What is the Gigabyte Aorus X5?
The Aorus X5 may be the smallest of the new laptops with Gigabyte supercar capability, however, that does not mean it suffers in the specifications department. This 15.6-inch speed demon features an overclocked Core i7 8850H chipset and GTX 1070 graphics, so you can enjoy the latest games at a silk-like frame rate.
Despite being the most compact 8th generation Aorus, the X5 is not exactly thin and lightweight. This 2.5 kg beast balances a beefy chassis that typically resembles a miniature alien spaceship.
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Gigabyte Aorus X5 – Design and build
If you want a portable laptop to play on the road every day, check out Gigabyte & # 39; s Aero 14. However, if performance is your priority, and your team will spend most of their time sitting at a desk, then a model from the Aorus family will help you fall to the floor.
Of course, with 2.5kg, the Aorus X5 is not obscenely large or heavy. It's significantly more portable than its older siblings, the X7 and X9, although do not let that 15.6-inch screen size fool you. The screen is surrounded by some thick frames, giving a form factor closer to a 17-inch machine.
A quick glance is more than enough to confirm that it is a portable computer game. The black lid of the Aorus has an angular finish, with a peak in the center, while the back contains two huge vents to expel all that hot air. Not to mention the hawk designs that adorn the cover, the original power button and the touch panel. The word "subtle" certainly does not apply here.
I noticed occasional signs of bending in the chassis, despite the generally solid construction. Push around the seams under the laptop and you will see a serious movement, for example. Fortunately, it's nothing too problematic. The lid does a good job of protecting that screen, proving to be quite rigid even towards the center.
As you would probably expect from a gaming laptop, there are many ports along those edges. The left side offers two USB Type-C connections along with a mini-DisplayPort, while the right edge serves two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI connection and an SD card reader.
On the back you will find even more ports. Two other USB 3.0 connections mean that it is ordered for peripherals, while an Ethernet port can be used for nippy networks.
Gigabyte Aorus X5 – Keyboard and touch screen
One of the most important features for any portable gaming keyboard is the number of keys on offer. You will need loads if you like complex strategic titles and things like that, and the Aorus X5 certainly does not disappoint in this regard.
The large chassis includes all standard laptop keys, as well as a full numeric keypad and a column of programmable shortcut keys. These are all of a good size, which makes them relatively easy to find without looking.
For example, the Enter key has two rows to breathe, while the cursor keys are also not pressed. However, the shortcut keys, the standard board and the numeric keypad run together, with no space between them. This takes a little time to get used to when you start the tactile writing with the Aorus X5.
I also discovered that my keystrokes are occasionally recorded twice by accident. This was not a regular problem, although it happened enough to make it worth mentioning.
Using the Aorus Fusion application, you can configure a series of profiles to suit different applications and games, with their own color schemes and shortcuts. The backlighting can be controlled, with a choice of seven tones and varying degrees of brightness. You can also quickly switch between three lighting settings using the spacebar and the function key.
If you wish, you can also set the keyboard to light up like a Disneyland fireworks show. This feature certainly impressed my two-year-old daughter, although I am not sure that anyone else particularly enjoys the dazzling screen.
Below the board lies the Aorus touchpad, which is not as spacious as I expected. There are no dedicated mouse buttons, so you must press the left and right corners to simulate the clicks. Fortunately, this does not send the cursor on the screen at the same time.
Unfortunately, the sensitivity of the touchpad was everywhere. In some applications, such as the Edge browser, swiping two fingers to move almost produced no movement. At the same time, an identical sweep in Spotify leafed through approximately two dozen albums at a time. Shortly after I just gave up and connected a mouse.
Gigabyte Aorus X5 – Screen
This laptop includes a real graphic hit, with an Nvidia GTX 1070 card tucked inside. And the IPS 15.6-inch screen of the Aorus X5 makes the output is correct, producing images very sharp and attractive.
Nvidia G-Sync technology is compatible, so you'll enjoy smooth visuals when playing the latest games. When I see how the GTX 1070 is not as suitable for the 4K output as the 1080, I am not too distressed by the lack of Ultra HD support. Full HD images remain perfectly sharp in this screen size, even with the nose pressed to the panel. It is a pity that the lighter Aero 14 model offers a sharper resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels; and I wonder why the Aorus heads at 1920 x 1080.
Improve the brightness and you will not have trouble seeing in broad daylight. This is favored by the matte finish, which limits the reflections reflected on his face.
In its default state, the Aorus display produces reasonably accurate colors. Our tests revealed that 96% of the sRGB range was covered, in case you need to edit some photos in your idle time. However, only 75% of the Adobe RGB range was reproduced, which matches many other gaming laptops.
Gigabyte's command and control software lets you play with gamma and color temperature levels, while Nvidia's own control panel also offers customization in depth.
Gigabyte Aorus X5 – Audio
On the keyboard of the X5 you will find stereo speakers, which emit a reasonably powerful sound. In the upper volume this is not as sharp as expected, although neither is it metallic nor distorted. The speakers work perfectly to enjoy games anywhere, although we recommend some suitable headphones if you want a specific surround response or to enjoy some melodies.
Dolby Atmos surround sound is compatible, so you can enjoy a more immersive sound experience with supported content. Again, you really want to use some suitable headphones to get the most out of this feature.
Gigabyte Aorus X5 – Performance
Where the Aorus X5 really stands out is in the performance department. Equipped with Intel's Core i7 8850H chipset, it runs at 2.6 GHz standard or 4.3 GHz with overclocking. That's backed by a powerful 16GB of DDR4 SDRAM, so you know you're going to get some frame rates from demanding titles.
Indeed, our game sessions were perfectly satisfactory. Rise of the Tomb Raider reached an impressive 112fps for example, even in the maximum configuration. We can not see this machine fighting with any new game for quite some time.
That said, I experienced some flaws when I used the Aorus X5 for everyday tasks. Standard applications occasionally crashed or stuttered, and it was impossible to determine if it was a laptop problem or just Windows being Windows.
I also did the standard reference tests Geekbench, PCMark and 3DMark, which spat out the following impressive results: 19659041] Geekbench Single Core: 5468
These Geekbench scores beat even the mighty Asus ROG G703, which uses Intel's Core i7-7820HK platform, as well as the Acer Predator 17.
Of course, if you are looking to connect your gaming machine to a 4K monitor for some seriously visual highlights, the GTX 1070 card will not cut it. You'd better see the Aorus X7 or X9 instead, which makes the thick GTX 1080 GPUs vibrate. Alternatively, the ROG G703 and the Predator 17 also offer a 1080 setting.
When you're hammering the Aorus X5 with Demanding games, the bottom of the laptop can be quite toasty. Fortunately, the cooling system does a good job of dissipating that heat, so I did not see any problem related to the temperature.
However, those fanatics who spin soon approach the huge volume levels under tension, so I want to turn up the volume of the game to cover it. Alternatively, you can switch between different cooling modes in the command and control application. I would recommend using the setting & # 39; Silent & # 39; when you are not playing.
The 1.5GB solid state drive is also adequate. Our tests revealed read speeds of 2552.9Mb / sec, while write speeds were 1308.6MB / sec. In other words, it will not be long while the games are loaded.
Gigabyte Aorus X5 – Battery life
Nobody buys a gaming laptop waiting for the battery to last all day, and, of course, this Aorus has a rather short lifetime without the power cord.
If you use your laptop for typical everyday tasks, such as web browsing and multimedia streaming, you can expect about four hours of playback. The standard Trusted Reviews PowerMark test yielded a result of 5 hours and 30 minutes. However, adhere to a demanding game and the battery life drops to 1 hour and 30 minutes on average.
Why buy the Gigabyte Aorus X5?
In terms of performance, the Aorus X5 is a king among laptops for gaming. The premium specifications mean that you will play the latest titles with the maximum settings for a while, without even thinking about updates.
Of course, despite being the most compact eighth generation Aorus machine, it is not quite as portable as I expected. And if you're bent on 4K images, you'll have to upgrade to one of the older brothers of the X5 with a GTX 1080.
Verdict
Performance that includes a stroke and all the game features that you & # 39; d expect to make a satisfactory entertainment machine, if not completely portable.