have started sending the 4k versions out.

 

[Atom80]

Sorry to be a pain, but any update on deliveries?

Looks like I'll be going back to Kazakhstan next week for up to 3 months.

Hi @Scorpuk - we did deliver some units on the 14th, but all were consumed with the pre-orders that OCUK had, I think there was 1 available on Monday afternoon, but a couple of orders we placed,,,, hence back to zero.

We should be delivering more on Monday, but unsure on the qty.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Scorpuk]

Hi @Scorpuk - we did deliver some units on the 14th, but all were consumed with the pre-orders that OCUK had, I think there was 1 available on Monday afternoon, but a couple of orders we placed,,,, hence back to zero.

We should be delivering more on Monday, but unsure on the qty.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

Cheers @Wry and @Atom80

I do have a pre-order, but still showing as not yet shipped. (Ordered 24 Apr 2018 10:02:00)

Fingers crossed for Monday. Otherwise I'll need to cancel as I wont be in to receive it for quite some time.

 

[Combat squirrel]

I think finally a laptop that suits me (content creator)

Probably get the 4k obviously for this, but questions:

1) Whats battery life on this model
2) Whats the average power draw from the wall with this running doing regular tasks? (Important to me)
3) Out of curiosity how colour accurate is the 144hz 1080p screen? (just incase I am curious)

Thanks!

 

[Atom80]

I think finally a laptop that suits me (content creator)

Probably get the 4k obviously for this, but questions:

1) Whats battery life on this model
2) Whats the average power draw from the wall with this running doing regular tasks? (Important to me)
3) Out of curiosity how colour accurate is the 144hz 1080p screen? (just incase I am curious)

Thanks!

Hi @Conbat squirrel,

Thanks for your interest. Please see below for replies to your points:

1) Whats battery life on this model:

- Approximately; 12hr for power saving idle, 6hr for video playback with Windows Media player, 9hr for high performance idle.

2) Whats the average power draw from the wall with this running doing regular tasks?

- Will check this and come back to you, need R&D to confirm it.

3) Out of curiosity how colour accurate is the 144hz 1080p screen? (just incase I am curious)

- you will be aware that all the panels are Pantone calibrated

- Colour accuracy of FHD 144Hz panel is 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) - you can find Media reviews that will give you independent measurements on this element.

Hope that helps,

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Rroff]

2) Whats the average power draw from the wall with this running doing regular tasks? (Important to me)

If by regular tasks you mean like web-browser, bit of image editing then laptops tend to pull around 30-40watt but if you are doing something like video editing and/or it is charging the battery probably more like 70-80 watt.

EDIT: https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/m...f2-w-pantone-screen-gtx-1070-max-q-review/12/

Between 38 and 99 watt for this model from idle through to max out everything gaming.