GIGABYTE AERO 17 review
The GIGABYTE GIGABYTE AERO 17 ranks as the #306 laptops globally, achieving a LibraScore of 75. Across all metrics, this product stands out most for its #213-ranked performance among 285 laptops. Consider the Dell XPS 17 9700 or Dell Inspiron 17 7706, which offer higher scores while staying in the same price range.
Is it Worth it?
The GIGABYTE AERO 17 is a laptop with a stunning display that's a major highlight, but its high price point raises questions about value. While performance improvements are respectable, they don't quite justify the cost. The design is uncomfortable to type on and use, the trackpad is subpar, and the webcam's placement is poor. Moreover, opting for USB 3.0 Gen 1 over Gen 2 is puzzling. Considering these drawbacks, it's hard to recommend this laptop, even with its excellent display. Unless you're specifically looking for a device with great visuals, there may be better options available at similar prices.
Build
The GIGABYTE AERO 17's build is a mixed bag. While the display is absolutely gorgeous with vibrant colors, the rest of the laptop falls short of expectations for its price point. The design is uncomfortable to type on and use, with a sharp edge that digs into your wrists. The trackpad is subpar, lacking the glass surface found in some other high-end laptops. Furthermore, the webcam's placement is poor, making it essentially useless. The I/O ports are also disappointing, sticking with outdated USB 3.0 Gen 1 instead of newer specs. These design choices detract from what could have been a top-notch laptop experience. If you’re after a better build, GIGABYTE Gigabyte G7 could be the ideal option.
Display
The GIGABYTE AERO 17's display is its standout feature. The colors are vibrant and accurate, making it ideal for content creators, colorists, or photographers. The screen itself is beautiful, with minimal bezels giving a seamless viewing experience. The display's performance is exceptional, handling demanding tasks like video editing and graphics work with ease. In terms of brightness and contrast, the AERO 17 delivers, providing a crisp and clear picture. While it may not be perfect, the display is a major highlight of this laptop, making it well-suited for those who require high-quality visuals in their work or entertainment. GIGABYTE AERO 16 might be a smarter choice, offering an upgraded display.
Performance
The GIGABYTE AERO 17's performance is a mixed bag. While the RTX 2070 Super GPU provides outstanding gaming performance, the new Intel CPU fails to deliver significant improvements in multi-threaded workloads. Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve exhibit no noticeable gains over their predecessors. However, single-threaded tasks like video editing in Avid Media Composer or Final Cut Pro are handled efficiently. Temperatures remain relatively low during casual use but rise significantly during gaming sessions, making it unsuitable for lap-based usage. Overall, performance is respectable but not exceptional given the high price point. For an improved performance, GIGABYTE G6 is worth considering.
Battery and Charging
The battery life of the GIGABYTE AERO 17 is impressive, lasting around 8-10 hours in normal usage. The charging time is also relatively quick, taking about an hour to charge from 0 to 80%. However, the lack of USB-C charging port is a disappointment, and users have to rely on traditional power cables. Overall, the battery performance is solid, but not exceptional for a device at this price point.
Connectivity
The GIGABYTE AERO 17's connectivity options are underwhelming for its price point. The laptop relies on USB 3.0 Gen 1, which is subpar compared to other devices in the same class. This decision seems especially odd given that newer laptops can be found with updated specs. The lack of a more modern port setup detracts from an otherwise impressive display and performance capabilities. Take a look at GIGABYTE AERO 16 - its improved connectivity sets a new standard.
Features
The GIGABYTE AERO 17 boasts an impressive display with vibrant colors, making it ideal for content creators. The laptop features a powerful RTX 2070 Super GPU and Intel Core i7 processor, delivering excellent gaming performance. It also includes up to 64GB of RAM and a range of storage options. If you're after top-notch features, consider GIGABYTE Gigabyte G7.
Support and Maintenance
The GIGABYTE AERO 17 falls short in several areas despite its impressive display. The design is uncomfortable to type on, the trackpad is subpar, and the webcam's placement is pointless. Additionally, using USB 3.0 Gen 1 instead of Gen 2 is a misstep. While performance improvements are respectable, these issues mar the overall experience, making it hard to recommend this laptop at its price point.
Pros
1. The display is absolutely gorgeous, I think it's one of the main highlights of this laptop. The colors are just beautiful, its color accurate if you're a content creator, colorist or if you're photographer this is what you should be looking into.
2. The performance differences or the performance improvements are respectable, I mean if I were to be completely transparent if you're someone who's using a program that takes advantage of multi-core workload you will notice a difference with that extra four threads
3. The RTX 2070 super max Q is noticeably faster than the non-super variant and it almost reaches RTX 2080 max Q levels, gaming performance on the other hand was outstanding.
4. Temperatures are really good and I expected that for a 17 inch notebook, so on the CPU it initially spikes to ATC when clock speeds boost to 4.8 gigahertz but over time it averages to about 63 C
5. The acoustic performance on the Aero series was actually pretty impressive now during idle mind you the system is pretty much dead silent
6. DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere results are respectable, I think this might be an optimization thing but if you really think about it it's the same architectures
Cons
1. I wouldn't spend twenty eight hundred dollars on this laptop because there are far more negatives with this laptop then the pros I talked about earlier
2. The design is way too sharp super uncomfortable to type on or just generally use, I just feel like GIGABYTE should refine the design a little bit but they didn't do that
3. The trackpad is really really bad, I really wished if they were able to offer something like the Blades here is able to offer with a glass surface but that's not the case especially since you're spending this kind of money
4. The webcam worst possible location, I mean it's just pointless I wouldn't even use it
5. GIGABYTE went with USB 3.0 gen one instead of gen 2, it's really weird to see them go with an outdated spec even though you can pick up a nine processor on an older laptop with the updated specs so that's really weird
6. The coil one issue I talked about earlier is something to be aware of doing idle and heavy load scenarios
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