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The D side design implements large and unique theme of vents. The temperature varies during the burn-in test we will shared latter. AORUS 15G Laptop comes with a small bulk of 230W adapter that weighs 735g. The maximum opening angle of the display is about 140 degrees, the expression of these 2 parts are good. AORUS Control Center of exclusive software: The mainpage, Smart Dashboard can offer system monitoring, model name, and hardware status. Keyboard lighting page built-in more than 10 kinds of lighting effect mode for the user to adjust. Supports RGB Fusion 2.0 tech., full color of per-key RGB mechanical keyboard Fan speed control with silent, normal, gaming mode, also with deep control mode. User could depends on personal preferences to set fan speeds under any temperature. The users can use the AI software icon on the upper right of the screen to operate the Ai. Through Microsoft Azure cloud computing and learning, the CPU and GPU power consumption could be dynamically adjust according to the user's behavior of the program to get better performance. The hardware performance can be optimized by AI to achieve higher efficiency, testing a variety of software to turn on AI can get up to 10% higher performance than turning off AI. Nahimic 3D sound software： The interface and function already updated many versions, comes with more features. Mainly apply 4 sound stages, with 3 types to make it richer sound effects. Below is AORUS 15G speaker sound experience, this part is subjective. High frequency – Not too sharp, very rich detail and high quality of overall present. Middle frequency – Overall clear and brilliant, human vocal is rich and nice. Low frequency – Low frequency sound present pretty clean and not too turbid. But woofer of drum sound is slightly weak. The AORUS series positioned on gaming series, the surround sound was a little the weak for the effects. Turn the volume to 100%, the volume is fine and no too loud. The overall performance of the speaker is clear and quality has reached a high-end laptop level. AORUS 15G depends on CPU and GPU combinations difference. KB model aims for the middle level, equipped with 10th gen i7-10875H. The base clock speed is 2.3 GHz, single core Boost up to 5.1 GHz, 14nm process. This is the first laptop equipped 8 cores and 16 threads of Core i7, TDP is 45W. The following is the part of CPU performance testing, turn on AI function with all default settings. CPUZ 1.92.0： Single CPU =>534.7, 8C16T multi CPU => 5064.8, Fritz Chess Benchmark =>54.25 / 26039. CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1672 cb,CPU(Single Core) => 200 cb. CINEBENCH R20.0： CPU => 3472 cb,CPU(Single Core) => 483 cb. Geekbench 5： Single-Core Score => 1280,Multi-Core Score => 7643.

In recent 2 years, GIGABYTE more focused on the high-end laptop market. They got two product lines, AORUS for Pro Gaming series, and AERO series is designed for the creators. And AORUS series is separated by 15-inch and 17-inch produts. This article will reveal the latest AORUS 15G KB which has been redesigned the appearance, make it more fit to the gaming style. AORUS 15G product intro video：https://youtu.be/FSDOswL1VN8 The biggest features on AORUS 15G and 17G are the brand new appearance designed for pro gaming. The color of A cover made of matted Iron gray metal, and the surface is less obvious fingerprints design. In the past, I have used many black ones, metal matte or hairline surface laptop, the fingerprint is more obvious. The chassis made by aluminum CNC cutting process, which enhances the solid build quality. Dimension of laptop is 356(W) x 250(D) x 25(H)mm (14.0 x 9.84 x 0.98 inch), weight 2.2g (4.85 lb), measured is 2275g (5.01lb) The Eagle shape of logo will light up slightly white when boot up. It is decent and not too flashing. In many high-end laptops, there is an extension part in the rear side of the laptop, but AORUS 15G does not have that extra size. It can effectively shrink the size of chassis, which makes AORUS 15G very different from other brands. Both sides of C cover simulated the supercar side skirt, that gives AORUS 15G with very special unibody like appearance. The B cover is very similar to the GIGABYTE creator laptop of AERO series. The three-way 3mm ultra-thin bezel design is the thinnest bezel in the high-end level model. There is full range of anti-impact stripe rubber protection, to avoid panel damage by C side when cover is closed. AORUS 15G equipped with a 15.6-inch IGZO anti-glare panel on this model. With FHD resolution, 4ms response time, 240Hz high refresh rate, the AORUS 15G guaranteed that games can get an immersive gameplay experience. Over 72%NTSC wide color gamut, and every panel is calibrated and passed the X-rite Pantone certified before ship out. Delta E <1 is very close to original color display, achieve the most accurate color presents even in the games. C cover keyboards and touchpad is black color, rest of the chassis parts is Iron-Gray. The unibody designed touchpad is highly accurate with fine smooth operation. Moreover, it supports Windows Precision Touchpad tech, offering multi-touch operate works. The touchpad offered a fingerprint sensor on the upper left, and the concave design at below makes the panel easier to be lifted and it’s also a cooling hole design. The HD webcam and microphone on the top of C side. The face might not be taken too close to the chin or nose cam with the webcam because the surface is angled upward. To enhance the personal privacy safety, AORUS 15G equipped a cover on the webcam, which is very rare design on laptops. The Keyboard backlit support AORUS RGB Fusion 2.0, which can customized the color and Marco function in every single key. The world’s first laptop equipped with OMRON mechanical switches is the AORUS 17 in end of last year. The exclusive design also equipped on the slimmer AORUS 15G, the thickness of chassis has reduced from 38mm drop to 25mm. The Omron switches are made in Japan, featured ultra-durable 15M of keystroke lifespan, and the optimum key travel 2.5mm. The 1.6mm trigger point is much better than other high-end laptops were using a classic membrane keyboard. GIGABYTE AORUS claim that the typing feeling is similar to the Cherry Blue Switch, compared to my personal Brown Switch keyboard; there is not any big difference. Make a mechanical keyboard fit in a 25mm (0.98inch) chassis is a very awesome design in the mid-high-end level laptop. The left side I/O ports, from left to right： 2 X USB 3.2 Gen1 (Type-A) / Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C) / UHS-II SD Card Reader / DC-in Jack / Shaped Vents. Build-in high-speed card reader, up to 312 MB/s The rear side of hinge with the c side decorated with special racing design, which enriches the design detail of appearance. The left side I/O ports, from left to right： Shaped Vents. / HDMI 2.0 / mini DP 1.4 / USB 3.2 Gen1 (Type-A) / 3.5 Audio combo jack / RJ-45(Killer Ethernet E2600). This is my first time saw the hinge and near area that designed as special racing style in my many reviews of high-end level laptops. The design lines of the detail on AORUS 15G is even richer than DELL Alienware.

The resolution at 2160P test score. Compared to the 1080P and 2160P (4K) resolution of SPECviewperf 13 score as below, It can be seen that using 1080P resolution performance will improve a lot. SPECworkstation 3.0 Resolution 3840 x 2160, GPU changed to RTX 2070 Super Geekbench 5 OpenCL Score => 86188 If the creator's laptop uses 3D rendering software, it is often demand on OpenGL or CL performance. The software as above mainly used to test the performance of OpenGL or CL. Some graphics software had well known before. Then comes DirectX performance, which is the 3D technology that general games use. The back parentheses which are AERO 15 OLED equipped i9-9980HK and RTX 2080 Max-Q comparison. 3DMARK Fire Strike => 18357 (17516) FINAL FANTASY XIV ： Shadowbringers 1920 X 1080 HIGH=> 16895 (15948) FAR CRY 5 Resolution 1920 x 1080, set 3D effect to very high Built in benchmark tool – rendering frames 6345 (5878) The three types of DirectX 3D test data above can be seen that the RTX 2070 Super score is higher. And even SPECviewperf 13 and SPECworkstation 3.0 data are the same situation. The new mobile version RTX 2070 Super performance will be higher than the previous RTX 2080 Max-Q. In addition, the higher-end RTX 2080 Super, of course it would be stronger. And it is a 3D performance upgrade for thin and light laptops. I also hope that in the future, NVIDIA’s updated official version driver will improve the performance of these two RTX Supers. Burn-in Temp. test. Ambient temperature at 21˚C, proceed Intel Core i7-10875H cooling test. Fan speed set to normal speed, the CPU full speed up to about 4500~4600rpm. Run the LinX 0.7.1 at full speed, 72~79˚C, maxima up to 80. The fan was about 2600 ~ 2800 rpm during idle. In this state, the fan sound was too quiet to hear the fan sound. The CPU full speed was up to about 3000~3200rpm, although the noise is increased but not loud. Compared with other high-end gaming laptops were tested by several users, this is about below medium volume of fan noise. The i7-10875H TDP specification is 45W, AERO 17 HDR cooling system could suppress higher TDP usage. The clock of 8C16T burn-in state is about 2.9 ~ 3G, although LinX is very strict burning software for Intel CPU. Compared to AERO 15 OLED with 8C16T i9-9980HK, was already has a very good heat dissipation capacity. The 17” AERO with a larger cooling module, which directly makes the heat dissipation capacity and noise of fans performed better. FurMark mainly for GPU RTX 2070 Super burn in test. GPU 1035MHz / MEM 5500MHz, the GPU fan full speed up to about 4000~4200rpm. Run FurMark got idle of 36˚C and full speed 68˚C. With FurMark burn-in test, keyboard side around 28~38˚C, upper side 28~42˚C, left & right side vents 31~46˚C. Back side vents 39~52˚C, D side air intake vent 33~52˚C. The fan noise was a little bit increase during GPU full speed mode, although the noise close to mid-high frequency but the overall is not too loud. In terms of high-loading environment, it was acceptable and not to make people felt uncomfortable. You won’t hear much noise when both the loading environment and fan speed is low. In situations like web surfing, video watching and music. On the battery life, Microsoft Azure AI set to “Battery Save Mode”. Turn off the Wi-Fi link to internet and the Bluetooth to playback video at 1080P format with creen brightness 20%, it claimed up to 8 hours by official tests. In real test, used Wi-Fi link to internet and playback YouTube video at DVD 480P format with 30% of brightness, after 1 hour with 87% left, after 2 hours with 74% left, After 3 hours with 62% left, 5 hours with 34% left, and after 7 hours with 5% then shutdown automatically. That means the battery life performance is excellent for long-term usage environment. Summarized on GIGABYTE AERO 17 HDR Key features and advantages: 1. Solid on chassis and assembling quality, it is significantly different from gaming laptops’ ID design. 2. AUO 4K HDR 400 panel, ultra-narrow bezel design on 3 sides and X-Rite Pantone display color certification. 3. Equipped with the 10th Gen. 8C16T i7-10875H or i9-10980HK to achieve the highest performance of Intel platform laptops. 4. Equipped with the latest NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super or 2080 Super graphics to achieve the highest 3D performance. 5. Rich functions of AORUS Control Center and Nahimic 3D sound software. 6. Support Microsoft Azure AI for dynamic adjust to get higher efficient and performance. 7. WINDFORCE Infinity cooling with dual 72 blades fans and 5 heatpipes to increase 30% heat dissipation. 8. The Per-key RGB backlit keyboard with membrane design and the keystroke feedback was very well. 9. Equipped with the Killer AX1650 Wi-Fi card which supported 802.11AX (WIFI 6) technology. 10. The webcam cover is heart touching, and the battery life above the standard by high-end hardware. The points for future improvement listed. 1. WebCam got lower resolution and quality, hope it could be improved. 2. The sound quality of the speaker in the bass effect and sound field could be better. 3. It would be better if it could provide 4K OLED version like AERO 15 Performance Rating ★★★★★★★★★☆ 93/100 Material Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 88/100 Specification Rating ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 ID design Rating ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Cost Performance Rating ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 77/100 There are HDR(4K) and non-HDR(FHD 144Hz) version of AERO 17, others are differentiated by CPU and GPU hardware. The latest version of HDR equipped with Intel's 10th Gen. Core i7-10875H or i9-10980HK. And this is the first time to equip the RTX 2070 Super and 2080 Super(Max-Q) graphics, the price is about USD$1999~4499 The GPU will also have three versions: RTX 2070 Max-Q, RTX 2060, GTX 1660Ti in the market. They are non-HDR version on the market currently, which equipped with Intel's 9th Gen. Core i7-9750H. And equipped with GTX 1660Ti, RTX 2060 and 2070 graphics, the price is about USD $1499~2199 The above 2 entry-level models look more valuable, AERO 17 series has two Gens. of product lines in multiple versions. Consumers who are interested in AERO 17 can depend on their budget and needs to choose. After the refresh, the AERO 17 HDR ID design maintains the same business design with solid chassis and excellent assembly quality. The hardware inside also has different price options due to different levels, and performance can also replace gaming laptops of the same level. It seems that the first wave of new applications is in the higher-priced AERO 17 HDR, and integrated the latest CPU and GPU to improve performance. If the gaming laptop is similar to the price and hardware placement, the ID design of AERO 17 models are still more attractive. If the AERO refreshed in the future, recommended to improve the Webcam quality and richer sound effect performance that will be more complete. Above are my personal experience on the latest hardware performance and design of AERO 17 HDR XB. It is provided as a reference for you in need. 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Microphone page got chat and conference mode, with 3 functions to adjust. Below is AERO 17 HDR speaker sound experience, this part is subjective. High frequency: Not too sharp, very rich detail and high quality of overall present. Middle frequency: Overall clear and brilliant, human vocal is really nice. Low frequency: Low frequency sound present pretty clean and not too turbid. But woofer of drum sound is slightly weak. The AERO series are not positioned on gaming models, so ambience sound and heavy bass will be little cold in the sound effect. The overall performance of the speaker is clear and quality has reached a high-end laptop level. AERO 17 HDR depends on CPU and GPU combinations difference, there are i7-10875H and i9-10980HK 2 models. The character of this article is the second high-level version: XB, which equipped with the latest 10 Gen. i7-10875 H-series processor. It's Intel 8-core CPU with 14 nm technology and a base clock speed of 2.3 GHz, single core up to 5.1 GHz. This is the first laptop equipped 8 cores and 16 threads of Core i7, TDP is 45W. The following is the part of CPU performance testing, turn on AI function with all default settings. The comparison model was AERO 15 OLED that launched last year, which equipped with i9-9980HK processor and RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics. Compared to the CPU scores in the back parentheses which are Intel Core i9-9980HK 8C16T 2.4~5G results. CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1817 cb (1417 cb), increase about 28% CPU(Single Core) => 212 cb (189 cb), increase about 12% CINEBENCH R20.0 CPU => 3713 cb (3212 cb), increase about 16% CPU(Single Core) => 502 cb (446 cb), increase about 12% CPUZ 1.91.0 Single CPU => 549.4 (512.8), increase about 7.1% 8C16T multi CPU => 5113.3 (4070), increase about 25.6% Fritz Chess Benchmark =>56.07 / 26914 (47.81 / 22948), increase about 17% Geekbench 5 Single-Core Score => 1316 Multi-Core Score => 7876 FRYRENDER Running Time => 2m 13s (2m 28s), increase about 11% x265 Benchmark 2.1.0 => 55.49FPS (45.88FPS), increase about 21% PCMARK10 => 6169 (5253), increase about 17% The Intel 10th Gen of i7-10875H 8C16T clock speed is about 2.3~5.1GHz. Compared with the top CPU of previous generation i9-9980HK 8C16T, the clock is about 2.4 ~ 5GHz. The CPU performance of the above two in AERO 15 and 17-inch thin and light notebooks, No matter in single-core or full-core performance both has significantly improved in the latest 10th Gen. If the 17-inch 3.8 kg muscle laptop equipped with i9-9980HK would be much larger due to the bigger thermal module. After comparison, that the i9-9980HK performance was similar to i7-10875H In conclusion, we can understand that thin and similar type of laptop models, which equipped the 10 Gen. supporting the new boost clock technology. Coupled with GIGABYTE's exclusive Azure AI software, the clock speed of single-core or full-core operation will have more power flexibility and higher performance. DRAM performance test - DDR4 2933 AIDA64 Memory Read - 41026 MB/s Intel 9th Gen Coffee Lake natively supported up to DDR4-2666 MHz memory. This time, 10th Gen Comet Lake-H supported up to DDR4-2933 MHz memory. AIDA64 Memory Read speed increased from DDR4 2666 to 2933 by about 10% This laptop equipped with Micron DDR4 3200, It was a pity that the CPU didn’t support up to DDR4 3200. Previously tested the 10th generation 10nm i7-1065G7 belongs to Ice Lake-U platform, up to 3733 After all, the laptop with DDR4 cannot overclock, I hope there is an Intel H series platform that supports up to DDR4 3200. The AERO 17 HDR storage system was built-in two M.2 SSDs slots. This one was installed with SAMSUNG M.2 PCIe 512G SSD. SSD test part–CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 3201.63MB/s，Write - 2976.97MB/s AS SSD Benchmark - 4680 Seq Read - 1983.16 MB/s，Write - 2437.77 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 1265.64 MB/s，Write - 2006.90 MB/s SAMSUNG MZVLB512HBJQ is also known as PM981a. This spec. of read speed up to 3500MB/s, write speed up to 2900MB/s It has been tested that the max. 3230 and 1625MB/s of Intel 760P was only 2773 in AS SSD Benchmark. In terms of PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD, PM981a is considered to be the top-performing SSD version. However, it is difficult to reach the max. Bandwidth of the specification due to the laptop energy-saving technologies and not able to manual disable. NVIDIA releases RTX Studio laptops for content creators, with Creator Ready Driver supported. The new Gen of laptop high-end GPUs are RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2080 Super. They both equipped with the NVIDIA new Max-Q design, and claimed that Max-Q brings more FPS per watt than before. The following is the RTX 2070 Super (Max-Q) GDDR6 8GB 3D performance testing result. The installed driver version is NVIDIA STUDIO DRIVER 442.23. SPECviewperf 13 The resolution at 1080P test score.

The D side design implements large and unique vents. Both left and right sides are speakers. The battery (94.24wh) is built-in and non-detachable. The high-end Intel 8C16T Core i7-10875H and NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super were both insert into the thin chassis. How temperature varies during the burin-in test will be written in latter paragraph. Here were listed all the included accessories. Warranty card, user manual, power cord and 230W adapter. The adapter is not big and easier to carry. The ID design style of AERO 17 HDR is quite similar to AERO 15 OLED. The biggest difference is the I/O positions and the display size. To me, the ID design of AERO is superior to other top-level ultrathin notebooks. AERO provides top level 17’’ HDR and 15’’ OLED notebooks for display-oriented creators. Here we compare the indoor display performance. On the left side, we have the AORUS 7 equipped with LG IPS 144Hz (Tuned with Spyder) On the right side, we have the AERO 17 HDR equipped with AUO 4K with HDR 400. The AORUS 7 utilizes the same FHD display as AERO 17. The tuned display color is already pretty awesome. However, the AERO 17 HDR delicately presents bright and dark area details under High-Dynamic Range. The RGB backlit from keyboard looks impressive indoor. Especially at a dark space, the RGB lightning will be most luminous. Not to mention that users can adjust the lightning mode whenever you like. GIGABYTE Control Center software. The first page is Smart Dashboard. Mainly for monitoring software systems, hardware usage, and hardware model names. The AI interface located at the top-right side. Through Microsoft Azure, cloud computing and machine learning could predict the program experience and user behaviors, and then dynamically adjust CPU and GPU power consumptions. Optimizing hardware performance by AI can achieve a higher executing performance. Moreover, the new AI icon looks concise and stylish. Manager page looks like mobile phone drop-down macro interface. Mainly shows the function status and instant on/off. The RGB Fusion 2.0 supports up to 16.77 million colors Per-Key RGB Backlit keyboard. In addition, the keyboard supports 80 simultaneous key presses, and the Per-Key Macro keys function. These functions can be turned off when you aren’t gaming. The outstanding keystroke feedback is very impressive. Fan speed control with silent, normal, gaming mode, also with deep control mode. User could depend on preference to set any fan speed at any temperature. And lastly, this Smart Utilities item is about the hardware update information, system backup, product description, Q & A and other functions. GIGABYTE Control Center interface is almost the same as AORUS Control Center. Although the functions are already very abundance and the layout is easy to use, I hope AERO can have its own style of software layout Nahimic 3D sound software Recent years tested many MSI gaming notebook all used this software The interface and function already revised many versions, comes with lots features. Mainly apply 4 sound stages, with 3 type to make it richer sound effects.

In recent 2 years, GIGABYTE laptops mainly focused on two product lines. AORUS launched earlier and is more famous as a series based on gaming design. AREO is a thinner series designed for the needs of creators; these two series got their strong points. AERO chassis design is closer to high-quality Ultrabook, equipped with high-end hardware SPECs. The character of this article is the latest AERO 17 HDR, Let’s watch the guide video and get the information guide first. [Youtube]dVIC-iR44zc[/Youtube] This new AERO 17 HDR XB equipped with Intel Core i7-10875H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super. The outer box used the special English lettering of AERO with black and orange colors. The full chassis body with CNC cutting technology, the A side also all be made with aluminum. The central and upper area are matted design with anti-fingerprint treatment. To make the A side more varied, the bottom area was V-shaped unfolding line design with brushing surface treatment. 17.3” dimension is 396(W) x 270(D) x 21.4(H) mm, weight from 2.5kg. Actual weight is 2661g, AERO 17 HDR performs pretty well on high-end laptop ID design and balanced of weight ratio. Open the AERO 17 HDR, the B side and C side placement overview. The display hinge located at both sides of the chassis body, the maximum open angle of the display is around 120 degree. The assembling quality is very solid. The A side could slowly close automatically when the open angle of the display is under 30 degree. B side is the 17.3” AUO anti-glared display, 4K UHD IPS panel. The three edges of the AERO 17 HDR display with 3mm ultrathin bezel, which is the thinnest bezel design on the overall notebook models. There is a full range 3 side of frame rubber around to avoid causing damage when the screen closed to touch the C side. B side screen-to-body ratio is up to 89% and matches the VESA Display HDR 400 standard. It supports 100% Adobe RGB color gamut that brings more than 25% more details than sRGB colors of detail. Each laptop display passed the color calibration of X-Rite Pantone from factory side. Delta E <1 is very close to original color display, and achieve the most accurate color presents. Except for the keyboard area, the C side are made by matte black aluminum material same as A side design. The island-style keyboard with RGB Fusion 2.0 technology, and specialized in more fabulous full-color backlight. GIGABYTE and Sunrex who is the world's largest keyboard supplier collaborated to make the keystroke feedback more solid In terms of membrane keyboard, this is really good keystroke feedback by my personal experience. There are HD webcam and microphone on the top of C side. The face should not be taken too close to the chin with webcam because the surface is angled upward. It supported face tracing technology, the smoothness was outstanding but the resolution still could be better. It is a rarely design of webcam cover in other laptops, which can enhance the privacy for users. The round power button just below the webcam, and the linear holes on both left and right side of the button are airflow vents for cooling. The bottom of the C side is the touchpad, which offered accurate operation, and equipped with the fingerprint sensor on the upper left. The left and right sides are stickers of hardware or feature lists, and one more sticker that emphasized this laptop was Made in Taiwan at the bottom-left corner. The large and thicker sticker on the right which emphasized the hardware features of AERO 17 HDR, it easier to tear and no glue reside. The right side of I/O port. From left side, USB 3.2 Gen1 / Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C) / MINI DP 1.4 / HDMI 2.0/ power input/ vent. Composed with Killer Ethernet E2600 LAN chip and Killer wireless Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 chip. The AX1650 supports the latest 802.11AX, which is the WIFI 6 technology that allows a 2.4 Gbps transmission speed. The left side of I/O port From left side, vent. / RJ45 internet port / SD Card Reader (UHS-II) / USB 3.2 Gen 1 Earphone jack / microphone jack / USB 3.2 Gen 1 The UHS-II can be seen as a luxury high-speed SD Card Reader for laptops, which can run up to 300 MB/s.

Battlefield V 1920 x 1080, frame quality: highest DX12 option, opening theme – 99FPS RTX 2060 NVIDIA DLSS option, – 89FPS Monster Hunter: World 1920 x 1080, 3D effect set to highest, opening theme – 50 FFPS (55 FPS) FAR CRY 5 Resolution 1920 x 1080, set 3D effect to very high Built in benchmark tool – rendering frames 4939 (5088) opening theme – 75 FFPS PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS 1920 x 1080 3D effect set to highest, start character in lobby - 152 FPS Tom Clancy's The Division 2 1920 x 1080 3D effect set to highest, opening theme – 67 FFPS Although RTX 2060 adds ray tracing and DLSS technology, but not many games which supported currently. Basically, the performance difference between 1660Ti and 2060 in most 3D games is not too big. However, it can be seen from the above that the 1660Ti performs well in 1080P game resolution. If the price for a laptop with RTX 2060 is not affordable to you, A laptop with 1660 Ti, which the price and performance were both decent. Ambient temp. 24˚C, proceed Intel Core i7 9750H cooling test. Run the LinX 0.7.1 at full speed, 67~74˚C, maxima up to 91 ˚C. The heat dissipating of AORUS 7 performance is not bad, so use LinX which is Intel platform with very high loading to burns in temp. test. i7-9750H in the burn in process, it showed TDP is under 50W and most of the clock rate is 3.99GHz. If the power increased up to 60~80W, most of the clock rate is 3.09GHz. The heat dissipating performance of AORUS 7 beats the DELL Alienware M17 with i7-9850H. FurMark mainly for GPU GTX 1660Ti burn in test. GPU 1320MHz / MEM 6000MHz Run FurMark got idle of 47˚C and full speed 69˚C With FurMark burn in test, keyboard upper side around 34~37˚C, left & right side vents 33~45˚C Back side vents 30~51˚C, D side air intake vent 30~40˚C, so the rear right side vent got higher temp. The AORUS 7 equipped with WINDFORCE 2X cooling system. It was very satisfied about the cooling on both CPU and GPU. You won’t hear much noise when both the loading environment and fan speed is low. In situations like idle, web-surfing and documenting files. The mid-low frequency noise level and volume won’t let you feel uncomfortable, while playing high-loading games or using high fan speed. On the battery life, Windows 10 power option set to balance, battery option set to battery save mode. Used Wi-Fi link to internet and playback YouTube video at DVD 480P format, 1 hour with 83% left, 2 hours with 65% left, 4 hours with 26% left, estimated up to 5 hours before shutdown. That means the battery life performance is above the standard. Summarized the strengths of AORUS 7 SA (i7-9750H/GTX 1660Ti 6G) 1. The WINDFORCE 2X cooling system is capable of supporting the high level performance of CPU and GPU. 2. The resolution of the webcam is one of the finest equipment that I have ever used in recent two years. 3. The combination of a detachable battery and an exquisite adaptor enhances the portability of laptops. 4. 15 different LED colors were provided by the RGB backlit keyboard, and a precise touchpad was equipped with laptops. 5. SAMSUNG DDR4 2666 DRAM, a high level and compatibility memory. 6. The exclusive Control Center 3.0 software and the Nahimic 3D sound software functions are great. 7. 17’’ IPS panel from the Better LG 144Hz refresh rate and ultrathin bezel. 8. The ultrathin bezel design effectively reduces 14% of the 17’’ laptops’ volume. The points for future improvement listed. 1. The A side is normal at the first glance. To draw customers’ attention, creativity should be implemented more on the A side. 2. The price is higher compare to competitors, because of better branded components. 3. Current noise occurs somewhere around the keyboard when the fan speed is low. However, the noise disappears when the fan speed is high. Performance Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 85/100 Material Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 88/100 Specification Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 88/100 ID design Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 80/100 Cost Performance Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 85/100 “Gaming laptop” is too lavish for grasping customers’ attention in recent years. The term was applied to some $700 USD laptops merely with discrete graphics. It should have more gaming element and higher performance for the $1,000 to $1,400 gaming laptops. Better 3D graphics is necessary, and more gaming elements such as display, keyboard, sound system, cooling system and Wi-Fi card. Building a gaming laptop with upscale features will create a different marketing position, which separates the customers of general laptops. The AORUS 7 might be differs in the GPU level, where GIGABYTE provides GTX 1050, 1650, 1660Ti, and RTX 2060. However, GTX 1660Ti is the only option in Taiwan. Compare to the competitors’ GTX 1660Ti gaming laptops, AORUS 7 is slightly higher in price. The AORUS 7 got high-end components such as LG 144Hz display, Dual-channel Samsung DDR4, Intel 760P SSD, Killer 1550 chipset with higher costs. However, the plain appearance is a weakness for AORUS 7. I would recommend GIGABYTE make more effort on designing the chassis. All other features match its value of AORUS 7. Outstanding cooling system, fine resolution webcam and exquisite sound quality were not common in other moderate level laptop. Thus, I would claim that the AORUS 7 is a great entry-level gaming laptop with overall comprehensive performance. Please visit my Facebook if you like “windwithme” review article and want to receive more updates. Your comment and like is my fuel for moving forward! PS: Spyder is used for generating color-tuning files on this AORUS 7. Please leave a message in my Facebook if you need more information about it.

Geekbench 5 Single-Core Score => 1160 Multi-Core Score => 6117 FRYRENDER Running Time => 2m 52s (3m 07s) x265 Benchmark 2.1.0 => 43.04FPS (35.8FPS) PCMARK => 4568 The speed clock of Intel 9 i7-9750H was 300 to 400MHz higher than the previous Intel i7-8750H. In summary, the i7-9750H was superior in terms of performance. In addition, the AORUS 7 equips a high-level cooling system. This is how AORUS 7 CPU test pretty easier to get the high performance and this is an advantage in the entry-level laptops. DRAM performance test - DDR4 2666 AIDA64 Memory Read - 37492 MB/s In term of the 9th generation platform with DDR4 2666 dual channel bandwidth, AORUS 7 has achieved high standards performance. It equipped the higher-priced Samsung DRAM, and it is better for the stable and compatibility of laptops. The storage system could install up to two M.2 SSDs and one 2.5” SATA storage. AORUS 7 SA equipped with Intel 760P M.2 PCIe 512G SSD. SSD test part–CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 2972.1 MB/s，Write - 1518.8 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark – 3042 Seq Read - 2675.17 MB/s，Write - 1378.68 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read -882.63 MB/s，Write - 998.86 MB/s This Intel 760P of read speed up to 3230MB/s, write speed up to 1625MB/s The price is higher in the SSD market, but also because of the reliable brand and warranty be trusted by consumers. AORUS 7 equipped with higher quality components even it positioned in the regular level laptops. Here comes 3D performance test. With GeForce GTX 1660Ti DDR6 standard version. Will also attached previous tested result of RTX 2060 for comparison. 3DMARK Fire Strike => 13277 (14615) 3DMARK Time Spy => 5670 (6031) UNIGINE 2 1080P MEDIUM => 10853 (11465) FINAL FANTASY XIV ： Shadowbringers 1920 X 1080 HIGH=> 10518 (14238) Apex Legends 1920 x 1080, Video setup to highest Practice mode start theme –127FPS

Recent 2 years GIGABYTE goes forward and aggressive to Mid-High level laptop market. The part of their Gaming is dominated by the AORUS series, and the part of Creator is dominated by the AERO series. And the AORUS series recently launched the brand new flagship product–AORUS 17 got the highest exposure. This time we got the entry models of the AORUS high-level gaming laptop series, named as AORUS 5, AORUS 7 with 15” and 17” design. The character of this article is the AORUS 7 with a bigger 17” display. Dimension is 399(W) x 282(D) x29.2(H)mm, weight about 2.5kg. Actual weight is 2543g, and the detailed model name is AORUS 7 SA. The thin bezel design makes the appearance smaller than the regular 17” laptop, and slightly larger than the regular 15” one. The AORUS eagle image Logo in the center of A cover, and the sharp lines on the both sides design increase the speedy style. This one is positioning in the regular laptops market, so it’s a pity that none of these 3 areas equipped some light bar design. It is smoother when you touch the A side with fingerprint, it will be better if there are some pattern or more colorful light bar. However, the special design on both side of back vents behind the A side is a plus to the appearance. Open the AORUS 7, the B side and C side placement design. The hinge located at both sides of the chassis body, the maximum open angle of the display is around 130 degree. The assembling quality is solid. Although the case was made by plastic, you won’t feel much unstable while opening the display. Thin bezel design is the most common feature in the gaming laptops market on 2019, was implemented at the B side. Three edges of the AORUS 7 display possess 6mm thin bezel. The webcam placed above the display, it will be more convenient for users. The 17.3’’ LG IPS 4ms anti-glared display owned FHD resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. Face tracing technology was used in the HD webcam, the smoothness and resolution were both outstanding. Overview of the C side, there is full-sized keyboard with numpad, and the key travel is 2.0mm. The keystroke feedback is better than the laptops’ keyboard at this price range, but the feedback is still slightly soft overall. It equipped single-zone 15 colors RGB backlit keyboard, and separated the left and the right key of the touchpad to make more accuracy. The touchpad area supports Windows® Precision Touchpad technology and have a few touch gestures. The left side of I/O port From left side, vent / USB 3.1 Gen1 / USB 2.0 / microphone jack / Earphone jack. The right side of I/O port From left side, USB 3.1 Gen2 / MINI DP 1.2 / SD Card reader / vent. The back side of I/O port The both right and left side are vents, and USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C / HDMI 2.0 RJ45 are in the middle of back side. Killer Wireless-AC 1550 LAN chip of RJ45 port. Here are the accessories be included packaging. From left, Li Polymer Battery(48.96Wh), warranty card, SD slot protection card, manual, power code and 180W adapter, and the big plus is the small and portable adapter. In addition, the design of detachable battery has not been seen for several years. Laptops are designed to have a built-in battery for thinness or integration. There are some troubles for replacement and extra expensive cost at built-in battery for most consumers. Furthermore, the detachable battery can also provide two for self-use and easy to take it out for gaming or working. The D side design, the upper right is battery location and vents are mainly in the center. The both sides below are speaker hole and four yellow lights are in the center, that is in front end of the C side. AORUS 7 got Control Center 3.0 software, was divided into four main functions: Power Modes、LED Keyboard、Flexyikey、FAN Speed Control. LED Keyboard light setup page, built in 15 colors and others detail setting. Fan speed control setting with power saving, quiet, performance and entertainment modes. Users could depend on different use environment to set the better fan speed mode. In terms of entry-level laptops, I give full marks to this fan speed control page for detailed setting. AORUS 7 equipped with WINDFORCE 2X cooling system and owned large dual fans. With 3 heatpipes to pump out internal hot air, the actual heat dissipating performance will be tested as below. Nahimic 3D sound software Recent years tested many MSI gaming laptop all used this software. Other gaming laptops have also begun to follow suit, the most dramatic example is AORUS. The homepage mainly applied four sound stages, with three type to make it richer sound effects. The microphone page got chat and conference mode, with 3 function to adjust. Below is AORUS 7 speaker sound experience, this is subjective. When the speaker is adjusted to maximum volume, it was very loud which means no common problem with the volume is too low. High frequency: Not too sharp, very rich detail and very high-quality present. Middle frequency: Overall clear and brilliant, human vocal is a bit thin. There is still much to be desired. Low frequency: Low frequency drum sound present pretty clean, subwoofer not too turbid. But woofer of bass sound is too weak. The overall performance of the speaker sound in sound mode is good. However, the sound stage is a bit weak and the mid-bass not rich enough. As far as the $1,000 to $1,400 price range, this sound quality is still pretty good and worthy. AORUS 7 equipped with Intel Core i7-9750H, 6 Cores 12 threads, basic clock 2.6Ghz and single core up to 4.5GHz. Fan Speed default setting is “entertainment”, about 2800~4000rpm to test CPU performance. It would be compared to the data in back parentheses which are Intel Core i7-8750H 2.2~4.2G results. CPUZ 1.91.0 Single CPU => 475.7 (450.8) 6C12T multi CPU => 3412.9 (3388.2) Fritz Chess Benchmark => 45.63 / 21901 (43.67 / 20960) CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1234 cb (1155 cb) CPU(Single Core) => 183 cb (167 cb) CINEBENCH R20.0 CPU => 2840 cb (2556 cb) CPU(Single Core) => 435 cb (408 cb)

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS 1920 x 1080 3D effect set to highest, start character in lobby, - 393FPS (386FPS) Apex Legends 1920 x 1080, Video setup to highest Practice mode start theme – 245FPS (234FPS) RTX 2060=>119FPS，RTX 2080 Max-Q=>147FPS Monster Hunter: World 1020 x 1080, 3D effect set to highest, opening theme – 95FFPS (91FPS) RTX 2070=>75FPS，RTX 2080 Max-Q=>71FPS FAR CRY 5 Resolution 1920 x 1080, set 3D effect to very high Built in benchmark tool – rendering frames 6918 (6766) RTX 2070 rendered frame 6784, 2080 Maxx-Q rendered frame 5654. Battlefield V 1920 x 1080, Graphics setup Auto: Max Fifelity DX12 and NVIDIA DLSS option, opening theme – 171FPS (164FPS) 2080 Max-Q=>138 FPS AORUS 17 only with RTX 2080 support dual adaptor design. With game test could see, single adaptor performance some are the same, some with performance gap less than 5~10%. With single 330W adaptor, under heavy 3D games might loaded up to 320W Dual adaptor will become half power consumption for each, 2nd adaptor could be the backup or used for extreme performance usage. Not like some top level notebook need to plug on 2 adaptor to insure the highest performance. AORUS 17 only need to being 1 out, make dual adaptor more flexibility for users. Highest version with RTX 2080 is the top of notebooks, all comes with extreme performance on 3D benchmarks or gaming, Some game play present are big gap from 2080 Max-Q, even mush stronger than 2070. Burn-in Temp. test. Ambient temp. 27˚C, proceed Intel Core i9 9980HK cooling test. Fan speed set to full speed, about 4500~4600rpm Run the LinX 0.7.1 at full speed, 52~65˚C, maxima up to 83. The fan speed up to 4500rpm with CPU burn in test, the fan noise up to maxima status. LinX burn in is often to see 2 clock of 3.89GHz-1.08V and 2.4GHz-0.83V Core Temp. showed TDP is 58W, the AORUS 17 cooling seems still got enough power. Suggest the BIOS could adjust a bit to drive higher speed clock and TDP to gain more performance. FurMark mainly for GPU RTX 2080 burn in test. GPU 1485MHz / MEM 7000MHz Run FurMark got idle of 58˚C and full speed 73˚C With FurMark burn in test, keyboard side around 28~31˚C, upper side 32~36˚C, left & right side vents 46~51˚C Back side vents 42~57˚C, D side air intake vent 33~50˚C, so the rear side vent got higher temp. If set fan to normal mode, used for internet, video or songs, speed around 2000rpm, less noise. Fan speed over 3000rpm will get higher noise, and 4500rpm will even higher. The noise level closer to mid-low frequency got less uncomfortable feeling, could wear headset or use speakers if needed. On the battery life, Microsoft Azure AI set to “Battery Save Mode”. Used Wi-FI link to internet and playback YouTube video at DVD 480P format, dual GPU switch GPU mode test. Set on “dGPU” mode with RTX 2080, 1 hour with 67% left, 2 hours with 30% left, 2h25m with 8% left. Switch to iGPU to use Intel UMA and Optimus, 1 hour with 77%, 2 hours with 59%, 3 hours with 39%, 4 hours with 19%, 4h40min with 6% left. Support GPU switch mode did have better flexibility for longer battery life. Summarized on AORUS 7 (I9 9980HK/RTX 2080 8G) Key features and advantages: 1. Solid chassis, assembling quality, ID design achieve the top-level notebook quality. 2. Top nVIDIA RTX 2080 of highest 3D performance version, with Graphic Switch function. 3. First mechanical keyboard notebook with OMRON switch, high durable and high quality type feedback. 4. YA version attached AUO FHD 240Hz display, 3 side ultrathin bezel. 5. Each notebook display with X-Rite Pantone color calibration from factory side, and fulfill the high standard of Delta E<1. 6. AORUS Control Center and Nahimic 3D sound software got rich functions. 7. ESS Sabre Hi-Fi DAC high-level sound chip make higher level headset sound experience. 8. WINDFORCE Infinity with dual 12V fans, 5 heatpipes, 4 vents of high level cooling. 9. Support Microsoft Azure AI auto adjust to get higher efficient and performance. 10. Outstanding WINDFORCE Infinity cooling system performance, dual 330W adaptors are more flexible. Need to be enhanced or improved 1. A side metallic chassis if under strong lights, easier to get fingerprint image. 2. WebCam got lower resolution and quality, hope it could be improved. 3. The biggest CPU power up to 58W, could make it higher to raise up 9980HK performance. 4. If the 5 zones of surround chassis lights could have full RGB colors will be more beautiful. Performance Rating ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 Material Rating ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Specification Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 88/100 ID design Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 88/100 Cost Performance Rating ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 80/100 GIGABYTE is gearing up to make better features products and tracing in the mid-high level gaming notebooks. Besides of Ultrabook, also the first thin bezel & high performance laptop AERO 15. This year they launched new version of AERO 15 OLED, provide creator markets with more unique features to users. AORUS 15 of 2019 version goes to thin bezel and lighter design, for mid-high level gaming market. And this article comes with latest top level Gaming Notebook AORUS 17, it’s the most featured gaming notebook. On this kind of top level gaming notebook SPEC. with ultrathin bezel and mech. Keyboard with OMRON switch, could reduce the size and weight and very outstanding. GIGABYTE designed in the ultrathin bezel and slimmer chassis with very high quality detail on recent AORUS and AERO series. Hope that GIGABYTE could have more series for Mid-High level notebooks, to enhance the weakness or improve the weakness. If could offer same SPEC. or same level notebook market more competitive price, this will be another good choice on top-level notebook market. If you like my article, please come to below link windwithme FaceBook click like You will get to know my latest review product status. Your reply and like still be my power to moving forward!

AORUS 17 with Intel i7-9750H and i9 9980HK This YA version with 9980HK, 8 Cores 16 threads, basic clock 2.4GHz and single core up to 5GHz. Fan Speed set to “Normal”, about 2000~4000rpm to test CPU performance. CPUZ 1.90.1 Single CPU => 523.5 8C16T multi CPU => 4592.3 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 56.74 / 27236 CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1703 cb CPU(Single Core) => 198 cb CINEBENCH R20.0 CPU => 3754 cb CPU(Single Core) => 472 cb Geekbench 5 Single-Core Score => 1290 Multi-Core Score => 6511 FRYRENDER Running Time => 2m 17s x265 Benchmark 2.1.0 => 52.14FPS PCMARK => 6745 Below i9 9980HK test progress of power consumption, system idle about 90W If its full Cores test, it’s about 180W more, so single 330W is enough. Around CPU test process it’s quiet, full speed will not be too noise. AORUS 17 already delivered full performance of i9 9980HK, not like many slim type notebook will drop a bit of CPU performance. I did test DT replacement Dell Alienware Area-51m with i9 9900HK, only about 10% higher on the CPU performance. AORUS 17 with 9980HK on performance, power consumption, noise and temperature with very good balanced quality. High light the only All Intel Inside components, and very rare of “Made in Taiwan” Used Intel CPU, WiFi card and Intel 760P SSD. AORUS 17 could install 2x M.2 SSDs and 1 2.5” SATA storage. SSD test part – CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 3088.5 MB/s，Write - 1600.4 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark - 3057 Seq Read - 2708.30 MB/s，Write - 1546.10 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 879.27 MB/s，Write - 1027.30 MB/s This Intel 760P of read speed up to 3230MB/s, write speed up to 1625MB/s If compared to PCIe x4 of M.2 SSD performance, Intel 760P is mid-high level. Intel SSD take most advantage from stability and good quality, if comes with other higher SSD will be better. Here comes 3D performance test. With GeForce RTX 2080 GDDR6 standard version. Test result used dual 330W adaptor, single 330W adaptor results in the bracket for comparison. Besides also attached previous test result reference from other high-level notebooks. Installed NVIDIA GeForce 441.41 Driver. Win10 updated to 1909 version. 3DMARK Time Spy => 10422 (10149) RTX 2070=>9102，RTX 2080 Max-Q=>7509 UNIGINE 2 1080P MEDIUM => 19461 (19084) RTX 2070=>15193，RTX 2080 Max-Q=>14942 FINAL FANTASY XIV : STORMBLOOD 1920 X 1080 HIGH=> 20021 (19786) RTX 2070=>17832，RTX 2080 Max-Q=>15638

The back side Both right and left side are vents, IO port from left side is HDMI 2.0 AORUS 17 YA version with dual AC power input, 330+330W Killer Ethernet E2600 LAN chip of RJ45 port D side design Emphasize the fighter jet, exotic car, and phoenix element shapes. The vents on bottom side with phoenix image style, even D side comes with special art design. With their latest WINDFORCE Infinity cooling technology, thermal efficient up to 37% enhancement. Buit-in dual 12V of 51 blade fans, 5 heatopies, 4 airflow vents and Vapor Chamber. Display open angle up to 125 degree, with Li Polymer 94Wh battery. CPU and GPU main difference is i7 9750H or i9 9980HK, RTX 2060, RTX 2070 or RTX 2080 graphics. The RTX 2070 models with 1 330W adaptor, and RTX 2080 support dual 330W adaptor. Below is the AORUS 17 and dual 330W adaptor compared image AORUS Control Center software Open the software, main page “Smart Dashboard” Mainly for system monitor, hardware condition and hardware working status. On right top side is their AI interface, through Microsoft Azure cloud data to calculate and analysis. AI could analysis the program and user behavior, to adjust CPU and GPU power consumption. In the simple way that AI to optimize hardware performance, and make better software working experience. Manager page looks like mobile phone interface. Mainly show the function status and instant on/off. The very rare design of “Graphic Switch” function, let user could use Discrete GPU or with NVIDIA Optimus for Intel UMA function. Fusion C side chassis with 5 lighting zone, with 8 main color type and colorful brightness adjust design. Keyboard light adjust page, built in 10 more lights shining mode. Full range color light, support RGB Fusion 2.0 Fan speed control with silent, normal, gaming mode, also with deep control mode. User could depends on preference to set any fan speed at any temperature. Besides, the fan speed up to 4700rpm Nahimic 3D sound software Recent years tested many MSI gaming notebook all used this software The interface and function already revised many versions, comes with lots features. Mainly apply 4 sound stages, with 3 type to make it richer sound effects. Microphone page got chat and conference mode, with 3 function to adjust. Below is AORUS 17 speaker sound experience, this is subjective. High frequency: Not too sharp, very rich detail, very high quality present. Middle frequency: Overall clear and brilliant, human vocal is rich but still a bit thin. Low frequency: Low frequency present clean, not turbid, woofer of drum sound is a bit weak. Overall the built in speaker did achieve top level gaming notebook quality, if the detail could adjust will be better. External speaker designed with ESS SABRE Hi-Fi DAC, up to 24bit/192KHz data rate. Enough to push 16~600ohm mid-high level headsets, it’s a really good benefit for headset oriented users.

Recent 2 years GIGABYTE launched many Mid-High level laptop, want to gain more market share. Now the hottest series are Gaming and Creator market The AERO series for Creator market, designed with 15” and 17”, with many HW combination models. AORUS is for Gaming series, mainly with 15” and 17” design. This time we got GIGABYTE AORUS 17, the brand new design with highest SPECs. Many brand like DELL, ASUS, MSI, they all separate Gaming notebook with 2 categories. One is slim type with mid-high level Hardware, another is larger muscle notebook with highest Hardware SPECs. AOTUS 17 is the 2nd type muscle book, but with thin bezel and slimmer chassis. It’s kind of combination of both advantage of slim and strong power. A side metallic chassis, with AORUS eagle Logo and dual lines to create speedy style. The backside extend part is small, center stripe and both side airflow exhaust comes with LED light bars. Dimension of this 17” NB is 396(W)x 293(D)x 38(H)mm, weight about 3.75kg Actual weight is 3780g, compare its solid chassis and top level hardware, the size, thickness and weight all smaller than the previous review of Dell Alienware Area-51m. B side and C side chassis design AORUS 17 comes with 3 version of WA, XA and YA, YA is the top level. It depends on CPU, Display and GPU combinations difference. This article is TA version, comes with Intel Core i9-9980HK and GeForce RTX 2080 The C side 17.3” display, YA version with AUO FHD display. Refresh rate is 240Hz, 3ms response time, match the top gaming display format. Each notebook display passed the color calibration of X-Rite™ Pantone from factory. Delta E <1 is very close to original color display, it helps a lot for many user environment. 3mm ultrathin bezel design, very rare design even on other ultrathin notebooks. The HD resolution on the bottom side, the dark noise is higher, but still very smooth. C side material is most important for user, because it will touch by fingers and palm rest. The touchpad is very sensitive with high level NB quality, left & right holes for speakers. Left down side showed “Made in Taiwan”, right down side is feature label. AORUS eagle image power bottom, showed white light when boot up. Back left and right side of vents design with style shape, comes with straight line colorful light for gaming style. In front of C side with 2 zones light control, support RGB Fusion 2.0 Keyboard is the most special design, high light as world’s 1st OMRON switch slim mechanical keyboard. Key Switch cap is round design, to make the LED light more balance, the light is more beautiful. The key press up to 15Millions times lifecycle, 2.5mm slim key distance. The 1.6mm trigger point is better than other top-level laptops of membrane keyboard. Compared with Cherry keyboard switch still have some difference on feedback and click sound, that depends on personal preference. According to my 10 years experience of Cherry switch keyboards, use OMRON switch keyboard shall not have big difference. This design make the 17” muscle design of top level gaming notebook could be slimmer. The right side From left side, USB3.1 Gen1(Type-C) / UHS-II SD Card Reader 2x USB3.1 G1(Type-A)/ chassis vents. The left side From left, vents, / DP 1.4 & USB3.1 (Type-C) Thunderbolt3(Type-C) / USB3.1 Gen1(Type-A) Microphone jack / Headphone jack (Support Hi-Res Audio and SPDIF)

Next, we tested DirectX, a technique most of the game titles apply. The following () is the AORUS 5 (Core i7-9750H/ GTX 1660Ti) benchmark 3DMARK Fire Strike => 17516 (7997) FINAL FANTASY XIV ： Shadowbringers 1920 X 1080 HIGH=> 15948 (10518) FAR CRY 5 Resolution: 1920 X 1080/ Graphic setting: Ultra We use its built-in performance test, FPS: 5878 (3187) GTX 1660Ti can run most titles using 1080p, medium graphic setting; and RTX 2080 Max-Q can run 1080p at Ultra. If you are running UHD 4K resolution, we recommend you to apply medium or lower setting. RTX 2080 is the most powerful you can get on AERO 15 OLED, there’s also a more affordable “SA” with 9750H and GTX 1660Ti. Based on the test results above you may learn the difference between different GPU models and the most expensive one may not be the best choice for you especially if you don’t have such high budget. One more thing for your information, NVIDIA recently update the 436.02 driver which optimizes more new titles. You should update it if you play these titles. Burn-in Test Room temperature: 31°C, running Intel Core i9-9980HK cooling test. Fan mode: normal (runs at 3800~4100 RPMs when CPU running at full speed) CPU temperature: 79°C~90°C, highest temperature: 95°C, running LinX 0.7.1 at system’s full speed. Fan speed is 2600~2800 RPMs when standby, at this stage you can barely hear the fan; the speed will raise to 3800~4100 RPMs and the fan noise becomes noticeable. Comparing to other models we’ve tested, this is not too bad. 9980HK’s TDP is 45W, and AERO 15 OLED’s cooling system is capable of handling more power. Most of the time the CPU frequency is around 3.9~4.1G, TDP is about 55~58W; when TDP gets close to 60W, the wattage will drop to 0.8V and the clock speed is 2.4~2.6G. Please note that LinX is very demanding for CPU, actual usage such as game would not use that much power. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the CPU clock sped should be around 3.9~4.1G. Furmark is a GPU burn-in test. GPU 1000MHz / MEM 6000MHz Temparature: Standby: 55°C/ Full speed: 77°C We cannot get the precise GPU clock speed, but we compared the result to MSI GS75 which we previously tested. Though both is running the same RTX 2080 Max-Q, the MSI model can only reach slightly above 870MHz. While running LinX burn-in test, the center of the keyboard temperature is 32~36°C, upper side of it is 36~42°C, the rear side, air exhaust vent, is 38~48°C, and the bottom side, air intake vent, is 33~45°C. The fan noise rose when running at full speed, but it’s not too bad and we think it’s acceptable. You can barely hear the fan when you are surfing the Internet, watching videos or playing music. About the battery life, GIGABYTE claims 8.5 hours of usage, which may only happen when handling simple tasks such as web browsing. We tested it with Wi-Fi on, Microsoft Azure AI Battery Save Mode, playing 480p videos on YouTube, and the result is not quite as GIGABYTE claims but still exceptional. After 1 hour: 85%/ 2 hours: 69%/ 3 hours: 56%/ After 5 hours: 21%/ After 6 hours: 8% The left is AERO 15 OLED with Samsung AMOLED display; the right is AORUS 5 with LCD IPS. When the brightness is about the same, we can see the difference in details, such as the upper left, the ripples, or the left side on the AERO logo, the grass. AMOLED performs better on both image details and color saturation. Besides the advantages mentioned above, AERO 15 OLED’s display is color calibrated by Xrite Pantone, hence the photo shown on the laptop looks very similar to the real object, meaning the color displayed is very close to actual color. To sum up, GIGABYTE AERO 15 OLED YA(i9-9980Hk/RTX 2080 Max-Q) has the following advantages: 1.ID design is not “gaming” but ore professional, and the overall build quality is great. 2.It carries the most high-end display that is available now: Samsung 4K AMOLED, has 3-side ultra-thin screen bezel and is color calibrated by Xrite Pantone. 3.It is equipped with 8C16T Intel 9th gen Core i9-9980HK and the performance is improved. 4.Thin& light but carries NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max-Q, currently the most powerful mobile graphics. 5.Useful GIGABYTE Control Center and Nahimic audio software. 6.Microsoft Azure AI can dynamically adjust hardware settings and increase efficiency. 7.Advanced dual fan+5 heat pipes+11 intake/exhale vents GIGABYE cooling design: Supra Cool 2 thermal system. 8.Per-key RGB backlight keyboard; membrane keyboard but offers great tactile feedback. 9.Killer AX1650 supports 802.11AZ (Wi-Fi 6). 10.Thoughtful design of camera cover for extra privacy; with great performance as well as portability thanks to its 94Wh battery. 11.Besides the most premium “YA”, GIGABYTE also offers more entry-level models. Things we think could do better: 1.The glossy display can be reflective when the ambient is bright. 2.Webcam has low resolution. 3.Speakers performs poorly on subwoofer and sound field. 4.It’d be better if the AMOLED also comes in matte finish so that customers get to choose. Performance ★★★★★★★★★☆ 93/100 Quality ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 88/100 Hardware Spec ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 ID Design ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Price/Performance ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 75/100 AERO 15 OLED starts from about 1,800 to 3,000 dollars, this product line covers most GPUs. The price varies according to hardware specs and the most expensive one is YA, then XA, WA, SA and NA. The latest version carries Intel 9th gen Core i7-9750H or i9-9980HK, as for the graphics it has RTX 2080 Max-Q, RTX 2070 Max-Q, or RTX 2060. The same ID also comes in with Sharp 240Hz FHD IGZO matte display, offering options from GTX 1660Ti to RTX 2070. The newest AERO 15 has minimum “professional” look, great build quality and feels premium. There are 2 different types of panels and both of them have ultra-thin screen bezel, color calibrated display and a keyboard that has exceptional tactile feeling. The price varies according to the parts inside, the product line covers different level of performance for you to choose from, from “gaming performance” RTX 2080 Max-Q to more entry level GTX GPUs. Personally, I’d choose AERO over normal gaming laptops if the hardware spec is similar. In the future we hope to see a webcam supporting higher resolution and stronger speakers. So, this is my review on the latest AERO 15 OLED, wish this information is helpful If you like my article, please like & follow my facebook fanpage to receive the latest updates To know my personal test and review status, your Reply and Like still my best momentum to moving forward the works.

*The following () are scores of i7-9750H (6C12T, 2.6~4.5G) CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1477 cb (1123 cb) CPU(Single Core) => 189 cb (183 cb) CINEBENCH R20.0 CPU => 3212 cb (2208 cb) CPU(Single Core) => 446 cb (305 cb) CPUZ 1.89.1 Single Thread => 512.8 (479.6) 8C16T Multi Threads => 4070 (3476.2) Fritz Chess Benchmark => 47.81 / 22948 (42.97 / 20624) Geekbench 4 Single-Core Score => 5514 (5278) Multi-Core Score => 27592 (21049) FRYRENDER Running Time => 2m 28s (3m 13s) x265 Benchmark 2.1.0 => 45.88FPS (37.05FPS) PCMARK10 => 5253 We can find the difference between Intel 9th gen mobile CPUs (6C12T vs 8C16T). The creator laptop aims to accelerate video preview and rendering or image/ 3D model processing. 2D image processing requires a lot of CPU power, including how the frequency and number of cores can help accelerate the process. The benchmarks above includes CPU multitasking and media editing results for your reference. As for the storage, there are 2 built-in SSD slots and this model is equipped with 2 Intel 760P M.2 PCIe 512G SSD. SSD benchmark: CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 2417.0 MB/s，Write - 1560.1MB/s AS SSD Benchmark - 2773 Seq Read - 2233.79 MB/s，Write - 1489.70 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 878.31 MB/s，Write - 811.00 MB/s Most of the premium models tend to use Samsung or Toshiba SSD, however, GIGABYTE choose to use Intel’s solution. This Intel 760P SSD supports 3230MB/s read speed and 1625MB/s write speed, which is goof for an M.2 PCIe SSD, plus Intel’s brand image and its SSD product line good reputation, that’s why GIGABYTE decides to go for Intel SSD and marketing is as “All Intel Inside” – the usage of more Intel components than competitors to provide a more reliable system. Recently NVIDIA announced its new “RTX Studio laptop”, solutions that’s optimized for creatives. The RTX studio laptops support “Studio driver”, which can accelerate more than 40 creative applications. Here are some RTX 2080 Max-Q 3D rendering performance. Driver: NVIDIA STUDIO DRIVER 431.70 SPECviewperf 13 Resolution: 1080p Resolution: 2160p tested results We can see from the SPECviewperf 13 result, you can gain more performance while applying 1080p resolution. SPECworkstation 3.0 Resolution: 3840 x 2160/ GPU: RTX 2080 Max-Q Geekbench 4 OpenCL Score => 26205 Creator laptops usually need OpenGL or CL performance while running 3D content editing software. The benchmarks we ran (shown above) are mainly testing OpenGL or CL performance, you might heard some of these apps before.

I/O ports on the right. From the left: 2x USB3.1 Gen1/ Thunderbolt 3/ SD Card Reader (UHS-II)/ DC-in/ Thermal Vent AERO has a built-in SD card reader that supports a higher transmitting speed of up to 300 MB/s. The rear side Between the 2 hinges is the thermal vent as well as a small “AERO” tag. The thermal system is called “Supra Cool 2”, which carries dual 71-blade fans, 5 heat pipes and 11 inhale and exhale vents. According to GIGABYTE the overall cooling performance is 30% better than the former generation. A huge part of the bottom side consists of a unique shaped cooling vent. On the both side of the lower part are the speakers. The 94Wh battery is attached to the laptop, not a detachable design. This thin and light model is equipped with 8C16T i9-9980HK and NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max-Q high-end components. Here we will go through all the benchmarks. On the right is the Chicony 230W adaptor, the weight is 722 g. Due to its high-end performance of i9-9980HK and NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max-Q, the AERO needs more power of a big adaptor. It’s big but is till portable. The laptop comes with a backpack that looks more “business”. It has a large capacity and lots of pockets for your personal belongings. GIGABYTE Control Center The first page “Smart Dashboard” shows the hardware specs and helps you monitor the system. On the upper right of the desktop is an AI icon. The Microsoft Azure AI function can detect what app is running and dynamically adjust CPU and GPU’s power settings by accessing/learning the data on Microsoft Azure’s cloud server in order to optimize the hardware usage and make the whole system work more efficiently. “Manager” is shortcut page where you can turn to other most used functions. The RGB Fusion 2.0 Per-key backlit keyboard supports 16.7 million colors. You can turn it off when you are not gaming. As mentioned before, the tactile feedback is very nice. Besides quiet, normal, gaming and customize, there’s also “deep” setting for the system fans. The “deep” mode allows user to assign different fan speeds to individual temperature. The fan speed is up to 6000 RPMs. “Smart Utilities” is where you can find update info, system backup, product description, FAQs… GIGABYTE Control Center is basically the same as AORUS Control Center. Although it’s functional and easy to use, we think AERO should have the control center in AERO’s own style. Nahimic Audio Driver There are lots of MSI laptops applying this software. This software has been updated a few times and now carries many functions: it mainly provides 4 different sound fields along with 3 more detailed settings. AERO 15 OLED comes in with 2 different CPU, i7-9750H and i9-9980HK. The one with “YA” carries RTX 2080 Max-Q and “XA” is RTX 2070 Max-Q. In this article we are going to test the “XA”: with i9-9980HK, 8 cores, 16 threads, TDP 45W, 2.4GHz base frequency and 5.0GHz max turbo frequency. This frequency is a single core highest frequency. Here are some benchmarks with AI functioning and other default settings. We compared it to the AORUS 15, i7-9750H/ GTX 1660Ti.

There are 2 of GIGABYTE laptop brands, AORUS and AERO. AORUS, the premium gaming brand, is focusing on “gaming enthusiasts”;on the other hand, the AERO series laptops are targeting at content creators. AERO 15, launched last year 2018, was the first laptop targeting at creatives which has high performance as well as ultra-thin screen bezel. In 2018, the biggest laptop trend is thin bezel, and this year, 2019, the biggest highlight has to be the OLED display which is launched by only 3 brands by now. In this article we will take a look at one of these 3, AERO 15 OLED, the latest model from GIGABYE AERO series. First thing we saw was the packaging. With the new “AERO” logo, black and orange color combination, the packaging looks very stylish. The AERO 15 OLED comes in 2 different colors, black and silver. The one we got is a black one. This chassis is made of aluminum with a technique called CNC. Most part of it is matte, and there’s a V-shaped decoration with a satin finish below which makes the whole design doesn’t seem too boring. The AERO logo on the cover will light up when the laptop is on. The dimension of 15.6” model: 356(W) x 250(D) x 20(H) mm, and the weight is around 2229g. Considering its solid build quality, the AERO 15 OLED did very well on keeping a portable form factor. AERO 15 OLED B and C side design. The 2 hinges are on the left and the right. The biggest opening angle is around 130 degree. The hinge and overall build quality feels very solid. The cover will close automatically when the opening angle is less than 30 degree. B side (display) is one of AERO 15 OLED’s most attractive features. This 3-side ultra-thin bezel design is the only design currently available that is closest to bezel-less. There’s a rubber bumper attached to the bezel that protects the display from rubbing against keyboard. The Samsung AMOLED panel AERO adapted is the high-end spec available now. AERO 15 OLED is certified with VESA Display HDR 400 True Black as well as Xrite Pantone color calibration certification. Each and every AERO gets Xrite Pantone color calibration before it leaves the factory to provide you the most accurate colors of Delta E<1. This display also has TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort Certification. All these functions are added to AERO in order to offer best visual performance no matter colors or details. Dell, Razer and AERO are the first 3 brands that launched OLED laptops. Since these laptops are very new, customers may concern about the burn-in issue. The AERO 15 OLED applies a special cover on the back of the panel to decrease the using temperature so as to lower the chance of burn-in. From this we can tell GIGABYTE is a brand that very much focuses on details. As for the finish, a glossy display may cause noticeable reflections but is able to produce more intense and saturated colors; on the other hand, a matte finish may look plain but certainly not going to reflect. GIGABYTE goes for the glossy one in order to show the nice details of AMOLED. Besides the keyboard, on the C side the AERO uses the same matte black aluminum as the cover. The island style keyboard supports GIGABYTE RGB Fusion 2.0 and per-key RGB backlight. This keyboard is collaboration GIGABYTE and world’s largest keyboard provider Sunrex. Considering it’s a membrane keyboard, It acrually offers a nice tactile feedback. Comparing to GIGABYTE’s other laptop – AORUS 15, this keyboard feels better, almost like the one on Alienware’s high end gaming models. The webcam is beneath the display, shooting from a lower angle but not too much focusing on your chin… The camera works smoothly but the resolution could be improved. GIGABYTE designs a cover for it which is rare on laptops and is able to help keep the user’s privacy. Further beneath the camera is the power button, on its left and right sit the thermal vents. Below the keyboard is the touchpad which works accurately. On the upper-left there’s a fingerprint sensor. There are also stickers for features and hardware specs here. The one on the left says this laptop is made in Taiwan and the one on the right is about AERO 15 OLED’s features. These stickers are thick and easy to remove. I/O ports on the left. From the left: Thermal vent/ HDMI 2.0/ DP1.4 & USB3.1 Gen1/ Audio combo jack/ RJ45 Ethernet port (which supported by Killer Ethernet E2600 and Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650. The AX1650 supports the latest 802.11AX, Wi-Fi 6, that can achieve up to 2.4Gbps.

FINAL FANTASY XIV : STORMBLOOD 1920 X 1080 MAXIMUM => 12017 2080 MAX-Q=15638 Apex Legends Hero 1920 x 1080, Video quality set to Highest Practice Mode start theme – 119FPS 2080 Max-Q = 147 FPS Battlefield V game 1920 x 1080, image quality: Ultra DX12 and NVIDIA DLSS enable, into the practice mode start theme – 76 FPS Monster Hunter: World 1920 x 1080, 3D effect adjust to highest, the game start theme – 47 FPS 2080 MAX-Q=71 FPS Farcry 5 Resolution 1920 x 1080, set 3D effect to Ultra Mode Built-in performance test function, rendered 4639 frames, start theme – 64 FPS 2080 Max-Q rendered 5654 frames, start theme – 75 FPS PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS 1920 x 1080, 3D effect to highest preset, character setup Lobby – 89 FPS This RTX 2060 model present very good performance in some 3D test themes. Maybe because of the clock is higher, the 3D present in some software test did not to far from 2080 Max-Q. It’s pity that I have to wait till my next test on Dell Alienware Area-51M to test RTX 2070 graphics performance, not able to make more GeForce RTX comparison here. AORUS 15 designed with pure Discrete Graphics, so it could output 3x 4K display with Surround Mode. The main design theory is for gaming performance, to avoid some software or games running with UMA graphics. The advantage is 3D performance will be better, the weakness is the battery life will be shorter if only use for office works or internet surfing. Ambient temperature is 31˚C, test CPU and nVIDIA RTX 2060 of cooling performance. Fan speed is around 4500rpm as normal mode. CPU Clock at 3891MHz, running on LinX 0.7.1 to make system at full speed, -73~82˚C, maxima up to 95˚C. If used some bad cooling design notebooks, I might use AIDA64 to make burn-in test, Because the loading is lower and temperature will not raise to ultrahigh status. But since cooling is the advantage of AORUS 15, so used ultra loading of LinX test. We could see that even with heavy loading burn-in test. i7-8750H still could achieve around 3.9GHz. Through the software to check fan speed, if CPU around 90 more degree, the fan will speed up 500 more rpm, not to drop the CPU clock, it’s more user friendly. FurMark mainly to burn in on GPU of RTX 2060 graphics, GPU 1140MHz / MEM 7161MHz. Runs the FurMark to get idle 53˚C and full loading 83˚C. (If turn the fan speed to highest about 7200rpm, GPU full speed temp. will drop to 73˚C) With FurMark burn-in test, the keyboard side is about 39~41˚C, left and right side airflow exhausts about 49~51˚C, back side and D side airflow exhausts is about 59~63˚C, it seems back side and D side temp. will be a bit higher. Go more detail about fan speed an noise, idle or internet usage runs quiet around 2000~2500rpm, if the loading getting higher, it will add 500rpm more per stage, start to have noise over 3500rpm. If set with Normal/Mid-level fan speed, the highest speed only able to get 4500rpm, and a bit higher noise, similar as many gaming notebook full speed fan noise, but mid-high frequency of noise will be more annoying. If set fan at Full Speed will achieve 7200rpm, this rare speed will get much higher noise than most of gaming notebooks. But the cooling is also become higher level to make GPU drop 10˚C, recommend to use headset to play games for this setup is better. About battery life, Windows 10 power option set at balanced, battery mode set to power saving. Actual test WiFi internet to broadcast Youtube 480P video, 50% left after 1 hour, up to 2 hours mostly. Of course I could check the longest time with boot up and idle, but it’s useless for gamers, so I prefer to test actual user experience ways. Because AORUS 15 did not have UMA graphics, so the battery life will be lower. The AORUS 15 (i7-8750H/RTX 2060 6GB) Pros: 1. Solid chassis, assembly quality, ID design all very high quality at this price range. 2. nVIDIA RTX 2060 is higher C/P ratio for the 3D working/gaming users. 3. Big brand LG 15.6” IPS display, with 144Hz refresh rate and 3 side thin bezel. 4. Use higher quality and cost of SAMSUNG DDR4-2666 memory. 5. Support 2 M.2 NVMe SSD and 1 2.5” SATA3 slot. 6. Good function of AORUS Control Center and Nahimic 3 sound software. 7. Cooling system used high performance dual fan + 6 heatpipes + 9 airflow exhausts. 8. Unique Microsoft Azure AI dynamic control the power consumption and efficiency. 9. RGB Zone backlit keyboard with nice force feedback. Cons to improve: 1. A side metallic cover if put it under brighter lights, the finger print will be more obviously. 2. WebCam resolution and quality is lower, hope this could be improve. 3. Non UMA switch design, full time RTX 2060 graphics will drop the battery life. 4. Not recommend to use full speed of fan setup if did not use headset, because 7200rpm is too noisy. 5. Speakers of low frequency effect and sound stage could be improved Performance Rate ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 85/100 Material Rate ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 86/100 Specification Rate ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 85/100 ID design rate ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Pice/Cost rate★★★★★★★★☆☆ 85/100 On the internet data the AORUS 15 was made by Quanta, design ID and chassis quality is really impressive, last year shared similar model of HP Pavilion Gaming 15, that quality is not even close to AORUS 15. So far in the market the different version comes with i7-8750H with RTX 2060, i7-9750H with GTX 1660Ti, CPU part the 9750H is about 10% higher, GPU part the RTX 2060 is 7%~20% faster compared to different games. The price of i7 9750H with GTX 1660Ti is a bit higher, recommend to choose depends on your request. Besides that, higher level with RTX 2070 got i7-8750H and i7-9750H both models in the market, the price gap is about $200USD. Of course you could take it as on sell the 8th Gen CPU models, but when choose notebook, SPEC. and price also have bigger gap. AORUS 15 from material and SPEC. side is very competitive in the market as many brands, of course every notebook have its Pros and Cons, this article already have detail analysis and comparison for reference. Hope the AORUS gaming notebook could keep improving to make it more competitive and higher value, let consumers have 1 more better choice. After this article should be Alienware Area-51M review, hope to see more new evolution products. Desktop is looking forward to AMD Ryzen 3000 series, might have first timing review. If you like windwithme review articles please welcome to my fans club to Like. To know my personal test and review status, your Reply and Like still my best momentum to moving forward the works.

Back side IO From left, heat exhaust / NB Lock / USB3.1 Gen2 Type-C (Charge, Display) Mini DP 1.3 / HDMI 2.0 / AC connector / heat exhaust This photo could see the D side deign, half of the surface design with cooling holes, D side on the left and right could see speaker out hole, use stereo dual channel design. AORUS 15 mainly with 3 type of version Entry level with GTX 1660Ti / LG 144Hz IPS FHD display / 180W adaptor This test model with RTX 2060 / LG 144Hz IPS FHD display / 180W adaptor Highest level with RTX 2070 / SHARP 240Hz IGZO FHD display / 230W adaptor At this high level hardware SPEC., the adaptor is light and easy to carry. AORUS Control Center unique software Open up at first page is Smart Dashboard Mainly for hardware monitor, hardware SPEC., and hardware status The AI software on the right top side, it used Microsoft Azure with cloud and learning Use database to learn user experience on the programs, dynamic adjust CPU and GPU power consumptions. In a easy way is to use AI to optimized hardware performance, to have higher efficient on programs. Manager is similar as mobile phone interface Mainly to show the function status and quick open program AORUS Fusion technology, support highest up to 1677M colors of RGB Zone backlit keyboard. Left and right down side could see the aside project lights, could adjust lights. Smart Utilities About hardware update info, system backup, product intro, FAQ and register function. AORUS Control Center unique application got rich functions, Interface also improved a lot, looks like AORUS motherboard software UI But I think the interface and UI design still could be improved. Because windwithme used lots of many brands of high end gaming notebooks for years. So far I think Dell Alienware Command Center is the best, 2nd is MSI Dragon Center 2. Nahimic 3D sound software These years tested many MSI gaming notebook models all used this software The interface and function already updated many versions, it’s useful software Mainly support 4 sound scenario, with 3 functions to make it richer detail setup. Mic page have 2 type for conversation or meeting, also have 3 functions to adjust. Sound tracker is good for FPS gaming, it’s useful for in game experience. Here is the AORUS 15 sound experience, this part is subjective part High Freq. – No too sharp sound, rich detail, high quality present. Mid Freq. – Overall clarity is outstanding, human vocal not strong enough, still have room to improve. Low Freq. – Low frequency drums is clear, mid-low sound is not bad, but the woofer power is too light. Speaker might be the weakness on AORUS 15, the overall present is above the average. Because of the sound stage and mid-low sound is a bit weak, if you have higher sound quality request, recommend to use external speakers. The external headset AMP is good and brings outstanding headset sound detail at this price range. It benefits the gamers who like to use headset. AORUS 15 embedded i7 8750H with 6 Core 12 Thread, basic clock 2.2GHz and up to 4.2GHz. Fan Speed set to middle, about 2500~4500rpm to test CPU performance. CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1155 cb CPU(Single Core) => 167 cb CINEBENCH R20.0 CPU => 2556 cb CPU(Single Core) => 408 cb CPUZ 1.88.0 Single Core => 450.8 Multi Core => 3388.2 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 43.67 / 20960 Geekbench 4 Single-Core Score => 5023 Multi-Core Score => 21859 FRYRENDER Running Time => 3m 07s x265 Benchmark 2.1.0 => 35.8FPS Intel 9th Gen i7-9750H just in the market, the clock about 26GHz~4.5GHz, it’s about 300~400MHz, in fact the performance gap is small. Current 8th Gen CPU platform still popular in the market, and the price already dropped to lower range. Basically pick 8750H is more efficient and lower cost. AORUS 15 got stronger cooling system, so it’s easy to have higher score on CPU tests. In previous tests some notebook because of slim design but higher level SPEC., so they might need to boost their fan speed to higher level and test more times to have higher score. DRAM performance test – DDR4 2666 AIDA64 Memory Read - 37260 MB/s Base on 8th Gen architecture with dual channel DDR4 2666 bandwidth, AROUS 15 bandwidth speed already at high level, with higher cost SAMSUNG DRAM, the compatibility and overclock speed is outstanding, if they could open Overclock options, it could be more unique as a gaming notebook. For storage part, this could install dual M.2 SSD and 1 2.5” SASA3 Used Intel 760P M.2 PCIe 512GB SSD + 2TB HDD 5400rpm combination SSD test part – CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 3061.1 MB/s，Write - 1516.3 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark - 3098 Seq Read - 2636.31 MB/s，Write - 1485.31 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 876.00 MB/s，Write - 1031.23 MB/s Since most high level notebook used SAMSUNG or TOSHIBA SSD, but Intel 760P got 3230MB/s of read speed, 1625NB/s of write speed. As a single NVMe M.2 SSD, the performance of 760P is already very good, with Intel long term branding image and SSD product line with good quality, it also fits AORUS 15 keep their All Intel Inside strategy with more Intel components. Got a Transcend RF9 USB3.1/UHS-II Card Reader, just fit my test to compared built-in card reader. Used SanDisk Ultra microSD UHS-I 128GB to test. We could see that AORUS 15 built-in card reader also good present, Compared to the comparison external Card Reader, the performance gap is not big. Then take a look on 3D performance test, this model comes with nVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Will also attached previous test of GTX 1070 and RTX 2080 Max-Q for comparisons. 3DMARK Fire Strike => 13860 GTX 1070=14668，2080 MAX-Q=17188 3DMARK Time Spy => 6020 2080 MAX-Q=7509 UNIGINE 2 1080P MEDIUM => 11465 GTX 1070=13537，2080 MAX-Q=14380

Recent years many laptop brands came out more and more gaming notebook in the red sea market, The GIGABYTE gaming laptops is rare to see in the market before. But these 2 years they start to have more products for gaming style design With the positive market competitions, the gaming laptops become much better on design and price range. GIGABYTE got its own gaming brand AORUS with gaming laptops, AORUS series is simple, only got AORUS 15, AORUS 5,7 series in 2019 This simple way might make lower awareness in the market. Let?s get back to the AORUS 15; A cover used metallic design, Black matted coating with high quality. Looks might be a bit of finger print on it. Most of the current matted metal coating notebook chassis had this status. AORUS designed their Eagle shape logo with lines on both side to create speedy style. The Logo and lines will have white lighting when notebook boot up, it will be more fancy if comes with RGB lights. I tested around 2225g, it?s a bit lighter than their formal data. A side and back side heat exhaust sink holes, looks similar as HP Pavilion Gaming 15. Many high level gaming notebook had this kind of design, but AORUS 15 is most outstanding as my user experience. Open the AORUS 15, B and C side design The hinge design closer to the middle on both left and right side, the biggest open angle around 130 degree, because the chassis assembling quality is solid, so it didn?t easily shake when open up the screen. B side designed with thin bezel frame that thin gaming notebook often used since 2018 The AORUS 15 with 6mm thin bezel on 3 sides. Webcam still on the top side, is more convenient and outstanding. 15.6? matted display with IPS panel, with Full HD resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. HD Webcam, work with face tracing function, it?s smooth but image quality could be improved. C side use matted aluminum metallic chassis besides of keyboard. This part is same as A side. Designed with membrane full color backlit keyboard, support RGB Fusion technology. Although the thin membrane keyboard is easy to be soft, but this one is good on feedback. There are branding stickers aside the touchpad, if the sticker is too big will impact the beauty of the ID design, recommend to make it smaller and simplified, or put it under D side is also a way. Touchpad used larger surface design, looks wider on left and right side. This makes more convenient using experience, the pointing is very accurate when moving. In my personal experience, high accuracy touchpad appeared on higher price products mostly. The power button with white light when boot up, the left and right side aside the corner have LED project lights for gaming ambience. On top of C side is power button, it?s same icon as A side image. Align the button it designed with cooling holes with special shapes to give it streamline style. On the upper right side of keyboard key with fan icon, used Fn+Fan key to adjust fan speed. Left side IO From left, heat exhaust / RJ-45 LAN port / USB3.1 (Super Charge) / Micro SD reader Storage light / Power light. The heat exhaust hole design is really good looking and quality. Right side IO From left, headset port / 2x USB 3.1 / heat exhaust The USB 3.1 all Gen1 Type-A format This machine of cooling system used dual 7cm high speed fan, 6 heatpipes, 9 in & out airflow exhausts, it should have very good present on cooling power. The analysis is coming soon.

For many years the Computer Industry into mature stage, many people might think the Computex did not brought big change recently. Of course it’s not like new blue sea product lines that make people amazing, but still a must that keep improving every year. Many brands generated creativity or new design style to make our life richer. Still can see some new concept or creative design at Computex show, its worth to look into them. If you are expecting new revolution generation products, that might be AI or 5G wireless applications. Below was made by windwithme, I took 2 days to study more products and some photos sharing, please reply to support me if you like this article. I don’t want to put to many photos in a article, some SG photos will post on my personal fans FB. If you like windwithme articles, please come to below link to give me a like. That also could know my latest testing models and status. Your reply and like will always cheer me up to make new stuff. Windwithme WWM - 3C all with me！

EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti K|NGP|N version Co-branding with 3DMARK World champion level famous person, used water cooling design. Brand PC assembled with many EVGA products. EVGA got Nu Audio card, it’s software setup UI in the photo. Shuttle Classic System PC brand, demoed many SFF PC systems. XPC Nano X1 for Gaming, built-in GTX 1060 graphics. These years coming more and more smart digital life products, Combined the hardware and capability for SFF PC, designed out many usages on facial recognized, virtual meeting business systems. Bar Type D230, after recognized sexual and ages, recommended 4 products. Intel Core i9-9900KS 8C16T all cores at 5GHz Live Demo Intel Core i7 8565U GPU => Average FPS 13.0 Intel Ice Lake GPU => Average FPS 26.5 Show Girls is also important for Computex report every year, this year seemed getting less. I was told this is Little Snow from 17 Live Streamer.

This year some famous IT companies did early launch event before the show, that made the Computex more different than before. For sure the new products need to be attractive, that will be better to the pre-show launch event. Attractive enough to catch international buyers, media and consumers’ attention. One of the most typical launch is AMD announced Ryzen 3000 series and Navi GPU. Back to the Computex show, many brands still focus on Gaming products. Used RGB scenario lights to build up many types of computers and gaming gears. First look on Notebook market, after Gaming with RGB lighting, this year most popular design is thin bezel, DELL from US also make Alienware M series for slimmer design. According to the display size named m15 and m17, with brand new ID design. I’m working on the Alienware Area 51M tests, the highest level thick one. The XPS 13 series for many years, many brands still copy its thin design style. The new version of XPS 14 put Webcam on top of the screen, it’s more convenience. GIGABYTE notebook used AORUS for gaming, also launched New AERO series. AERO series designed for creators, AERO 15 silver white looks more elegant. Display came with X-Rite Pantone color calibration, they made calibration for every model in the factory. SAMSUNG AMOLED and Precise Color is their unique feature. AERO 17 Display SPEC and Hardware combinations did not show in the VIP room. AORUS 17 Higher level for Gaming segment, the ID design also very special. New AERO 15/17 series comes with Core i9 and RTX graphics. New AORUS 17 will build up with RTX 2080 high performance version. MSI GE65 Raider with SHARP IGZO 240Hz display GT76 Titan with i9 9900K and Overclocked Full Cores at 5GHz. CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 2155 cb Main and Second displays made people impressive, also ASUS latest design concept. BIOSTAR Motherboard and Graphics card is core business, also have more product lines. Racing X570GT8 Chipset with fan enhance cooling, it’s normal design on many brands of AMD X570 chipset MBs. Maybe it’s because Ryzen 3000 series supported PCIe 4.0 tech. that makes chipset with higher TDP. SSD series also become their main product line, the test result on right side are the highest level of the speed. Wish to have PCIe 4.0 higher speed M.2 SSD in the near future. Thermaltake launched WaterRam RGB DDR4-3200 in the beginning of 2019. This time they got new ToughRam RGB DDR4-3600 The unique software interface looks much better. Overclocker P1t1 made Live Demo OC on DDR4-4800 Teamgruop Launched TFORCE XTREEM DDR4-4800 High level product M.2 SSD with new Water Cooling thermal pad, made it more colorful. GALAXY M.2 SSD Supported PCIe 4.0, used PHISON E16 Controller Seq Read 4800 MB/s，Seq Write 4000 MB/s As I knew CORSAIR and AORUS have same level products.

More and more mobile devices become narrow bezel or frameless design to get higher competitive capability. As the Ultrabook or mobile phone in recent years, becomes slimmer and lighter is the most important trend. Thought about the design on Gaming Notebooks, since the design needs more high performance hardware and cooling solution, if the technology, ID and material is keep improving, maybe the frame and size could become thinner and lighter year by year. Evantually there are 3 of 15.6” thin bezel and ultra slim gaming notebooks came out in the market, this time it’s MSI GS65, the company did work hard on the gaming market. The full name is GS65 Stealth Thin 8RF, it comes with 3 versions by different hardware combinations. Evolved from last version of slim notebook GS63, the GS65 designed with narrow bezel and brand new ID design. By the way, the previous generation GS63 with GTX1050 graphics was high C/P ratio, really worth of the price with great value! GS65 with metallic A cover and matted touched design. Printed with golden MSI Dragon logo, the frame also uses shinning gold lines to make it looks higher quality and special. The dimension is 357.7x247.7x17.9mm, the weight is 1.88kg B side attached the AUO 15.6” IPS level panel, with FHD resolution, 144Hz refresh rate and 7ms response time. The bezel only got 4.9mm slim, display ratio is 82%, camera on the top side is better place than some others at bottom side. WebCam is 720P 30fps, the mic on both side support stereo sound recording. The video image will have more noise if it’s darker environment, but the image quality and detail is better than GS63. C side is keyboard side, besides of that it’s all matted metallic material, this is same design as A cover side. Keyboard kept the design with Steelseries slim Per-Key RGB keyboard, but no numeric keys. Around the slim type membrane keyboard notebooks, Alienware still better than GS65 of the feedback type feeling. Power button on the top center position, use brushed treatment with golden edge frame line to make it higher quality. A small light on the right side, white light means it’s using UMA, orange light means it’s using GTX graphics. There were align with holes for airflow across the power button, that makes cool air into the fan to enhance the cooling system performance. The MSI logo on the bottom of panel is not obvious, it will be more shinning if comes with golden material. The IO port on left side Kensington lock \ airflow exhaust \ RJ45 LAN port \ 2x Type-A USB3.1 port The 3.5mm golden jack for HiFi headset and Mic audio jack. The headset output design with ESS SABRE HiFi DAC. The hinge frame and airflow exhaust hole design with golden material inside, it makes the appearance looks higher level. The right side IO design Start from left, Type-A USB3.1 \ Type-C Thunderbolt 3 with USB3.1 Gen 2 & DP \ Mini DisplayPort \ HDMI 2.0\ AC input \ black-golden airflow exhaust There were three 15.6” narrow bezel gaming notebooks in the market, GIGABYTE Aero 15X about 2kgs, 18.9mm height, RAZER BLADE 15 about 2.07~2.15kgs, 17.3mm height, the thinnest but also the heaviest one. MSI GS65 formal shows 1.88kg, tested model is 1862g is the lightest one, 17.9mm height in the middle. But most of the ultra-slim notebooks came with softer chassis, so the weight depends on the design, the stronger chassis might enlarge the size. But it’s not always like this rule. The GS65 display could open to 180 degree to become flat; it helps on office meeting or group discussion to share the screen. If this panel could design with touch feature, that will be great. D side has bigger difference, besides of larger surface of holes for airflow, the based robber came with bigger size and taller, that helps more for airflow to reduce the heat more effectively. Built-in 4-Cell battery with 82Whr, larger than GS63 as well. Application is also a very important point that could enhance user experience for convenience, the Dragon Center is MSI own design APP, 2.0 version with brand new interface and enhanced a lot on the features. The UI showed it’s transparent image to see through your desktop. System Monitor showed current hardware working status. System Tuner About DPI, hardware performance, fan speed or display color adjusts setup. Original with 4 preset, and 2 user define profile could save by user’s own preference. Shift mode got Turbo (GPU OC), Sport,ECO, Power Options of 4 types. Fan Speed got Auto, Basic, Advanced and Cooler Boost modes. No matter on performance wise or cooling mode, it all applied many modes that made GS65 more advanced usages with fun. Gaming Mode You could see few hottest game titles supported here, like this GS65 already installed PUBG, users could through here to launch the game with MSI apps to change the keyboard backlit for the game hot keys. MSI True Color, display colors adjust The Display Software was rare at NB products market, True Color comes with 6 modes for user to adjust with favors. MSI formal preset is sRGB mode, but users could still make more detail adjustment on each of the 6 modes. The sound enhancement APP kept on Nahimic 3, become Microsoft Market Place APP, it’s more convenient to use, the UI changed a lot, rich features, with sound stages adjustment, mic enhancement, gaming stereo and other detail setup. Here was my GS65 sound experience; this part might be more subjective point of view, compared with other high level gaming laptops. High Frequency – No over-sharped tone, rich of detail, presented high level quality. Mid Frequency – The sound detail was outstanding, strong vocal over average, but still could be better. Low Frequency – It presented good with clear drum sound, but it could be more powerful. Within this slim chassis design and narrow bezel frame, the speakers only got very limited space. With 2x 2watts speakers, turn on the maxima volume is really loud when play games in the room. The authentic sound detail is the most outstanding part, it’s really good no matter FHD video or play games. Headset output designed with ESS SABRE HiFi DAC, supported up to 192kHz/24bit as Hi-Res sampling rate. When use Hi-Res Audio headset to listen, the sound quality could compete the top level DELL Alienware products. Keyboard APP is Steelseries Engine 3 Applied with general backlit management, rich of Macro-keys setup and multiple virtual keyboards for any different usage. Some of the lighting mode was preset inside that user could use, with Per-Key RGB function that could make the color modes become very fancy. The default with golden light made the dual wave from middle to aside, it really fits the color and style of GS65. GS65 came with 2 GPUs first, the 8RF with GTX 1070 and 8RE with GTX 1060 versions. Also got different DDR4 and M.2 SSD capacities inside, that comes with different price range. Here came the GS65 8RF of top level hardware test, CPU used Intel Core i7 8750H, use Sport mode with Auto fan set to test, it’s the most balanced at performance and noise. CPUZ 1.85.0 Single Thread => 470 6C12T Multiple Thread => 3222 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 41.67/19999 CINEBENCH R15 CPU => 1124 cb CPU(Single Core) => 177 cb FRYRENDER Running Time => 2m 22s x265 Benchmark 2.1.0 => 34.36 FPS The Intel 8th Gen. Core i7 8750H core clock is 2.2~4.1GHz, the core architecture is 6C12T, compared to last Gen. same level of Core i7 7700HQ clock at 2.8~3.8GHz, core numbers only 4C8T. The Core i7 8750H single Core got about 8% performance enhancement, multi-Core with full speed will have 52%~65% performance enhancement depends on the usages. It’s really great help on high quality video editing, image or artwork designs, which really needs more CPU Cores to speed up. Besides of gaming enhancement, the 8th Gen architecture could also make the video clip and artwork more effectively. PCMARK10 => 5103 Storage designed with dual M.2 PCIe Gen.3 SSD slot, and 1 slot supported M.2 SATA interface. This GS65 8RF used 2 SAMSUNG MZVLB512HAJQ with RAID0. CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 3501.5 MB/s，Write - 3256.0 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark - 3426 Seq Read - 2908.68 MB/s，Write - 2960.23 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 1061.38 MB/s，Write - 967.93 MB/s This SSD should be PM981 512GB, above are the performance with RAID0. But the chipset support up to PCI-e Gen3 x4 bandwidth limitation, not like SATA3 RAID to double the performance. So the Max. performance is up to 3500+ MB/s around, plus the storage of 4k test will be lower because the notebook power saving technology is not able to manual disable. But if we consider in the notebook field, PM981 of RAID0 already the highest speed level of M.2 performance. Embedded with 2 kinds of GPU, one is Intel Core i7-8750H of built-in HD630 graphics. The 2nd one is nVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 VRAM of Max-Q versions. Below numbers all based on GTX 1070 Max-Q tests, same software with 2 types of preset and score Up: Shift Sport + Fan Speed Auto Down: Shift Turbo + Fan Speed Cooler Boost 3DMARK 11 => 16105 3D MARK 11 => 17297, improved 7.4% after overclocked. 3DMARK Fire Strike => 12785 3D MARK Fire Strike => 14067, improved 10% after overclocked. UNIGINE 2 1080P MEDIUM => 10171 Compared GTX1060 => 7902, GTX1070 => 13537 UNIGINE 2 1080P MEDIUM => 11217, improved 10% after overclocked. Assassin's Creed Syndicate 1920 x 1080，GRAPHIC preset ULTRA HIGH In Beginning Theme - 49 FPS Previous test with GTX 1060 was 37 FPS，GTX 1070 was 59 FPS The same game theme – 53FPS, add 8.2% after overclocked. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege 1920 x 1080，GRAPHICS preset Ultra In Game Theme - 146 FPS Previous test with GTX 1060 got 110 FPS，GTX 1070 got 167 FPS The same game theme – 153FPS, add 4.8% after overclocked. PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS 1920 x 1080, set 3D effect at Highest, Lobby character setup theme – 78FPS Lobby character setup theme – 85FPS, add 8.9% after overclocked. The Turbo Mode that overclocked GTX 1070 Max-Q Core/VRAM over 200MHz, benchmarks could raise up 10% performance, in game FPS around 4.8~8.9% depend on different games. That made the GTX 1070 Max-Q overall 3D performance closer to GTX 1070, also more fun at overclock feature. Because the GS series designed with Ultra Slim type, it’s critical limitation to put GTX 1070 Max-P version on thermal, power consumption and size. The GS65 with much optimized interior design to achieve the highest performance inside. The room temperature is about 31°C, tested the GPU of GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q with its cooling capability. Try FurMark test, idle at 49°C, full speed at 87°C Shift set at Sport and Fan Speed Auto of GPU burn-in test status Keyboard surface around 30~41°C, top side and aside of airflow exhausts was about 42~48°C. The noise level present is outstanding, even the GPU temp. was not as low as GS63 at 83°C, but the noise level reduced a lot. Enable Cooler Boost Mode made higher noise level, it’s better to use headset to play, but the temperature from 87°C dropped to 78°C. CPU default clock from 2.2GHz~4.1GHz, battery mode set to High Performance. Tested with LinX 0.6.5 at full loading speed, around 82~90°C, maxima up to 93°C. Enable Cooler Boost for reference, 80~86°C, maxima up to 91°C. Intel high level Core i7 from 1~7th Generation all came with 4C8T architecture, the 8th Gen. become 6C12T, since it enhanced a lot on multi-task works, but more challenge to high level notebooks, the cooling surface was very limited, and slim notebooks even more challenge of thermal design. Last GS63 with 4C8T of Core i7 CPU presented 88~92°C with same burn-in test apps. Seems the GS65 temperature even a bit lower than GS63 with Core i7 8750H, the cooling design really improved. C side just around 31~38°C when CPU at full loading speed, the up side and left-right side airflow exhaust is abour 41~47°C. No matter on CPU or GPU burn-in temperature, GS65 was getting lower temperature than other brand of same high level gaming notebooks. About battery life, set Windows 10 power option at balanced, battery option set at power saving mode. System Tuner to Theater Mode to playback DVD video; still got 55% power after 4 hours playback. 8% left after 8 hours playback with disable the WiFi connection. But still more than 6 hours even enable WiFi. So when you go out to use for entertainment usage, proper setup could extend the outstanding battery life for GS65. Summarized on the GS65 Stealth Thin 8RF Pros & Advantage: 1. Golden edge line ID design, the lightest 15.6” narrow frame gaming notebook. 2. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics with Turbo mode, made ultra-slim notebook with higher 3D performance. 3. 8th Gen Core i7 with 6C12T architecture that enhanced multi-tasks working performance. 4. Matted IPS-Level of 144Hz/7ms display and narrow bezel, and applied True Color 2.0 color calibration technology. 5. Dragon Center 2 interface become more elegant with rich control and features. 6. Cooler Boost Trinity of thermal module designed with 4 heatpipes & 3 fans to become more powerful than previous design. 7. Keyboard feedback is outstanding, SSE3 app handle the Per-Key back light management, Macro keys and Gaming Mode for gamers. 8. Headset output embedded with ESS SABRE HiFi DAC, support up to Hi-Res Audio format sound quality. 9. Dynaudio sound speakers with Nahimic 3, presented much better sound around all ultra-slim notebooks. 10. New 180W adaptor even smaller than previous 150W design, more convenient for carry out. Cons & Enhancements 1. A side cover is easier to attached finger print, very obvious under brighter environment. 2. WebCam only got 720p resolution, and image quality is not good enough under darker environment. 3. If press the chassis will feel a little softy feedback, this happened very often on slim notebooks. 4. Recommend the Dragon logo on A cover to use 3D material; that will make it looks higher value, B side black MSI logo is not clear, it will be better if use golden color logo. Performance Ratio ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 Material Ratio ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Specification Ratio ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 Aesthetics Ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 86/100 Price-Value Ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 85/100 Did mention there were 2 brands launched same type of 15.6” narrow bezel slim gaming notebooks, if pick them with Core i7 8750H, GTX 1070 Max-Q and FHD 144Hz display as a standard. These 3 models came at same price range included MSI, so consumers should compared the material and design to choose. GS65 8RF designed with DDR4 32GB, and 512GBx2 NVMe M.2 SSD Other 2 brands at same price range comes with DDR4 16GB RAM and single 512GB SSD, although it’s all 144Hz FHD display, but GS65 showed IPS level panel and 7ms response time. Furthermore with SABRE HiFi headset DAC, Cooler Boost Trinity thermal design, MSI own design APPs are more outstanding, the main Dragon Center 2 with more elegant UI and rich functions, True Color 2 with sRGB and 6 mode adjustment and Nahimic 3 audio enhancer, put all high level features on notebooks. Frankly speaking, if a notebook only compared on top level hardware SPEC., many brands are able to put hardware into a notebook body. But included ID design with own style, cooling solution, functions and features, software and usage, better user experience, those detail took long time evolution on products for years. In before the DELL Alienware was great on these points, but recent years MSI did catch up even exceed to higher level in some ways. The GS65 maybe not 100% perfect but already got really high score, it’s a great balanced on hardware, features and software combination of ultra slim gaming notebook although still have some small part could be improved. 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After activating Cooler Boost 5, the idle is now at 37 degree C and full load at 70 degree C. With 2-degrees difference at idle and 8-degrees difference at full load, are pretty impressive results. The Cooler Boost 5 cooling module of the GE63VR does a pretty good job with GPU cooling, and keeps the GTX 1070 under 80 degrees even at full load, without activating Cooler Boost 5. The i7-7700HQ CPU comes in default at 2.8~3.8GHz, with power mode set at Balance. When running full load with LinX 0.6.5 – 85~96 Activate Cooler Boost 5, and run full load with LinX 0.6.5 – 75~83 LinX 0.6.5 is one of the most demanding burn-in software, as others usually generate lower temperatures. From what I can recall, launching burn-in test with AIDA64 has a lower temperature by over 10 degrees than with LinX 0.6.5. The fan noise is quite loud when activating the cooling button, which is only suggested if you wear headphones or have speaker volume at over 60. This prevents you from being affected by the full speed fan noise. Otherwise the GE63VR stays relatively silent under standard circumstances. Both the 7RE and 7RF version of the GE63VR use the same gaming display. With FHD resolution, 94% NTSC, 3ms response time, and 120Hz refresh rate, these are one of those rare high-end TN displays. They are also ideal for games with fast-paced actions, like the modern FPS games. We tried adjusting both notebook displays to a similar brightness, to better compare the image details. On the left is the high-end TN display from the GE63VR; on the right is an IPS display from the ASUS ROG GL502VS, which has a similar spec and price with the GE63VR. The comparison is made with the built-in Windows 10 wallpaper, but you can use your own if interested. Many used to have the impression of TN displays having smaller visible angle than IPS. Yet the comparison clearly shows that the high-end TN display nowadays already have similar, if not better, viewing angles than high-end IPS displays. With a wide color coverage of 94% NTSC, it’s a definite win against the competing ASUS IPS display, whether you’re viewing from the front or the sides. I’ve seen many beauty IPS displays, but with more and more manufacturers, the quality and spec also varies greatly. Opening up the bottom cover of the MSI GE63VR 7RF Raider reveals the interior hardware design. Two DDR4-2400 slots and woofer on the right; two more DDR4 slots preloaded with 16BX2 under the keyboard. Two NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD slots; 2.5” SATA3 HDD to the left. The top section is the new MSI Cooler Boost 5 cooling design. The cooling design has been the focus of MSI gaming notebooks over the recent years. With the latest Cooler Boost 5, there are dual fans, 7 heat pipes, and 3 cooling sections. The massive cooling design with ventilation across multiple sections on the chassis prove how the GE63VR takes cooling very seriously. There are total of 4 speakers, certified by the renowned Danish company Dynaudio. Two 3W giant woofers and two 2W stereo speakers. The thermal pad on the M.2 SSD is also a thoughtful design for the high-speed high-temperature NVMe M.2 SSDs. I was planning to demonstrate with videos, but the recorded files size ended up a bit too big. I’ve replaced them with photos for now. SteelSeries per-key RGB backlight keyboard and USB port lighting. They look better in person than in photos. I couldn’t help but think that I was positive to compare with Dell and Alienware. ROG may have been the leading brand for motherboards, but just doesn’t seem to be putting enough effort in gaming notebooks. There’s still much to be improved to catch up with other gaming notebook brands. Battery life. Windows 10 power mode set to balance. Built-in battery capacity of 4730mAh 51Wh. Seems to be slightly small. With GTX 1070 playing DVD video, it’s left with 66% after 1hr; 30% after 2hr; 10% after 2hr 30min. The maximum battery life of the GE63VR is around 2hr 40min, a somewhat acceptable number considering the high-end spec. Conclusion for MSI GE63VR 7RF Raider Pros and Advantage: 1. GE63VR has more speedy ID design, also more sturdy than the previous GE62. 2. Features up to a standard NVIDIA GTX 1070 graphics, drastically enhanced its 3D performance. 3. The GIANT speakers and woofers offer the best sound I’ve ever heard so far. 4. 120Hz/3ms display with 94%NTSC color coverage is exactly what’s needed for gaming. It even comes with True Color 2.0 color calibration. 5. The built-in Dragon Center is feature-rich and also nicely integrated other exclusive software. 6. The new Cooler Boost 5 boosts the cooling capability of the GE series. 7. Exceptional keyboard feedback with software that offers RGB lighting, macro, multiple profiles. 8. ESS SABRE HiFi Audio DAC for headphone output. Supports “Hi-Res Audio ready”. 9. Super RAID 4 with two high speed NVMe M.2 SSDs in RAID 0. 10. Killer solution for both wired and wireless network to form Killer DoubleShot Pro, plus the Killer Shield design. Cons for Improvement: 1. The metal brush pattern on the A-side top cover leaves fingerprints easily. 2. Only 720p resolution for the webcam. The image quality could also be improved. 3. The high-end TN display has wide visible angle for top and both sides, but lacks when viewed from the bottom. 4. Slightly low battery life due to the GTX 1070. It’d be better if it lasts over 3.5hr. Performance Ratio ?????????? 93/100 Material Ratio ?????????? 88/10 Specification Ratio ?????????? 93/100 Aesthetics Ratio ?????????? 86/100 Price-Value Ratio ?????????? 88/100 Comparing to the last gen GE62, the GE63VR has removed the built-in ODD, but still weighs the same. This is due to many of the enhancement under the hood, especially the cooling design and the full GTX 1060/1070 graphics. The huge sound chambers grant the GE63VR far superior audio experience in volume, detail, and bass. The quality and sturdiness upon picking up the notebook proves this to be a quite an evolutions over GE62. With the MSRP just under 2000 USD, the MSI GE63VR 7RF actually costs slightly less than its rivals with similar spec. The GE73VR with GTX 1060 6GB also has quite the aggressive pricing, with MSRP around 1600 USD. The GE63VR is the mid-high model among MSI lineup, and will probably also comes in various versions to choose from, just like the GE62. So far, only the version with i7-7700HQ and GTX 1060 6GB is available in Taiwan. It’s available with GTX 1060 6BB and 1070 8GB for GPU options. If they come in 4C4T Core i5 with GTX 1060, they should be able to further lower the price tag, and become even more affordable for those who love the GE series. Aside from 3D performance, I think a lot still needs to be worked on, like audio, display, keyboard, cooling, chassis. The GE63VR may not have scored 100/100 in all aforementioned category, but are at least 80~90+ in most. The GE63VR is a well-balanced notebook with gaming-grade performance. Of course, there’re still some things that I’d like to see addressed. But the new version already has a major upgrade. I look forward to seeing more verions available for the consumers. This article also shared on my personal Facebook -Windwithme WWM If this article helps you to know more about this product, please feel free to click like to encourage me.