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

JimboJet · 27 Sep 2017 at 14:48

Ok, this is what im talking about... Finally, a slim, lightweight heavyweight in a discrete package. This could be my Christmas present to myself. 15.6" tick, Slim bezel, light at 2.1kgs tick, powerful gpu tick, reasonable temps, low (for a gaming laptop!) noise and battery life, 512gb SSD tick! Supposedly 10% down on a full fat gtx1070, but a decent improvement on the GTX1060.

@Atom80 Can you verify the whether or not the laptop allows Optimus? Any idea of release the date? Also, can I ask you to look at the comments made by people at the end of this Hexus review, echoes exactly my sentiment towards garish 'gaming' laptops.
I think Aorus/Gigabyte truly have a winner here, well done.

Link to Hexus Review: https://hexus.net/tech/reviews/laptop/110294-gigabyte-aero-15x/?page=9

JimboJet · 2 Oct 2017 at 21:38

This is much better anyway for a laptop imo. You get switchable graphics with Intel HD630 (not bad anyway as far as on board gpu performance goes) and vastly improved battery life for movies and office based applications when away from a power outlet. I don't think you'll need G sync for a couple of years with a GTX 1070(lite!) at 1920x1080 anyway.

I'll say it again, if temps and noise are under control then I think Aorus/Gigabyte have a winner here, well done.

JimboJet · 7 Oct 2017 at 18:23

In addition, it's not as garish, will have a much longer battery life due to having optimus enabled and a larger battery, and it has a numberpad.

JimboJet · 15 Oct 2017 at 08:13

Good question, i'd be interested to hear of that too. Any signs of stock for these yet?

JimboJet · 22 Nov 2017 at 09:11

Ditto, I'm down for one of these if there's a sweetener...

@Atom80 When are you expecting the next load of stock? I missed out on the last batch.

JimboJet · 6 Feb 2018 at 09:40

@Atom80 Whats the deal with world stock of the Aero15x? Seems like its always out of stock or has been discontinued. I read something about there being an 8th gen refresh and new screen and possibly keyboard, can you shed any light on this and when to expect stock?

JimboJet · 29 Mar 2018 at 17:15

Ok Atom80, you have my attention. I will be ordering one of these this time, if the price is not completely out of whack that is. Your refresh of the Aero 15X has actually saved me from ordering an i7 Surface Book 2 which I think I would have had issues with after a few months. Can I just ask if the new AeroX has a metal chassis? I just need to know its going to be durable? Also where are the exhaust fans, are they in the same position as the '17 model Aero15x?

One last question, I understand the NDA until 3rd April (looking fwd to that) but can you explain what you mean by shipping embargo? If you don't mind me saying, Gigabyte/Aorus haven't been great with supply since I've been following them actively. Assuming we can place pre-orders on 3rd April, when would we expect stock to land in the UK?

JimboJet · 3 Apr 2018 at 12:35

Aero 15X 8th gen 6 core i7-8750H refresh with 144hz 1080p display and 512gb m2 drive available for preorder now. What is the likely date for shipping please Atom80/OcUK?

JimboJet · 3 Apr 2018 at 14:13

YeWhoEnter said:
Available for preorder where?

Here for the 144hz 1080p panel @ £2199.95:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...z-intel-i7-8750h-gaming-laptop-lt-08r-gi.html

and here for the 4k panel @ £2399.99:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...d-intel-i7-8750h-gaming-laptop-lt-08t-gi.html

Hexus.net review link here:

https://hexus.net/tech/reviews/laptop/116627-gigabyte-aero-15x-8th-gen/

JimboJet · 3 Apr 2018 at 15:49

I'm surprised here hasn't been more official info on this release... Same for the other brands 8th gen refresh. From what I gather distribution should be around 16th april at the earliest but this comes from no official source, just my guess based on availability of the product shown elsewhere.

JimboJet · 4 Apr 2018 at 11:48

In the absence of Atom80, i'll take the liberty of answering.

It's one GSKILL Ripsaw 16gb sodimm at 2666mhz. I believe its done to bring the laptop to market at a price lower than the competition (MSI) which does have 2x2400 16Gb sticks for the 32gb total but is more expensive as a result. For 90% of people right now, 16gb is enough and having just one stick does sadly mean the machine is running in single channel BUT gives the user the option of installing extra ram at their cost which is often cheaper than upgrading with the manufacturer directly. The fact that it is a faster speed RAM may slightly offset the fact that it's not dual channel, though the reality is again 90% of people won't notice. I thought it was odd myself at first but i'm happy with what they've done. A quick google shows that GSKill ram module is $193 from New(Easterxxx).com, so thats shaved a minimum of £150 off the retail price of the laptop.

Yes i think it is a little steep price wise, but the competition is more expensive currently.

JimboJet · 4 Apr 2018 at 12:35

One other thing to note is that the 4k machine comes with Windows 10 Pro as standard. The 1080p 144hz model is with Windows 10 home. Pro allows up to 128gb ram whereas I believe the limit on Windows 10 home is 32gb. (not that many ppl will need more than this)

JimboJet · 5 Apr 2018 at 01:22

I'm pretty certain this is allowed, otherwise why have 2 slots for dimms and 2 slots for m2? They may get iffy if you repaste and mess it up causing failures.

JimboJet · 16 Apr 2018 at 20:21

I would also like to know this. BTW, pulled the trigger on one just now, will take a while (week or so) to receive it as overseas but will look forward to giving it a shakedown and posting my thoughts and findings! Hopefully, OcUK and DHL do a good job of keeping it in one piece!

JimboJet · 17 Apr 2018 at 18:30

I guess it depends on your usage. I'm under the impression that for 90% of people I suspect dual channel/single channel operation is irrelevant and not something you'd notice in normal operation. For the remaining 10%, lets call them power users, they'd probably want more than 16gb anyway.

In a small way Gigabyte using 2666mhz instead of the 'usual' 2400mhz speed ram offsets the difference but I appreciate thats not the full story. You could always sell me your single 16gb Gskill Sodimm and I'll provide you with Dual channel (2x8gb Sodimms)

JimboJet · 18 Apr 2018 at 10:22

This is of deep concern. My understanding was that this was a new keyboard with anti ghosting etc and therefore all previous keyboard issues would be resolved! My unit is being shipped right now, I'll be sorely ****** if it suffers the same issue.

JimboJet · 18 Apr 2018 at 19:34

Thats interesting. I'm impressed by the gpu temp. I may try and undervolt my cpu and limit the clocks to 3.9 or 4.0 when I get it. Will be more than enough hp for my usage and should save a little on noise and temps. What clock speed did the cpu throttle back to?

JimboJet · 22 Apr 2018 at 15:58

Just unboxed my Aero15x, all seems fine, but trying to work out if its possible to turn off the Gigabyte logo light on the lid? Doesn't appear to have the function in Gigabyte fusion software and i'm unsure how else to do it. It's pretty bright!

JimboJet · 22 Apr 2018 at 22:20

Shinoke said:
I believe that's from the backlight - so no way to turn it off.

To test adjust the brightness of your monitor and see if the logo changes with it.

Getting a skin for it would probably be the best way to address that.

Pretty annoying if so, it really is too bright imo. I can't imagine it would have taken that much more effort to have the lid logo rgb customisable (or off/black in my case!) as well.

On a positive note, initial impressions are good. Very slim and light considering the components and the size of battery!
A little too much bloatware.
I don't seem to be able to use trackpad two finger scrolling (may be palm rejection settings blocking it?)
All but silent in desktop usage so far, whilst installing and updating software- I've only heard the fans come on once! (24/25C ambient)

Think I've broken the gigabyte update software when I installed the updated elan drivers. It now won't load properly. Will try a reinstall of it to see if it works again.

Have yet to install any software for benchmarking etc, it's downloading and will post results when I get the chance!

JimboJet · 23 Apr 2018 at 06:04

Phone or email OcUK sales department, I'm sure they can help you.

On that note, thanks again to OcUK for continued great service, you really are a model online retailer. It was with some hesitation I placed this particular order as I live overseas, so was concerned this item would get lost or damaged or get held up by customs due to insufficient documentation. Naturally my fears were unfounded and despite being 5000 miles away I received my laptop in less than a week from ordering.