Gigabyte Aero 15

[LEK-89]

I'm surprised that a thread about this laptop has not surfaced on here yet... Anyway I thought I'd get one started.

I'm hoping to take delivery of mine sometime this week as a certain competitor is supposed to take more stock of them. Sadly it's still currently on pre-order here at OcUK and despite asking in the CS section twice as to when they're expecting stock, my question has remained unanswered... Perhaps a Gigabyte rep could shed some light here ?? Just incase some of you have only just came across the laptop, here is the variant I am waiting on & the specs as follows:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...d-intel-i7-7700hq-gaming-lapto-lt-02p-au.html

Going by the reviews on it already, it sounds like a rather promising performer giving it's super slim form factor - and it seems to tolerate heat very well with very minimal throttling what so ever.

One of the main attractive features to the laptop itself for me is the thin bezel screen, sadly it appears to not be the same one as the Dell XPS 15 9550 / 9560 (Sharp) but instead it features an Innolux panel which has been reported to be VA, as apposed to IPS (Still needs to be verified) but is still praised according to most reviews.

All being well if mine arrives this week I will do a bit of a detailed review on it.

Liam.

 

[krooton]

Sexy! But poor black levels given it is a VA panel, VA should not be beaten by IPS in contrast.

 

[LEK-89]

Sexy! But poor black levels given it is a VA panel, VA should not be beaten by IPS in contrast.

True - though having a look at the panel spec itself (assuming that all of them out of the factory are the Innolux panel), I can't seem to pin point if it is definitely VA or not. Though I'm certain that it is.

Just to also clear up something about the laptop that some of you may of already read about - it transpired last week going by several reports that new owners all over were being contacted by the retails that they purchased the laptop from with regards to Gigabyte issuing a recall on all of them due to battery concerns and to return the units back ASAP, this mainly stemmed back from a user on Reddit who was actually from the UK and stated he was contacted by a competitor of this (he actually uploaded a photo of the original email). However it appears that Gigabyte have not issued a recall on them as such, but it's down to the laptops being shipped from the factory with out of date Gigabyte software and therefore reports on the battery stats incorrectly (Gigabyte apparently telephoned him directly to inform him of this and that he wouldn't need to return it, but to simply update to the latest version via the website. The said competitor got the wrong end of the stick).

It's still not clear on what the stocking situation is like with these laptops in the UK at the moment, the aforementioned competitor that I have pre-ordered the laptop with here in the UK has reportedly still got stock on them but are still waiting on Gigabyte's say so as to when to resume sales due to the out of date software. Gigabyte themselves have also reported elsewhere that they are updating all the newly produced stock themselves before they are to depart the factory so it could be a while before new stock hits retailers within the UK altogether

I also spoke to OcUK on here this morning with regards to finding out more info on this and they are already on the case, hopefully we'll hear some more news very soon.

Edit - going by a reply made by a staff member of OcUK in the CS forum, stock should arrive at the shop within the next 2-4 weeks.

Liam.

 

[LEK-89]

Looks like stock has arrived for one of the models as per the below:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...d-intel-i7-7700hq-gaming-lapto-lt-02p-au.html

The competitor that I ordered from a week ago has also took delivery of stock today & when I enquired with regards to upgrading the delivery to tomorrow if possible, they've agreed and at no extra cost Fingers crossed it arrives tomorrow in one piece. I'll post up some photos when I can as well.

Liam.

 

[LEK-89]

Just a summary of my thoughts on the laptop so far, I took delivery of it on Saturday afternoon. This is my post taken from the NBR forum:

Initial first impressions of it for me so far... One heck of an excellent bit of kit! Funny enough it's slightly smaller than what I expected when I first saw it in the box and for a split second I thought it actually may of been the Aero 14 packed in there! ...Super quick upon first boot and literally setup within the space of a few minutes, I've currently got the fans set to silent and the unit itself is absolutely quiet.

Very nicely packaged in it's box and upon closer inspection the build quality is superb, not one blemish or any production flaws what so ever. More testing is needed but no backlight bleed is present with the screen from what I can tell.

Out of the box as well the battery came pre-charged to around 60% - and only took around 30 minutes to achieve the full 100%. HWINFO reveals a 94240mWh full spec charge capacity.

The screen itself is of high quality and exceeds my expectations with never using an Innolux panel before (Though HWINFO reveals it as a Chi Mei?). It's not quite as bright as the XPS 15 when set to 100% but for me this panel at 100% is still more than bright enough for me, I'll most likely have it set to 80% during normal operation. The colour production with the screen so far is outstanding as well. After a few hours of testing out the laptop, I'd say that the clarity of the panel itself is on par with the Sharp FHD that is in the XPS 15. Response times and general operation when gaming is to be looked into very soon...

Being that Gigabyte have marketed these as being Pantone calibrated - I can confirm that a Pantone programme / calibration tool is pre-loaded on the laptop and the profile automatically kicks in when you reach the desktop after startup.

A quick check up in device manager also reveals the same LITE-ON SSD that is featured in the XPS 15 as well - the CX2 I believe, which in turn reveals 2500MB read & 1300MB write speeds with Crystal Disk Mark.

However the keyboard for me will take some getting used to, I'm having to type slow again for a bit with being used to the XPS 15's keyboard mostly as of recently. Originally when starting this reply on this thread, admittedly I used my phone to type it out on as for me I was making so many typing errors with this new keyboard... however a couple of hours later, it feels easier to get used to and to minimise typing errors.

The thing that stands out the most with this keyboard in general is that you really have to press the keys harder in comparison to other laptops - the Dell XPS 15 in particular has a very square and somewhat of a smaller keyboard, and the keys themselves feel very soft to press. However a plus with this keyboard in a way is that it could actually be that one step closer to a gaming keyboard with the harder & longer key presses...

The touchpad surprisingly for me feels very good and responsive, as well as smooth - despite some of the negative reviews on it.

One big plus with this laptop and the same goes for all Gigabyte laptops in general as well - Gigabyte Smart Update. This simple bit of software is fantastic, very easy to update all the drivers & pre-loaded software all in one go and with ease. Other laptops manufacturers out there should implement the a similar feature to this! It just saves all the hassle & time to track down all the laptops drivers / software via the internet otherwise.

Pre-loaded software - Besides Smart Update, the laptop does come with a bit of bloat but most of it can be classed as somewhat useful. I think the only thing I will not use is the Game Stream / Xsplit stuff and the like.

I also feel that a clean wipe & fresh install of Windows in this instance is not needed, as Gigabyte's own software is very useful in my opinion and if I'm not mistaken it is also required in order for components such as the battery to operate optimally. Anything else you don't want that comes pre-loaded can simply be removed via add / remove programs.

After audio tests I did end up removing the latest Realtek driver that Gigabyte's Smart Update downloaded and installed the latest one directly from the Realtek site. The reason for this and in my opinion, the supplied Dolby Digital software that Gigabyte use with their driver is absolutely terrible with little to no manual adjustment at all (I'm very much into my music and very particular on equaliser sound).

Using Gigabyte's own Realtek drivers disables the ability to use the equaliser controls in the Realtek Audio Manager in favour of the supplied Dolby Digital software. However when using the latest Realtek driver directly from their website, you regain the ability to use Realtek's own equaliser controls once again.

The only slight niggle with the laptop that I have experienced up to now is now and then I do appear to be suffering from micro stutters here and there, however - this is a known problem with Windows 10 in general and and especially with Pascal laptops in particular. Though I wouldn't say it gets in the way too much or spoils the overall experience. I like to think that when I'm ready to go ahead with downloading Creators Update, it will fix the problem as it seems to help others who suffer from the same problems.

Battery - after the first initial full charge and then use the laptop when on battery, I have managed to achieve a battery life of 5 1/2 hours, this is with the display set to 80% brightness. I will be carrying out further tests as time goes on.

More is to come - I will update this post as I go along. Up to now, very pleased indeed

Google drive link to some photos I have taken of the laptop up to now, also don't be alarmed of what appears to be marks / smudges on and around the body - this is how it was straight out of the box due to the condensation build up on the aluminium body while in transit, now it's been used for a bit it's all fully evaporated

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5wpxvH6zjJATUFmRnFDdGNXSms

Liam.

 

[Tezzauzz]

Good review. Thank you for that.
How does it compare to the XPS 15 in terms of content creation/video editing etc?
I'm after a medium but slim sized laptop for editing 4k drone video and 360 degree video so want something powerful. I want a UHD screen to show clients my work out and about and I like the touch screen option on the XPS.

Does anyone know when the UHD version of the Aero 15 is due out?

 

[LEK-89]

Good review. Thank you for that.
How does it compare to the XPS 15 in terms of content creation/video editing etc?
I'm after a medium but slim sized laptop for editing 4k drone video and 360 degree video so want something powerful. I want a UHD screen to show clients my work out and about and I like the touch screen option on the XPS.

Does anyone know when the UHD version of the Aero 15 is due out?

Not a problem.

In terms of video editing and creativity I cannot comment on that at this stage from my point of view as I didn't get around to doing it with mine - sadly I had to return my unit last week as I discovered a mark (most likely dust) behind the display itself and I knew it was something I couldn't simply ignore. However I don't pin point this down to Gigabyte themselves as they were excellent in assisting with my return with the retailer that I got mine from, also Gigabyte themselves don't make the panels in question so it must have been a QC oversight on the display manufacturers' part. I've came across this in the past with another laptop and it's one of those things that can happen with a very early release of a laptop model and most likely will never occur again.

That aside, as myself also being an ex XPS 15 user - I'd say the Aero 15 was better in every way, it's simply so quick out of the box and more optimised in every single way (especially the 7700K & with it having the 1060 graphics), I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I've heard that the UHD version is supposed to be released within the next couple of months.

Liam.

 

[strialFlower]

Hi there,
I also got the AERO 15 - which I generally like very much, blistering gaming performance and relatively lightweight (coming from a 12" Macbook everything looks huge). I'm actually going to RMA it because of a screen defect - see here https://youtu.be/H8YgkyA54tM - the retailer I bought it from is very helpful so I'm not worried.

I do need that laptop though and find it weird there's no stock in the UK - after it was launched to much fanfare and lots of glowing reviews... I wonder if Gigabyte didn't silently recall them due to those (or other productions issues)?

 

[LEK-89]

Hi there,
I also got the AERO 15 - which I generally like very much, blistering gaming performance and relatively lightweight (coming from a 12" Macbook everything looks huge). I'm actually going to RMA it because of a screen defect - see here https://youtu.be/H8YgkyA54tM - the retailer I bought it from is very helpful so I'm not worried.

I do need that laptop though and find it weird there's no stock in the UK - after it was launched to much fanfare and lots of glowing reviews... I wonder if Gigabyte didn't silently recall them due to those (or other productions issues)?

It's unfortunate that you've been faced with this issue, hopefully you'll have a fast turnaround with getting your replacement from the retailer.

Gigabyte told me directly that no recall has ever been issued with the laptop of any kind at all, but from my past experience with newly released products like this - these kind of minor issues can arise due to being part of the first or very early batches, sometimes it takes time for manufactures to get these things absolutely right.

I also asked Gigabyte the same question with regards to the lack of stock here in the UK at the moment, the black model in particular has been in very high demand with retailers and Gigabyte are trying their best to accommodate for all of their selected retailers. I spent weeks trying to acquire the Aero 15 when it was first released but everywhere literally sold out within the first day of taking stock.

The majority of places however still have the Orange & Green variants in stock from what I've seen, and new stock of the black model is supposed to hit the UK again within the next few days.

Liam.

 

[cdmania]

Any news on the ETA of the black variant? Cheers.

 

[Atom80]

Any news on the ETA of the black variant? Cheers.

Hi cdmania,

We will have black units arriving over the next couple of weeks, both to our distributors and also OcUK - if you specifically need black, would suggest placing a pre-order (if that's possible from a budgetary perspective) to stand best chance of receiving when stock arrives - numbers are limited, but we are doing our best to get them here asap.

The black unit with 2 x 512GB SSD - will be landing with OcUK next week.

AERO15 - with 2 x 512GB PcIE SSD

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[cdmania]

Hi Atom80

Thanks for the info, i decided to pre-order the one you mentioned above.

CD

 

[LEK-89]

Copied from my post over on the NBR forum,

IMPORTANT HEADS UP FOR OWNERS LOOKING INTO UPGRADING TO THE LATEST CREATORS UPDATE

Guys, I was meant to post this up the other day after my initial findings but I've only just remembered to now. I first discovered this on a brand new 7700HQ Aero 14 that I was working on for a friend the other day - before commencing with the Creators Update, it is imperative that you do a complete backup image of all the original Gigabyte partitions FIRST beforehand. The reason for this is that after upgrading to the Creators Update, the original Gigabyte partition is somehow messed up / corrupted in the process and if you attempt to carry out either the F9 factory reset / Reset this PC option to restore back to factory default, the built in Gigabyte recovery program simply kicks you out of it when you attempt to start the process. Thankfully I already had all the original partitions on the Aero 14 backed up before commencing with the Creators Update so I was able to simply restore the original image afterwards, therefore completely restored the intact partitions.

Even though I discovered this on the latest Aero 14, I imagine that this is highly likely to also affect the Aero 15 considering that they are near enough identical laptops in terms of specs and the overall software setup.

This may be automatically rectified by Windows / Gigabyte in time but for the time being - please bare this in mind before upgrading. In order to backup your original Gigabyte partitions, download & install the free version of Macrium Reflect free in order to carry this out. The complete partitions together as one image (I believe there should be five partitions in total, as per Disk Management within Windows) should take up around 60GB on a backup drive.

As someone else also pointed out to me on the NBR forum, those who have already created a Smart USB backup via Gigabyte's software into a USB drive should be ok - as you would have already had the partitions backed up.

@Atom80 - This is FAO yourselves at Gigabyte especially and quite possibly the Aorus Team as well in order to take a look at this & to rectify this concern.

EDIT - Looks like you guys at Gigabyte already covered this going by the Aero 14 & 15 download pages by issuing a detailed software fix a few days ago - hats off for the quick turnaround guys

Many thanks - Liam.

 

[Atom80]

Copied from my post over on the NBR forum,

IMPORTANT HEADS UP FOR OWNERS LOOKING INTO UPGRADING TO THE LATEST CREATORS UPDATE

Guys, I was meant to post this up the other day after my initial findings but I've only just remembered to now. I first discovered this on a brand new 7700HQ Aero 14 that I was working on for a friend the other day - before commencing with the Creators Update, it is imperative that you do a complete backup image of all the original Gigabyte partitions FIRST beforehand. The reason for this is that after upgrading to the Creators Update, the original Gigabyte partition is somehow messed up / corrupted in the process and if you attempt to carry out either the F9 factory reset / Reset this PC option to restore back to factory default, the built in Gigabyte recovery program simply kicks you out of it when you attempt to start the process. Thankfully I already had all the original partitions on the Aero 14 backed up before commencing with the Creators Update so I was able to simply restore the original image afterwards, therefore completely restored the intact partitions.

Even though I discovered this on the latest Aero 14, I imagine that this is highly likely to also affect the Aero 15 considering that they are near enough identical laptops in terms of specs and the overall software setup.

This may be automatically rectified by Windows / Gigabyte in time but for the time being - please bare this in mind before upgrading. In order to backup your original Gigabyte partitions, download & install the free version of Macrium Reflect free in order to carry this out. The complete partitions together as one image (I believe there should be five partitions in total, as per Disk Management within Windows) should take up around 60GB on a backup drive.

As someone else also pointed out to me on the NBR forum, those who have already created a Smart USB backup via Gigabyte's software into a USB drive should be ok - as you would have already had the partitions backed up.

@Atom80 - This is FAO yourselves at Gigabyte especially and quite possibly the Aorus Team as well in order to take a look at this & to rectify this concern.

EDIT - Looks like you guys at Gigabyte already covered this going by the Aero 14 & 15 download pages by issuing a detailed software fix a few days ago - hats off for the quick turnaround guys

Many thanks - Liam.

HI Liam,

Thanks for you post, and yes you are correct - this problem has been caused by the Microsoft Update you mention, but we have the solution on our support download pages.

SO, you should perform the Microsoft "Red Stone 2" (RS2) update first - and then download the fix identified below.

AERO15 Support Page

This is the download required:



Hope that helps everyone - please share this info on other forums.

Thanks,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Tezzauzz]

I don't suppose you can make a recommendation to get an orange Aero 15 out to me here in Oman Atom80?

 

[Atom80]

I don't suppose you can make a recommendation to get an orange Aero 15 out to me here in Oman Atom80?

Checking to see if OcUK can supply - would be UK spec keyboard obviously.

Will post when we hear back from them

Thanks,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Atom80]

I don't suppose you can make a recommendation to get an orange Aero 15 out to me here in Oman Atom80?

Had reply, unfortunately OCUK don't ship to Oman.....

Will see if any of our other partners in UK can do.

Thanks

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[Tezzauzz]

Had reply, unfortunately OCUK don't ship to Oman.....

Will see if any of our other partners in UK can do.

Thanks

Gigabyte UK NB Team

Thanks Atom80. From every message and website I'v looked at, including CaseKing.de, no one is willing to ship one ExVat to Oman at a reasonable rate. I have aramex shop and ship but the UK address doesn't work with exVAT.

I'll get one sent out from the states. HIDEvolution will deliver and upgrade the basic package which suits me

Thank you again for trying. I'm looking forward to owning this laptop

 

[Atom80]

Thanks Atom80. From every message and website I'v looked at, including CaseKing.de, no one is willing to ship one ExVat to Oman at a reasonable rate. I have aramex shop and ship but the UK address doesn't work with exVAT.

I'll get one sent out from the states. HIDEvolution will deliver and upgrade the basic package which suits me

Thank you again for trying. I'm looking forward to owning this laptop

No Problem, sorry we couldn't help more.

Yes we know the customer you mention in USA, they can hopefully do what you need.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

[cdmania]

Hi Atom

I have my new Laptop now. Thank you. Just one question, has there been any problems with keyboard layout?
Mine seems to have a few mixed up. Next to the M key it is shown as /,. on my keyboard, it should be ,./
I have checked the setting and its seems the keys are in the wrong position.
Any ideas.