As it is well known that the 8th gen CPU is obviously powerful than the old 7th gen series, Gigabyte has provided the latest AERO series laptop 15X 2018 with the latest 8 gen CPU, GTX10 series Max-Q Graphic card, 2666MHz DDR4 memory and 144Hz e-sports screen panel.
The lastest 8th Gen laptop has the unique flat design. The laptop net weight is around 2kg, and 3kg with power adapter. It’s also better for the business class user who carried this laptop out for presentation purposes daily based uses. the 15X also offers a long-lasting 94Wh battery and strong gaming performance to enhance its power, by using nVidia latest GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU, More features rather than gaming such as design and sort of CAD-designing will also be enabled.
Specification
| CPU | Intel Core i7-8750H @2.2 GHz |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home pre installed |
| RAM | 1 x 16GB DDR4 2666MHz |
| RAM Upgradable to | 32GB |
| Hard Drive Size | 512GB SSD |
| Hard Drive Speed | Up to 2000 MB/s |
| Hard Drive Type | M.2 PCIe SSD |
| Screen Panel | 144Hz panel with X-Rite™ Pantone® certified display |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Highest Available Resolution | 3840 x 2160 4K (Optional) |
| Native Resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Optical Drive | N/A |
| Onboard Graphic | Intel® UHD Graphics 630 |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q (8GB) |
| Video Memory | 6 GB |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac |
| Wi-Fi Model | 802.11b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 + LE |
| Keyboard | GIGABYTE Fusion RGB Per-Key Backlit Keyboard |
| Touchpad Size | 4.1 x 2.7 inches |
| Ports (excluding USB) | Kensington Lock |
| Ports (excluding USB) | Mini DP 1.4 / HDMI 2.0 Ultra HD 4K 60Hz Output |
| Ports (excluding USB) | RJ-45 |
| Ports | USB 3.1 Type-C 10Gbps / 5V 3A |
| Ports (excluding USB) | Thunderbolt 3 |
| Ports (excluding USB) | HDMI |
| Ports (excluding USB) | Headphone/Mic |
| USB Ports | 4 |
| Card Slots | UHS-II SD card reader |
| Warranty/Support | 2 years |
| Size | 14 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 2kg net / 3kg with adapter |
| Battery | Li-Polymer 94.24Wh Capacity for 10 Hours Productivity |
| Adapter | 180W |
| Company Website | gigabyte.com.au |
Package
Like the 2017’s design, the package still has 2 layers that the 1st layer contains a laptop, the other layer will store the accessories and power adapter.
The power adapter is 180W, OEMed by ANDYSON. with a USB type-A port located at the top side of the adapter, it will benefit for users who want’s to charge their phone with using USB ports on their laptop.
Design
The Aero 15X has a minimalistic design. Gigabyte has opted to remove all the different colours it offered for the Aero series in the past years. The metal-grey design for 2018’s model will attract a much larger audience than any of the other gaming laptops from 2018.
When you open the laptop, you are greeted by the 15.6 inch 144Hz screen with an extremely thin bezel. The new Greek-inspired logo adorns the bottom of the screen where interestingly the front facing camera is mounted.
On the right side, AERO 15X has an Ethernet port, a USB 3.0 Type A, a HDMI output, a Mini DP and a 3.5mm audio jack.
On the left side, AERO 15X has a Kensington lock port, a power jack, 2 USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a USB 3.1 type C with Thunderbolt 3 display output port, and a UHS-II SD card slot.
Display
Pantone Certified display is a highlight for this panel when you are playing movies and games on this device. Compared with other brands (such as ASUS, MSI and DELL) , this panel isn’t the fastest in terms of response time, a LGD05C0 IPS panel from LG lags behind competitors be around 40%.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Aero 15X uses RBG to beautifully illuminate the keyboard. The keyboard interestingly does not switch to RGB mode until the application in OS has been fully loaded.
The software allows optimisation of each individual key included changing their lighting mode.
The feel of the keyboard is pretty standard for a gaming laptop and is a non-mechanical variant.
The touchpad for the Aero 15X 2018 has been re-designed but it’s fairly small so people with bigger hands may struggle.
Benchmark
With the powerful Intel Core i7-8750H, 16GB DDR4 2666 Memory and a PCI-E NVMe M.2 SSD, you will breeze through games and other processes.
In a CINEBENCH the Aero 15X 2018 scores 1150 in multi-core mode, and 175 in single-core mode. These display similar results with the Asus Zephyrus M GM501, but slightly higher than the MSI GS65 Stealth.
The furmark stress test sits at around 51FPS under 8X MSAA mode, with GPU temps of 64°C GPU. It runs cool after letting it sit for 20-30 seconds.
Overall
The price of this machine is slightly higher than the old gen CPU versions sitting at RRP $3299. Despite this we think that the hardware and performance improvements are worth this extra investment. The 144Hz e-sports panel is a must for gamers and the design and powerful battery make this a great pick for professionals. It is highly recommended.