GIGABYTE could make this 5 stars if they wanted to..2/23/2021 6:28:37 PM
Pros: -Built from mostly aluminum and very robust
-Excellent mechanical keyboard with nice travel
-Very even and bright keyboard backlighting
-Smooth glass track pad w. accurate fingerprint scanner
-Bright panel with nice color and contrast. Very little ghosting
-Strong hinge (fixed from last years model being looser)
-Tolerable fan noise and no noticeable GPU coil wine
This keyboard seriously nice. By far my favorite feature on this thing, You don't realize you really wanted it on a laptop until you experience it. I have used MX Brown switch desktop keyboards for years and boy it makes such a difference on a laptop especially for gaming. It feels and sounds somewhere between a Brown and Blue switch. Its slightly clicky but not loud like a traditional blue switch. Just a joy to use. The keys are slightly undersized but nothing that you can't get use to in a few days. The rest of the Pros are pretty self explanatory.
Cons: -Mostly locked out BIOS (can not under-volt CPU, OC memory, no MUX switch etc..)
-No way to turn off Nvidia Optimus.
-GPU max wattage - 105w (its a Max-Q)
-Aorus Control Center is buggy randomly throws error messages and crashes
-GPU voltage and power limits locked out
-Only 512gb SSD for this price
Like the title of this review says, GIGABYTE has basically forced me to not write a 5 star review. This is an extremely expensive gaming laptop completely locked out from tweaking it to run up to its full potential. Not having an option to turn off Nvidia Optimus really stinks GIGABYTE. We are talking about up to a 30% loss in FPS. All you had to do was either unlock the BIOS with a MUX switch or write it into the Aorus Control Center software for the RTX 3070 variants. I know the 15G with the 3080's have an option in the control center software. So what gives GIGABTYE? Makes not sense to restrict performance. I know that some games are picky about turning off Optimus but leave that to us please. Give us a little credit that we can figure things out.
PLEASE UPDATE AORUS CONTROL CENTER OR UNLOCK THE BIOS WITH A MUX SWITCH!!
Overall Review: This it a great gaming laptop don't get me wrong. It plays most game well at 1080p and is very well built with a super nice keyboard and screen. But reviews are about being open and honest so that potential buyers know what they're getting in to. You need to fix your buggy Aorus Control Center and for goodness sake, allow us to disable Nvidia Optimus! It really kills gaming performance. If I want efficiency I will turn it back on. Leave it to your customers to decide.
Note: If you want to see how much performance you are losing from Nvidia Optimus, connect this to an external monitor using the mini-displayport or HDMI port. Both of them on this model are connected directly to the RTX 3070 so you bypass the Intel integrated graphics which in turn, bypasses Nvidia Optimus. I average a 20 fps gain across about 8 tested games. Feels like a completely different laptop. GIGABYTE really needs to address this.
Pros: Pros:
- aluminum chassis top and bottom
- Wifi 6 capable
- mechanical keyboard with terrific per key lighting
- easily upgradable
- 300hz screen looks fantastic
- really fast across the board
- very responsive fingerprint reader
Cons: - Webcam placement may not be ideal
- power port location is a bit awkward
- sound quality is a bit lacking
Overall Review: Overall, I'm impressed with this laptop. I purchased it to replace an MSI Raider RGB GE73 that I owned for a little over two years that finally died. I initially was dead-set to purchase another MSI, but as the newer MSI models were unavailable, I gave this laptop a chance.
And I'm not at all disappointed. The laptop really feels sturdy in all respects. Gigabyte claims that the lid was CNC machined from one piece of aluminum and I believe it. While the laptop is a bit heavier than others, it isn't too heavy. Some reviewers may note the weight as a drawback, but I found the feel of it reassuring.
Setup was very easy. I logged into Onedrive and restored my desktop. Props to Microsoft for that.
Right out of the gate, I upgraded the laptop by purchasing an upgrade from the Microsoft store for WIndows 10 Pro. I would recommend this to any laptop owner, as it gives access to Bitlocker, allowing you to encrypt the hard drive. If the laptop is ever stolen, you won't have to worry about the thief gaining access to any credit card numbers that might be lurking about.
I also took the time (and money) to add an additional 1TB of nvme storage. Opening up the back was relatively painless, but it's worth noting that the screws will require a star tipped screwdriver. I had to make a run to a local computer store to get a socket set that would do it, but that's a minor complaint on my part. Just know that if you do open it to upgrade, you'll need the right tools. Once I got it open, it was very easy to add the storage.
I was also impressed with the fingerprint reader. Login is FAST. I mean, practically instantaneous. The fingerprint reader is located in a small square on the trackpad and works very well.
What truly impressed me was wifi performance. Being a network engineer I went so far as to replace my FIOS router with a wifi 6 capable router. I have 75mbps throughput at home but I have tested it at 83mbps. During setup, I had the laptop downloading World of Warcraft and all my OneDrive content. Wifi 6 was using the entire 83mbps to download everything, which floored me. No disconnections or latency was noted, either. This was a terrific surprise.
The keyboard looks really good and is very responsive. It is a mechanical keyboard of the old school type you don't see in keyboards anymore, so there is some clicking as you type. I found this, again, to be reassuring. Anyone who touch types will enjoy this keyboard.
My only gripe is the sound coming out of the laptop, which isn't great. Most of us are probably using headsets, however, and the sound is perfectly acceptable for most tasks. I would suggest using either speakers or headphones if you want to listen to music or movies on the laptop, however.
Overall, I am very impressed with this laptop. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants a solid, quality gaming laptop at a reasonable price.
Well built quality Laptop with a heavenly keyboard2/12/2021 9:20:48 AM
Pros: The keyboard feels extremely nice to type on. The key travel is astonishing for a laptop and the clickieness makes this a joy to type and play on.
The Performance of this laptop is also very surprising. I compared it to my Desktop with an Intel core i9 9900k and a 1080ti and the difference was only about 700 points in 3d mark.
The aluminum alloy body feels very sturdy and when I do scratch something on it, it can be rubbed off with your fingers without leaving any marks behind. The Laptop does have some weight to it but that's expected with this kind of quality body. The performance of the CPU and GPU was very surprising to me since this still is a portable machine that I can carry around anywhere.
Cons: The 512GB storage unit it comes with was not nearly enough for my use. So just one day later I ordered me a 1TB m.2 for the second Slot in the Laptop. It does get pretty Hot after playing for a while but nothing world breaking and when using the turbo fan feature the degrees went down by 10C. This is not really a con for just this laptop but any laptop I have had in the past: When not plugged in to a power source it is nearly impossible to play games or do any heavy workload because the battery cant supply the needed wattage to the hardware. So don't expect to play heavy games on a bus or train without a power source.
Overall Review: I definitely Recommend this Laptop to anyone that has to travel a lot and needs a powerful machine for gaming or editing videos/images. I use this machine mainly for Gaming and video editing and it does both very well. I edit my videos with 4k footage out of a Sony alpha camera and it does with without any problems and lags in adobe premiere.
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Verified Owner
I love it!2/15/2021 9:04:04 AM
Pros: - Built Quality
- Mechanical Keyboard
- Cooling
- Good performance (it's better than I expected from TDW 90W GPU)
Cons: - Hope better GPU TDW (perhaps 100W + 15W)
Overall Review: - I will recommend this laptop.
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
Verified Owner
Absolutely Worth the Money! Fantastic Laptop!2/5/2021 11:20:17 AM
Pros: Runs quiet, lots of power, excellent for gaming, blazing fast screen makes motion flow smooth, and a beautiful design!
Cons: None so far!
Overall Review: Loving laptop! I haven’t played a game yet that I can’t run on max settings and get 100+ FPS! (While it’s plugged in.) It still does a fantastic job on the battery but like any other gaming laptop it draws more power plugged in. Love the aesthetics and light up keys. Runs super quiet and is a fantastic gaming rig. Excellent connection option, especially the HDMI 2.1, and the blazing fast screen is awesome!
Pros: - The mechanical keyboard is an absolute joy to type on, the key strokes are so fresh and crisp.
- LED lights on the keyboard using the AORUS Control Center are so much fun to tinker around with, I set the colors on the keyboard to my mood on a daily basis.
- The display is top notch and stunning to look at.
- Very responsive laptop, amazingly fast.
- Laptop stays cool under heavy workloads.
- Excellent gaming power with the RTX 3070 GPU.
- Fantastic battery life when not plugged in, I can game for hours on this without a problem.
Cons: Small hard drive at 512gb, would have preferred a 1tb hard drive but the good news is there is a second M.2 SSD slot so expanding storage space is super easy!
Overall Review: I highly recommend this laptop, it's an unbridled powerhouse fit for a king!
Pros: -Built from mostly aluminum and very robust -Excellent mechanical keyboard with nice travel -Very even and bright keyboard backlighting -Smooth glass track pad w. accurate fingerprint scanner -Bright panel with nice color and contrast. Very little ghosting -Strong hinge (fixed from last years model being looser) -Tolerable fan noise and no noticeable GPU coil wine This keyboard seriously nice. By far my favorite feature on this thing, You don't realize you really wanted it on a laptop until you experience it. I have used MX Brown switch desktop keyboards for years and boy it makes such a difference on a laptop especially for gaming. It feels and sounds somewhere between a Brown and Blue switch. Its slightly clicky but not loud like a traditional blue switch. Just a joy to use. The keys are slightly undersized but nothing that you can't get use to in a few days. The rest of the Pros are pretty self explanatory.
Cons: -Mostly locked out BIOS (can not under-volt CPU, OC memory, no MUX switch etc..) -No way to turn off Nvidia Optimus. -GPU max wattage - 105w (its a Max-Q) -Aorus Control Center is buggy randomly throws error messages and crashes -GPU voltage and power limits locked out -Only 512gb SSD for this price Like the title of this review says, GIGABYTE has basically forced me to not write a 5 star review. This is an extremely expensive gaming laptop completely locked out from tweaking it to run up to its full potential. Not having an option to turn off Nvidia Optimus really stinks GIGABYTE. We are talking about up to a 30% loss in FPS. All you had to do was either unlock the BIOS with a MUX switch or write it into the Aorus Control Center software for the RTX 3070 variants. I know the 15G with the 3080's have an option in the control center software. So what gives GIGABTYE? Makes not sense to restrict performance. I know that some games are picky about turning off Optimus but leave that to us please. Give us a little credit that we can figure things out. PLEASE UPDATE AORUS CONTROL CENTER OR UNLOCK THE BIOS WITH A MUX SWITCH!!
Overall Review: This it a great gaming laptop don't get me wrong. It plays most game well at 1080p and is very well built with a super nice keyboard and screen. But reviews are about being open and honest so that potential buyers know what they're getting in to. You need to fix your buggy Aorus Control Center and for goodness sake, allow us to disable Nvidia Optimus! It really kills gaming performance. If I want efficiency I will turn it back on. Leave it to your customers to decide. Note: If you want to see how much performance you are losing from Nvidia Optimus, connect this to an external monitor using the mini-displayport or HDMI port. Both of them on this model are connected directly to the RTX 3070 so you bypass the Intel integrated graphics which in turn, bypasses Nvidia Optimus. I average a 20 fps gain across about 8 tested games. Feels like a completely different laptop. GIGABYTE really needs to address this.